Essays

[caitie]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Seriously, how do you "study" for the essay sections on the PCAT?

I didn't bother b/c I said "pff I know how to write..." and then when i took the Aug PCAT I was like "what the... how am I supposed to write a topic about that???"

Are there any websites/books/whatever that have helped you out?
Thanks!

 

[kakme]

There are no materials for preparing for the essay part. According to the PCAT practice test I bought, you should try to keep up with what problems the country is facing, such as social/cultural/polical/science/health issues. You can only know these if you read or listen to the news. I personally don't like to sit and watch CNN or the other news channels, but I listen to NPR all the time at work. They discuss national problems and solutions. Both of the essay problems in the August PCAT had been topics on NPR before, so I had no problem coming up with solutions. So you may want to start catching up on news about national issues 👍, not the celebrity and entertainment news we always see on Yahoo main page 👎. Lol

 

[jung1]

The solution can be guiding principles. Some of the high scoring essays were like if we all loved each other then there would be no more hate crimes. When I was working at McDonalds, an irate customer was angry at me. I got emotional too but instead of yelling back at him, I said that I cared and would help. The customer left happy so I was happy too. If we all loved each other then there would be no more hate crimes.

 

[roziak]

Simple. Just structure your paper: Intro, Solution1, Solution2, Conclusion.

Keep up with recent news. Try to visit some news websites everyday (CNN.com, NYtimes.com, etc)

Try a couple practice exams under the time limit so you can get a hang of things. and DEFINITELY give yourself a few minutes beforehand to make a preliminary outline for your essay.

 

[caitie]

thanks guys. I downloaded an NPR app on my iphone just for the pcat now. blah =P lol

 

[sunflower85]

jung1,
HAAAA. I was afraid that might be the type of thing they were looking for...but I can't write what I don't believe. So, I've been worried that I would get someone on the opposite side of the spectrum than I fall, and they would grade me poorly for subjective reasons. Now it appears they just gave everyone a 3 and 3!

I second the NPR idea. Listen, listen, listen. I also made lists of seeming beauty pageant questions (how would you solve the problem of wars in the world, little fat kids, and racists who hate Obama...you know, that kind of thing) and work up outlines with solutions as kind of practice exercises.

Hope that helps.

 

[applefan]

I got a pair of 4's on the August PCAT so here's what I did.

This was the structure for both my essays.
Intro
-The intro you want to give some background info about the topic, and why it is a problem.

Solution 1 and potential problems
Solution 2 and potential problems

Conclusion.

Read a lot of current US news too because that's where the topics come from.