College Board

SAT Practice Essay Directions and

Information

Assistive Technology Compatible Test Form

The following directions are representative of what students

will encounter on test day.

The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can
read and comprehend a passage and write an essay analyzing the
passage. In your essay, you should demonstrate that you have read
the passage carefully, present a clear and logical analysis, and use
language precisely.

Your essay must be written on the lines provided in your answer

booklet; except for the planning page of the answer booklet, you will
receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if
you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your
handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not
familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or
print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.

You have 50 minutes (standard time) to read the passage and write an
essay in response to the prompt provided inside this test edition.

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Copyright 2015 by the College Board Directions and information
Reminders
1. Do not write your essay in this booklet. Only what you write on the
lined pages of your answer booklet will be evaluated.

2. An off-topic essay will not be evaluated.

Follow this link for more information on scoring your practice test:
www.s at.org/scoring

This test edition must not be taken from the room. Unauthorized
reproduction or use of any part of this test book is prohibited.

Copyright 2015 The College Board. College Board and the acorn logo
are registered trademarks of the College Board.

Ideas contained in the passage for this test, which is excerpted or

adapted from published material, do not necessarily represent the
opinions of the College Board.

Pages 3 through 5 contain information for users of assistive

technology. Pages 6 through 13 provide essay scoring information and
an essay scoring rubric.

Do not open the test material until the supervisor tells you to
do so.

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Copyright 2015 by the College Board Directions and information
Information for users of assistive
technology
Any documents that accompany these instructions are designed to be
accessible to individuals who use screen readers, text readers, or other
assistive technology. You may wish to consult the manual or help
system of your software to learn how best to take advantage of the
following features implemented in this document.

Headings
Some questions include passages or other material that you may find
it useful to return to or skip past. To assist in this kind of navigation,
the test documents use headings as follows.

Heading level 3: section titles

Heading level 4: directions for a group of questions or references to

material on which one or more questions will be based (for example,
Question 3 is based on the following text:)

Heading level 5: question numbers, which directly precede the

associated questions

Heading level 6: indications of skippable content (For example, you

may prefer to skip some sections of this script, such as those that
provide figure descriptions or possible answers in context for questions
that involve revision. This content is identified at the beginning by the
phrase Begin skippable content and at the end by the phrase
End skippable content. These phrases are formatted as
level-6 headings.)

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Links
This document includes hyperlinked material. There are two ways to
follow a link. One is to move the flashing text cursor, or caret, into the
hyperlinked text and press the Enter key; the other is to place the
mouse cursor, or pointer, over the hyperlinked text and press
Ctrl+left-click (that is, press and release the left button on the mouse
while holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard). Some software
includes commands for listing links in a document. In JAWS, for
example, pressing Insert+F5 provides a list of links. After following a
link in Microsoft Word, you can return to your previous location by
pressing Alt+left arrow.

Text attributes
Boldfacing and underlining are used in this document for emphasis and
in defined heading styles. Italic type is not used as an emphasis
indicator in this document but is used in defined heading styles and
where standard typographic conventions require them, such as book
titles and mathematical variables. Adjust the settings of your screen
reader or other software if you wish to be notified of text attribute
changes. Except where stated otherwise, this formatting is not critical
to the meaning of the test material.

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Text and graphics size
The styles used in this document result in text that is moderately
enlarged. To enlarge text further in Microsoft Word, the following is
recommended, in order of preference:

1. Adjust the styles to meet your needs. You can adjust both font size
and typeface if desired.
2. Manually adjust the font size or typeface as desired.
3. Use Microsoft Words zoom function. This is the easiest way to
enlarge any figures, but note that some screen readers will not read
text that has moved off screen as a result of zooming.

Differences between test formats

If you are using the assistive technology compatible (A T C) edition
along with another edition of the test, you may notice some slight
differences in the wording of some content. Differences in wording
between these editions are the result of adaptations made for various
test formats.

Some changes to the text have been made to improve the way screen
readers pronounce the text where doing so would not inappropriately
change test content. For example, we have inserted spaces between
the letters of initialisms to ensure that the individual letters are spoken
separately. However, please note that pronunciation errors may
remain. If unsure of a word, use the spelling or character-by-character
navigation function of your software to resolve any uncertainties.

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Copyright 2015 by the College Board Directions and information
Essay Scoring
Every response written for the redesigned S A T Essay will be read by
two graders. Each grader will award 1 to 4 points each in reading,
analysis, and writing. The graders scores will be combined for a total
of 2 to 8 points in each of the three categories: reading, analysis, and
writing.

To score the essay, graders will use the criteria detailed in the rubric
shown here, which describes the characteristics shared by essays
earning the same score point in each category.

Essay Scoring Rubric

Score Point 4

Reading
Advanced: The response demonstrates thorough comprehension of
the source text.

