SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies

SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We're about to dive deep into the details of that least beloved* of SAT sections, the SAT essay. Prepare for a discussion of the SAT essay rubric and how the SAT essay is graded based on that. I'll break down what each item on the rubric means and what you need to do to meet those requirements. On the SAT, the last section you'll encounter is the (optional) essay. You have 50 minutes to read a passage, analyze the author's argument, and write an essay. If you don’t write on the assignment, plagiarize, or don't use your own original work, you'll get a 0 on your essay. Otherwise, your essay scoring is done by two graders - each one grades you on a scale of 1-4 in Reading, Analysis, and Writing, for a total essay score out of 8 in each of those three areas. But how do these graders assign your writing a numerical grade? By using an essay scoring guide, or rubric. *may not actually be the least belovà ¨d. Feature image credit: Day 148: the end of time by Bruce Guenter, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. The Complete SAT Essay Grading Rubric: Item-by-Item Breakdown Based on the CollegeBoard’s stated Reading, Analysis, and Writing criteria, I've created the below charts (for easier comparison across score points).For the purpose of going deeper into just what the SAT is looking for in your essay, I've then broken down each category further (with examples). The information in all three charts is taken from the College Board site. Reading The biggest change to the SAT essay (and the thing that really distinguishes it from the ACT essay) is that you are required to read and analyze a text, then write about your analysis of the author's argument in your essay. Your "Reading" grade on the SAT essay reflects how well you were able to demonstrate your understanding of the text and the author's argument in your essay. Score Reading 1 (Inadequate) The response demonstrates little or no comprehension of the source text. The response fails to show an understanding of the text’s central idea(s), and may include only details without reference to central idea(s). The response may contain numerous errors of fact and/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. 2 (Partial) The response demonstrates some comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) but not of important details. The response may contain errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes limited and/or haphazard use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating some understanding of the source text. 3 (Proficient) The response demonstrates effective comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) 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. 4 (Advanced) The response demonstrates thorough comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) 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. You'll need to show your understanding of the text on two different levels: the surface level of getting your facts right and the deeper level of getting the relationship of the details and the central ideas right. Surface Level: Factual Accuracy One of the most important ways you can show you've actually read the passage is making sure you stick to what is said in the text. If you’re writing about things the author didn’t say, or things that contradict other things the author said, your argument will be fundamentally flawed. For instance, take this quotation from a (made-up) passage about why a hot dog is not a sandwich: â€Å"The fact that you can’t, or wouldn’t, cut a hot dog in half and eat it that way, proves that a hot dog is once and for all NOT a sandwich† Here's an example of a factually inaccurate paraphrasing of this quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are often served cut in half, this makes them different from sandwiches. The paraphrase contradicts the passage, and so would negatively affect your reading score. Now let's look at an accurate paraphrasing of the quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are never served cut in half, they are therefore different from sandwiches. It's also important to be faithful to the text when you're using direct quotations from the passage. Misquoting or badly paraphrasing the author’s words weakens your essay, because the evidence you’re using to support your points is faulty. Higher Level: Understanding of Central Ideas The next step beyond being factually accurate about the passage is showing that you understand the central ideas of the text and how details of the passage relate back to this central idea. Why does this matter? In order to be able to explain why the author is persuasive, you need to be able to explain the structure of the argument. And you can’t deconstruct the author's argument if you don’t understand the central idea of the passage and how the details relate to it. Here's an example of a statement about our fictional "hot dogs are sandwiches" passage that shows understanding of the central idea of the passage: Hodgman’s third primary defense of why hot dogs are not sandwiches is that a hot dog is not a subset of any other type of food. He uses the analogy of asking the question â€Å"is cereal milk a broth, sauce, or gravy?† to show that making such a comparison between hot dogs and sandwiches is patently illogical. The above statement takes one step beyond merely being factually accurate to explain the relation between different parts of the passage (in this case, the relation between the "what is cereal milk?" analogy and the hot dog/sandwich debate). Of course, if you want to score well in all three essay areas, you’ll need to do more in your essay than merely summarizing the author’s argument. This leads directly into the next grading area of the SAT Essay. Analysis The items covered under this criterion are the most important when it comes to writing a strong essay. You can use well-spelled vocabulary in sentences with varied structure all you want, but if you don't analyze the author's argument, demonstrate critical thinking, and support your position, you will not get a high Analysis score. Score Analysis 1 (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 author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s choosing, Or numerous aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) 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 (e.g., is largely or exclusively summary). 