It’s probably a ridiculous time for a post like this, since exams recently concluded, but one of the reasons I’m writing this at all is because I thought of some interesting concepts after writing my English diploma. I hope this can be of some use to the ones writing in the next semester, or even those in earlier years of high school.
There are 2 main types of writing expected of students: critical essays and personal responses. I’ll start with the latter. Technically, critical essays fall under the category of PR, so you can familiarize yourself with just essay writing and still perform well, but the question chosen for a PR response is often much more vague; furthermore, the given text for the PR usually won’t have a clear specific thesis that you can derive in the given time and then write on, so it’s beneficial to explore other types of prose beforehand.
The PR’s pretty simple: you just need the message and give a good presentation of that. A good way to find said message is to gather impressions for the first section of the text (if you’re not using an image) and try to solidify them into a conclusive thesis after reaching the end. Like the phrase on the Snitch in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, the text will “open at the close”: the main idea is almost always revealed in the final stretch of the passage. It’s often very simple: an exemplar on Alberta Education’s website wrote on the notion that “parental forces encourage a child to act”. Of course, you’ll still need to integrate a quote from the text and reinforce your message throughout your writing, but finding the topic stem is relatively straightforward.
For the critical essay, try to consider the text you’re writing on as a sort of dissertation that’s trying to argue for a certain perspective, rather than a short story, novel, or whatever it actually is. This will enrich your interpretation of the text. For the thesis, a good format to utilize is “event-reaction-result”: something occurs that causes a character to act in a certain way or struggle, ultimately resulting on some other thing. (Remember to write about an individual and use “he/she” instead of “they”.) This fits the 3-paragraph essay well, as you can support one section of the causality in each paragraph. Of course, feel free to make your thesis whatever you want, but this is generally a secure setup for high marks in the IDEAS category.
Teachers are really good at recognizing bulls*** when they see it (I’ve learned the hard way before). If your ideas aren’t very deep, even if you try to impress with extravagant words and structure, you probably won’t get much of a higher mark. A good way to prepare for essays is to separate the concepts from the words: you can remember certain good-sounding phrases for the intro, but beyond that, try to plan and brainstorm in words that are as simple as possible. There’s no point in trying to impress yourself with fancy writing when you’re developing the foundation of your argument. This way, you’ll recognize any shortcomings or holes in your reasoning before the results end up biting you.
Of course, writing can be improved with practice. I found reading generally helpful in expanding vocabulary and improving my phrasing skills. A relatively abstract approach that I sometimes took was thinking of ways that the author could’ve written better, so when you’re studying for something – whether it be the sciences or the humanities – try to be critical of any text you’re reading (provided that you have time, and aren’t desperately cramming for tomorrow’s unit final that you’re taking big L’s on). Your mark – and sense of satisfaction – will thank you for it.
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