Tips on Composing an Essay for the SAT and the ACT

To gain admission to undergraduate programs in most American colleges and universities, students must take a standardized test--usually either the SAT or the ACT. But here's a question that you won't find on either test. What do the letters "SAT" and "ACT" stand for?

The answer, in each case, is nothing.

Originally known as the Scholastic Achievement Test, the SAT became an Aptitude Test in 1941, an Assessment Test in 1990, and finally, in 1994, the name was officially changed to SAT (or, in full, SAT Reasoning Test), with the letters signifying nothing. Two years later, American College Testing followed suit and changed the name of its test to plain old ACT.

How meaningful the tests themselves might be and what they actually measure are subjects of ongoing debate. One thing we do know is that your scores on the SAT or the ACT may determine whether you're admitted to the college of your choice. Another thing we know is that each test now includes a timed essay.

Composing under pressure (25 minutes for the SAT essay, 30 for the ACT) is probably not on your list of life's simple pleasures. Nonetheless, by the time you reach the testing center, you should be ready to write an effective exam essay.

According to the College Board, you're expected to do three things in an SAT essay--things that you've likely heard countless times before:

• develop a point of view on an issue presented in an excerpt
• support your point of view using reasoning and examples from your reading, studies, experience, or observations
• follow the conventions of standard written English

At CollegeBoard.com, you’ll find a few Strategies for Success on the SAT Essay.

Our advice? Follow these Ten Tips for Taking an Essay Exam. And please remember to drop us an e-mail when you're accepted to Yale.