MCAT WS prompts

[Guest dopetown]

Hi,

 

I read from somewhere that the WS prompts were choosen from a collection of 300 pre-existing promps. Where can I get a hold of them? The AAMC website has some sample prompts that will never be used (but will still be useful, I'm sure).

 

Thanks,

Dopetown

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

The AAMC used to offer a booklet that described each section of the MCAT, and included the full list of prompts. I just had a quick look on their website (as the booklet used to be downloadable from there) but I don't see it. You could probably still get your hands on the full set of prompts though, if you can find someone who wrote the MCAT in the past who still has the booklet. (Although are the AAMC still using that pool of prompts from which to draw their current essay topics?)

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest dopetown]

Thanks Kirsteen.

 

Does anyone here know if the AAMC will use prompts drawn from a pre-existing list?

[Guest tweep0]

That was the case two years ago. You can access 200+ sample prompts from Kaplan that were used back then. Last year, the AAMC did not publish a list of possible prompts. I don't think the AAMC selects their WS prompts from a list anymore.

 

Tweep

[Guest 0T6]

I think tweep's right

 

If anyone's interested in the pre-used prompt list dopetown was referring to, it's available here:

www.aamc.org/students/mca...sitems.htm

[Guest ec416]

Here's a link to an old document that lists over 300 WS prompts. admin.acadiau.ca/counsel/2001an.pdf

 

When I wrote the MCAT last year, the questions were similar to the ones on the list but never exact. After a quick look thru, you should be able to get some ideas about the possible topics, which include business practices, history, politics, wars, laws, morality, science & technology, education... etc. From that point on, it's research time to find relevant examples...

 

I hope this helps.

[Guest dopetown]

Thanks e-man. I knew this file was hanging around somewhere on some website but I didn't think to ask.

 

dopetown

[Guest studentz]

Hi,

 

That list was so big that it probably won't be that useful to you for anything more than getting a sense of what to expect.

 

Honestly, the advice that everyone gives to read the paper and good magazines for several months before the test works! You'll never memorize responses to 200 prompts so it's best to be able to repsond to anything.

 

I wrote my GRE a month ago and the prompt I got was much more difficult than anything I got on the MCAT, which was unexpected.

[Guest dopetown]

It would definitely help to read about various subjects in the news that the MCAT WS may be based upon. However, if I was given the choice between spending my time on previous WS prompts or reading newspapers and magazines, I would still attempt the WS prompts.

 

Reading newspapers and magazines is great, but I don't think it will give us the volume of knowledge and examples that we will need to be fully prepared for the WS.

 

It's obviously a lot of work to write 300 essays, but we have a lot of time and even if we do not complete them all, doing 100 of the promps would prepare you much better than being current on the news (though, you should do that anyway for interviews). We can use any examples we want; why not choose use good ones rather than new ones?

 

I think if I practice writing the prompts, I would get a deeper sense of how the WS should be written, and be forced to research the topics that I am not familiar with. My weakness is business and politics. I would probably emphasize on those subjects by researching the topics and writing about them. In doing so, I would learn about the topics and probably a lot of background information, and I would acquire a number of examples that may even be suitable for other topics.

 

There is nothing on the AAMC that says they will not be drawing from the bank of 300 prompts and even if they're not, how many new prompts can they come up with? And even if they come up with new prompts, I think they will have at least some relativity to the old promps.

 

-dopetown

[Guest physiology]

I'll start you off - August 2003 MCAT

 

I guess only 298 more to go?

 

"Businesses must take advantage of their customers in order to succeed"

 

"Education equalizes society."

 

For both these statements (done separatley):

 

task 1) describe what you think they mean

 

task 2) Provide an example that goes AGAINST the statement

 

Task 3) Forget...but you just tie it all together and provide support for your "against example."

 

You're not supposed to go back and fix the other up if you have time. But since they let you keep both till the end, you can go back and change things in either essay.

[Guest 0T6]

for an antithesis for the 2nd prompt, would it be wrong to discuss inequality in access to education? or would that not really address the prompt which says education itself equalizes society (i.e. the antithesis would have to talk about inequalities in the "delivery" of education?)

[Guest 007]

I think that for my second paragraph I discussed how even if everyone had equal education, they still wouldn't be equivalent...into that I tied how different socio-economic backgrounds may come into play in terms of opportunities. BUT it all really depends on how you define education in the first paragraph....some people limited it to school, others included life skills and extracurricular experiences too. I find that often how you define your terms in the first step will give you something to talk about in the second step. For example, if you purposely limit your definition of education to the classroom, then you can say that the out of class experiences people have prevents them from being equalized in your second step.

 

007

[Guest 0T6]

right.. i like defining things MY way

thanks 007

[Guest LaGriega]

AAMC doesn't pull from the 300 list any more; prompts are new.

 

I'd favour specific practice for WS each time you do a full-length test. You need to practice writing longhand (no cut and paste!), you need to practice the timing (stay alert an hour more before BS), and you need to learn how to sketch out and produce a coherent essay in 30 minutes. If you do this each time you do a full-length, you should be well prepared.

