1. I've heard that the longer the essay, the higher the score you'll receive. This is a little counterintuitive to me -- in general, shouldn't the quality be more important than the quantity? Do you have any specific thoughts on this?
2. How important is it to cite your sources (e.g. a particular paper or news article)?
Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Anita
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- anita_mehrotra
- Students
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- tommywallach
- Manhattan Prep Staff
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- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:18 am
Re: A couple of q's
Hey Anita,
Good questions. Let's take 'em one by one:
1) Yes, it is indeed a bit silly that length is so important. Even in the Official Guide, ETS claims they don't care about the length as much as the quality. But they're lying. We've done studies, and the longer it is, the more likely it is to get a higher score. In their defense, they are mostly testing your facility with the English language here, and part of that is being able to write coherently at length in a short amount of time. Either way, it's true.
I like to think of it this way: Don't add a bunch of words or extra sentences or anything lame like that. All it should mean is that if you have a third body paragraph idea (example, in the case of an issue essay; assumption/flaw, in the case of an argument essay), but it's kinda weak, and you're wondering whether you should include it: INCLUDE IT! Better to have a bad third example then no third example.
2) It is not important AT ALL to cite your sources. Just make them up. Seriously. No one cares. This is about English, not knowledge. : )
-t
Good questions. Let's take 'em one by one:
1) Yes, it is indeed a bit silly that length is so important. Even in the Official Guide, ETS claims they don't care about the length as much as the quality. But they're lying. We've done studies, and the longer it is, the more likely it is to get a higher score. In their defense, they are mostly testing your facility with the English language here, and part of that is being able to write coherently at length in a short amount of time. Either way, it's true.
I like to think of it this way: Don't add a bunch of words or extra sentences or anything lame like that. All it should mean is that if you have a third body paragraph idea (example, in the case of an issue essay; assumption/flaw, in the case of an argument essay), but it's kinda weak, and you're wondering whether you should include it: INCLUDE IT! Better to have a bad third example then no third example.
2) It is not important AT ALL to cite your sources. Just make them up. Seriously. No one cares. This is about English, not knowledge. : )
-t
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