2 (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 author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains their importance, or one or more aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response may lack a clear focus on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 3 (Proficient) The response offers an effective analysis of the source text and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task. The response competently evaluates the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant and sufficient support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses primarily on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 4 (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 author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses consistently on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. Because this category is so important, I've broken it down even further into its two different (but equally important) component parts to make sure everything is as clearly explained as possible. Part I: Critical Thinking (Logic) Critical thinking, also known as critical reasoning, also known as logic, is the skill that SAT essay graders are really looking to see displayed in the essay. You need to be able to evaluate and analyze the claim put forward in the prompt. This is where a lot of students may get tripped up, because they think â€Å"oh, well, if I can just write a lot, then I’ll do well.† While there is some truth to the assertion that longer essays tend to score higher, if you don’t display critical thinking you won’t be able to get a top score on your essay. What do I mean by critical thinking? Let's take the previous prompt example: Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich. An answer to this prompt that does not display critical thinking (and would fall into a 1 or 2 on the rubric) would be something like: The author argues that hot dogs aren’t sandwiches, which is persuasive to the reader. While this does evaluate the prompt (by providing a statement that the author's claim "is persuasive to the reader"), there is no corresponding analysis. An answer to this prompt that displays critical thinking (and would net a higher score on the rubric) could be something like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. See the difference? Critical thinking involves reasoning your way through a situation (analysis) as well as making a judgement (evaluation). On the SAT essay, however, you can’t just stop at abstract critical reasoning - analysis involves one more crucial step... Part II: Examples, Reasons, and Other Evidence (Support) The other piece of the puzzle (apparently this is a tiny puzzle) is making sure you are able to back up your point of view and critical thinking with concrete evidence. The SAT essay rubric says that the best (that is, 4-scoring) essay uses â€Å"relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made.† This means you can’t just stick to abstract reasoning like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. That explanation is a good starting point, but if you don't back up your point of view with quoted or paraphrased information from the text to support your discussion of the way the author builds his/her argument, you will not be able to get above a 3 on the Analysis portion of the essay (and possibly the Reading portion as well, if you don't show you've read the passage). Let's take a look of an example of how you might support an interpretation of the author's effect on the reader using facts from the passage: The author’s reference to the Biblical story about King Solomon elevates the debate about hot dogs from a petty squabble between friends to a life-or-death disagreement. The reader cannot help but see the parallels between the two situations and thus find themselves agreeing with the author on this point. Does the author's reference to King Solomon actually "elevate the debate," causing the reader to agree with the author? From the sentences above, it certainly seems plausible that it might. While your facts do need to be correct, you get a little more leeway with your interpretations of how the author’s persuasive techniques might affect the audience. As long as you can make a convincing argument for the effect a technique the author uses might have on the reader, you’ll be good. Say whaaat?! #tbt by tradlands, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped and color-adjusted from original. Did I just blow your mind? Read more about the secrets the SAT doesn’t want you to know in this article. Writing Your Writing score on the SAT essay is not just a reflection of your grasp of the conventions of written English (although it is that as well). You'll also need to be focused, organized, and precise. Score Writing 1 (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. 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. 2 (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. The response may include an ineffective introduction and/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. 3 (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. 