WS guides

[SolitaireAddikt]

Hey

I am not planning on taking my MCAT for sometime (probably this summer), however, I've decided that I don't want to do a prep course. I've been looking into buying study materials for the MCAT, however as far as I know no book exists about how to tackle the MCAT writing sample. I've gotten a general idea about how its supposed to be done from this website, but are there any books or websites available that are of any help?

Thanks

[THX]

MCAT books won't help you with the WS - just read and write. The only advice I give you is to practice playing devil's advocate and when it comes to actually writing your essay, use examples (good examples). An essay with examples that support your argument is >>>>> than one that doesn't.

[Guest soaring_eagle]

I got a T on my writing sample and never took a course.

 

Just make sure your arguments are logical and you are connecting with the reader. I know it sounds odd, but you have to make sure your connections really click when they read it...that is what I found anyways. That is what makes the reader say, "okay I really get what they are saying" , arguing both sides of the coin without bias...

 

good luck.

[Paulhammer]

Just be sure to answer all parts of the question, and answer specifically what it's asking (don't go off on a tangent). This can be tough with the time pressure, so it's important to make a little outline before you dive into the actual writing.

 

From what i've heard, if you answer all parts of the question, you can't be scored under 4/6, so if you do that and toss in some good examples (World War II, French Revolution, Nelson Mandela etc. are all good) you'll score well. Just be sure that you use an example that you are familiar with, and remember that it will be marked by an American, who may not be familiar with Canadian examples, and might be put off by an essay making American political comments that they don't agree with. I fell into this boat on one of my samples (the only thing I could think of was public opposition to the Vietnam war), and I ended up doing less than stellar on that one, but I still ended up with a P.

 

I'd reccomend the ExamKrackers books - lots of diagrams, amusing writing etc. which I found really helped me to recall details.

[SolitaireAddikt]

Thanks for all your help. I'm going to keep this all in mind when I start studying!

[medaholic]

Just look in any Kaplan, TPR, ExamKrackers book. You don't have to take the course. Their materials will give you an outline of what you have to do for the WS.

 

Try to imitate a few of their examples, then start practicing WS and get them evaluated by someone who has taken the MCAT before and has done well on the WS. They will tell you how to improve.

[cling]

Hey, may I also add the following:

1) Look at the examples at the e-mcat website. They are great for understanding what separates a Q/R from and S/T,etc. However, those examples are a bit on the long side, IMHO.

2) Look at the comprehensive list of all the WS topics. The real MCAT topics are chosen from this list!!! I skimmed through all of them, and found all the topics which I thought were difficult. Sure enough, there was a trend (they were mainly politics/leadership prompts). "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" is what usually holds true on the test day. However, if you know your weaknesses prior to test day, you can use the first 5 minutes to prewrite, instead of hyperventilating, since you already know how to deal with these types of prompts ( i.e. I managed to squeeze in Gandhi in almost every politics prompt ).

3) Look through these forums. There are several threads where people posted troublesome prompts, discussing examples for thesis/antithesis, etc.

 

Writing is the most relaxing section on the whole test, but preparing for it can be stressful as there is no universal, best way to approach it.