A Guide to Improve Your Score
Information taken from:
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep
Assignment:
In your essay, take a position on this question. You
may write about either one of the two points of view
given, or you may present a different point of view on
this question. Use specific reasons and examples to
support your position.
•
Write only on the given topic. •
Write as clearly as possible.
•
Take a clear position on the
topic.
•
Write specifically and
concretely.
•
Write persuasively to
convince the rater.
•
Write about five paragraphs.
•
Write only on the given lined
paper.
•
Write as neatly as possible in
print.
•
•
Include reasons and
examples that support your
position.
Write with correct grammar
and spelling.
•
Write on a topic that relates
vaguely to the one given.
vocabulary words or overly
long sentences.
•
Take a wishy-washy position •
or try to argue two sides.
Be vague or use
generalizations.
•
Write creatively or ornately
just to show off.
Put more importance on
length than on quality.
•
Include examples not directly •
related to your position.
•
Forget to proof your work for
•
spelling and grammar
mistakes.
•
Use too many fancy
•
Make your handwriting too
large (or you’ll sacrifice
space).
Write in cursive. Print is
much easier to read.
Length
Purpose
1 sentence
Describe your position clearly and concisely.
1 sentence
Responds to the counter-argument
The Essay Summary
3 sentences
Lay out the three examples you will use to
support your thesis statement.
Example Paragraph #1
Topic Sentence
1 sentence
Example Development
3–4 sentences
Describe your example and fit it into the
context of your overall thesis statement.
Show how your example supports your
argument. Be as specific as possible.
Example Paragraph #2
Topic Sentence
1 sentence
Example Development
3–4 sentences
Example Paragraph #3
Topic Sentence
1 sentence
Describe your example and fit it into the
context of your overall thesis. Provide a
transition from the previous paragraph.
Example Development
3–4 sentences
Use specific facts to show how your example
supports your argument. Be as specific as
possible.
The Conclusion
Recap
1 sentence
Summarize your argument and examples, and
link the examples to broader things like
politics, history, art, business, etc.
Broaden Your Argument
2–3 sentences
Expand your position by contemplating what
would happen in the world if other groups
followed the argument you make in your
essay.
The Introduction
Thesis Statement
Describe your example and fit it into the
context of your overall thesis. Provide a
transition from the previous example
paragraph.
Show how your example supports your
argument. Be as specific as possible.
Many successful adults recall a time in their life when they
were considered a failure at one pursuit or another. Some of
these people feel strongly that their previous failures taught
them valuable lessons and led to their later successes. Others
maintain that they went on to achieve success for entirely
different reasons. In your opinion, can failure lead to success?
Or is failure simply its own experience?
Assignment:
In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write
about either one of the two points of view given, or you may
present a different point of view on this question. Use specific
reasons and examples to support your position.
Learning the lessons taught by failure is a sure route to
success. (THESIS STATEMENT) The United States of America
can be seen as a success that emerged from failure: by
learning from the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation,
the founding fathers were able to create the Constitution, the
document on which America is built. (BEST SUPPORTING
EXAMPLE [#1]) Google Inc., the popular Internet search engine,
is another example of a success that arose from learning from
failure, though in this case Google learned from the failures of
its competitors. (NEXT BEST SUPPORTING EXAMPLE [#2])
Another example that shows how success can arise from
failure is the story of Rod Johnson, who started a recruiting
firm that rose out of the ashes of Johnson’s personal
experience of being laid off. (NEXT BEST SUPPORTING
EXAMPLE [#3])
The United States, the first great democracy of the
modern world, is also one of the best examples of a success
achieved by studying and learning from earlier failures. (TOPIC
SENTENCE FOR EXAMPLE #1) After just five years of living
under the Articles of Confederation, which established the
United States of America as a single country for the first time,
the states realized that they needed a new document and a
stronger government. In 1786, the Annapolis convention was
convened. The result, three years later, was the Constitution,
which created a more powerful central government while also
maintaining the integrity of the states. By learning from the
failure of the Articles, the founding fathers created the pivotal
document of a country that has become both the most
powerful country in the world and a beacon of democracy.
(FOUR DEVELOPMENT SENTENCES TO SUPPORT EXAMPLE #1)
Unlike the United States, which had its fair share of ups
and downs over the years, the Internet search engine company,
Google Inc., has suffered few setbacks since it went into
business in the late 1990s. (TOPIC SENTENCE FOR EXAMPLE
#2) Google has succeeded by studying the failures of other
companies in order to help it innovate its technology and
business model. Google identified and solved the problem of
assessing the quality of search results by using the number of
links pointing to a page as an indicator of the number of people
who find the page valuable. Suddenly, Google’s search results
became far more accurate and reliable than those from other
companies, and now Google’s dominance in the field of Internet
search is almost absolute. (THREE DEVELOPMENT
SENTENCES TO SUPPORT EXAMPLE #2)
The example of Rod Johnson’s success as an
entrepreneur in the recruiting field also shows how
effective learning from mistakes and failure can be.
(TOPIC SENTENCE FOR EXAMPLE #3) Rather than
accept his failure after being laid off, Johnson decided to
study it. After a month of research, Johnson realized
that his failure to find a new job resulted primarily from
the inefficiency of the local job placement agencies, not
from his own deficiencies. A month later, Johnson
created Johnson Staffing to correct this weakness in the
job placement sector. Today Johnson Staffing is the
largest job placement agency in South Carolina, and is
in the process of expanding into a national corporation.
(FOUR DEVELOPMENT SENTENCES TO SUPPORT
EXAMPLE #3)
Failure is often seen as embarrassing, something
to be denied and hidden. But as the examples of the
U.S. Constitution, Google, and Rod Johnson prove, if
an individual, organization, or even a nation is strong
enough to face and study its failure, then that failure
can become a powerful teacher. (THESIS STATEMENT
REPHRASED IN BROADER WAY THAT PUSHES IT
FURTHER) The examples of history and business
demonstrate that failure can be the best catalyst of
success, but only if people have the courage to face it
head on.
STEP 1: Understand the prompt and take a position. 1 MINUTE
STEP 2: Brainstorm examples.
4–5 MINUTES
STEP 3: Create an outline.
5–6 MINUTES
STEP 4: Write the essay.
15 MINUTES
STEP 5: Proof the essay.
3 MINUTES