Bell Curves Blog

October 2011 SAT: You Be the (Essay) Judge

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Akil Bello

If you thought grading SAT essays was easy, in part 3 of our report on the October 1, 2011 SAT, (part 1 is here and part 2 here) we’re asking you to grade an actual essay submitted on the October 1, 2011 SAT. This essay was written by me and was mostly done to test a theory.

I wrote this essay to test what happens if you got a few facts wrong during the essay.  So in case you were wondering I’ll post the score the essay actually got after we get some votes in!  So leave a comment below!

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October 2011 SAT: Reading Comprehension, a.k.a., Those Crazy Stories

Posted on October 05, 2011 by Bell Curves SAT Team

Is this an SAT Passage author?

In part 2 of our report on the October 1, 2011 SAT, (part 1 is here) we’ve decided to answer the question, “From where do they get those crazy stories?”

If you’re like us, you’ve wondered where they dredged up the reading passages they use on the SAT. Were they some crazy 100-year-old professors of Shakespearean literature creating these passages? Or perhaps they hired some psychologist — one who specializes in torturing teenagers — to design these new unique ways to get under your skin. In truth, the passages are works of literature that have been written and published, typically, in the last century. Some have come from the hallowed halls of academia and some have come from popular culture (one test featured Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club).

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October 2011 SAT: Vocab Vocab Vocab

Posted on October 03, 2011 by Bell Curves SAT Team

So the first SAT of the 2011 – 2012 academic year has come and gone and as usual it was full of words ranging from the commonplace (longevity) to the esoteric (recondite). We sent in our teachers to check it out and here are some of the words we remember. We’ve taken words from the reading passages as well as the Sentence Completions. Keep in mind that the SAT doesn’t simply tests random words, it tests words that are used in “well-written college level texts.” (more…)

The SAT & the Tranquil Test-taker

Posted on May 03, 2011 by Bell Curves SAT Team

The SAT is, to many students, the most stressful part of the college admissions process. An enigmatic behemoth of a test, spanning almost two hundred questions and nearly four hours, it’s no wonder that students are intimidated. And, while preparing for the test is essential, it’s just as important that students enter the test feeling relaxed and confident. Check out our tips and reminders for keeping your cool on the SAT: (more…)

The Best SAT Prep Tip Ever: RTFQ!!

Posted on March 25, 2011 by BC Team

Today’s tip comes to you from a survey of the teaching staff here at Bell Curves. We asked our teachers one question:”What is the single most important tip you would give to a student taking the SAT?” Although the responses took a bunch of forms and was demonstrated in different ways, the across-the-board answer remained consistent: RTFQ(Read the Full Question). Just that one thing.  Just that.

RTFQ stands for “Read the Full Question” or, depending on whom you ask, the ‘F’ may stand for something more profane.

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March 2011 SAT Essay: Reality Bites

Posted on March 16, 2011 by BC Team

Editor’s note: After hearing of the topic for the March 2011 SAT essay we at Bell Curves decided to have our intern, a recent SAT test taker, write his thoughts about it. We love you to share your thoughts in the comments!

The essay was introduced as part of the writing section of the SAT in March 2005. It was in response to the increasing demand of college admissions personnel for more proof of a student’s writing and critical thinking abilities. These essays usually ask about general themes (e.g. responsibility, dreams, heroism, or rationality), so that the average student could produce a relatively well-thought out response in 30 minutes.

Typical essay questions (and most of the ones in the preparation material released by the College Board) include:

• “Is it better for people to learn from others than to learn on their own?”
• “Is an idealistic approach less valuable than a practical approach?”
• “Do people put too much importance on getting every detail right on a project or task?”
• “Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect?”

These questions are pretty predictable and require some intellectual contemplation on the part of the student. When I was preparing for the kinds of essay questions posed in the Writing section, I decided to always write 5 paragraphs (filling up both pages if possible) and to use three supporting examples that demonstrated that I paid attention in high school. I employed my knowledge of historical events; novels (The Great Gatsby, for example); memorable articles from The New York Times, The Economist, etc; personal anecdotes, which I made up to fit the prompt; and statistics from recognizable sources. Following this method requires the common knowledge, more or less, of a high school junior. Therefore, I would say that most test-takers approach the essay question in roughly this manner.

However students were definitely caught off guard by the essay questions from the exam this past weekend:

• “Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?”
• “Is photography a representation of real life or a depiction of a photographer’s point of view?”

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The SAT Essay

Posted on June 05, 2010 by Bell Curves SAT Team

Many parents I speak to ask me about the SAT essay, its weight in the total scoring, its role in admissions decisions and more importantly how to improve scores. Parents and students often are confused by the requirements of the SAT essay and how it differs from those most common to High School English classes. Many of you might have even heard test prep “experts” speak to strategies for improving SAT essay scores that seemed off the wall and far-fetched. I thought I’d shed some light on the issue.

First, here is what the College Board says: (more…)