Does the SAT have an essay?

In January 2021, the College Board announced it was discontinuing the optional SAT Essay to reduce demands on students, noting that there are other ways for students to show their writing skills. Students could take the SAT with Essay through June 2021. SAT Subject Tests were discontinued at the same time.

In states that use the SAT for accountability and require the essay, it's part of the school-day administration. Your school will tell you if this applies. The scores you send to colleges from weekend tests won't include an essay.

The Reading and Writing section tests writing through multiple-choice questions:

• Standard English Conventions: grammar and punctuation. See SAT grammar rules.
• Expression of Ideas: transitions and rhetorical synthesis.

Together these are close to half of the section.

Colleges see your writing through application essays, and some ask for graded school work. Strong essay skills still matter for applications and college; see how to write an essay.

Prepare for the two sections: take a free practice test, find your weakest skills and follow a plan such as our SAT study plan generator.

For context, the optional essay (2016 to 2021) gave students 50 minutes to read a passage and explain how the author built an argument, using evidence, reasoning and stylistic features. It was scored separately from the 400 to 1600 total. Some colleges required or recommended it, but by 2021 most had dropped the requirement, which was one reason the College Board discontinued it. If you see "SAT with Essay" in an older book or college page, it refers to this format.

The ACT still offers an optional writing test. Very few colleges require it, so check the admissions pages of the colleges you're applying to before signing up. If your target colleges don't ask for it, you're usually better off spending the time on the multiple-choice sections. For a broader comparison, see ACT vs SAT.

• College application essays: your personal statement and supplemental essays are where colleges look at your writing most closely.
• School coursework: strong grades in English and writing-heavy courses show sustained writing ability.
• AP English exams: AP English Language and AP English Literature include timed essays.
• Graded writing samples: a few colleges ask for one; check their admissions pages.

For the Digital SAT itself, the best writing preparation is learning the grammar and punctuation rules that the Standard English Conventions questions test.