4 (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. The response shows a strong command of the conventions of standard written English and is free or virtually free of errors. Because there's a lot of different factors that go into calculating your Writing score, I've divided the discussion of this rubric area into five separate items: Precise Central Claim Organization Vocab and Word Choice Sentence Structure Grammar, Etc. Precise Central Claim One of the most basic rules of the SAT essay is that you need to express a clear opinion on the "assignment" (the prompt). While in school (and everywhere else in life, pretty much) you’re encouraged to take into account all sides of a topic, it behooves you to NOT do this on the SAT essay. Why? Because you only have 50 minutes to read the passage, analyze the author's argument, and write the essay, there's no way you can discuss every single way in which the author builds his/her argument, every single detail of the passage, or a nuanced argument about what works and what doesn't work. Instead, I recommend focusing your discussion on a few key ways the author is successful in persuading his/her audience of his/her claim. Let’s go back to the assignment we've been using as an example throughout this article: "Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich." Your instinct (trained from many years of schooling) might be to answer: "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument." This is a nice, vague statement that leaves you a lot of wiggle room. If you disagree with the author, it's also a way of avoiding having to say that the author is persuasive. Don't fall into this trap! You do not necessarily have to agree with the author's claim in order to analyze how the author persuades his/her readers that the claim is true. Here's an example of a precise central claim about the example assignment: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. In contrast to the vague claim that "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument," this thesis both specifies what the author's argument is and the ways in which he builds the argument (that you'll be discussing in the essay). Organization While it's extremely important to make sure your essay has a clear point of view, strong critical reasoning, and support for your position, that's not enough to get you a top score. You need to make sure that your essay "demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay." What does this mean? Part of the way you can make sure your essay is "well organized" has to do with following standard essay construction points. Don't write your essay in one huge paragraph; instead, include an introduction (with your thesis stating your point of view), body paragraphs (one for each example, usually), and a conclusion. This structure might seem boring, but it really works to keep your essay organized, and the more clearly organized your essay is, the easier it will be for the essay grader to understand your critical reasoning. The second part of this criteria has to do with keeping your essay focused, making sure it contains "a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas." You can't just say "well, I have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, so I guess my essay is organized" and expect to get a 4/4 on your essay. You need to make sure that each paragraph is also organized. Recall the sample prompt: â€Å"Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich.† And our hypothetical thesis: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. Let's say that you're writing the paragraph about the author's use of logic to persuade his reader that hot dogs aren't sandwiches. You should NOT just list ways that the author is logical in support of his claim, then explain why logic in general is an effective persuasive device. While your points might all be valid, your essay would be better served by connecting each instance of logic in the passage with an explanation of how that example of logic persuades the reader to agree with the author. Above all, it is imperative that you make your thesis (your central claim) clear in the opening paragraph of your essay - this helps the grader keep track of your argument. There's no reason you’d want to make following your reasoning more difficult for the person grading your essay (unless you’re cranky and don’t want to do well on the essay. Listen, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life). Vocab and Word Choice In your essay, you should use a wide array of vocabulary (and use it correctly). An essay that scores a 4 in Writing on the grading rubric â€Å"demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice.† You’re allowed a few errors, even on a 4-scoring essay, so you can sometimes get away with misusing a word or two. In general, though, it’s best to stick to using words you are certain you not only know the meaning of, but also know how to use. If you’ve been studying up on vocab, make sure you practice using the words you’ve learned in sentences, and have those sentences checked by someone who is good at writing (in English), before you use those words in an SAT essay. Sentence Structure Creating elegant, non-awkward sentences is the thing I struggle most with under time pressure. For instance, here’s my first try at the previous sentence: â€Å"Making sure a sentence structure makes sense is the thing that I have the most problems with when I’m writing in a short amount of time† (hahaha NOPE - way too convoluted and wordy, self). As another example, take a look at these two excerpts from the hypothetical essay discussing how the author persuaded his readers that a hot dog is not a sandwich: Score of 2: "The author makes his point by critiquing the argument against him. The author pointed out the logical fallacy of saying a hot dog was a sandwich because it was meat "sandwiched" between two breads. The author thus persuades the reader his point makes sense to be agreed with and convinces them." The above sentences lack variety in structure (they all begin with the words "the author"), and the last sentence has serious flaws in its structure (it makes no sense). Score of 4: "The author's rigorous examination of his opponent's position invites the reader, too, to consider this issue seriously. By laying out his reasoning, step by step, Hodgman makes it easy for the reader to follow along with his train of thought and arrive at the same destination that he has. This destination is Hodgman's claim that a hot dog is not a sandwich." The above sentences