On test day you need to have good ideas ready to answer an sat essay questions so you can write a great essay in under 25 minutes. So to help you put pen to paper fast use any one of these 8 methods for creating a compelling introduction quickly.

1. Understand the sat writing prompts first

Before you write one word, you must know exactly what you need to be writing about. The biggest mistake you can make is to start writing before you’ve fully thought through the prompt. I’ve seen many students write an essay that hardly relates to the prompt because they were so eager to get started that they missed an important point in the prompt. Don’t be one of them.

2. Use an analogy or metaphor to answer your sat essay topics

Analogies are creative. And good analogies can impress graders because they like to reward good thinking. Here’s an analogy a one student created to answer the prompt “Does it always take hard work to make progress?”
“To climb a mountain a person must struggle and strain. And this is the case with any worthwhile goal…”

3. Tell a brief anecdote

Create an engaging introducty by telling a brief anecdote in just a few sentences like in the example below:
When I trained for my first marathon it was difficult and often painful. But I wanted to have the accomplishment of running 26.2 miles so I did it anyway. To make progress in life requires sacrifice.

4. Use a quote that was not used in the prompt

Tip O’Neil, former Speaker of the House of Representatives said that one key to his success in politics was the fact that he memorized great lines of poetry and famous quotes to use when he had to do impromptu speeches.

The same strategy can help you when you take the SAT. Memorize a few quotes that you really like and use them if they fit your topic on test day.
For example for the essay topic “Do mistakes lead to growth?” one of my students wrote
Someone once asked Edison, “how can you feel good about your work, having failed nine-hundred and ninety-nine times to make a light bulb?” To this Edison replied, “I have not failed so many times, I have merely learned nine-hundred and ninety-nine ways not to make a light bulb.” Why did Edison react this way? Because he knew that mistakes are always experiences that lead to learning and growth.
This was a great quote to begin his essay with and would definitely impress SAT Essay graders.

5. Mention a topic in the news

Most educated people are aware of most important stories in the news and it’s good for you to be aware of important events when studying for the SATs. However, when you use a news story it’s important to make sure that it’s not something about Britney Spears or some entertainment related topic. Make sure it’s about something more substantial like the atrocities in Darfour. And stay away from political issues like abortion as you can never be sure of the political views of the people grading your sat essay.

6. Make up an anecdote using very specific details

I had a student that loved to use this technique even though he wasn’t very good at it… at first. Eventually he got good at making up stories that were so specific, that he even fooled me a few times and I knew he was trying to make things up. I personally don’t recommend this strategy because it’s not good preparation for college. Trust me, if you make something up in your Biology course your professor will know it.

7. Use a cliche in an inventive way

Professional writers, academics, journalists and pretty much anyone who knows anyone who judges writing says to avoid cliché’s. However, I disagree because these same people use clichés to spice up their writing. But what they do is change the cliché so that it becomes more original.

One student used the following cliche to make a great introduction for the topic “Which is a better indicator of a person’s true character, their actions or their words?”

“A picture tells a thousand words” is a saying that applies to the newspaper industry but which also applies to people. The picture created by a person’s actions tells us a thousand words about him or her and goes much farther than words do in telling us about a person’s true thoughts and feelings. Several examples from literature and history demonstrate this point.

Using this cliché that “a picture tells a thousand words” to prove the point of another cliché that “actions speak louder than words” is pretty original and added a lot of power to his essay.

8. When all else fails just do a quick summary of what you will cover in your essay

After reading the prompt, you should brainstorm several ideas you can use in your essay. Once you’ve done that you can include a list of the kinds of examples you will use.

For example, “Examples from history, literature and science will prove that people care far too much about what others think of them.”

Most of all remember, you do not need to write an impressive introduction so badly that you sacrifice the rest of your essay. In fact I taught my students to write great body paragraphs first as these are just as important. Then when they could write them quickly I taught them how to write great introductions and powerful conclusions.