Many people aren't aware of the SAT essay. The essay is optional and is structured differently than essays written in highschool and college application essays.
The SAT essay is the test-taker's take on a given non-fiction excerpt. The test-taker will write about how they think the author of the passage convinces his readers of his claim. The essay gives an opportunity to the test-taker to show their analysis and comprehension skills through their essay.
Each official SAT essay is graded by 2 highschool english teachers. Each teacher has a score point range of 3-12. So the lowest score possible is a 6 and the highest score possible is a 24. There are 3 categories the teachers grade from: reading, analysis, and writing. Reading is based on comprehension of the passage. Analysis is how the comprehension translated to the essay. Lastly, the writing score is based off the usage of complex vocabulary words and correct spelling and grammar.
Example of scoring:
Teacher 1: R-3 A-3 W-1 (Total-7)
Teacher 2: R-2 A-3 W-1 (Total-6)
Reading score- 5
Analysis score- 6
Writing score- 2
Total score- 13/24
Tips for writing an SAT essay:
Always use this format > Intro, paragraph(reasoning) 1, paragraph(reasoning) 2, paragraph(reasoning) 3, conclusion.
Each essay is graded within 2 minutes so graders won't look too much in detail so the longer the essay is, the better. (3-4 pages)
Use big vocabulary words especially in the beginning to grab their attention.
Work fast and on't spend too much time reading and processing the passage because you only have 50 minutes.
I recommend taking Prep Expert's 6 week SAT course because my essay score went up about 8 points which is huge!