SAT Practice Essay - 4 - Essay Directions and Prompt Analysis

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

SAT® Practice Essay #4 provides directions for writing an essay that analyzes a given passage. The essay should show careful reading, present a clear and logical analysis, and use precise language. It specifies where to write in the answer booklet, recommends legible handwriting, and sets a 50-minute timeframe. It also reminds students not to write in the test booklet, to stay on topic, and directs readers to official scoring information, followed by an excerpt about natural darkness and light pollution for prompt-based analysis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Directions

Writing requirements and time limit

Reminders and scoring link

Passage analysis prompt

Evidence, reasoning, and stylistic elements

SAT® Practice Essay \#4 DIRECTIONS The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can read and comprehend a passage and write an essay analyzing the passage. In your essay, you should demonstrate that you have read the passage carefully, present a clear and logical analysis, and use language precisely. Your essay must be written on the lines provided in your answer booklet; except for the Planning Page of the answer booklet, you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers. You have 50 minutes to read the passage and write an essay in response to the prompt provided inside this booklet. REMINDERS — Do not write your essay in this booklet. Only what you write on the lined pages of your answer booklet will be evaluated. — An off-topic essay will not be evaluated. Follow this link for more information on scoring your practice test: [www.sat.org/scoring](www.sat.org/scoring) this cover is representative of what you’ll see on test day. THIS TEST BOOKLET MUST NOT BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR USE OF ANY PART OF THIS TEST BOOKLET IS PROHIBITED. © 2015 The College Board. College Board, SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. As you read the passage below, consider how Paul Bogard uses • evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims. • reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence. • stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed. Adapted from Paul Bogard,“Let There Be Dark.” ©2012 by Los Angeles Times. Originally published December 21, 2012. 1 At my family’s cabin on a Minnesota lake, I knew woods so dark that my hands disappeared before my eyes. I knew night skies in which meteors left smoky trails across sugary spreads of stars. But now, when 8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way, I worry we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness before realizing its worth. This winter solstice, as we cheer the days’ gradual movement back toward light, let us also remember the irreplaceable value of darkness. 2 All life evolved to the steady rhythm of bright days and dark nights. Today, though, when we feel the closeness of nightfall, we reach quickly for a light switch. And too little darkness, meaning too much artificial light at night, spells trouble for all. 3 Already the World Health Organization classifies working the night shift as a probable human carcinogen, and the American Medical Association has voiced its unanimous support for “light pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction efforts at both the national and state levels.” Our bodies need darkness to produce the hormone melatonin, which keeps certain cancers from developing, and our bodies need darkness for sleep. Sleep disorders have been linked to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression, and recent research suggests one main cause of“short sleep” is “long light.” Whether we work at night or simply take our tablets, notebooks and smartphones to bed, there isn’t a place for this much artificial light in our lives. 4 The rest ofthe world depends on darkness as well, including nocturnal and crepuscular species of birds, insects, mammals, fish and reptiles. Some examples are well known—the 400 species of birds that migrate at night in North America, the sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs—and some are not, such as the bats that save American farmers billions in pest control and the moths that pollinate 80% of the world’s flora. Ecological light pollution is like the bulldozer of the night, wrecking habitat

FAQs

What is the goal of SAT Practice Essay #4?

It gives an opportunity to show how effectively you can read and comprehend a passage and write an essay analyzing it, with clear, logical analysis and precise language.

Where should you write your essay?

Write only on the lines provided in the answer booklet; nothing written in the booklet itself will be evaluated, except the planning page.

How much time do you have to complete the essay?

You have 50 minutes to read the passage and write an essay in response to the prompt in the booklet.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

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