SAT作文的满分为12分，考生要在25分钟时间内，依据试题要求，写出一篇完整的议论文。作文的字数没有硬性规定，但作文的篇幅约有一张半A4纸的大小。考生要用铅笔写作，写满作文规定的篇幅，一般要用500至700个英语单词。每一篇考生的作文由两个判卷老师打分，每个老师给的分数为1至6分，两个判卷老师所给的分数之和，即为考生作文的分数。

SAT作文6分的判分标准为，完整掌握、见解深刻、技巧娴熟；5分的判分标准为，有说服力、文章组织较好、语言使用有变化且准确；4分的判分标准为，会写作文、内容足够、表达充分。从这里可以看出，国内考生通过有效的辅导与训练，获取作文8分的成绩不难，英语基础好的考生，取得作文9至10分的成绩很有可能。

一篇好的SAT作文要满足如下几个要求，即好的内容、好的论点与论据、清晰且恰当的举例说明、段与段之间有好的逻辑关系、观点鲜明与清晰及较好的英语写作掌控力、有变化的句型与词汇。考生要尽力避免观点模糊不清、在议论文当中一会儿说对一会儿又说错、语言表达单一、不以理服人、自以为是给人强加自己的观点、字迹不清及文章太短。

下面是一片六分范文大家共同欣赏一下
Without our past, our future would be a tortuous path leading to nowhere. In order to move up the ladder of success and achievement we must come to terms with our past and integrate it into our future. Even if in the past we made mistakes, this will only make wiser people out of us and guide us to where we are supposed to be.
This past year, I was auditioning for the fall play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." To my detriment I thought it would be a good idea to watch the movie in order to prepare. For two hours I studied Elizabeth Taylor's mannerisms, attitude, and diction, hoping I could mimic her performance. I auditioned for the part of "Maggie" feeling perfectly confident in my portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor; however, I was unaware that my director saw exactly what I had been thinking. Unfortunately, I didn't get the part, and my director told me that he needed to see "Maggie" from my perspective, not Elizabeth Taylor's.

I learned from this experience, and promised myself I would not try to imitate another actress, in order to create my character. Persevering, I was anxious to audition for the winter play just two months later. The play was Neil Simon's "Rumors," and would get the opportunity to play "Chris," a sarcastic yet witty role, which would be my final performance in high school. In order to develop my character, I planned out her life just as I thought it should be, gave her the voice I thought was right, and the rest of her character unfolded beautifully from there. My director told me after the first show that "Rumors" was the best work he'd ever seen from me, and that he was amazed at how I'd developed such a believable character. Thinking back to my first audition I was grateful for that chance I had to learn and to grow, because without that mistake I might have tried to base "Chris" off of someone I'd known or something I'd seen instead of becoming my own character. I utilized the memory of the Elizabeth Taylor debacle to improve my approach to acting and gave the best performance of my life so far.

Why this Essay Received a Score of 6
This essay effectively and insightfully develops its point of view ("In order to move up the ladder of success and achievement we must come to terms with our past and integrate it into our future") through a clearly appropriate extended example drawing on the writer's experience as an actor. The essay exhibits outstanding critical thinking by presenting a well-organized and clearly focused narrative that aptly illustrates the value of memory. The essay also uses language skillfully, demonstrating meaningful variety in sentence structure ("To my detriment I thought it would be a good idea to watch the movie in order to prepare. For two hours I studied Elizabeth Taylor's mannerisms, attitude, and diction, hoping I could mimic her performance. I auditioned for the part of "Maggie" feeling perfectly confident in my portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor, however, I was unaware that my director…"). Despite minor errors, the essay demonstrates clear and consistent mastery and is scored a  6.