SAT Writing Examples

Preparing to take the SAT is one of the most stressful times in the life of a high school student because the results of this test are one important factor that determines college acceptance. A list of links is provided to help with the essay prompt portion of the SAT. On these pages you will find sample responses to the essay portion of the SAT.

Sources for SAT Essay Examples

• College Board: This site explains what is expected of an SAT level essay response to a prompt that is given in this portion of the test. At the bottom of the page, there are sample SAT papers listed by the scores they received. You can view each essay response and then read the explanation provided below each response that indicates why the response received the score that it did when graded.
• Major Tests: This site provides a breakdown of what you will see on the actual essay portion of the SAT. At the top of the page is an example of an actual prompt listed on the SAT. This is followed by the assignment, which is an authentic SAT question posed to the test taker to be answered in the essay portion. These two sections are pictured exactly as one would see them the day of the SAT. Additionally, in the top right hand corner there are links to two sample essay responses.
• College Admission Essay.com: This site provides a sample of an actual prompt given on an SAT. The prompt asks students to respond to either pro or con. The sample serves to show that, despite the side a student chooses to defend in their response, it neither side is right or wrong. In other words, your position on the issue does not matter. The sample’s purpose is to show that, in order to write an adequate response to the essay portion of the SAT, you must present an opinion and back it up with fact. Additional samples are also provided with scores so the user is able to see what makes a poor essay response distinguishable from a great essay response and everything in the middle.
• Spark Notes: This site supplies two samples of SAT essay responses. One of the essays scored the highest possible score of 6. The second sample scored a 4. A list of SAT essay requirements is listed under each essay, along with an explanation as to why each essay was given the score that it was given. The list of requirements provided on this site, along with the samples, will help prepare students to write the expected SAT essay response that will give them the most possible points.
• SAT Essay: This site provides a list of specified criteria that is expected to appear on a high scoring SAT essay responding to a prompt. At the bottom of the criteria, the site provides 7 samples of SAT essay responses to help with SAT preparation.
• Scholastic: The article on this site provides a great deal of information on how to properly prepare and write an essay response to the prompt that you will see on the essay portion of the SAT. The article covers information on topics and scoring, and provides a step by step breakdown on how much time you should take to first plan, than write, and finally edit your essay response. Additionally, there is a sample essay provided for you to read followed by a hypothetical prompt for practice before the actual SAT. 
• The College Board: This site provides a step by step breakdown of the entire SAT by section. This breakdown is followed by a description of each section and what is expected of the student in each section. The essay portion lists the requirements of an SAT essay response and is followed by an actual prompt from a past SAT. This is followed by a link to actual responses to the given prompt and an explanation of why each essay was given the scores that it was given once evaluated according to the requirements.
• Varsity Tutors: This site offers free practice tests to improve scores.