Guest bradfullmer44 Posted August 15, 2001 Report Share Posted August 15, 2001 Hi there, I am having problems with the Writing Sample. Specifically, I find it difficult to come up with "good" examples in the time allotted. And then even when I am able to come up with these examples, I find myself taking a long time to get the thoughts from my head to paper. I think it's because I've always been a "perfectionisitic writer". Any remedies you can suggest for my difficulties? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 Well you are not alone! I too am facing the same problems that you are. I am used to spending hours crafting the perfect argument. What I have realised in the past few days (with the help of a friend) is that my WS practice essays that I think are horrible are not really bad at all. They are more than adequate for the type of timed assignment that we are doing. Compare your practice essays to examples of different AAMC score levels. You will probably be pleasantly surprised! If you don't have any AAMC essay examples to compare to, check out the WS examples at www.futuredoctor.net Remember, any example is a good example as long as it makes sense for the topic. The strength of your argument and the overall coherence of the paper are more important than the brilliance of your example. Other than that, just make sure that the mechanics of your paper are good and you should be okay! The other thing that I have found helpful is to look through the possible topics given to us in the MCAT info booklet. From these you can discover several 'favourite topics' of the AAMC that seem to surface in many of the prompts. Try and think of a few 'standard' examples that will work with several of these. (eg civil rights movement, Russian revolution, etc.) It may save you some time on Sat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 Hi there, The Written Section can be tough. What you need to focus on is answering all three parts of the question. Your secondary priority should be dreaming up good examples. Remember, this section is designed to test you on the ability to define a thesis and defend/rebut it. It is NOT a test of how creative you can think up an example. Because of this, you should be spending less time on thinking up the examples, and allocating more time towards answering all parts of the question. What you might want to try (I know there's not a lot of time left before the big day), is to set a deadline as to how much time you'll spend thinking up examples. In other words, as soon as you read the question, say to yourself "I'm going to spend the next 5 minutes brainstorming examples and organizing my thoughts, and that's it! After that point, I start writing." If you can get your first point across, and write the first paragraph, I've often found that my subconscious is busy at work even if I'm concentrating on something else. There's a very good chance that after you've finished writing your first point, that you'll then come up with the perfect example and rebuttal to it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you need a plan. Try adding some structure by apportioning a certain amount of time for brainstorming, and then spend the rest of the time writing. You won't get many additional marks for creativity and unusual examples, but you could lose big marks if you run out of time before addressing all of the points in the question. Good luck! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Akane200 Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 Other ways to get examples: Read up on newspapers and current events. This is expository writing where you have to come up with an argumentative on the spot. You can always pull examples from the news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 Hi there, Another idea (if the WS is the last on your list of MCAT things to do today): rent and watch the movie, "Gandhi". His remarkable life ecompasses many of the issues, (e.g., leadership, education, learning, revolution, culture) and exemplifies many of the traits that you are asked to incorporate in many a WS. Not only could gaining an understanding of Gandhi's life give you a bit more fuel for the WS prompts, but sitting and watching a flick may help imbue a little, much-needed relaxation prior to the big day. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tones Posted August 16, 2001 Report Share Posted August 16, 2001 Hi everyone, Incredibly, the writing sample was my favourite section on the MCAT. It was just a nice break after the verbal and physical sciences. I come from a liberal arts background so that may have led me to doing well in the writing sample but I can't stress enough... Don't write ANYTHING until you have ALL your points. This usually took me about 3-5 minutes. I prepared by reading the paper and looking at bios of famous people: Lincoln, Mother Theresa etc. I always used Van Gogh in my writing sample since his life can be applied to almost any essay! Anyways, after you have all you points your essay will just flow from there. I quickly divided my sheet into three columns. Put down examples to accept or refute for each, pick the strongest two. Then decide what makes these columns different from each other... that's column three. THen I just kept on writing. I always had enough time since I allotted 3-5 for brainstorming, 8-9 for accept & refute, 4-5 for conclusion and 2 minutes for spell check. But always have all your points because even if you take 8 minutes for your examples, your other writing will flow because everything is in front of you and will thus save you time!!! tones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.