The response shows an understanding of the texts central idea or

ideas and of most important details and how they interrelate,
demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the text.

The response is free of errors of fact or interpretation with regard to

the text.

The response makes skillful use of textual evidence (quotations,

paraphrases, or both), demonstrating a complete understanding of the
source text.

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Analysis
Advanced: The response offers an insightful analysis of the source
text and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the analytical
task.

The response offers a thorough, well-considered evaluation of the

authors use of evidence, reasoning, stylistic and persuasive elements,
or features of the students own choosing.

The response contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen

support for claims or points made.

The response focuses consistently on those features of the text that

are most relevant to addressing the task.

Writing
Advanced: The response is cohesive and demonstrates a highly
effective use and command of language.

The response includes a precise central claim.

The response includes a skillful introduction and conclusion. The

response demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of
ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay.

The response has a wide variety in sentence structures. The response

demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The response
maintains a formal style and objective tone.

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The response shows a strong command of the conventions of standard
written English and is free or virtually free of errors.

Score Point 3

Reading
Proficient: The response demonstrates effective comprehension of
the source text.

The response shows an understanding of the texts central idea or

ideas and important details.

The response is free of substantive errors of fact and interpretation

with regard to the text.

The response makes appropriate use of textual evidence (quotations,

paraphrases, or both), demonstrating an understanding of the source
text.

Analysis
Proficient: The response offers an effective analysis of the source text
and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task.

The response competently evaluates the authors use of evidence,

reasoning, stylistic and persuasive elements, or features of
the students own choosing.

The response contains relevant and sufficient support for claims or

points made.

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The response focuses primarily on those features of the text that are
most relevant to addressing the task.

Writing
Proficient: The response is mostly cohesive and demonstrates
effective use and control of language.

The response includes a central claim or implicit controlling idea.

The response includes an effective introduction and conclusion. The

response demonstrates a clear progression of ideas both within
paragraphs and throughout the essay.

The response has variety in sentence structures. The response

demonstrates some precise word choice. The response maintains a
formal style and objective tone.

The response shows a good control of the conventions of standard

written English and is free of significant errors that detract from the
quality of writing.

Score Point 2

Reading
Partial: The response demonstrates some comprehension of the
source text.

The response shows an understanding of the texts central idea or

ideas but not of important details.

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The response may contain errors of fact or interpretation with regard
to the text.

The response makes limited or haphazard use of textual evidence

(quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating some
understanding of the source text.

Analysis
Partial: The response offers limited analysis of the source text and
demonstrates only partial understanding of the analytical task.

The response identifies and attempts to describe the authors use of

evidence, reasoning, stylistic and persuasive elements, or features of
the students own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains
their importance, or one or more aspects of the responses analysis are
unwarranted based on the text.

The response contains little or no support for claims or points made.

The response may lack a clear focus on those features of the text that
are most relevant to addressing the task.

Writing
Partial: The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and limited
skill in the use and control of language.

The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea or may
deviate from the claim or idea over the course of the response.

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The response may include an ineffective introduction or conclusion.
The response may demonstrate some progression of ideas within
paragraphs but not throughout the response.

The response has limited variety in sentence structures; sentence

structures may be repetitive.

The response demonstrates general or vague word choice; word choice

may be repetitive. The response may deviate noticeably from a formal
style and objective tone.

The response shows a limited control of the conventions of standard

written English and contains errors that detract from the quality of
writing and may impede understanding.

Score Point 1

Reading
Inadequate: The response demonstrates little or no comprehension
of the source text.

The response fails to show an understanding of the texts central idea

or ideas, and may include only details without reference to any central
idea.

The response may contain numerous errors of fact or interpretation

with regard to the text.

The response makes little or no use of textual evidence (quotations,

paraphrases, or both), demonstrating little or no understanding of the
source text.

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Analysis
Inadequate: The response offers little or no analysis or ineffective
analysis of the source text and demonstrates little or no understanding
of the analytic task.

The response identifies without explanation some aspects of the

authors use of evidence, reasoning, stylistic and persuasive elements,
or features of the students choosing.

Or numerous aspects of the responses analysis are unwarranted based

on the text.

The response contains little or no support for claims or points made, or

support is largely irrelevant.

The response may not focus on features of the text that are relevant
to addressing the task.

Or the response offers no discernible analysis (for example, is largely

or exclusively summary).

Writing
Inadequate: The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and
inadequate skill in the use and control of language.

The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea.

The response lacks a recognizable introduction and conclusion. The

response does not have a discernible progression of ideas.

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The response lacks variety in sentence structures; sentence structures
may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general and vague word
choice; word choice may be poor or inaccurate. The response may lack
a formal style and objective tone.

The response shows a weak control of the conventions of standard

written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the
quality of writing.

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Copyright 2015 by the College Board Directions and information