Writing Lecture One

This course will improve your writing skills and your ability to do well on the SAT I verbal exams. Let's start by looking at the importance of writing and also explain what these exams are.

Writing is important in nearly every job that you might do as an adult. Almost everyone has to write summaries of their work or memos to other workers in their company. Most college courses have writing assignments that must be completed. In many areas of study, it is a requirement to write a "thesis" in order to graduate and earn a college degree.

Writing is essential to Christianity. Many Christians read the Bible daily, or several times a day. Each week in church there are readings from the Bible that help enlighten everyone and strengthen our faith. People wrote the books in the Bible to make this possible.

Preachers often write out their sermons, or outlines of it, in order to make them more effective. Public speaking is often nothing more than saying words that have been written down, or could be written.

Writing often has a very calming and beneficial effect on the person doing the writing. Reading a book is good, but one learns even more by writing a book. The activity of writing sharpens the mind and helps improve understanding. If you are upset about something, try writing about it. You'll find it makes you feel better afterward. One hundred and fifty years ago, Americans would spend much of their free time writing letters or diaries. Writing is a form of mental exercise that has a very positive effect on the person doing the writing.

Writing is free. You do not need to buy anything new for it. You can use the computer you already have, or pick up a pen and paper from around your home. You don't have to listen to commercials or travel anywhere. But because it is free, no one profits by encouraging you to write. The result is that you will rarely hear someone to recommend that you write a book, a poem, a letter, or anything else. You have to take the initiative on your own.

Writing is the most creative activity possible. It is the human activity that is closest to pure creation of something out of nothing, like the creation of the world. Writing takes a set of infinite possibilities and crafts something meaningful and finite. Writing -- and only writing -- converts the chaos of random thoughts into the perfect order of ideas, logic and expression.

Writing has changed the world for the better. "The pen is mightier than the sword" is a famous insight. Thomas Paine's pamphlet entitled "Common Sense" helped win independence for the American colonies from Great Britain; Harriet Beecher Stowe's book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" helped end slavery. Many of the most influential people in history were writers, starting with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the authors of the four Gospels.

Learning to write, and write well, will open more opportunities for you than any other skill. It is better even than learning how to swim, or ride a bicycle, or fly a plane, or become a good debater, or speak many languages. Once you develop the talent of good writing, there is almost no limit to what you can achieve, and most jobs and activities become much easier. While your college classmates or co-workers are struggling with a writing assignment, you'll be finishing it with skill and ease.

What is Good Writing?

"Brevity is the soul of wit." That famous description of good comedy is true indeed. Brevity, or economy of expression, is most likely to hold the attention of the audience and bring it to laughter. When a joke takes to long to tell, or is explained with too much repetition, or is diluted with too much narrative, then it loses its humorous edge. We'll be discussing humor more later in this course.

Good writing is also concise. Sharp, clear sentences hold the reader's attention better and are easier to proofread for mistakes. More words does not mean greater quality. Usually the opposite is true. One person remarked, "I'd prefer to write you a short letter, but I don't have the time to edit this long letter into a clearer and more concise version." The best written works result from reducing many ideas and sentences into only the best of them.

What is considered one of the greatest works in American History, the Gettysburg Address, is only 246 words long. Its short length made it possible to carve all of it into the side of the inner wall of a monument in Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial

Testing Writing

Colleges want good writers, and do not want students who cannot write. Accordingly, two out of the three tests of the basic SAT I are devoting to writing and reading skills.

When to Take the SAT I

The two verbal SAT I exams are called "critical reading" and "writing". They are what colleges look at most in determining admissions and scholarships. This class will help you master the skills that these exams teach.

The exams are offered by the "College Board," and cost only $45. The exams are offered at local high schools in early March, early May and early June. Then, in the fall, the exams are offered in early October, November and December. Registration deadlines are a month before the test dates, and all the information and process for registration are available online.

Students are juniors in high school should take the SAT I once or twice in the spring (March, May or June), and then again once or twice in the early fall (October and November). Many students should consider taking the SAT I earlier in their junior year, such as December, so that there is time to improve and retake the test well before applications are required by colleges.

Many students -- particularly homeschool students -- make the mistake of not taking the SAT until it delays consideration of their application by colleges, which hurts their opportunity to be admitted and earn scholarships. If a college starts considering application in November, then they need to see your SAT scores at the same time. That means you have to take them by October at the latest. But you'll want to take the SATs several times, so you need to take it once or twice the prior spring to ensure you have maximized your overall score. Procrastination -- putting off registration and the taking of the test -- will end up costing you a great deal of money and opportunity. It's not just how a student does on the SAT that matters, but how much initiative he showed in taking the test early enough to help him.

