Daemos Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 So I AM still recovering from a pretty bad car accident, but since I went up in everything else, I'm pretty pissed about my Writing sample. I had contacted someone here about doing practice writing sample marking, but because of the car accident, surgery, medication, and no energy, I felt I should at least study the core. The end result was I didn't get a chance to practice anything really, I just read, did more reading, and read some more. So if anyone is willing to help a fellow out with writing sample let me know. I'm not in school this term, so I might as well do something productive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan008 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 I got an S on the writing sample and can attempt to help you. PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Averance Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I took the MCAT twice and my WS mark jumped substantially (O to T). The difference between the 2nd time i wrote it was that i emphasized more on why my examples tied to my point (to the point redundant). In addition, I tried writing more "englishy" for the 2nd time around (aka just talking to myself in the essay, raising questions, such as those in the AAMC examples), rather than stick with the PR review method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan008 Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I agree, I found PR method good for the overall structure of your answer, but you shouldn't rely only on that. Try to have your own style + have examples to back up what you are saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I found that you need to show them you are able to analyze the prompt from multiple angles. Write with conviction. Think of examples, when is the prompt true? When is it not true? What are the factor (s) that make it this way? Then think about, how does each factor tie into your prompt? Always relate it to your prompt and try to do this while showing them you can think critically (make them go... oooh, I never thought of that before or wow, that's so true!). Do that for both your first two paragraphs... then for the end, explain what it is that's the difference between your 2 paragraphs. What is it that causes the situation to go one way or another? Relate it to the prompt!! Finally, if you have time... proofread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspired17 Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Hi Daemos, Firstly, let me just say that I am sorry that you had to write the MCAT under those conditions. I scored T on the writing sample so I will try to offer you some advice for the next time. I did not practice for the WS, though I did write the GREs as well this summer and had to produce writing samples for this as well. In order to practice for the GREs (which are more demanding in terms of the writing), I wrote essays under conditions identical to those of the testing situation. I had a list of topics from the GRE website, I would randomly select one and then give myself 30 min to write a response. I did this several times and it gave me confidence and also taught me how to parcel my time. If you think that this would help you, here is the link for the GRE topic pool. These topics are similar to MCAT-style prompts: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=b63ce7b9edfb5010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=06c7e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD Also, I included a lot of eloquent words in my essays. I had studied words lists for the GREs and threw some of those words into the MCAT essays. I don't know that this is necessary, but it can't hurt. I wrote on Aug 20th, and the first topic had something to do with business ethics-this was a nightmare topic for me since I have no interest in business and I really did not want a topic in this area. However, I formulated clear-cut arguments, then followed them with concrete examples, and tried to make it sound good by enhancing my sample with higher level vocabulary. I honestly do not think that my response to this prompt was extremely insightful, however I attended to the style and the vocabulary. Furthermore, I tried to make links throughout the essay but using "link" words and also drawing parallels between my ideas. I think that consistency in terms of the way your present your arguments is important. Find a format that you're comfortable with and stick to it (ex. state your argument, present an example, tie it in to the general theme, etc). Let me know if I can be of any assistance. I wish you the best of luck and hope that your recovery is going smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 http://aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/wsprep.htm Check out that link too. I found that helped me a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaman Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Got a T on the writing sample. Mind you I only did about 3 practice runs for it. I pretty much followed the Kaplan structure, but what really helped me out in the end was the CBT. Not only is typing alot faster than writing, I was editing shiiet left and right, and probably wouldn't have had time to do that if i was writing by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.