[Guest klukyboy]

One tip I was taught and I'd recommend: You're going to know the format of the question before you go in. Try to put together a generic outline for any topic (paragraph intros, transitions, etc.) It'll help if you find yourself a little short on time. Also, I used to have a list of about 12 topics that could be applied to about 75-85% of the old prompts. Stuff like applying wartime or peacetime to the statement, or goverment type (democracy vs communism, facism, whatever). Sorry I can't give the list, I've sold all my MCAT materials.

 

Little things like this can protect you from catastrophe. If you totally blank you can fall back on the template. I didn't end up using it in the actually MCAT, but the guy who taught it to me did and so did all the people in his study group. The lowest anyone got was a P (and the highest was a T). If you go in and don't need it, great! You'll probably have a smoother sounding essay. However, if you know the WS is your weak point (I know it was mine) it's good to have a reasonably good backup plan.

[Guest 007]

I agree with LaGriega. I really found that doing 2 WS in the midst of a full length test once a week starting in June was totally sufficient. I think that you'll find that because you're given such a specific outline for them, once you do a few they get really boring and the hard part becomes finding the will power to do any more of them EVER....or at least that's how I felt.:rollin

 

007

[Guest studentz]

As for the education/equality prompt from 08/03,

I remember discussing racial and gender discrimination (eg. it basically didn't matter how educated you were if you were black in apartheid South Africa) as well as the class structure of current medical and law schools which essentially perpetuates inequality (for example, the "Did your daddy go to Harvard med?" questions you see on US applications. I remembered this from a report I read in a magazine as well as from a history of medicine course).

 

I would seriously caution against sitting there and doing hundreds of practice prompts. The topics will not repeat exactly as they were and it is much more important to be able to come up with an answer to anything they throw at you. You can only do this by being well read. You do not need to have specialized knowledge of US politics, for example. The advice of a previous poster to come up with examples that can be used for most topics is great. Going over WS prompts is best for getting absolutely used to the three topics and the timing.

 

I ended up with a S on the writing sample last year doing the above, and sticking to a very simple organization of the essay: dedicate one paragraph or so to each of the three tasks.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I'd agree with most of what has been offered above, too. Another wee tidbit that might help some of you, which I found helpful and efficient during my preparation time was to do daily, truncated WS exercises. I'll explain this below.

 

Closer to exam time, e.g., a month or so prior, I was already comfortable with my WS preparation in terms of the essay structure that I would use, the timing for each section, transition phrases, vocabulary keywords and my small inventory of examples. However, the toughest and most variable task that I found with each of these WS prompts at the time just before the exam, was the pre-writing preparation. That is, the five or so minutes that are often recommended to be spent jotting down ideas and forming arguments to address the WS topic at hand. Once that task was complete, I generally found that the rest of the tasks would flow quite smoothly. Therefore, to practice for the WS section at that point, I would simply allot five minutes for the randomly-selected WS prompt-of-the-day, each day, and complete only the pre-writing part of the essay.

 

Overall, for me, it was an efficient way to become familiar with the different wordings of the various WS prompts, and exercise the skills that were required for, what I felt to be, the toughest part of the WS section of the MCAT.

 

Cheers, and good luck,

Kirsteen

[Guest biomedeng]

What I found very helpful for the WS response and argument (not the prompt) was reading time magazines 100 most important events of the 20th century. This was published last year, but you shouldnt have a hard time finding such a publication.

 

Americans love their politics, so reading through this magazine and being able to use as examples some major events that changed the US or the world are really useful.

 

I didnt actually end up using any of these events in my essay, but the reading really helped focus my thinking. For example, as I was reading through the different events, I would keep in mind how I can use them, what prompt they would be suitable for.

[Guest dopetown]

Klukyboy, you mentioned that you made a list of examples that can be applied to ~70-80% of WS prompts but you don't have it anymore.

 

Is there any way you can get a hold of it or tell us how you came up with it? Do you know the guy who taught it to you?

 

-Dopetown

[Guest physiology]

I totally agree with Kirsteen. Spend the 5 minutes in the beginning to jot down some ideas. If you don't - your mind is running a million miles a minute and you have ideas flying everywhere.

 

Writing allows you to group these ideas into one coherent passage.

 

Personally, because I enjoy writing under pressure, I didn't practice for it. I did pretty well. Just make sure you read, and re-read the instructions. It can be pretty easy to forget a part and slip-up majorly. I used to repeat parts of the instructions in my essay as well. "Conversely, an example where businesses truly take advantage of unsuspecting customers, without dishonourable intentions is the following..."

 

I'm not sure if this is necessary, but I also used words like "freshman year" and "JD" instead of a LLb degree (Doctor of Jurisprudence = bachelor of laws in Canada)

 

I wanted my essay to flow (they read it very quickly) and I thought American jargon would help

[Guest studentz]

Make sure you know the instructions before you go there. You have to do the same 3 things no matter what the prompt is so it's best to know these things cold so you don't waste time there.

 

Also, keep the organization simple. While it's great to vary sentence structure, it's probably best to devote a paragraph to each of the three tasks and leave it at that.