Hi! i know for most of u here probably don't need to worry much about the WS section. But English is my second language. Though i have my undergraduate education in English, being a science major, i didn't have much opportunities to write essays etc. I have a hard time analyzing topics and finding examples and arguments for them, especially for political and philosophical statements. I was wondering if anyone has similar background and experiences would give me some advice.
another question: for the real CBT mcat writing section, does it have auto correct for the words like when we use Microsoft word? i tend to be careless when i'm typing...
any feedback is appreciated . thanks!
I'd scored an S on the writing section, meaning 1 of my essays rec'd the highest score, the other was ranked 1 number off the highest score, and wanted to offer some suggestions.
In writing the essay, I used the Kaplan method exactly; 3 paragraphs, I'd double check the format, it was something like "write what the words mean to you" (p1) "come up with an example" (p2) "come up with a counterexample and pull them together/explain how the two fit together (p3).
Couple suggestions to write a strong essay (in my opinion other sections are more important, but scoring really low on the essay would also be bad).
1) go on the aamc web site to practice writing, they have a number of mcat topics. Try putting together and completing an essay, typed, in 30 minutes. Typing ability is very important, I'd suggest typing an essay or two every day for several weeks, to improve typing speed (unless you already are a fast typer)
2) after some time, try doing 2 essays in a row (like the actual mcat) in a 1 hr. period.
for subject matter, you can write about ANYTHING. I'd even heard it does not have to be correct factually. (i.e. if you can't recall specifics but write them to the best of your knowledge) I enjoy international politics & foreign languages, and included details on France's group that monitors the use of "non-french" in advertising/signage, in an effort to limit "non-french" influence in french life in one of my mcat essays. I'd remembered this from something in a newspaper some months back. I included very specific details about my examples, which I think earned more points.
For subject matter, I read the paper daily, an international magazine weekly, just to keep abreast of what's happenning. With this background, there was no problem coming up with sufficient material to consider.