demonstrate variety in sentence structure (they don't all begin with the same word and don't have the same underlying structure) that presumably forward the point of the essay. In general, if you're doing well in all the other Writing areas, your sentence structures will also naturally vary. If you're really worried that your sentences are not varied enough, however, my advice for working on "demonstrating meaningful variety in sentence structure" (without ending up with terribly worded sentences) is twofold: Read over what you’ve written before you hand it in and change any wordings that seem awkward, clunky, or just plain incorrect. As you’re doing practice essays, have a friend, family member, or teacher who is good at (English) writing look over your essays and point out any issues that arise. Grammar, Etc. This part of the Writing grade is all about the nitty gritty details of writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It's rare that an essay with serious flaws in this area can score a 4/4 in Reading, Analysis, or Writing, because such persistent errors often "interfere with meaning" (that is, persistent errors make it difficult for the grader to understand what you're trying to get across). On the other hand, if they occur in small quantities, grammar/punctuation/spelling errors are also the things that are most likely to be overlooked. If two essays are otherwise of equal quality, but one writer misspells "definitely" as "definately" and the other writer fails to explain how one of her examples supports her thesis, the first writer will receive a higher essay score. It's only when poor grammar, use of punctuation, and spelling start to make it difficult to understand your essay that the graders start penalizing you. My advice for working on this rubric area is the same advice as for sentence structure: look over what you’ve written to double check for mistakes, and ask someone who’s good at writing to look over your practice essays and point out your errors. If you're really struggling with spelling, simply typing up your (handwritten) essay into a program like Microsoft Word and running spellcheck can alert you to problems. We've also got a great set of articles up on our blog about SAT Writing questions that may help you better understand any grammatical errors you are making. How Do I Use The SAT Essay Grading Rubric? Now that you understand the SAT essay rubric, how can you use it in your SAT prep? There are a couple of different ways. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Shape Your Essays Since you know what the SAT is looking for in an essay, you can now use that knowledge to guide what you write about in your essays! A tale from my youth: when I was preparing to take the SAT for the first time, I did not really know what the essay was looking for, and assumed that since I was a good writer, I’d be fine. Not true! The most important part of the SAT essay is using specific examples from the passage and explaining how they convince the reader of the author's point. By reading this article and realizing there's more to the essay than "being a strong writer," you’re already doing better than high school me. girl sleeping on a couch holding a mirror by RickBrenda Beerhorst, used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Change the object in that girl’s left hand from a mirror to a textbook and you have a pretty good sketch of what my junior year of high school looked like. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Grade Your Practice Essays The SAT can’t exactly give you an answer key to the essay. Even when an example of an essay that scored a particular score is provided, that essay will probably use different examples than you did, make different arguments, maybe even argue different interpretations of the text...making it difficult to compare the two. The SAT essay rubric is the next best thing to an answer key for the essay - use it as a lens through which to view and assess your essay. Of course, you don’t have the time to become an expert SAT essay grader - that’s not your job. You just have to apply the rubric as best as you can to your essays and work on fixing your weak areas. For the sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics stuff I highly recommend asking a friend, teacher, or family member who is really good at (English) writing to take a look over your practice essays and point out the mistakes. If you really want custom feedback on your practice essays from experienced essay graders, may I also suggest the PrepScholar test prep platform? I manage the essay grading and so happen to know quite a bit about the essay part of this platform, which gives you both an essay grade and custom feedback for each essay you complete. Learn more about how it all works here. What’s Next? Are you so excited by this article that you want to read even more articles on the SAT essay? Of course you are. Don't worry, I’ve got you covered. Learn how to write an SAT essay step-by-step and read about the 6 types of SAT essay prompts. Want to go even more in depth with the SAT essay? We have a complete list of past SAT essay prompts as well as tips and strategies for how to get a 12 on the SAT essay. Still not satisfied? Maybe a five-day free trial of our very own PrepScholar test prep platform (which includes essay practice and feedback) is just what you need. Trying to figure out whether the old or new SAT essay is better for you? Take a look at our article on the new SAT essay assignment to find out! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

SAT Historical Percentiles for 2005, 2004, 2003

