Writing Sample - what if you don't understand what the prompt means?

[chuntingche]

As the title of the thread says, are we allowed to ask proctors about certain definitions in the prompt. For example, if we are given:

 

"In the recording of history, it is impossible to be objective."

 

And I didn't understand the meaning of objective, would I be able to ask the proctor the meaning of it because if I don't understand that key word, then I'm pretty much going to get an X for that essay.

 

Thanks in advance for replies/advice!

[Shadowplay]

They're judging you on your writing skills, not your interpretation; so I would think that if the proctor wont help with the definition of objective, as long as you define it in your essay, you can use whatever meaning you give it.

[Jamer]

Proctor will not help. Just make sure you clarify in your 1st paragraph what YOUR interpretation of the word objective is and go from there and they won't care.

[chuntingche]

oic now, thanks a lot guys for the help!

[Jamer]

You really should know what objective and subjective are, though . They come up in plenty of promptasauruses

[sbrugby]

Yah Jamer is spot on, and it goes for any prompt. Clearly state your interpretation of each of the key words and prompt overall, and go from there.

[chuntingche]

Haha yea my English isn't really that amazing

 

I found another example prompt:

 

"Today's mobile society often loses in family and community ties what it agins in individual freedom"

 

If I got that on my actual MCAT, there would be no way I would know what "agins" means exactly. Good thing I can provide my own interpretation

 

Once again, thanks a lot guys for all your help. I really appreciate it!

[Jamer]

LOL it's a typo of gains.

[chuntingche]

lol, i actually got that from one of the PR diagnostic tests. The funny thing is the word "agins" actually exists =p

[C2U2]

I'm sorry. Am I missing something here? We are allowed to provide our own definition of terms? How does that work? I don't get it. You mean we can just make up stuff to accommodate our essay?

 

What I mean by that is, for example, we can't think of why AAA would benefit society, but we have an idea for why AAA would not benefit society.

 

However, by changing the meaning of AAA, we can accommodate both benefit and harm society. And thus, we can write a better essay.

 

We're allow to do that without being punished? Can someone please explain.

 

I haven't taken the MCAT yet so sorry for being a n00b.

[The Law]

No, if you absolutely do not know what a word means and are completely guessing and are far off, then you will lose marks. You can define it, but so long as it fits the general framework of the definition. Most words, for example, let's say a prompt says something like, "When teaching a class, teachers must only present truths to students"... the word "truths" has a somewhat ambiguious meaning, so by all means, define it as you talk about what you think it means (in the 1st paragraph). Again, objective can also be defined more specifically to relate it to the case at hand.

 

Anyway, hope that helps.

[09/2012]

lol, i actually got that from one of the PR diagnostic tests. The funny thing is the word "agins" actually exists =p

 

I can't seem to find this word in a few dictionaries. Please define it. Thanks.

[itimebomb2]

i think its pretty safe to say that if you don't know what objective means, you're pretty well screwed no matter which way you define it...

 

You need to have a strong grasp of English. Period.

[~me~]

As the title of the thread says, are we allowed to ask proctors about certain definitions in the prompt. For example, if we are given:

 

"In the recording of history, it is impossible to be objective."

 

And I didn't understand the meaning of objective, would I be able to ask the proctor the meaning of it because if I don't understand that key word, then I'm pretty much going to get an X for that essay.

 

Thanks in advance for replies/advice!

 

Hey

 

If this is something that you're really worried about, you could always read all the writing sample prompts on the aamc website: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/writingsampleitems.htm.

 

According to the AAMC, "Topics selected for use in MCAT exams will be similar or identical to those in this list" The essay prompts that I got (and that all my friends got) were from this list, and I've heard informally that no one gets prompts that are not on the list.

 

It might take you a couple of hours to read through all of the prompts though! (looks like there are more than a few hundred there!)

[HBP]

+1

 

Definitely a good idea to read through them all if you have a weak vocabulary.

[dreamer87]

+1

 

Definitely a good idea to read through them all if you have a weak vocabulary.

 

do they ever repeat prompts?

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

I'm guessing they would have repeated some prompts, as I think that list of prompts has been around for a decent amount of years.

[The Law]

Hey

 

If this is something that you're really worried about, you could always read all the writing sample prompts on the aamc website: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/writingsampleitems.htm.

 

According to the AAMC, "Topics selected for use in MCAT exams will be similar or identical to those in this list" The essay prompts that I got (and that all my friends got) were from this list, and I've heard informally that no one gets prompts that are not on the list.

 

It might take you a couple of hours to read through all of the prompts though! (looks like there are more than a few hundred there!)

 

Took a quick look at the list, and I see all the prompts I have gotten on my two MCAT tries on there.

[dreamer87]

Took a quick look at the list, and I see all the prompts I have gotten on my two MCAT tries on there.

 

nice! thanks