Sometimes its ok just to tell a story

So much gets made out of the right way to write the SAT essay: plug in a couple of examples about The Great Gatsby or the Civil Rights movement, throw in a bunch of big SAT words whether or not you really know their definitions, stick in some transitions, and presto.! Youve just written pretty much the same essay as a hundred thousand other people. So dont be shocked when you get an 8. Even though I frequently remind my students that if they write a paint-by-numbers essay, theyre likely to end up with average score, Im still a little surprised by just how risk-averse they are. On one hand, I of course understand why: its the SAT, for crying out loud! One false step and youve ruined your chances at the school youve dreamed about going to since you were five and, by extension, the entire rest of your life. But on the other hand, youre not particularly likely to get a stellar store on the essay if you dont step out of your comfort zone and do something a little more interesting. Something that actually holds your readers interest and gives them a break from the tedium of reading hundreds if not thousands of essays about MLK and Hitler. This does not, however, mean trying to sound like a 50 year-old and overloading your writing with ten dollar words. Simple does not necessarily equal unsophisticated. One of the things I want to emphasize, though, is that  the best essays often dont feel forced. They dont even always feel as if they were written for the SAT. They dont scream, Please give me a high score because see, look how much big vocabulary I used and how sophisticated I tried to sound even though I dont really know what half of these words mean. They just tell a story, albeit one that has a lot of detail and whose relationship to the prompt is absolutely clear. Incidentally, thats the danger in making up examples: they tend to be bland and vague. If youre a strong writer and know how to use detail effectively, however, essays that focus on a single (personal) incident can really work. Im not saying that this will always work; 25 minutes is not a long time, and if you get thrown a question you just dont have great examples for, its easy to flounder. But in general, if you approach the essay from the standpoint of trying to engage your reader, to interest them, not just to impress them, you might do a lot better than you expected.