As you've learned, the first few minutes of the SAT Essay are critical. If you simply read the directions, the prompt, and the assignment, and then jump into writing, you're taking an enormous risk. You're counting on the fact that ideas will come to you as you write—ideas that are not only organized, but transition well from one to another.
Most writers can't pull that off. Instead, start with a plan that you've practiced often enough to feel confident that it will work. That plan includes three steps:
- Determine the heartbeat word(s) and theme.
- Match the theme to your pre-developed content.
- Take a stand (choose your best examples and write a thesis statement).
In this chapter, you'll hone your planning ability by completing five separate exercises. But they're not meant to be done in one sitting. In fact, they're more effective if you do one per day. For each prompt and assignment, set a timer for five minutes and plan an essay using the three-step method.
When you're finished, evaluate your plan using the self-guided assessment at the end of each exercise, taking note of what worked—and what didn't. You may find that a content topic needs greater research and development or that you need more practice using your own experiences and observations (whether real or fictitious). These practice sessions will not only help you improve your planning skills, but they'll give you more confidence. The more times you attempt an SAT Essay prompt and assignment, the easier the experience will become.
Planning Session One
Prompt:
For the last half-century psychology has been consumed with a single topic only—mental illness—and has done fairly well with it. Psychologists can now measure such once-fuzzy concepts as depression and schizophrenia with considerable precision. But this progress has come at a high cost. Relieving the states that make life miserable has made building the states that make life worth living less of a priority. The time has arrived for a science that seeks to understand positive emotion and provide guideposts for what Aristotle called "the good life."
—Adapted from Authentic Happiness, by Martin Seligman (Simon & Schuster, 2002)
Assignment:
Should happiness be humankind's primary goal? Organize and compose an essay that establishes your viewpoint on this issue. Substantiate it with examples and evidence derived from what you have read, studied, experienced, or observed.
Heartbeat word(s) 
Match theme to content (in what topics does the theme of happiness appear? is the idea of happiness the primary goal in any of these topics?
Thesis statement
Best examples
Evaluation
For all criteria, note whether your effort was (1) weak, (2) adequate, or (3) good to great. Answer only those that are applicable.
| Met time restriction |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Located heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Strength of Examples
| One or more predetermined topics matched the theme |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable using personal example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable creating fictional example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Thesis Statement
| Used heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Argument based on best examples |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall strength of exercise |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Planning Session Two
Prompt:
Owing to American mobility—people moving about the country for work, a more pleasing environment, retirement, and much else—the category of long-distance friend has become a larger one than perhaps at any previous time. Some friends are not merely out of town, but out of the country. The main distinction between long-distance and other friends is that the element of regularity plays a much smaller part in out-of-town friendships. Good feelings can certainly stay alive with out-of-town friends, but friendship doesn't get much of a workout at such distances.
—Adapted from Friendship: An Exposé, by Joseph Epstein (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Assignment:
Are long-distance friendships as valuable as those formed with people we have regular face-to-face contact with? Organize and compose an essay that establishes your viewpoint on this issue. Substantiate it with examples and evidence derived from what you have read, studied, experienced, or observed.
Heartbeat word(s)
Match theme to content (in what topics does the theme of friendship appear? is the idea of long-distance friendships in any of these topics?)
Thesis statement
Best examples
Evaluation
For all criteria, note whether your effort was (1) weak, (2) adequate, or (3) good to great. Answer only those that are applicable.
| Met time restriction |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Located heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Strength of Examples
| One or more predetermined topics matched the theme |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable using personal example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable creating fictional example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Thesis Statement
| Used heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Argument based on best examples |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall strength of exercise |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Planning Session Three
Prompt:
Mankind likes to think in terms of extreme opposites. It is given to formulating its beliefs in terms of Either-Ors, between which it recognizes no intermediate possibilities. When forced to recognize that the extremes cannot be acted upon, it is still inclined to hold that they are all right in theory but that when it comes to practical matters circumstances compel us to compromise.
—Adapted from Experience and Education, by John Dewey (Kappa Delta Pi, 1938)
Assignment:
Should we base our beliefs on Either-Ors, or does the truth lie between extremes? Organize and compose an essay that establishes your viewpoint on this issue. Substantiate it with examples and evidence derived from what you have read, studied, experienced, or observed.
Heartbeat word(s)
Match theme to content (in what topics does the theme of extremes appear? is the idea of basing beliefs on extremes in any of these topics?)
