On Demand Writing for Students - Coaching Yourself for the SAT1, ACT and AP essays

Writing essays in a timed situation demands an alternative approach to the traditional multi-draft writing process. This series of exercises coaches students on how to: prepare in advance of a timed essay, anticipate the types of prompts featured on a variety of standardized tests, construct roadmaps during exams to keep essays focused, and construct concise meaningful introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions. Included are exercises aimed at fine tuning word choice, sentence structure, and punctuation prowess in order to reach the top of scoring rubrics. Sample student writing samples labeled the good , the bad , and the frilly offer examples of effective and ineffective writing and illustrate the importance of striving toward sniper fire rather than buckshot in on demand writing situations.

Lynette Williamson is an English teacher and speech and debate coach at Analy High School in California. A reader for the AP Language and Composition exam, her other publications include: On Demand Writing and Speaking Across the Curriculum.