Good writing skills bolster SAT success

Writing counts. The ability to compose a clear, concise, proper sentence signals your intelligence and gives you an edge in business. Moreover, for high school students, it now plays an even bigger role in shaping the academic future. The new SAT has a writing section that counts for a big part of the test's overall score--and that, points out grammar guru Jane Straus, represents a huge opportunity.

"High school students who aren't math geniuses just got handed a wonderful gift," says Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. "Why? Because for most of us, composing a proper sentence is far easier than calculating the area of a quadrilateral. Just take the time to memorize some simple rules and you can ace a significant section of the SAT."

In March 2005, a new section was added that includes an essay and multiple-choice grammar questions. This section is worth 800 points, a third of the new "perfect score" of 2400. (The highest possible scores on the verbal--renamed "critical reading"--and math sections will remain 800 each.)

As Straus points out, math skills tend to build on each other. If you are lost throughout Algebra I, you definitely are not going to excel in Algebra II. Writing is not like that. You can sit down with a book of grammar rules, read it a few times, study several examples of the rules in action, and you "get it." Even if someone does not grasp every rule instantly, quick improvement is likely to follow. This especially is true if one reads a lot, because frequently seeing the rules in their natural habitat reinforces what has been learned.

Straus contends that good writing can be learned at any stage of life--and underscores the reasons why every high school student should seize the opportunity to boost his or her SAT score by learning the rules of English grammar once and for all.

"If you're a high school student, don't assume you already know the rules," she says. "And if you're a parent, don't assume your kids learned the intricacies of grammar and punctuation in school. Difficult as it is to believe, many very bright young people have never been exposed to these rules in a formal classroom setting, but with a little initiative, they can learn on their own.

"My advice to college-bound kids is this: Take the time to read [a variety of grammar resources] before the SAT. Be sure to study them thoroughly. When you're sitting there with your sharpened number-2 pencil and a serious case of butterflies, you'll be glad you did. It's an easy way to improve your odds of excelling on a test that can have a big impact on your future--and you'll gain a valuable skill that will serve you well for the rest of your life."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group