SAT+Essay

The SAT essay measures your ability to:

 * develop a point of view on an issue presented in an excerpt
 * support your point of view using reasoning and examples from your reading, studies, experience, or observations
 * follow the conventions of standard written English

The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely. Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheet — you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers. You can practice writing essays using the [|essay prompts from the most recent SAT].

Important Reminders:

 * 1) ====A pencil is required for the essay. An essay written in ink will receive a score of zero.====
 * 2) ====Do not write your essay in your test book. You will receive credit only for what you write on your answer sheet.====
 * 3) ====An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero.====
 * 4) ====If your essay does not reflect your original and individual work, your test scores may be canceled.====

[|Directions from a real SAT Essay] You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned belowThink carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.

// Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation //
 * 1) **Assignment**: //Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.//