Thesis statement
Best examples
Evaluation
For all criteria, note whether your effort was (1) weak, (2) adequate, or (3) good to great. Answer only those that are applicable.
| Met time restriction |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Located heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Strength of Examples
| One or more predetermined topics matched the theme |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable using personal example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable creating fictional example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Thesis Statement
| Used heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Argument based on best examples |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall strength of exercise |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Planning Session Four
Prompt:
At this point in human history we have enough material resources to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate every living individual on Earth. That such resources exist is not merely a utopian fantasy, it is a reality about which there is little serious debate. Nonetheless, a quick look around most any part of the globe tells us just how far we are from achieving any of these goals. Most of the world's population is now growing up in winner-take-all economies, where the main goal of individuals is to get whatever they can for themselves: to each according to his greed.
—Adapted from The High Price of Materialism, by Tim Kasser (MIT Press, 2003)
Assignment:
Is humankind more materialistic than ever before? Organize and compose an essay that establishes your viewpoint on this issue. Substantiate it with examples and evidence derived from what you have read, studied, experienced, or observed.
Heartbeat word(s)
Match theme to content (in what topics does the theme of materialism appear? Is the idea of materialism a growing problem in any of these topics?)
Thesis statement
Best examples
Evaluation
For all criteria, note whether your effort was (1) weak, (2) adequate, or (3) good to great. Answer only those that are applicable.
| Met time restriction |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Located heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Strength of Examples
| One or more predetermined topics matched the theme |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable using personal example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable creating fictional example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Thesis Statement
| Used heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Argument based on best examples |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall strength of exercise |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Planning Session Five
Prompt:
Optimism is power. This is a secret discovered by all who succeed against great odds. Nelson Mandela, Ernest Shackleton, Eleanor Roosevelt—all admitted that what got them through tough times was an ability to focus on the positive. They understood what Claude Bristol called "the magic of believing." Optimistic people tend to succeed not simply because they believe that everything will turn out right, but because the expectation of success makes them work harder.
—Adapted from 50 Success Classics, by Tom Butler-Bowdon (Nicholas Brealey, 2004)
Assignment:
Is optimism a key ingredient of success? Organize and compose an essay that establishes your viewpoint on this issue. Substantiate it with examples and evidence derived from what you have read, studied, experienced, or observed.
Heartbeat word(s)
Match theme to content (in what topics does the theme of optimism appear? is the idea of optimism linked to success in any of these topics?)
Thesis statement
Best examples
Evaluation
For all criteria, note whether your effort was (1) weak, (2) adequate, or (3) good to great. Answer only those that are applicable.
| Met time restriction |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Located heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Strength of Examples
| One or more predetermined topics matched the theme |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable using personal example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Comfortable creating fictional example |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Thesis Statement
| Used heartbeat words |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Argument based on best examples |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall strength of exercise |
1 |
2 |
3 |
What's Next?
Review the evaluations for each exercise. Did you see improvement, or was your first session as strong (or as weak) as your last? Here are the steps you need to take to continue building your essay planning skills.
If you couldn't get all three steps completed in five or six minutes: Was there one step that held you up more than the others or was it the entire exercise? Reread Chapter 3, and then find online prompts (listed in the Appendix). Complete at least five more planning sessions, concentrating only on the step(s) that took longest to complete.
If you had trouble locating the heartbeat words: Check the list of assignments on page 39 at the end of Chapter 3. Circle the heartbeat words for at least ten of them. If you selected four or more for any assignment, decide which word is not as essential to the theme as the others.
If you were unable to match at least one of your topics to the theme: First, check the theme. You probably noticed that contemporary life assignments are more difficult to match with older topics from literature and history. These are often better addressed with personal examples (here's where using fictitious examples comes in handy).
Or you may have found that one or more of your topics could have worked if you knew a little more about it. For example, the Great Depression content became much more flexible when the idea of protectionism was included. Knowing about the Smoot-Hawley Act and its results made that topic work with many more assignments. Digging a little deeper will make for richer content.
If you weren't comfortable using a personal or fictitious example: These need practice too! You probably spent an hour or more developing your academic content. While you don't need to research or review your life experiences, you may want to practice with another five assignments. Think of one personal example and one fictitious one for each (the fictitious example can be about you or a friend or relative).
If your thesis statement didn't use the heartbeat words you circled: Again, practice on five more assignments with this goal in mind. Using heartbeat words helps you create a plan that you can use quickly and consistently.
If your thesis statement wasn't based on your best examples: You probably read the assignment and chose a point of view before working through steps one and two. While that's not a bad way to come up with a thesis statement quickly, it's not effective as an overall strategy. Remember that writing this sentence last, after you've decided on the examples you want to use in your essay, will give you a plan that's grounded in your best ideas.
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