SAT Historical Percentiles for 2005, 2004, 2003 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you took the SAT in 2003, 2004, or 2005, you may be wondering what your percentile score is on the SAT. Is a 1400 on the SAT in 2005 the same percentile score as a 1400 in 2003? Do percentile scores change over time? 2005 was a big year in SAT history; the maximum score for the SAT changed from a 1600 to a 2400 in March of 2005. In March of 2016, the SAT will be going back to the 1600 maximum score. For this post, I will be focusing on percentile scores from before the SAT changed its format in 2005. In this article, I will explain SAT percentile scores, how they change, and I'll provide the percentile scores for SAT composite and section scores for 2005 and 2004. What Are Percentile Scores? Percentile scores reveal how well you did on the test in relation to other people.If you scored in the 90th percentile, you did better than 90% of test-takers. If you got a 40th percentile score, you did better than 40% of the people who took the test. The College Board determines SAT percentile scores annually from the scores of college-bound high school seniors who took the SAT. The higher your percentile score, the better you did relative to other college-bound high school seniors from that year. Do Percentile Scores Change? Typically, percentile scores for equivalent SAT scores stay roughly the same from year to year.For example, a 1400 was the 96th percentile in both 2005 and 2004.However, percentile scores can change very slightly.In 2005, a 1260 was the 85th percentile, but in 2004, it was the 86th percentile. (That's equivalent to about an 1860 on the current SAT.) The SAT does try to use its scoring system so that equivalent SAT scores are indicative of the same skill level and percentile scores regardless of when the test was taken.A 1300 in 2004 should be equivalent to an 1300 in 1984. How Should You Use This Data? Why Is It Important? Your percentile score is the most straightforward way to determine if you got a good or bad score.If you did better than the majority of test-takers, then you did well.However, when you apply to a college, you’re being compared with the other applicants to that school.Most schools publicize their 25th and 75th percentile SAT scores. If you want to be competitive for admission, your target score should be the school’s 75th percentile score. Keep in mind that if you took the SAT in 2003-2005, you probably won’t need your SAT score for college since scores are usually only valid for 5 years. However, a futureemployer may want to know your SAT score. Percentile scores help put your scores in context. A small composite score increase can have a huge impact on your percentile score if you received a middle score. A 1010 is roughly the 46th percentile, but a 1230 is the 82nd. 2003 Percentile Scores I was unable to obtain percentile scores from 2003, but as you’ll see, there is very little variation from year to year. I was able to determine that theaverage Verbal score for 2003 was 507 and the average Math score was 519. Composite Score Percentiles Score 2005 Percentile 2004 Percentile 1600 99+ 99+ 1590 99+ 99+ 1580 99+ 99+ 1570 99+ 99+ 1560 99+ 99+ 1550 99+ 99+ 1540 99 99+ 1530 99 99 1520 99 99 1510 99 99 1500 99 99 1490 99 99 1480 98 99 1470 98 98 1460 98 98 1450 98 98 1440 97 97 1430 97 97 1420 97 97 1410 96 96 1400 96 96 1390 95 95 1380 95 95 1370 94 94 1360 93 94 1350 93 93 1340 92 93 1330 91 92 1320 91 91 1310 90 90 1300 89 89 1290 88 88 1280 87 88 1270 86 87 1260 85 86 1250 84 84 1240 83 83 1230 82 82 1220 80 81 1210 79 80 1200 78 78 1190 76 77 1180 75 75 1170 74 74 1160 72 73 1150 71 71 1140 69 69 1130 67 68 1120 66 66 1110 64 64 1100 62 63 1090 61 61 1080 59 59 1070 57 58 1060 55 56 1050 54 54 1040 52 52 1030 50 50 1020 48 48 1010 46 46 1000 44 45 990 42 43 980 41 41 970 39 39 960 37 37 950 35 36 940 34 34 930 32 32 920 30 30 910 29 29 900 27 27 890 26 26 880 24 24 870 23 23 860 21 21 850 20 20 840 19 19 830 17 17 820 16 16 810 15 15 800 14 14 790 13 13 780 12 12 770 11 11 760 10 10 750 9 9 740 8 8 730 8 8 720 7 7 710 6 6 700 6 6 690 5 5 680 5 5 670 4 4 660 4 4 650 3 3 640 3 3 630 3 3 620 2 2 610 2 2 600 2 2 590 2 2 580 1 1 570 1 1 560 1 1 550 1 1 540 1 1 530 1 1 520 1 1 510 1- 1- 500 1- 1- 490 1- 1- 480 1- 1- 470 1- 1- 460 1- 1- 450 1- 1- 440 1- 1- 430 1- 1- 420 1- 1- 410 1- 1- 400 Section Score Percentiles Before the SAT changed its format in March 2005, the Critical Reading section was known as the Verbal section. The Verbal section included analogies. There were no iPads. Times were different. Critical Reading (Verbal) Score 2005 Percentile 2004 Percentile 800 99+ 99+ 790 99 99 780 99 99 770 99 99 760 98 99 750 98 98 740 98 98 730 97 97 720 96 97 710 96 96 700 95 95 690 94 94 680 93 93 670 91 92 660 90 90 650 88 89 640 87 87 630 84 85 620 82 83 610 80 81 600 78 78 590 75 76 580 72 73 570 69 69 560 66 67 550 63 64 540 60 60 530 56 56 520 52 53 510 49 49 500 46 46 490 42 43 480 39 39 470 35 35 460 32 32 450 29 29 440 26 26 430 23 23 420 20 21 410 18 18 400 15 15 390 13 13 380 12 11 370 10 10 360 8 8 350 7 7 340 6 6 330 5 5 320 4 4 310 3 3 300 3 3 290 2 2 280 2 2 270 2 2 260 1 1 250 1 1 240 1 1 230 1 1 220 1 1 210 1- 1- 200 Math Score 2005 Percentile 2004 Percentile 800 99 99 790 99 99 780 99 99 770 98 99 760 98 98 750 98 98 740 97 97 730 97 97 720 96 96 710 94 95 700 93 93 690 92 92 680 91 91 670 89 90 660 87 87 650 85 85 640 83 84 630 81 82 620 79 79 610 76 77 600 73 74 590 71 72 580 69 69 570 65 66 560 62 62 550 59 60 540 56 56 530 53 53 520 49 50 510 46 46 500 42 43 490 39 40 480 36 36 470 33 33 460 29 30 450 27 27 440 24 24 430 21 21 420 19 19 410 16 16 400 14 14 390 12 12 380 11 11 370 9 9 360 7 8 350 6 6 340 5 5 330 4 4 320 3 3 310 3 3 300 3 2 290 2 2 280 2 1 270 1 1 260 1 1 250 1 1 240 1 1 230 1 1 220 1 1- 210 1 1- 200 What's Next? If you're interested in looking at more recent percentile scores, check out SAT historical percentiles from 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. Also, find out if the SAT predicts success and who uses SAT scores. