12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test One Answers and Explanations I
1 Ol
Answers and
Explanations
SECTION 1
6 Score Essay
Happiness means different things to different people. My
sister is happiest when she performs onstage in a play.
My best friend is happiest when he's pitching a perfect
game on the baseball field. People find happiness in all
sorts of ways, but that doesn't mean they stop searching
for something more. Finding happiness and continuing to
pursue other goals are not mutually exclusive propositions.
Instead, both of these activities can work together to
motivate you, as I've learned from my own experience.
When I was in middle school, my favorite class was art and
I was disappointed that the class period was so short and
only twice a week. Although I was happy during those times,
I really missed art during the rest of the week. However,
knowing that art class was approaching helped motivate
me to pay attention in the rest of my classes because I
knew that my "reward" would soon follow. Once we were
in the art room and I was immersed in painting or sculpting
or drawing, I found incredible happiness in the creative
process and carried this feeling with me throughout the
remainder of the day. Yet I wasn't fully satisfied with this
small amount of exposure and I wanted more. I could and
did appreciate the happiness I had, but at the same time I
was looking for something beyond that.
So I begged my parents to let me take art classes after
school and on the weekend. I managed to convince them
I'd be happier if I could have this additional creative time,
and I was right. Taking more and different art classes outside
of school exposed me to a variety of different techniques
and media that I never had time to explore in school, like
metalworking, woodcarving, and printmaking. I grew even
more enthusiastic about the visual arts and found even
more happiness than I could have imagined thanks to these
additional classes. By wanting something more, I was able
to find additional contentment and inspiration and I truly
was happy with the results.
Yet I didn't stop reaching for other goals. I really wanted to
have my artwork displayed for the public, so I worked very
hard for several years to develop a portfolio, and I achieved
my goal last year with my first solo show at a local gallery.
This success gave me much happiness, and I'm already
planning additional shows. Being content with my art makes
me happy on a regular basis, but this doesn't keep me from
wanting something more at the same time. For me, striving
for additional goals adds to my happiness, so I don't see
the two actions as contradictory at all. Instead, searching
for something beyond what you have can help you to
appreciate and enhance whatever it is that makes you truly
happy.
6 Score Critique
All essays are evaluated on four basic criteria: Topic,
Support, Organization, and Language. This essay begins
with the author's interpretation of the topic, showing
that the author understood the prompt. The introductory
paragraph clearly states the author's opinion and introduces
the personal example that the author develops throughout
the essay. Although the author uses a single example,
she fully develops this example to support her opinion
as she narrates a personal experience that illustrates her
perspective on the prompt.
The organization of this essay is consistent and coherent,
with transitional phrases and key words ("but," "instead,"
"although," "however," "once," "yet," "so," "such as") to link
ideas and paragraphs. The essay's clear introduction leads
logically into its body paragraphs, which in turn link to a
strong conclusion. The excellent support and organization
of this essay indicate that the author spent sufficient time
planning her essay and that she followed her plan as she
wrote.
Finally, the author's vocabulary and sentence structure
are both sophisticated and varied, showing a high level of
language facility and above-average written expression.
The lack of grammatical or spelling errors suggests that
the author remembered to proofread her essay, giving her
writing that final polish that helps lead to a high score.