The+Essay


 * Structure and Grading**

*You have 25 minutes to write the essay. *You will be provided with a short excerpt and will be asked to present your views on the subject.

*The grader reads your essay ONCE and takes about ONE to TWO minutes to do so. *In that time, the grader will answer the following questions: ~Does the essay answer the question? ~Is the essay well-organized? ~Does the essay make use of specific examples? ~Is the essay free of grammatical mistakes?

*You will be given a HOLISTIC score between 1 and 6. This score counts for 30% of your final Writing section score.

**Parts of the Essay **

*The Prompt ~The prompt will be fairly open-ended; you can address the prompt in a variety of ways. ~You will probably agree with the prompt; agree, but with certain exceptions; disagree with the prompt; or disagree, but with certain exceptions. ~There is no right or wrong answer to the prompt.

*The Introduction ~Let the reader know what the topic is and tell the reader what you will say in your essay about the topic. ~Restate the prompt and then state your thesis. ~It's that simple!

*Body Paragraphs ~Each body paragraph should discuss only one example: historical facts, current events, and literature are all good examples for your essay. Avoid too many personal examples: these essays are not scored as highly as those which use examples that have been learned in school. ~Use transitions to begin your body paragraphs. ~The paragraph should stay on topic. The example should support the topic at hand. ~Fill up as many available lines as you can!!

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*The Conclusion <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">~Restate your thesis!

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Pacing **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*Spend about five minutes reading the prompt and brainstorming examples. Try to come up with at least three examples. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*Use the middle 15 minutes to write your essay. Aim for 5 paragraphs. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*Take the last five minutes to proofread your essay. Check grammar and spelling.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*The visual appearance of your essay is important (believe it or not!). <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">~Avoid double spacing. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">~Indent your paragraphs. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">~Neatly erase all mistakes. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">~Write as legibly as possible.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*Making the grader's job easier = a better score for you!

**Final Checklist**

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">*Ask yourself the following questions after you've written an essay. Make sure each section of your essay is complete. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">1. Introductory paragraph: does it contain a strong topic sentence that lets the reader know what the paper will discuss? Does it mention what examples your paper will include? Does your intro paragraph end with a clear thesis statement? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">2. Body paragraphs: you should have two to three of these. Does each body paragraph contain a nice clear transition sentence? Does each body paragraph develop one and only one example? Does your example clearly support your thesis statement? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">3. A conclusion: it has one, right?! Did you restate your thesis? Did you summarize how your examples support your thesis? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">4. Grammar and style: does your essay contain a minimal amount of grammatical mistakes? Focus on creating proper subject/verb agreement, eliminating ambiguous pronouns, and keeping all verb tense the same. Check misspellings (if you're not sure how a word is spelled, find another one!!). Indent your paragraphs. Be neat! <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">