Tips for the writing section on the SAT's ?

As for the Essay:

The first time I had the SAT essay, I got so worked up about making up (making up, as in FALSE lol) a personal experience to relate to the topic, that I started out with a sentence like... "My grandmother always told me..." LOL

Oh god...I was so focused on making it a "Personal" thing that I got a crappy 7 out of 12 and didn't write much at all.

The key is to not strive for any set forms, but hit the ground running!! The readers don't want to hear you make up things (like I did :D), they want you to take a side, stick with it, and give good and specific examples on A) why your opinion is the best, and B) why the other side is not as good.

You need to work fast though and not focus on a pretty intro, like most people, because it is true that longer essays generally get higher scores. 25 minutes is a ridiculously short amount of time to write an essay. They know that, so get in as much solid stuff as you can.

In your examples though, you can give examples from the works of Shakespeare, a personal experience, and from science, but examples are just that, examples: one or two sentences. Your elaboration, your words, are the key to a strong score.

And remember to take a side!! They're looking to be persuaded.

The second time I took the SAT, I took this advice, wrote a lot more, didn't talk about grandma, felt more confident, and made a 10.

Good Luck!!