How to Write a Killer SAT Essay : An Award-Winning Author's Practical Writing Tips on SAT Essay

This book answers some of the really nagging questions I had about the SAT essay. For example, did you realize that the *length* of the essay is critical? If you can't hit 400 words, you really don't stand a chance of getting a decent score--it doesn't matter how well organized the essay is or how solid your thesis statement or examples. Nothing in the test prep material from the College Board mentions this, and I wish we had been training to write more quickly and not just focusing on coming up with a solid thesis and examples. Plus, the author's advice on having several examples ready before you even begin writing is spot on!This is such an awesome book that I was tempted to give it 5 stars, but the author doesn't provide easy-to-follow steps or a lesson plan for applying his fantastic advice. That addition would easily tip this book up to 5 stars--heck, maybe even 6 (if Amazon adds that feature).If my student is able to nail the SAT/ACT essays the second time around #with the help of this book), I may come back and give the author an additional star. But my student hasn't re-tested yet.

My kid was terrified of the SAT essay. This book really helped him out. It showed how to write the essay ahead of time by having a few examples you can spin lots of different way. We practiced this formula and it really helped him on his SAT. Now, we were just shooting for a decent score, not an outstanding one. Most of this book shows how to get an outstanding score, and we didn't really use that part. But, if you are just terrified of the essay part, this will help you get through it if you take the formula and then practice writing essays with it.

When I prepared to write this review I looked at some of the more recent reviews and simply couldn't believe the purists out there who were offended that Clements had written a book that actually achieved its goal -- to increase your kid's score on the SAT essay. Give me a break.My son didn't prep for his first go at the SAT's. He got a 660 on the Writing section, including an 8 on the essay. And I think that the 8 was generous. After prepping with this book he got a 10 on the essay and an 800 score (also tip of the hat to Erica Meltzer). Most importantly, he was MUCH less anxious approaching the essay, knowing he had a formula that worked.So, sorry if you English teachers and politically-correct types are offended by this approach (and by the author's tongue-in-cheek flippant approach). This book works. If you want a higher score for yourself or your child, buy it. If you want to write the great American novel, go elsewhere.

I did not expect too much on this book because I thought that it will be filled with cliches that Barons and PR use all the time. NOPE, I was wrong; it is sooo different from Barons or PR SAT guides. It focuses only on literally how to write a killer essay. Tom Clemens uses his experience and others to explain how easy it is. After having read for an hour, I got some sense of confidence. I felt like I would totally get 12 if I read this every single day until the march testing day. Plus, I am not the one who understands through bunch of verbose explanations, so I needed a book that shows me example. THIS BOOK IS SIMPLY FILLED WITH EXAMPLES!! I strongly, strongly recommend this book to everyone, especially to those who learn by looking at examples.I know it could be a bit expensive for some of you, but if you really want to score high, buy it. It DOES worth that 20 bucks, as most of the reviews say. Trust me, you will not regret, AT ALL.

My two sons have both benefited from what, by now, are Tom Clements' proven methods for successful SAT essay writings, earning perfect scores twice and and one 11. Tom has a knack for cutting through what my boys refer to as the "BS". His methods not only help students distill the information down to the basic question, but they learn to organize their thought process in advance (prefabrication) in order to maximize writing time. Let's face it, giving students who have grown up typing essays (and pretty much all school work) 25 minutes to hand-write a 5 paragraph essay is a bit despotic of the CB. Which brings me to the other best reason for students to use this book: Tom's methods help to reduce the intimidation that most students seem to experience about taking SAT's, especially the essay writing portion. You will not regret your purchase.

I purchased this book because of all of the high reviews . . . I was stunned when reviewing its strategies with one of my SAT students. This author suggests that students make up quotes said by famous people, "I love this essay by Justin for two reasons: (1) Justin was the first of my students to make up quotes and attribute them to some famous figure . . . " Really? What message is that giving teenagers? My student and I went on further to see that Mr. Clements then criticized the scorer as "one retarded, paint-by-numbers reader". I wish I had not supported this author financially with my purchase and feel compelled to complain online for the first time.

This is an excellent book. When I first started studying for the SAT writing section, I was having serious problems coming up with examples for the essay. I was very fortunate to come across this book online, and I ordered it immediately after reading reviews. This book was extremely helpful, because it showed me how to come up with a response and at least two examples for every single essay prompt possible. I just recently took the SAT, and I have to say that this book prepared me very well for the essay part of the test. In fact, I was able to complete the essay in 20 minutes, which gave me 5 whole minutes to look over my work. This book will help anyone who, like me, has difficulty with writing.

DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF BUYING IT !! I BOUGHT IT AND JUST THE DAY BEFORE SAT FOUND THAT THIS WAS NOT THE ESSAY I WAS SUPPOSED TO WRITE!!! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY BUY A NEW VERSION!!!!!!!!!

Interesting , friendly and easy language with numerous examples .would definitely recommend to get a good score in the essay.

Buy buy buy. I completely enjoyed this book with all the wonderful tips on improving your essay. Buy it now!

amazing book! worth the money