WS....anyone have problem coming up with good examples?

[Tracy47]

I'm not a good writer to boot. I know a lot of people don't prepare for this part of the test, is there a way to prepare if your weakness is that you just can't come up with examples that are relevant to the prompt?

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[el.harpo]

One piece of advice I got was to research the hell out of a historical topic (like the Civil War or something) and somehow tie in all your Writing Samples. If you research it enough then you should be able to get through any challenging WS by tying it in with your topic. Sometimes people recommend researching two topics so both your WS aren't based off of the same topic. You don't have to do whole essays when you practice...just think about what examples you'll use.

 

[jon0013]

if you have trouble comin up with an example just make up a hypothetical one....remember they dont care about if the example is real...only how well it fits in your argument....

 

[perfectmoment]

if you have trouble comin up with an example just make up a hypothetical one....remember they dont care about if the example is real...only how well it fits in your argument....

give me an example of a hypothetical example? how would that be a good support for one's points?

 

[mandy_848]

if you have trouble comin up with an example just make up a hypothetical one....remember they dont care about if the example is real...only how well it fits in your argument....

yeah i'm curious as to how you would use a hypothetical example as well - is that actually acceptable? i can't think of how you could use it without just talking generally about a subject

 

[CoffeeCat]

yeah i'm curious as to how you would use a hypothetical example as well - is that actually acceptable? i can't think of how you could use it without just talking generally about a subject

Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not what is best for the country. For example, in May 2005 Newsweek released a report that politicians' reliance on public polls has increased 80% since 1985. This...bla bla.

This is what our TPR teachers say to do and of course, it doesn't matter. No one is going to fact check and as long as it's reasonable and supports the thesis/antithesis, it doesn't matter. Usually they gave examples of research done at universities or articles in magazines/newspapers.

 

[Mister Pie]

Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not what is best for the country. For example, in May 2005 Newsweek released a report that politicians' reliance on public polls has increased 80% since 1985. This...bla bla.

This is what our TPR teachers say to do and of course, it doesn't matter. No one is going to fact check and as long as it's reasonable and supports the thesis/antithesis, it doesn't matter. Usually they gave examples of research done at universities or articles in magazines/newspapers.

Are you serious? That's kind of... I dunno. My verbal teacher did not advocate this, that's for sure. Still, you have a point though. A) They aren't going to fact check and B) your essay doesn't really mean anything to begin with since you are forced to write on the subject. I guess personally I just wouldn't feel right making up a fact, I'd rather go with some hypothetical situation (which I hear isn't as bad as the instructors make it seem).

 

[mandy_848]

Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not what is best for the country. For example, in May 2005 Newsweek released a report that politicians' reliance on public polls has increased 80% since 1985. This...bla bla.

This is what our TPR teachers say to do and of course, it doesn't matter. No one is going to fact check and as long as it's reasonable and supports the thesis/antithesis, it doesn't matter. Usually they gave examples of research done at universities or articles in magazines/newspapers.

so you just made up the fact??

 

[Jonathan13180]

I was always told to just provide examples that dont deal with controversial issues-straddle the fence if you have to-on issues like politics, abortion, Terrell Owens, etc....i wouldnt worry however, the WS is of little to no use. goodluck.

 

[NilamPatel]

how can you make up a fact? that doesn't look smart, it does the opposite. if the person grading your essay sees you throwing in dates that don't correlate to the events you are talking about they won't even bother reading the rest of it. if you can't think of an example just don't put one in. putting false facts in is like gambling with the house's money, you just don't do it...im hoping that if my verbal doesn't improve then i can use the writing sample/english class to help make my case that it was simply a timing thing or i was nervous, etc...the writing section can help you especially if you suck at verbal..

as guju said they are looking for people that can write a coherent essay about the topic..thats it. if you don't have examples its okay just write an essay that makes sense and has real information not made up

 

[CoffeeCat]

so you just made up the fact??

Yes, it's made up! Yes, my teachers advocated this and yes, I think it's a good idea.

I don't think it's dangerous as long as you don't say something outrageous or easily checkable. You know how many articles and research there is out there? No one cares enough to go and check up on your story. What if you vaguely remember reading something a few months ago? Make up some details to go along with it.

If you think about it, the WS itself is pretty much BS. How are you supposed to have specific examples on the spot?

You NEED an example. If you don't support your antithesis or thesis with an example, then you won't get a decent score and that's the tragedy.

 

[CoffeeCat]

as guju said they are looking for people that can write a coherent essay about the topic..thats it. if you don't have examples its okay just write an essay that makes sense and has real information not made up

The WS is not about writing a good essay, it's about following a format. Check TPR books and probably other test companies for that format. If you don't have an example, you're not following the format.

 

[jon0013]

in april we had a prompt talkin about whether we should advocate a society that provides equal educational opportunities for HS students to attend college....we had to write about whether that would be better than keeping colleges prestigious...

so i wrote about how a competitive institution like harvard will churn out top notch students...

then i made up a college name (didnt want to throw out any real names and offend the graders) which was not prestigious and pretty much let anyone in and talked about its benefits such as keepin kids off streets, training people...


the other essay talked about laws or somethin and i just made up a law about speeding tickets....

got an S on writing....

 

[mandy_848]

in april we had a prompt talkin about whether we should advocate a society that provides equal educational opportunities for HS students to attend college....we had to write about whether that would be better than keeping colleges prestigious...

so i wrote about how a competitive institution like harvard will churn out top notch students...

then i made up a college name (didnt want to throw out any real names and offend the graders) which was not prestigious and pretty much let anyone in and talked about its benefits such as keepin kids off streets, training people...


the other essay talked about laws or somethin and i just made up a law about speeding tickets....

got an S on writing....

so did you actually mention in your essay that it was a hypothetical school/law? or did you just pretend like it was a real example?

 

[NilamPatel]

i know that thinking of examples is hard during a test or getting facts completely right, but say you make up an example about harvard or ivy league schools and the grader just happens to be from an ivy league school, and knows that your example is bogus. then you're SOL. i'd rather not take that chance..i'd rather not put an example is or try to use hypotheticals...

 

[CoffeeCat]

Same difference. My point is that you can write a coherent essay following the format without making up facts and figures. I got an O in writing, which is quite decent, without any made up facts and figures. I wouldn't try to make up facts and figures, just to get a few extra points on the writing. If you get at least an N or above, you'll be set. For that matter, if you have a 34 and an M, it won't kill you.

I'd just practice one or two to make sure you have the idea behind it.

Of course you can do this without making things up. My point is that if you're stuck and your options are no example or one that's made up, there's not a problem making one up as long as it's reasonable.