Scholarships

College admissions, and scholarships, are based on the SAT I scores. The following are some minimum scores for scholarships at certain schools (not including minority scholarships). Notice how the higher the score, the larger the larger the potential scholarship. Also notice that some schools (like Seton Hall and Moravian) use all three SAT scores (which have a maximum score of 800 times 3, or 2400), while other schools (like Alfred State College and Arcadia) do not use the writing score so their maximum is a 1600 (800 times 2).

• Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ: 2010 SAT (full tuition scholarships)

• Alfred State College, Alfred, NY: 1200 SAT (full tuition plus room and board)

• Arcadia University, Glenside, PA: 1030 SAT (between $3,000 and full tuition)

• Grove City College, Grove City, PA: 1300 SAT ($5,000)

• Centenary College, Hacketstown, NJ: 1210 SAT ($10,000), 1030 ($8,000), 910 ($6,500), 800 ($5,000)

• Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA: 2150 SAT ($22,000), 1850 ($12,000), 1750 ($8,000), and 1700 ($4,000)

• Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ: 1250 SAT ($17,000 to $20,000)

• Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ: 1950 SAT ($21,400)

• Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA: $3,750 yearly GPA of 3.5 or higher, 1270 SAT/29 ACT

• Oklahoma State University: Up to $12,500 per year 30+ ACT/1330+ SAT

• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO: $9,000 annual award 1150 SAT or 25 ACT

• University of Connecticut: Half to full tuition 1100 SAT or ACT 24

• Kean University, NJ: Full in-state tuition and fees scholarships: minimum 3.90 GPA & a minimum 1400 SAT

• Messiah College, Pennsylvania: Full tuition: 1300 SAT or 29 ACT

• William Patterson University, NJ: $3000 to $7000: SAT 1050 or higher

• Gordon College, NY: $12,000 a year: 3.5 GPA SAT's of 2100 or ACT of 31

• Marymount of Manhattan, NY: $6,000 per year SAT 1150 or higher

• NJIT, NJ: full scholarship for SAT scores 1500 and above

College Policy Towards Repeat Testing

"Practice makes perfect." That aphorism is so true in so many areas of life. Practice your speeches before you say them and you will do better. Take practice exams before the real one and you will excel. Practice your sports activity or musical instrument and will improve your skills at them.

The same is true for taking the SAT. Practice before your first exam will help you do better on it. Taking the SAT multiple times will likely give you higher overall scores.

But that raises a question: how do colleges handle multiple SAT scores from the same student who took it two, three or four times? Do colleges average the scores, or take the highest set of three scores, or take the highest individual score for each type of exam (critical reading, writing or math)?

Put yourself in the colleges' shoes. Colleges want to brag that their student body has high SAT scores. So they have an incentive to take the highest possible scores from all applicants, so that it improves their own image. Accordingly, most colleges allow and even encourage multiple test-taking of the SAT in order to boost students' scores.

The College Board, which offers the SAT, makes money every time a student takes its test, so it encourages multiple test-taking also. The SAT allows students the option of “score choice,” which enables students to pick and choose which scores for which test they want sent to which college. Most colleges participate in this program.

Here are some specific examples among homeschool-friendly colleges:

• Abilene Christian University allows you to submit your best scores from all three sections of the SAT.

• Wheaton College takes the highest of the three scores from all of the SATs that an applying student submits.

• Houghton College in New York recently recently started taking the highest critical reading and math scores for the SAT.

• James Madison Universitytake the highest scores from the reading and math sections on the SAT.

• The most popular homeschool colleges, Grove City College, Liberty University and Patrick Henry College, have their own policies and should be contacted if you are interested in attending there.

Importance of Vocabulary

<discuss how a strong vocabulary is important, but how context usually provides the key to understanding the meaning of a word>

give examples:

Example 1: abhor (hate, dislike intensely)

Example 2: truculent (cruel, savage, aggressively belligerent)

Example 3: insouciance (nonchalance, lighthearted lack of concern)

Example 4: In the beginning was the "λόγος", and the "λόγος" was with God, and the "λόγος" was God. (John 1:1). What does the Greek word "λόγος" mean?
(a) evil
(b) light
(c) universe
(d) chaos
(e) word

Example 5: cantankerous (irritating to deal with)

One approach: use of vocabulary lists

Better approach: change in habits that welcomes and uses new words.

Note about anti-intellectual attitudes

Importance of Attitude

<example of paralyzed person in church>

<simply try to do your best, and don't expect any more of yourself>

<look higher and set your goals further and you won't be disappointed>

Biggest mistakes

• cramming
• scheduling test-taking too late
• not managing time
• under-emphasizing, then over-emphasizing significance of test

Homework Assignment

Under test conditions, write an essay for the SAT I writing portion.