Can anyone recommend some book plots or events in history that can be used for a variety of SAT essay prompts? My last SAT I scored a 10/12 which I'm happy with, but I'm pretty sure that was largely due to the fact that I had perfect examples for the prompt. My writing is there but I just find it so difficult to think of evidence to use.
There are a couple of articles on the PrepScholar blog that will be helpful for you. The first article, 6 SAT Essay Examples to Answer Every Prompt, details six examples of argumentative or persuasive devices that you can find in many different SAT essay prompts. A second article about the different kinds of SAT essay prompts includes several additional literary and historical examples.
Finally, remember that you have some room for interpretation. Part of writing a high-scoring SAT essay is not just identifying the ways the author attempts to sway the reader, but explaining the specific effects these devices have on the reader. The main issue to be aware of when it comes to elaborating on your own interpretation is that students often wander off-topic or don't support themselves enough when fabricating possible interpretations (or lose too much time thinking up plausible explanations). To avoid this, make sure you can back up your interpretations of why an author's argument is effective through facts and quotations from the essay prompt passage.