ELA SAT Prep Unit 2 - Content-Based Essay Writing

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver

Grade 11 ELA SAT Prep Unit Two delivers instruction for content-based essay writing and the evidence-driven reading and writing skills required on the redesigned SAT. The course equips students to analyze persuasive passages, explain an author’s techniques, and support claims with text evidence. It also teaches strategies for multiple-choice question types and emphasizes Common Core-aligned shifts, including vocabulary in context, text-dependent questions, and writing grounded in complete passages.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Course Description

Common Core Key Shifts and SAT Alignment

Regular practice with complex texts and academic language

Evidence-based reading, writing, and speaking

Content-rich nonfiction and knowledge building

Pacing Chart

SAT PREP Curriculum Grade 11: Unit Two CONTENT-BASED ESSAY WRITING Course Description SAT Prep for Language Arts consists of specific instruction in reading, writing, vocabulary, critical thinking, and grammar. The instruction is designed to prepare students for the standardized college entrance exam, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (which is graded on a curve) and to familiarize them with the ACT (American College testing, which is not graded on a curve) should they wish to take that exam. Students will also learn strategies for answering the different types of multiple choice questions. Additionally, students will be challenged to write an essay analyzing how the author of a persuasive passage supports an argument to persuade an audience. The SAT has been redesigned; the new SAT will be given starting in May, 2016, and is now aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy build on the best of existing standards and reflect the skills and knowledge students will need to succeed in college, career, and life. The following are key shifts called for by the Common Core, and how those shifts are reflected on the new SAT: 1. Regular practice with complex texts and their academic language Common Core: The ELA/literacy standards highlight the growing complexity of the texts students must read to be ready for the demands of college, career, and life. Closely related to text complexity and inextricably connected to reading comprehension is a focus on academic vocabulary: words that appear in a variety of content areas (such as ignite and commit) . The standards ask students to determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their range of words and phrases. The standards include certain critical types of content for all students, including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare. SAT: The SAT continues to use college level reading passages for its Critical Reading section. On the redesigned SAT, at least one passage will be from a foundational U.S. document, or a text containing an issue based on citizenship or global concerns. Vocabulary is no longer tested in isolation; all vocabulary questions are based on words used in context in the critical reading passages. 2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational Common Core: The Common Core emphasizes using evidence from texts to present careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Rather than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior knowledge and experience, the standards call for students to answer questions that depend on their having read the texts with care. The reading standards focus on students' ability to read carefully and grasp information, arguments, ideas, and details based on evidence in the text. Students should be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions, whose answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text. SAT: The SAT essay is now a content-based essay analyzing a persuasive text. Students are expected to explain the author’s techniques and to use evidence from the text to support that analysis. The Writing and Language test questions are also no longer isolated sentences, but are questions about usage and sentence structure issues in the context of a complete text. In some Writing and Language test questions, students will be asked to interpret graphics and edit the accompanying passages so that they accurately convey the information in the graphics. The critical reading questions will also contain at least one question per passage that asks students to select evidence to support their answer to the previous question. 3. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction Common Core: Students must be immersed in informa

FAQs

What skills does Unit Two focus on for the SAT?

Unit Two focuses on content-based essay writing, especially analyzing how an author of a persuasive passage supports an argument using evidence from the text.

How does the redesigned SAT essay differ from older formats?

The redesigned SAT essay analyzes a persuasive text and requires students to explain the author’s techniques and support that analysis with evidence from the passage.

How is vocabulary tested on the redesigned SAT?

Vocabulary is no longer tested in isolation; vocabulary questions are based on words used in context within the critical reading passages.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver