SAT Essay Practice

Weekly Article Complete Step 1—This is called annotating and is helpful because it doesn’t take as much time as a full-out talk to the text.

Weekly Article Complete Step 2—Numbering the paragraphs is helpful as we talk about the various paragraphs later. This is also where you are taking a more traditional talk to the text approach. The amount of writing you do during this step will lessen as you get more familiar with the prompt.

Weekly Article Complete Step 3—You may find it helpful to annotate the essay with thoughts about Gioia’s arguments.

Analyzing the Essay Determine where you find information that would qualify as evidence (Logos) Determine where you find information that would qualify as reasoning (Ethos) Determine where you find information that would qualify as stylistic or persuasive elements (Pathos)

Analyzing the Essay Here are just a few elements of Gioia’s essay that you could pursue in your own essay: “A strange thing:” Gioia highlights the irony of young Americans’ declining interest in the arts and humanities during a thriving economic period and a major information age. (Pathos) Data: He uses data from a respected source, the National Endowment for the Arts, to lend credibility to his argument that young American adults are reading less (and that this is problematic). (Logos)

Analyzing the Essay Emotional appeal: Gioia uses powerful language designed to generate an emotional response in the reader by calling reading a “longstanding” and “fundamental cultural” activity. (Pathos) More data: Gioia analyzes survey data from the National Association of Manufacturers to show that the loss of reading not only impacts Americans’ cultural lives, but also has negative implications on their work. (Logos) Conclusion, emotional appeal: In the final paragraph, Gioia appeals to readers’ fear and national pride by stating that “our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent-minded” if Americans continue their reading decline. This language adds urgency to Gioia’s call to action. (Pathos)

Writing the Essay When considering the observations we have made about Gioia’s essay, we see a lot of data analysis combined with emotional language. One way to approach writing this essay is to focus on these two elements. We could argue that Gioia uses persuasive, emotional language, combined with data, to craft his argument. College Board does not have an official recommendation on the number of paragraphs for the Essay; most essays will probably be 4 or 5 paragraphs. Remember that the essay should focus not just on the types of evidence and rhetoric Gioia uses, but how he uses them to build an argument. Here is a sample outline of an introduction and some ideas for one or more body paragraphs:

Writing the Essay I. Introduction: Gioia primarily uses survey-based evidence and powerful, emotional language to appeal to his audience. He builds the argument that a decline in young adult readers will lead to a less informed and capable U.S. society by using evidence and rhetoric.

Writing the Essay II. Data and Evidence: Gioia references a variety of surveys, including surveys by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Association of Manufacturers. The data from the NEA, a respected source of information on arts and culture, lends credence to Gioia’s argument that there is a “troubling trend” of “individuals in a time of crucial intellectual and emotional development bypass[ing] the joys and challenges of literature.” Further, Gioia analyzes survey data from the National Association of Manufacturers to show that the loss of reading not only impacts Americans’ cultural lives, but also has negative implications on their work. Research from multiple sources bolsters Gioia’s argument because it reveals a number of different sources have come to the same conclusion: that a decline in American reading is problematic.

Writing the Essay III. Emotional Appeals: Gioia uses strong language to highlight the importance of reading (“longstanding” and “fundamental cultural” activity). He also highlights the toll that a decline in reading will take on the U.S. with strong emotional appeals (“our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent-minded”). He uses the emotional appeal strategy to make American readers worry about a less informed United States population, and the negative effect this could have in the country’s place as a global power.

Writing the Essay IV. Conclusion: A brief but strong conclusion is a good way to wrap up your essay. Remind the reader how Gioia’s dual focus on emotion and data help him build a convincing argument. This is just one example of how you could approach and begin to analyze Gioia’s essay. Keep in mind that the example above is still in a rough form, so when writing a full essay, you would need to take this analysis even further.

Writing the Essay Note: It is important to use quotations from the text, or close paraphrases of the argument, in order to provide specific evidence to strengthen your analysis. Successful, convincing essays will interweave direct quotes from the passage with your own analysis of how the author's specific words, phrases or sentences prove the point you are trying to make. Don’t let excerpts and snippets of the author’s text dominate your essay; let them illustrate your argument. Top Tip! Don’t use any more than a sentence or two to summarize the point of the passage! Use the time you have to analyze how the author is making his or her point more powerful and persuasive and why the author might have chosen those methods to make the point.

Practice! You are going to practice writing this essay in 30 minutes. The shorter time frame factors in the fact that you have already read and analyzed the passage. This is to give you practice in sitting down and writing a 4-5 paragraph essay in a shorter time frame. You need to practice in order to improve your writing stamina!

Assess Here are two examples that are graded. Compare your essay with the two examples and grade your example. Reading/Analysis/Writing (In that order!) Write a short reflection (2-3 sentences for each part) on what you think you did well on and what you think you need to improve on.