Talk about those SATs

Let me tell you first of all, that sitting in a hotel conference room, all day, grading papers by the hundreds, does NOT sound like my idea of fun. I would almost feel bad for the people's papers I was grading because I would probably be in such a bad mood from the long airline flight, dinky bed, and the ham sandwich on squished white bread. I may actually focus on the first few essays I was reading, critiquing in my usual english teacher style, but after a while, they all start looking the same. Monotonous. Boring. And on top of everything I only get to grade with the number system 1-6. If I liked it, 4 or higher, if not lower than for. If it was pretty good, a 5. If it's incredible, a 6.


What shocks me the most is how a little essay of which you only have 25 minutes to write, which is only graded on a scale of 1-6 by teachers who are probably falling asleep, can have such a huge impact. I mean, you even mention the SATs to any highschool student and it sends shivers up their spine. The mear thought of getting a low score on the SATs might mean that you don't get into *gasp* Harvard. (Heaven Forbid).


How can I be expected to show off my fabulous literary style in a 25 minute, hand written essay when I've been filling in bubbles for the past 2 hours. Now, I'm not a great writer. In fact, I tend to have trouble explaining what I'm trying to say. In short, writing is not my Forte. Every once in a while I can whip out an increble piece of writing. But only every once in a while. My good writing comes after drafts and drafts of revisions and re-writes and spelling checks and tangible sources to get ideas from like books and the internet. But no, after having taken some sort of english class for the past 8 years of my life, my writing ability is based off of my little SAT essay.


One relief that Mr. Watson provided me was telling me that it's not just one person giving me the grade, but it's more an average of 5 or 6 teachers scores. That way if one is having a bad day, you don't just get a 2 for no reason. What did make me a little unsettled was what he told us about how to get a 6. He said not to take a side. That you need "a complex answer to a complex question." What I find funny is that his wife, Mrs. Watson last year told me the exact opposite: to pick a side in order to have a strong base to work from.

Still unsure as to which was correct, I started reading my peers practice SAT's. Sure enough, Mr. Watson was right (sorry mrs. watson). One of my classmates had an incredible essay looking at both sides of the subject but at the same time, connecting it all together. It wasn't choppy or abrupt as you would expect, and it didn't seem as if he hadn't finished his points. My problem with taking a stand in the middle is that I don't have enough time to get out all I want to say but someone, this student did it

On the other side, I read essays who took one side (like me) and their essays seemed to fall short of what the question was asking. They didn't seem to really capture the essence of what was being asked. I guess that's what Mr. Watson means when you need a complex answer to a complex question.