Comments on: In Praise of Folly: Writing the SAT Essay http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/ Better Tutors. Better Results. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Benjamin Park http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-809 Benjamin Park Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:53:00 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-809 I totally agree. I'd achieved three consecutive twelves by the end of my SAT career and even though each of my essays was strewn with misinformation I managed to get perfect scores. I totally agree. I’d achieved three consecutive twelves by the end of my SAT career and even though each of my essays was strewn with misinformation I managed to get perfect scores.

]]> By: kevyn creech http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-803 kevyn creech Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:29:00 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-803 I have been teaching SAT Prep for about 11 years now, and I totally agree with your essay synopsis.  When my students are writing practice essays for me, I tell them, "Don't make stuff up!"  I used to read for the ACT writing test, and I am one of "those" readers who would get annoyed by BS.--  My students read your 2009 blog "SAT Writing Score Finally Counts Towards College Admissions"; I think I will be adding this blog to their reading list, too.  I will say that I end up teaching far too many of my students how to write an essay (general formatting, content, and basic grammar/mechanics); teaching to the SAT Essay Formula is very useful in getting many students to actually think and write for a sustained period for the first time in their lives.  Even so, I get your point about the "game rules," which is something I've been teaching my students for years.-- Thanks for the great website and blogs! I have been teaching SAT Prep for about 11 years now, and I totally agree with your essay synopsis.  When my students are writing practice essays for me, I tell them, “Don’t make stuff up!”  I used to read for the ACT writing test, and I am one of “those” readers who would get annoyed by BS.–  My students read your 2009 blog “SAT Writing Score Finally Counts Towards College Admissions”; I think I will be adding this blog to their reading list, too.  I will say that I end up teaching far too many of my students how to write an essay (general formatting, content, and basic grammar/mechanics); teaching to the SAT Essay Formula is very useful in getting many students to actually think and write for a sustained period for the first time in their lives.  Even so, I get your point about the “game rules,” which is something I’ve been teaching my students for years.– Thanks for the great website and blogs!

]]> By: swtwin2 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-449 swtwin2 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:07:57 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-449 Amazing!! Congratulations to you for testing to see just how far you could stretch the facts. Shame on the SAT folks!! Do they really think that rewarding blatant error--as long as its logically and impressively stated--is an accurate way to determine educational acumen? Amazing!! Congratulations to you for testing to see just how far you could stretch the facts. Shame on the SAT folks!! Do they really think that rewarding blatant error–as long as its logically and impressively stated–is an accurate way to determine educational acumen?

]]> By: Kevin from Hartford http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-405 Kevin from Hartford Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:20:15 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-405 I am stunned at the idea the College Board would give a high score to such egregious errors in the essay. They really need to improve their scoring system if this is the norm. I can just imagine what the score would be if someone wrote a more accurate piece of writing. I am stunned at the idea the College Board would give a high score to such egregious errors in the essay. They really need to improve their scoring system if this is the norm. I can just imagine what the score would be if someone wrote a more accurate piece of writing.

]]> By: Aubie http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-169 Aubie Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:01:03 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-169 SAT essays are scored holistically. The factual content is not the point. Scorers look for the ability to communicate efficiently, preferably outstandingly, through the written word. Pretty words won't necessarily reap a higher score and neither will length. A 1.5 page essay written with outstanding mastery will receive a 12 as certainly as a full 2 page essay with equal skill. The writer must merely show outstanding mastery of written communication skills in order to achieve the highest score. It's really quite simple and the only way it should be. SAT essays are scored holistically. The factual content is not the point. Scorers look for the ability to communicate efficiently, preferably outstandingly, through the written word. Pretty words won’t necessarily reap a higher score and neither will length. A 1.5 page essay written with outstanding mastery will receive a 12 as certainly as a full 2 page essay with equal skill. The writer must merely show outstanding mastery of written communication skills in order to achieve the highest score. It’s really quite simple and the only way it should be.

]]> By: ericfreelancer http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-49 ericfreelancer Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:03:19 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-49 This post made me sick to my stomach. Kudos to the author for his methodical research and willingness to share his results. The idea that B.S. of the correct length with a few pretty words thrown in merit a perfect score is just downright scary to me. This is so very, very sad. This post made me sick to my stomach. Kudos to the author for his methodical research and willingness to share his results. The idea that B.S. of the correct length with a few pretty words thrown in merit a perfect score is just downright scary to me. This is so very, very sad.

]]> By: Writing Counts - Tutor Talk | Appelrouth Tutoring Services http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-48 Writing Counts - Tutor Talk | Appelrouth Tutoring Services Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:29:58 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-48 [...] can take off. The essay is profoundly formulaic. Once you understand the grading rubric (see my In Praise of Folly: Writing the SAT Essay on this) you can plug in any content into a predictable structure and achieve a respectable score [...] [...] can take off. The essay is profoundly formulaic. Once you understand the grading rubric (see my In Praise of Folly: Writing the SAT Essay on this) you can plug in any content into a predictable structure and achieve a respectable score [...]

]]> By: Ron http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-47 Ron Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:17:46 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-47 This is a good one for SAT essay writing... grammatical sentence openers. It really improves your writing style: http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-improve-your-writing-style-with-grammatical-sentence-openers/ This is a good one for SAT essay writing… grammatical sentence openers. It really improves your writing style:

http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-improve-your-writing-style-with-grammatical-sentence-openers/

]]> By: Bruce Lipsitz http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-46 Bruce Lipsitz Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:07:23 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-46 Shame on the College Board for not considering accuracy on the writing test. What if you misspelled a word? Not to worry, for we are testing for sentence structure, and besides, this is not a spelling test. Shame on the College Board for not considering accuracy on the writing test. What if you misspelled a word? Not to worry, for we are testing for sentence structure, and besides, this is not a spelling test.

]]> By: Michelle Appelrouth-Rader http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/comment-page-1/#comment-45 Michelle Appelrouth-Rader Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:28:21 +0000 http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/?p=363#comment-45 This is hysterical! I tutor SAT right now and you would not believe how scared many of my students are of this portion of the test. I found it completely hysterical that you threw in blatantly incorrect facts and still got a perfect 12!!! Nice! This is hysterical! I tutor SAT right now and you would not believe how scared many of my students are of this portion of the test. I found it completely hysterical that you threw in blatantly incorrect facts and still got a perfect 12!!! Nice!

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