The SSAT writing sample: format, practice prompts and a self-check
The SSAT writing sample on Middle and Upper takes 25 minutes: your child picks 1 of 2 prompts and writes up to two pages. It gets no score, but the schools that receive the score report get the sample. It is not in our timed practice test. Practice it apart, with the prompts and self-check below; we do not grade it.
Updated October 31, 2026 · by AdmitTest
The format
From E3n's Upper and Middle pages, its score reports page and its paper SSAT page:
- When: the first part of the test, before a 10-minute break.
- Time and length: 25 minutes, up to two pages.
- Upper: a choice of a personal or a general essay prompt.
- Middle: a choice of a creative story starter or a personal question.
- On paper: scrap paper can be used to plan, but the essay itself goes on the answer sheet.
- Who sees it: the schools that receive the score report. Parents can buy a copy on Middle and Upper.
How to use 25 minutes (our suggestion)
- About 3 minutes: choose a prompt and jot a few notes.
- About 18 minutes: write. For an essay, one clear point and two or three specific examples. For a story, a beginning, a problem and an ending.
- About 4 minutes: read it over and fix mistakes.
Practice prompts, written by us
These are our own prompts, in the kinds E3n describes. They are not from the real test.
- Story starter (Middle): The key did not fit the lock it had opened the day before.
- Personal (Middle and Upper): Describe a time you changed your mind about something. What changed it?
- General (Upper): Should students be allowed to choose all of their own classes? Explain your view with examples.
Self-check list
This is our list, for your child or a parent to go through afterward. It gives no score, and E3n does not publish it.
- Does it answer the prompt that was chosen?
- Could a reader state the main point, or the story's problem, in one sentence?
- Are the examples specific: a real moment, a name, a detail?
- Does it have a clear beginning, middle and end?
- Are the sentences varied, and is every sentence complete?
- Are spelling and punctuation clean, and is the handwriting easy to read?
- Did it finish inside 25 minutes, and does it sound like your child?
Where it fits in practice
Our timed test covers the scored sections only. The paid plan has more prompts and this kind of self-check in the dashboard, and nothing there is graded.
Free SSAT practice tests, no sign-up. Every test is timed section by section and ends with the score of each section and skill.
Choose your level and startCommon questions
Is the SSAT writing sample scored?
No. E3n does not score it. Schools that receive the score report get a copy of the sample and may read it.
How long is the SSAT writing sample?
25 minutes on Middle and Upper, and up to two pages, according to E3n's pages on what is on each level.
What kinds of prompts are there?
E3n's Middle Level page describes a choice of a creative story starter or a personal question. Its Upper Level page describes a choice of a personal or a general essay prompt.
Can parents see the writing sample?
E3n says parents can buy a copy on Middle and Upper.
Do you grade my child's writing?
No. No one at our service reads or grades it. The paid plan gives prompts and a self-check list in the dashboard. A teacher or parent can use the same list to give feedback.
Is it part of your practice test?
No. Our timed test has the scored sections only, because the writing sample is unscored and our test has no way to mark free writing.