SAT Essay Prompts in June 2013

Below are essay prompts from the most recent SAT administration in June 2013

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Our cherished notions of what is equal and what is fair frequently conflict. Democracy presumes that we are all created equal; competition proves we are not, or else every contest would end in a tie. We talk about a level playing field, but it is difficult to make conditions equal for everyone without being unfair to some.

Adapted from Nancy Gibbs, "Cool Running"

Assignment: Is it possible for a society to be fair to everyone? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many colleges now offer courses in which students study television programs, comic books, magazines, advertising, and other aspects of popular culture. Critics complain that schools should not replace serious literature and history courses with such fluff. They claim that courses in popular culture present material that is trivial and inconsequential. But the study of popular culture can be just as important, demanding, and instructive as the study of traditional subjects.

Assignment: Can the study of popular culture be as valuable as the study of traditional literary and historical subjects? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many voters think that integrity and character are the most important qualifications for political office. I disagree. Integrity—the quality of standing up for the same values in every situation—is not a good qualification for getting people to work together. Strongly held morals may make a candidate too inflexible and incapable of negotiation. And if character were really so important, candidates would be judged by their personal relationships rather than by their ability to deal with a community's or a nation's problems.

Adapted from Stanley Fish, "Integrity or Craft: The Leadership Question"

Assignment: Is strong moral character the most important qualification for a leader? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Thanks to the Internet, people have more access to more information than at any other time in history. People can instantly find information on almost any topic in the time it takes to type a couple of words and click a mouse. But we often know so little about the source of this information, including its reliability and the qualifications of the person who wrote it. If we do not know its source, information is not much good to us.

Assignment: Do people need to know the source of any information before they use it? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

SAT essay prompts in March 2013

Essay prompts from CollegeBoard in March 2013

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

People often focus on "the details," those seemingly minor features and elements that often have major effects or consequences. Whether they are making ordinary, everyday decisions, analyzing historical events, or enjoying the plot of a novel, many people consider the details to be all-important. Others, however, argue that paying attention to details distracts people from the big picture—perceiving an idea, goal, or plan in its entirety.

Assignment: Is it a disadvantage to pay attention to details? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Whatever their goals—to be the best at something, to solve a difficult problem, to have a rewarding career—most people anticipate that reaching those goals will bring them contentment. When people are working toward a goal, they imagine that achieving it will bring an end to their struggles and put them at ease. But the opposite is more likely to occur. Rather than bringing contentment, achievement often brings dissatisfaction.

Assignment: Are people likely to be dissatisfied rather than content once they have achieved their goals? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Even on unimportant matters, many people so fear conflict with those in positions of leadership or authority that they willingly suppress or deny their own thoughts and ideas. We cannot criticize people who feel this way. After all, in most cases, those in leadership positions are entitled to some respect in their decision-making role. More likely, however, people remain silent—they do not oppose people in authority—simply because they do not want to be considered "troublemakers."

Adapted from Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition

Assignment: Are people too willing to agree with those in charge? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

SAT Essay Prompts in January 2013

Essay prompts in January 2013

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

People generally prefer originality to imitation, which is often considered inferior and second-rate. However, we have learned most of what we know by imitating others. Mastering any skill or gaining any knowledge means that we must learn from those who have gone before us. In fact, it is not until we have imitated others and learned from them what there is to know that we can strike out on our own and maybe create something new.

Assignment: Is it necessary for people to imitate others before they can become original and creative? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many people say that money is not the most important thing in life and that being overly concerned about money leads only to unhappiness. Others point out, however, that money and wealth have always been of dramatic significance in society. They argue that there is really nothing more important to one's overall quality of life than money.

Assignment: Is money the most significant factor in determining a person's quality of life? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Young people are highly influenced by popular culture. They attempt to define themselves on the basis of what they see on television, in newspapers and magazines, and in the movies. In fact, young people accept the values of popular culture as their own, believing that those values are central to their personal development and social acceptance.

Assignment: Is popular culture the strongest influence on a young person's identity? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many people believe that our behavior should be consistent, that we should always be ourselves. They feel that we should not act one way with some people and another way with others. But is this right? Should our behavior always be consistent, or should we behave differently in different situations? Isn't behaving differently according to the people we are with or the situation we are in simply a matter of politeness and common sense?

Assignment: Should people change their behavior depending on what situation they are in? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

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SAT Essay Prompt - Dec. 2012

Essay prompts in December 2012

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many people admire leaders who have effectively achieved their goals. But too many leaders are dedicated to achieving their goals at the expense of caring for the people who follow and support them. Leaders should be judged on how well they treat people, not on the achievement of their goals.

Assignment: Should leaders be judged according to how well they treat people? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

There is something good to be said for holding firm opinions, whether in politics, art, business, or daily life. A person who is deeply committed to a certain position on a film, a political candidate, or an idea may have thought long and hard before reaching that position. But too often such opinions are not based on careful thought and may be so rigidly held that those who express them do not consider other viewpoints or positions.

Assignment: Are firmly held opinions reasonable? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

It seems that we are always ready to justify our own actions and overlook our own errors. Why, then, are we so unwilling to judge others in the same way? We tend to hold others to very high, even unrealistic standards, expecting them to be always right, always honest, or always conscientious. All of us have personal flaws and shortcomings that we are quite willing to excuse. Surely we should be more willing to excuse such shortcomings in others.

Assignment: Should people be more willing to excuse the errors and shortcomings of others? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Some people believe that very few of today's "inventions" are really new. Inventions today seem to consist primarily of improvements to things that have already been invented. Medicines, it is said, may be better, and vehicles may be faster, but they are really not new or different. In reality, we have not even begun to exhaust the supply of original ideas or new inventions. There is much more for us to invent and discover.

Assignment: Is there really much more for people to invent and discover in the world today? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.