Length of Writing Samples?

[Silverfalcon]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to write two essays in 60 minutes right? I'm guessing that you finish one sample, submit it, and then start the next one, submit it, right? The clock is obviously ticking for both of them, so you can theoretically finish the first one in 20 min and second one in 40 min if you wanted to.

I just did two practice prompts in a row (timed) and I finished 5 minutes early. I didn't proofread too much because this was the first practice set ever and I felt lazy. The first essay was 660 words, and the second essay was 929 words. None of the examples was a person example - I mentioned legal, economic, and technological situations to assert my arguments.

Are they too long? Like, what are considered "good lengths" to do well on writing samples?

 

[Damia]

.

 

[Silverfalcon]

I believe each is individually timed for 30 minutes - you can spend only 20 minutes on the first if you won't, but you won't get the extra 10 minutes added on the second. That's how it worked in the AAMC practice I did last week.

So, if I finish the first essay in 25 minutes, then the next essay starts with 30 minutes, not 35 minutes (assuming I don't doodle and take a break)?

What about length and score correlation? I know Writing score isn't really important at all, but I want to do well.

 

[texasgal87]

you get 30 minutes each..no roll over time. so you can finish early if you want. but you cant go back and work on the last essay once you submit

 

[2050vlsb]

So, if I finish the first essay in 25 minutes, then the next essay starts with 30 minutes, not 35 minutes (assuming I don't doodle and take a break)?

What about length and score correlation? I know Writing score isn't really important at all, but I want to do well.

You definitely won't get any time left over .. there's a separate timer for each prompt set for 30 min

I took a TPR prep course, and my instructor said that writing kind of only comes into play if you either do really poorly or well. In regards to length, you should be making a clear, concise argument. In general, three large, bulky paragraphs should be enough .. I can't remember character/word count suggestions. I don't know if you already have your own strategy, but the TPR's organization (of a thesis (first paragraph, proves prompt), antithesis (second paragraph, disproves prompt) and synthesis (final paragraph, gives rule for when each is true)) was very helpful

 

[Silverfalcon]

You definitely won't get any time left over .. there's a separate timer for each prompt set for 30 min

I took a TPR prep course, and my instructor said that writing kind of only comes into play if you either do really poorly or well. In regards to length, you should be making a clear, concise argument. In general, three large, bulky paragraphs should be enough .. I can't remember character/word count suggestions. I don't know if you already have your own strategy, but the TPR's organization (of a thesis (first paragraph, proves prompt), antithesis (second paragraph, disproves prompt) and synthesis (final paragraph, gives rule for when each is true)) was very helpful

I had similar thing like that. First paragraph = rephrasing of the prompt. Second and third paragraph = counterargument of the prompt (e.g. when is the prompt not true?), and fourth and fifth paragraph = explanation and expansion of judging the middle.

I wasn't sure if it was better to have a huge one paragraph or split into two like I did for each "section" of essay. Based on the responses here, I suppose, it's not that important (like you said, either really well or really poor matter - nothing in between) so guess I'll just see what happens on the test day. 🙂

 

[NickNaylor]

I have no idea how long mine were, but they felt pretty short. Each was 3 paragraphs, maybe 400 or 500 words.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Around 7-8 sentences per paragraph. Each essay was 3 paragraphs.

 

[Silverfalcon]

I have no idea how long mine were, but they felt pretty short. Each was 3 paragraphs, maybe 400 or 500 words.

Thank you for providing that, Cole. I just looked up your score from the 30+ thread - you got S. So, I guess it's more oriented towards vocabulary and writing style than length, I suppose? That's a really good score, btw (along with other ones).

 

[Dartmouth2005]

Thank you for providing that, Cole. I just looked up your score from the 30+ thread - you got S. So, I guess it's more oriented towards vocabulary and writing style than length, I suppose? That's a really good score, btw (along with other ones).

I would imagine so. My goal is to write clearly and concisely with mine. Use two or three examples to support my arguments and make sure to have a good concluding sentence.

 

[Silverfalcon]

I would imagine so. My goal is to write clearly and concisely with mine. Use two or three examples to support my arguments and make sure to have a good concluding sentence.

Are those for total number of examples used or for each side (e.g. two to three for re-stating the definition of prompt, and another two to three for counterarguments)? I imagine it's total...