<p>The essay section is the part I have the most trouble with. I believe my grammar is decent and fine. The problem is that it is not 100% certain that I will always have good examples. Anyone care to pass on some tips?</p>
<p>Try to read a novel or watch a series that is so lengthy that it contains a lot of subplots that can fit into any topic.
I’ve watched House M.D series and since then, each essay I’ve written I was able to use an example from house in it.</p>
<p>I have a kid who has gotten an 11 and a 12 on the essay across two sittings. Both essays are atrocious, comical in their horribleness. Why did they receive high scores? Because they were nearly perfect in construction. They both started with a clear statement of purpose in the first paragraph that mentioned general examples that led to the thesis. The next two paragraphs each expanded upon the ways in which her examples supported her thesis. The last paragraph clearly summarized everything and closed with a sentence that honed in one one of the examples. </p>
<p>There are no scratch throughs or notes. Handwriting is small and neat and takes up both pages. She essentially sat down and just started writing. Half of the “facts” she used to support her thesis are WRONG and she knew it when she wrote them. They supported her thesis though and that’s all that matters. The other half were just kind of stupid, but again, they supported her case. I mean, really, would you agree that the greatest contribution of the space program has been Velcro? That’s what I mean by comical. </p>
<p>These two essays are simultaneously the worst things she’s ever written and the best. They are the worst because the content is stupid. They are the best because they perfectly fulfill the assignment and present an argument in a cogent fashion.</p>
<p>So don’t overthink these things. Plan on using as examples things from the subject area about which you are most passionate and have the most ready recall. Don’t sweat the facts of the examples, especially if you are using examples about which the average high school English teacher (who grades these things) is not generally knowledgeable. They either won’t realize it isn’t true or won’t care. </p>