The SAT Essay was added to the SAT in March 2005 after a request by colleges. The following is a list of essay topics.

=The Prompts=

• The prompts are organized as follows. The first is a quote that relates to the subject. The second is what the writer should write about in his/her essay. All prompts are by the Collegeboard which is the private company that administers the test.
• Some prompts may be paraphrased. They will be marked by a ^

March 2005

Prompt 1^

• Is the opinion of the majority a poor guide?

Prompt 2

• Given the importance of human creativity, one would think it should have a high priority among our concerns. But if we look at the reality, we see a different picture. Basic scientific research is minimized in favor of immediate practical applications. The arts are increasingly seen as dispensable luxuries. Yet as competition heats up around the globe, exactly the opposite strategy is needed. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
• Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today?

June 2005

Prompt 1

• Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
• Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?

Prompt 2

• I cannot comprehend those who emphasize or recognize only what is useful. I am concerned that learning for learning's sake is no longer considered desirable, that everything we do and think must be directed toward the solution of a practical problem. More and more we seem to try to teach how to make a good living and not how to live a good life. Philip D. Jordan
• Do people put too much emphasis on learning practical skills?

Prompt 3

• Most of our schools are not facing up to their responsibilities. We must begin to ask ourselves whether educators should help students address the critical moral choices and social issues of our time. Schools have responsibilities beyond training people for jobs and getting students into college. Svi Shapiro
• Should schools help students understand moral choices and social issues?

Prompt 4

• The media not only transmit information and culture, they also decide what information is important. In that way, they help to shape culture and values. Alison Bernstein
• Do newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, the Internet, and other media determine what is important to most people?

November 2005^

Prompt 1

• Should our perceptions of beauty be influenced by the perceptions of beauty of other people?

Prompt 2

• Is it necessary to praise or flatter people?

Prompt 3

• Is conflict helpful?

Prompt 4

• Do people now (i.e., did they not in the past?) use money (and the things that money can buy) to measure success instead of using more meaningful ways to measure success?

June 2006

Prompt 1

• We measure our progress as a civilization by what we see as advances in technology, which seem more significant than such concerns as education and the condition of the natural world. Still, I would prefer to be a part of a community that judged itself on the happiness of its members rather than on the development of new technology. Thomas Moore
• Does a strong commitment to technological progress cause a society to neglect other values, such as education and the protection of the environment? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

• People are often told to obey the rules. In reality, these rules are not permanent: what is right at a given point in time may be declared wrong at another time and vice versa. The world changes so rapidly that rules are out-of-date almost as soon as they are created. People cannot rely on established guidelines to determine what they should and should not do. Gregory D. Foster
• Are established rules too limited to guide people in real-life situations? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

• I suspect that like many people who watch their diet, exercise regularly, and check the weather report before leaving the house, I am a little too concerned with controlling what can't be fully controlled. I know I am doing the sensible thing. But I sometimes think that the more reckless among us may have something to teach the rest of us about freedom. Perhaps there is something good about taking chances against our better judgments. Melvin Konner
• Is it sometimes better to take risks than to follow a more reasonable course of action? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 4

• It is rare to find an objective and independent viewpoint on style, literature, politics, or any other matter. Many people's opinions are formed through their associations with others. It is our nature to conform; conformity is a force that few can successfully resist. We give in to the human instinct to go along with the crowd and to have its approval. Mark Twain
• Do we tend to accept the opinions of others instead of developing our own independent ideas? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.