<p>Aside from the “grid in” math questions, all you have to do for most of the SAT is answer multiple choice questions. And then, if you've chosen to take it, there's the essay. Or, more accurately, "To finish up, there's the essay." Because the last thing you'll do on the SAT (with Essay) is read a passage and write an essay analyzing its argument, all in 50 minutes. How can you even begin to read a passage, analyze it, and write an essay about it in 50 minutes? What SAT essay structure should you follow? Is there an SAT essay format that’ll score you a top score for sure? Read on to find out the answers to these questions! Pencil by Laddir Laddir, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. What 5 Things Does Your SAT Essay Need? To build a great SAT essay template, you need to know what it needs to include. The first impression the grader will have of your writing is your essay introduction. Don't just jump right into discussing argumentative techniques — introduce your analysis with a statement of what the author is arguing in the prompt.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>You should then briefly mention the specific persuasive techniques the author used that you'll be discusing in your essay. I've separated this out as its own point because it’s so important. You must express a precise claim about what the author's point is and what techniques she uses to argue her point; otherwise, you're not answering the essay question correctly. This cannot be emphasized enough: SAT essay graders do not care what your stance is on the issue. They care that you understand and explain how the author argues her point. The SAT essay task is designed for you to demonstrate that you can analyze the structure of an argument and its affect on the reader with clear and coherent reasoning. Write an essay in which you explain how Eric Klinenberg builds an argument to persuade his audience that Americans need to greatly reduce their reliance on air-conditioning. In your essay, analyze how Klinenberg uses one or more of the features listed in the box above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage.</p><br /><br /><p>The author tries to enforce to his audience by telling that air conditioning has negative effects. This thesis doesn’t specify what features of the argument you'll be discussing, or even what Klinenberg's specific views are. It's just a (grammatically flawed) sentence that hints at Klinenberg's argument. Through consideration of quantitative data, exploring possible counterarguments to his position, and judicious use of striking phrasings and words, Klinenberg strengthens both the logic and persuasiveness of his argument that Americans need to greatly reduce their reliance on air conditioning. The above thesis clearly specifies both what the author's argument is and what aspects of the argument will be analyzed in the essay. If you want more practice writing strong thesis statements, use our complete list of SAT essay prompts as inspiration. To support your thesis, you'll need to draw on specific examples from the passage of the techniques you claim the author uses. <i>Post has been created with Essay Writers !</i></p><br /><br /><p>Make sure to provide enough information for each example to make it clear how it is relevant to your thesis - and stop there. No need to paraphrase the entire passage, or explain why you agree or disagree with the author's argument - write enough that the reader can understand what your example is and be done. It isn't enough to just summarize or paraphrase specific excerpts taken from the passage and call it a day. In each example paragraph, you must not only include details about a example, but also include an explanation of how each example demonstrates an argument technique and why it is persuasive. For instance, let's say you were planning on discussing how the author uses vivid language to persuade the reader to agree with him. Yes, you'd need to start by quoting parts of the passage where the author uses vivid language, but you then also need to explain why that example demonstrates vivid language and why it would be persuasive to the reader. Your conclusion should restate your thesis and briefly mention the examples you wrote about in your essay (and how they supported your thesis).</p><br /><br /><p>If you haven't done it already in your essay, this is NOT the place to write about a broader context, or to contradict yourself, or to add further examples you didn't discuss. End on a strong note. Ready to go beyond just reading about the SAT? Then you'll love the free five-day trial for our SAT Complete Prep program. Designed and written by PrepScholar SAT experts, our SAT program customizes to your skill level in over 40 subskills so that you can focus your studying on what will get you the biggest score gains. Click on the button below to try it out! What’s the Best SAT Essay Format? Now that you know what has to be in your essay, how do you fit it all in? It’s not enough to just throw in a thesis and some examples on paper and expect what you write to be an essay. You need to be organized, and when you have to organize an essay under pressure, the generic five paragraph essay format is your friend.</p><br />