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Initial topic proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Initial topic proposal - Essay Example It is so bad that the ethnic difference itself becomes a cause of conflict because unidimensional and simplistic presentation of conflict between ethnic groups. This topic is important because the negative representation of the minority groups is the major source of conflict between ethnic groups. Moreover, media as the societal mirror play an important role in shaping social functions of the society, as well as the perception of the public towards several issues. In addition, portrayal of diversity in media programs make the public develop a positive attitude towards the minority groups while misrepresentation and underrepresentation lead to a negative attitude towards the minority groups. Racial profiling is an enduring culture since the days of our ancestors that has dominated the social society to date. This means that several elements of the society including media are widely influenced by racial profiling. In a The Criminalisation of Ethnic Groups: An Issue for Media Analysis, Marcello Maneri  &  Jessika ter Wal (2005) reveal the composition of newsrooms reflect on an unequal distribution of power between the White majority and the Black minority. This prejudice and discrimination within the newsrooms produce the stereotyped portrayals of racial groups in the media. In another article titled A Long Way to Go: Minorities and the Media, the author expands on the view that media is the number one teacher of stereotype in the community whether intentional or unintentional (Cort, 2011). The media has a powerful image on the public, and thus, the image they portray of the minority groups is what other people in indirect contact with this group take to be true. Furt hermore, he notes that depicting the minority groups negatively by the media has driven them to create their own shows, magazines, radio, newspapers, and television shows where they can

The quality of risk management in the Civil Engineering Assignment - 1

The quality of risk management in the Civil Engineering - Assignment Example Since the international contractors operate outside their normal business jurisdiction, there are numerous uncertainties. Civil engineers working outside their resident jurisdiction face such difficulties as different management approaches, foreign technology, legal requirements, and uncommon construction practices and systems. The understanding and appreciation of the risks associated with these international projects can be instrumental to the success of these projects. International projects failing to meet the schedule, scope and budget allocated more often have to encounter a horde of impacts some of which bear serious political, social and economic ramifications. U.S. engineering firms have a history of significant involvement in most global markets. These firms continue to aggressively pursue international projects and opportunities. In as much as international projects appear like they are lucrative investments, such projects attract a heightened level of risk. Most participa nts and stake holders such as investors agree that the successful delivery of such projects has in many occasions proven to be quite difficult. In this light, organizations that possess a broad understanding of the political, operations, commercial and construction risk factors have higher chances of successful planning, execution and delivery of international projects. Currency exchange rates, social and political instability are other critical factors that compound the complexities of international engagements. It is however rather complex to identify and make an assessment of the risks linked to capital facilities and there exists limited management techniques or tools that can identify, analyze and deal with the risk. 2. Broadly identify the main aim/s, associated objectives and scientific hypotheses (if applicable); The principal purpose of this research will be to better appreciate and to develop risk identification and assessment methods for projects that are of an internatio nal capital facility project nature. The study’s objective will include but may be necessarily limited to 1. Formulate an inclusive international capital project process or an approach. 2. Device tools that will aid in the identification and assessment of the different risk levels. 3. Structure an internationally accepted project performance appraisal metric. 4. Generate the documents that will help the project teams when tackling such issues and this should also include methods of mitigating the risk. The plan is to conduct sixteen structured interviews with project leaders and civil engineering executives with multinational experience. There are two key purposes that will drive the structured interviews. Firstly, the researcher hopes to gather industry perspective on the attitude toward risk assessment, the hindrances and general trends when involved in international engineering project assignments. This will necessitate the researcher to develop a well structured questionn aire that will not only be used to obtain the attitudes towards risk assessment and resultant concerns but will be extended to contain the rationale and value of international project risk assessment performance, background information characteristic of international projects, procedures and practices of risk management. Secondly, the

Can Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Can - Essay Example This means that each culture needs other cultures to help it have a better understanding of itself and expand its intellectual horizon hence saving it from narcissism. Thirdly, each culture is plural internally and in a great way reflects a continuing conversation between its strands of thought and different traditions. Canada is among the increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse nation. The major response to the diversity is the official multiculturalism which was introduced in the early 1970s. Despite the fact that multiculturalism is almost 40 years old, it nevertheless remains one of the highly controversial and debated issue in the country (Tierney). This paper analyses the various symbiotic derivatives with regard to the Canadian multiculturalism include issues of racism, ethnic and cultural diversity, belonging, immigration, colonization, and hegemonic power. Canada is a country of immigrants who have in