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

tom clements (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2011

The only award-winning book with REAL SAT essays from REAL students. Here's what's inside:

• Dozens of top-scoring essays from real students who've aced their SAT essays 
• A "Snapshot" chapter that provides a complete sample essay from start to finish with all the component pieces highlighted and analyzed for impact
• Examples of introductory paragraphs full of quotes and anecdotes
• An entire chapter of prefabricated content with student paragraphs from history, literature, pop culture, music, sports, movies, and technology 
• A chapter entitled "Spin the Prompt" devoted to showing you how to take any SAT prompt and "spin" it to the content examples you've prefabricated

Success in any endeavor comes from seeing how others have performed. No one accomplishes anything in a vacuum. That's why it's so important to see how other students have successfully met the challenge of the SAT essay. My book is not just me talking. It's my students, hundreds of whom have followed my methodology, presenting their top-scoring essays for you to read, analyze and emulate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clements is kid-friendly and his methods are practical." Joe Taylor, Clarion 5 Star Review

"Very informative." Peter Fitzpatrick, US Review of Books

"The book is often humorous, detailed, suggestive of a variety of ideas, structures and preparation methods." Jack L. Kennedy, Joplin Independent

"WOW! I am so impressed with this book. With style and humor, Tom has managed to distill the essence of the SAT essay." Joanne Levy-Prewitt, college advisor

"You need to know the system if you're going to beat it, and Tom's book is the best way to do so." CW, student

"This book was my SAT fairy godmother." AK, student

From the Author

Once you understand how to mix and match the component parts of an SAT essay, how to use quotes, how to insert anecdotes, how to devise pre-fabricated content, how to spin prompts, and, finally, how to make stuff up! -- once you understand all that, man, like a jazz musician or a hip-hop dancer you are free to improvise, free to let your spirit soar, free to WRITE.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: Hit 'Em Up publishing (October 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0578076659
• ISBN-13: 978-0578076652
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Education & Reference > Studying & Workbooks > Study Skills
  • #43 in Books > Education & Reference > College & University > Test Preparation > SAT & PSAT

More About the Author

Tom Clements is a former college English teacher, freelance writer and physics, chemistry, calculus and SAT tutor, having helped hundreds of students ace their SAT tests. In particular, his students dominate the SAT essay, consistently scoring in double digits. His recent book, "How to Write a Killer SAT Essay" received the prestigious Clarion Five-Star review.

In addition to "owning" the essay, Tom's students also dominate the SAT grammar section. Tom has recently released a "Killer SAT Grammar" interactive app, now available for iPhones at the App Store.

Using his 9 simple rules -- that's it, just 9 -- you can master well over half of all the problems on the SAT Writing section. These rules cover parallel structure, misplaced modifiers, "alien beings", comparision mismatches and several others in a cool, hip user-friendly style that actually makes learning grammar fun.

Look for it in the iTunes App Store. Search under: "Killer SAT Grammar"

Also visit his website at: www.tctutoring.net

For questions or comments, he can be reached directly at: [e-mail]

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this Book! January 15, 2013

By Kweller Prep

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Every student at Kweller Prep now has a copy of this book. We love it. Excellent information. Brilliant design & layout. We highly recommend it!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This brings out the best writer inside you. It's simple, short, and SUPREMELY effective. December 4, 2011

By wake123

Format:Paperback

I had my doubts about purchasing a book to prepare for the SAT essay. I am not an inherently good writer and therefore was faced with a dilemma when studying for the exam. "How to Write a Killer SAT Essay" shoots it out of the ballpark. Let me explain.

1. It's an understandable book written in "teenager-friendly" language that students can read AND enjoy
2. It has a vast array of anecdotes, student-examples, and structural paragraph guidelines that help tremendously
3. It is cleverly divided so that students can read up on the areas they need help with the most, and skim over areas that they feel confident in

I had sampled numerous other books that touted "Essay-Enhancing" attributes but none were as helpful and insightful as this life-saver written by Tom Clemens. Make the right choice and start studying early! Just wait and see what miracles you will learn to accomplish in 25 minutes or less!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome resource! Really answered some questions! September 10, 2012

By Ingrid

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.