According to the College Board,* you're expected to do three things in an SAT essay--things that you've probably heard many 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
Sample Topic Number Three: Cash for Clunkers
You have 25 minutes to compose an essay on the topic assigned below.
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and assignment.
Cash for Clunkers is a generic name for a variety of programs under which the government buys up some of the oldest, most polluting vehicles and scraps them. . . .
People who sell their clunkers would receive government checks, perhaps paid to them at the motor vehicle bureau office where they turn in their old vehicles. They would be free to spend this money as they see fit, whether on a new car or truck or some other form of transportation--or anything else. To ensure that the program really pulls clunkers off the roads, only vehicles that had been registered and driven for, say, the past year would be eligible.
(Alan S. Blinder, "A Modest Proposal: Eco-Friendly Stimulus," The New York Times, July 27, 2008)
Assignment: In light of your views on the role of government and on the quality of the environment in your community, consider whether you would endorse Blinder's proposal. Compose an essay in which you develop your point of view on this topic. Support your position with arguments and examples drawn from your reading, studies, experience, and observations.
* About.com Grammar & Composition is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the College Board, and this topic has not been approved for use on the essay portion of the SAT®.
