SSAT Writing Practice Worksheet - 15

Instructions

• You have 25 minutes to complete one writing sample from the two prompts provided.
• Choose either Prompt A or Prompt B - you are not required to write both.
• Your response will not be scored, but it will be sent to the admission offices of the schools to which you apply.
• Schools use your writing sample to assess your organization, clarity, creativity, and command of written English.
• Write legibly and stay within the provided space - quality matters more than length.
• Plan briefly before writing, and save time to proofread your work for errors.

Prompts

Prompt A

The old photograph slipped out of the book and landed at my feet. When I picked it up and turned it over, I saw a date from fifty years ago and a handwritten message that made my heart race...

Prompt B

Some people believe that learning from mistakes is more valuable than learning from success. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Support your position with specific examples and reasoning.

Model Answers

Model Answer - Prompt A

The old photograph slipped out of the book and landed at my feet. When I picked it up and turned it over, I saw a date from fifty years ago and a handwritten message that made my heart race: "To Margaret, the truth is buried where we first met. All my love, J." My grandmother's name was Margaret, and she had passed away just three months ago, leaving behind boxes of belongings I was now sorting through in her dusty attic.

I examined the photograph more carefully. It showed a young woman standing beneath an enormous oak tree, her smile luminous despite the faded sepia tones. Behind her stood a fountain with a stone cherub. The handwriting was elegant but hurried, as though written in a moment of urgency. Who was J? My grandfather's name was Robert, and I had never heard my grandmother mention anyone else. A mystery from her past had literally fallen into my lap.

That afternoon, I showed the photograph to my mother. Her eyes widened with recognition. "That's Riverside Park," she said quietly. "Your grandmother took me there when I was young. There's an old oak tree by the fountain." She paused, then added, "She always seemed sad there, like she was remembering something she couldn't share."

The next morning, I drove to Riverside Park with a small garden spade tucked into my backpack. The oak tree was still there, gnarled and ancient, its roots pushing up through the earth like arthritic fingers. I knelt down where the roots were thickest and began to dig carefully. Six inches down, my spade struck something metallic. My hands trembling, I unearthed a small tin box, rusted but intact. Inside lay a stack of letters tied with a ribbon and a tarnished silver locket. The first letter began, "My dearest Margaret, though we cannot be together..." I sat beneath that old tree and read about a love my grandmother had sacrificed for duty, a secret she had carried for fifty years. Now, at last, I understood her sadness-and the depth of her strength.

Model Answer - Prompt B

While both success and failure offer valuable lessons, I believe that learning from mistakes is ultimately more valuable because failures force us to analyze our weaknesses, develop resilience, and approach challenges with greater wisdom. Success can sometimes mask underlying problems or create overconfidence, whereas mistakes demand honest self-reflection and growth.

First, mistakes compel us to examine what went wrong, leading to deeper understanding. When I auditioned for the school orchestra last year, I felt confident after weeks of practice. However, I failed to make the ensemble because my rhythm was inconsistent in one crucial passage. This failure forced me to work with a metronome daily and record myself practicing-techniques I had previously dismissed. Six months later, I successfully auditioned again, but more importantly, I had become a fundamentally better musician. Had I succeeded initially, I might never have addressed this weakness. The mistake revealed a gap in my skills that success would have concealed.

Second, overcoming failure builds resilience and character in ways that success cannot. My older sister applied to her dream university and was rejected. Though devastated initially, she spent the next year strengthening her application, volunteering at a hospital, and discovering a genuine passion for medicine. She ultimately attended a different school where she thrived and found mentors who shaped her career path. She often says that rejection was the best thing that happened to her because it taught her perseverance and helped her discover what truly mattered. Success might have been easier, but failure made her stronger and more self-aware.

Some might argue that success teaches us which strategies work and builds confidence necessary for future achievements. While this is true, success can also breed complacency. Athletes who win easily may not push themselves to improve, while those who lose a close match often train harder and smarter. Success is certainly pleasant and motivating, but mistakes provide the friction necessary for real growth.

In conclusion, while success has its place in education and development, mistakes offer deeper, more transformative lessons. They reveal our weaknesses, build our character, and ultimately make our eventual successes more meaningful and sustainable.

Tips

1. Spend 2-3 minutes choosing your prompt wisely. Select the one that immediately sparks ideas or connects to your personal experiences. You don't have time to develop both-commit quickly and move forward.
2. Use the first 3-4 minutes to outline. Jot down your opening, two or three main points or plot events, and your conclusion. A brief plan prevents rambling and ensures your essay has clear direction and structure.
3. Start with a hook that establishes voice and direction. For narrative prompts, continue the scenario immediately with sensory details or action. For opinion prompts, state your position clearly in the first two sentences-don't waste time with vague generalities.
4. Develop your middle with specific examples and details. Generic statements weaken your writing. Use concrete scenarios, brief anecdotes, or vivid descriptions that show rather than tell. Specificity demonstrates mature thinking and engages readers.
5. Vary your sentence structure deliberately. Mix short, punchy sentences with longer, more complex ones. This rhythm keeps your writing dynamic and demonstrates command of syntax. Avoid starting every sentence the same way.
6. Leave 3-4 minutes to write a strong conclusion. For narratives, resolve the tension or reveal what the character learned. For opinion essays, restate your thesis with fresh language and end with a broader insight. Never just stop abruptly or repeat your introduction word-for-word.
7. Reserve the final 2 minutes for proofreading. Read through once for glaring errors: sentence fragments, subject-verb disagreement, misspelled words, and missing punctuation. Fix what you can neatly-cross out and write above rather than scribbling illegibly.
8. Avoid common pitfalls that weaken student essays. Don't switch tenses randomly, use slang or texting abbreviations, or leave your essay without a real ending because you ran out of time. Also avoid handwriting so small or messy that evaluators struggle to read your work.