a great way altered the ethnic makeup. This makes it a constitution of wide array of various group with own social and political practices. The pattern of immigration has led to diversity in ethnicity and culture. It has also resulted in cultural and ethnic discrimination which has been a major drawback. This space helps us to understand the national and regional identity through the stone carvings on the parliament hill. The country has the only Parliament buildings in the world where the stone carving is still in application continuously. This is a unique feature that helps us identify the parliament of Canada. The peace tower has more than 350 carvings. The parliament has been undergoing various renovations even though the process is difficult and expensive when the building is still in use. Through this, the government has played a great part in giving the Canada’s parliament a facelift to ensure that it is well maintained through

Analysis of The Lorax Essay Example for Free

Analysis of The Lorax Essay The story, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† is a book written by Shel Silverstein that is about the relationship between a tree and a boy. In the beginning of the story, the boy and the tree spend a lot of time together having fun. For example, they would play hide and seek, the boy would play on the branches, and the boy would play king of the forest with the leaves of the tree. The tree would be very happy because she was interacting with the boy. Throughout the story, the boy would spend less and less time with the tree. As a result, the tree would become sad. Once in a while the boy would come back, asking for certain things, and the tree would be happy to help the boy because she loved the boy so much. Through the story, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† Shel Silverstein relates a lesson of how giving is more important than taking. In the story, the boy takes advantage of the tree by taking everything that the tree has. The tree gives freely without complaining because the tree loves the boy, and wants him to be happy. In the end, all the boy wanted to do was to spend time with the tree once again. If the boy did not continuously take advantage of the tree, the boy did not have to miss, and become unhappy about the old tree that loved him so much. The tree’s love for the boy is a perfect example of what people should be like: giving freely, and unconditionally. If everyone was like the tree, there would be very little unhappiness in the world, and the world would be a better place. If countries started to give freely to one another, there would be fewer wars, there would be no more sadness and devastation, and there would be world happiness and peace. The message from Shel Silverstein is to not be like the boy who ultimately becomes unhappy by taking from the tree. In summary, Silverstein uses the story to expound on the idea that giving is more important than receiving. The story also has a slight reference to the relationship between mother and child. The tree (the mom) was willing to give anything to the boy (the son). The tree sacrifices herself in order to make the boy happy, which any mom would probably do for her son. In the beginning, the tree wanted to sacrifice its time just to play with the boy. This is similar to a parent, which sacrifices time to interact with and provide for their kids. Towards the teenage years, the tree gives up her apples so that the boy could have money. Likewise, many parents sacrifice money to have their children enjoy their teenage years: movies, cars, trips, etc. When the boy becomes an adult, he takes the branches and trunk of the tree away to build a house, and a boat. All of these examples exemplify the ways in which moms make so many sacrifices to make their children happy, but some kids just take them, run with them, and never think about how much it cost their moms. As depicted in the story, the boy never expressed any gratitude to the tree. The boy rarely went back to visit the tree, but only visited the tree to take something away for his own personal benefit. Furthermore, moms also show sadness when their children leave them for college, and adulthood. When the boy does not come back to see the tree for years at a time because of his own issues, the tree becomes sad. In short, Silverstein illustrates the interaction between mother and child by showing the selfless acts of parents and the selfishness of children. The book, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† can strongly connect to our relationship between the environment and humans. Currently, there is an evident problem of global warming. This recent dilemma is caused because of our selfish taking from the environment. The tree can strongly resemble the earth on which we live, and the boy can resemble humans. We constantly take from the Earth, and rarely give back to the environment. For example, during the 20th century, industries took advantage of the Earth without replenishing resources: deforestation, driving animals to extinction, and over-fishing. Furthermore, since global warming has become such a big problem now, we want to go back to live on the lush, non-polluted earth. Likewise, after the boy takes everything away from the tree, the boy wanted the tree to be like it was before. Ultimately, the book elucidates the way in which humans abuse the environment just like how the boy misused the tree. A question that can come to mind when reading Shel Silverstein’s story is, what is the reason for writing the story. Silverstein might have written the book for young children, but it was to teach everyone of the â€Å"give not take,† principle. Moreover, another question can be what is the reason for allowing the boy not to think about his selfishness? Perhaps Silverstein wanted to portray the fact that people are sometimes selfish. Finally, throughout the story, why is the boy referred to as a boy even though he becomes a man. Maybe Silverstein was writing in the perspective of a mother because a mom always calls his son her boy.

PRC Social Security Scheme :: essays research papers

PRC Social Security Scheme „h Major Characteristic of PRC Social Security Scheme - Only applicable to Chinese local employees - Local requirements may vary from locality to locality. „h Structure of Social Security Scheme - Pension - Unemployment Insurance - Medical Insurance - Housing National Requirement - Pension „h  ¡Ã‚ §Decisions of the State Council Concerning the Establishment of a Unified System of Basic Old-age Insurance for Staff and Workers of Enterprises ¡Ã‚ ¨(July 16, 1997) „h Structure of the Basic Pension Scheme - Requires mandatory participation by enterprises and employees; - Comprises 2 elements: a. Basic Pension Pooling Account b. Basic Pension Individual Account „h Enterprise Contribution - Maximum contribution of 20% of the total wages of the enterprises in general unless approved by Labour Bureau and Ministry of Finance. - For a foreign investment enterprise, the total wages only cover Chinese local employees ¡Ã‚ ¦ wages. - Among the 20% contribution: a. start at 7% of employee salary in 1997, to be gradually reduced to 3%, for contribution into the Basic Pension Individual Account b. 13% to 17% goes to Basic Pension Pooling Account „h Employee Contribution - Start at 4% of employee salary in 1997, to be gradually increased to 8% - Contribution goes to Basic Pension Individual Account National Requirement  ¡V Unemployment Insurance „h  ¡Ã‚ §Unemployment Insurance Regulation  ¡Ã‚ ¨ issued by State Council on January 22, 1999. „h Mandatory participants - Requires mandatory participation by enterprises and employees; -  ¡Ã‚ §Enterprise ¡Ã‚ ¨ refers to  ¡Ã‚ §Urban enterprises and institutions ¡Ã‚ ¨, inc luding: a. State-owned enterprises; b. Urban collective enterprises; c. Foreign investment enterprises; d. Urban private enterprises; and e. Other urban enteprises -  ¡Ã‚ §Employee ¡Ã‚ ¨ refers to  ¡Ã‚ §Staff and workers of urban enterprises and institution ¡Ã‚ ¨ „h Contribution - Employer contribution - 2% of the total wages of the enterprises; - Employee contribution - 1% of the employee ¡Ã‚ ¦s wage National Requirement  ¡V Medical Insurance „h  ¡Ã‚ §Decisions of the State Council Concerning the Establishment of a Basic Medical Insurance System for Urban Staff and Workers  ¡Ã‚ ¨ issued by State Council „h Mandatory participants - Requires mandatory participation by enterprises and employees; -  ¡Ã‚ §Enterprises ¡Ã‚ ¨ refers to  ¡Ã‚ §all urban enterprises ¡Ã‚ ¨, including: a. State-owned enterprises; b. Urban collective enterprises; c. Foreign investment enterprises; d. Urban private enterprises; e. Government organizations, institutions; f . Social organizations; and g. Non-governmental non-enterprise units. -  ¡Ã‚ §Employees ¡Ã‚ ¨ refers to  ¡Ã‚ §employees of the above-mentioned enterprises ¡Ã‚ ¨ „h Contribution - Employer contribution  ¡V approximately 6% of the total wages of the enterprises; - Employee contribution - 2% of the employee ¡Ã‚ ¦s wage National Requirement  ¡V Housing „h  ¡Ã‚ §Administrative Regulation on Housing  ¡Ã‚ ¨ issued by the State Council on April 3, 1999.