Check out below how to perform well when actually writing the perfect essay!
1. Read the proposed text carefully
One of the biggest mistakes made when writing a dissertation is the candidate avoiding the topic, because they do not know the subject in depth or because they feel unprepared. This ends up reducing your chances of approval, since this mistake ends up costing 50% of the grade.
To avoid this, read the proposed topic carefully — and don’t forget the support materials that the test generally provides. Even though you cannot copy information, you can build your arguments based on some data or statement contained in them.
2. Reflect and write down all the ideas you have on the topic
Perfect textual production originates from good planning. This means that, to write a good essay, you need to form a kind of skeleton of the text. To do this, choose an approach to the topic, list the arguments you will use to defend your thesis and write down the ideas you have on the subject.
Therefore, don’t forget to:
- identify the theme;
- define the thesis to be defended;
- outline the bases of defense, that is, the argumentation that will support the thesis (use three arguments);
- define, among the arguments, an order from the strongest to the least impactful;
- prepare a good intervention proposal.
In addition to helping with the construction of the skeleton, this practice also helps you avoid making erasures on the answer sheet. These mistakes generally happen when the candidate is too distracted or doesn’t know what words to use next.
3. Organize the text into 3 blocks
When starting to write a draft of the essay, it is interesting to leave grammar aside and worry more about the content. Focus your attention on organizing the ideas present in the text, as they need to be interconnected and make sense.
To do so, use the structure of the argumentative dissertation to organize your text into three blocks. See what they are below.
Introduction
In the first paragraph, you must present the theme and the focus you will make on the subject. At this point, it is essential to be direct and concise. The thesis should direct the reading and expose the starting point of your reasoning to the reader.
Development
In development, you will defend the thesis set out in the first block of the text. To do this, you will present 3 consistent arguments that justify your thesis. This part is one of the most important. Therefore, be clear so that the reader understands your perspective on the subject.
At this point in the writing, it is a good idea to reserve a paragraph for each argument — this way, your text will be organized and you will be able to better address the aspect of the excerpts.
Conclusion
In the conclusion, you must return to the ideas announced in the introduction, together with the main arguments that confirm what was exposed by the thesis, ending the debate in question.
However, it is important to highlight that, in Exam, in addition to reviewing the text and argumentation, you must also create an intervention proposal for the problem proposed by the panel. Remember that, to be efficient, this proposal must arise from the items already raised throughout the writing.
If you suggest a solution, make sure it is viable and avoids clichés. The panel does not look favorably on ready-made phrases, such as “children are the future of the nation” or “unity is strength”. Nor should it be a utopian proposal or outside of people’s reality.
4. Write the essay’s initial draught.
Now that you’ve outlined all the content, it’s time to organize everything you wrote down in text form. To do this, follow the structure proposed in the previous topic and align the information until the entire essay is coherent and cohesive.
As time is short, it may not be possible to write everything in the draft. If this is the case, at least outline the main topics of each block. Use keywords to build these paragraphs and think before inserting terms.
5. Review the writing
For many students, writing is a real nightmare — and this reality only gets worse when it comes to reviewing text during the entrance exam. This happens because candidates are nervous and worried about time during the test.
Avoid ready-made phrases and clichés
There are many ready-made phrases and clichés that are on the tip of candidates’ tongues when writing. “At the dawn of humanity” and “with the advent of the internet” are some of them — as well as the clichés “glaring error”, “living and learning” and “wearing the shirt”. Avoid these traps to ensure greater credibility for your text.
Eliminate unnecessary words
There are words that make your text tiring and that end up hindering the understanding of the ideas presented. To reduce this problem, it is essential to review the writing and eliminate terms that do not add value to the content. Adjectives, for example, can be dispensed with without ceremony, as they add little to the message you want to convey.
It is important to highlight that substitutions are also welcome. The expression “nowadays”, for example, can easily be replaced by “currently”, making the text more objective and making it easier to read.
Be cohesive
Remember when primary school teachers said that stories needed to have a beginning, middle and end? Well, so does your writing.
So, when you review what you wrote, check whether there are any loose ends in the content and whether all the ideas are interconnected. If you notice a lack of cohesion, make the necessary changes to make everything clear to the reader.
Write well-structured sentences
When the writer repeats the same sentence structure many times in the same text, the reader becomes bored and, sometimes, believes that the production does not convey credibility. To move away from this, it is essential to use synonyms and provide examples that explain his point of view.
Furthermore, it is also worth mixing direct and indirect sentences. However, care must be taken during this process — if the technique is not used well, it can make the writing confusing.
Stop repeating words
With a lot of reading and training, you will be able to more easily understand which terms were used excessively in your text. Therefore, when writing your essay, don’t forget to avoid repeating words — prefer to use antonyms, synonyms and look for other ways to express yourself.
6. Clean the final text
The last step of an essay is to clean it up. Keep in mind that this is the text that will be corrected by the entrance exam board. Therefore, respect the limit of minimum and maximum lines and do not place information outside the correction area, right?
7. Pay attention to the time available
Is it better to start the exam with the questions or with the essay? Here’s the question! In fact, everything will depend on each candidate, the way they deal with time and the level of pressure that is acting on them.
A good way to manage your time is to leave the writing until the end, but read the proposal first. Thus, while solving the questions, it is possible to develop the arguments in the “background”, in the mind. Furthermore, as some tests are interdisciplinary in nature, the questions can also help with your writing.
8. Practice some precautions before test day
So far, we have presented you with several tips to use on test day and ensure a successful essay. However, it is necessary to understand that taking some precautions beforehand is also important to obtain a good result. Follow along!
Take care of your mental health
To ensure a good performance in the essay and the entrance exam, you need to take care of your mental health, learning to deal with your limits and the adversities that may be encountered on the day.
After all, this is a period of great stress for students, who may feel anxious and vulnerable before an exam that could directly impact their future. Therefore, taking care of the emotional aspects is essential to make him feel more at ease when developing his arguments in textual production.
Remember to breathe
As we said in the previous topic, the entrance exam period is of great stress for the student. One way to overcome nervousness and anxiety is to try to control your breathing.
For this, a good exercise is to inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 3 seconds and exhale for 7 seconds. This process can be repeated 5 times, and the effects will be felt.
Eat light foods
One of the worst things that can happen during the entrance exam is for the candidate to start feeling sick because of something they ate. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to consume light and fresh foods on the date of the exam and during the days leading up to it. Avoiding alcoholic and carbonated drinks is also a good tip.
Organize what you are going to take
It’s normal to be nervous on the day of the test, so it’s best to organize everything you need to take in advance. Typically, these items include a pencil, eraser, black ballpoint pen and original document with photo, but it is best to check the request in the candidate handbook.
Stay hydrated
Did you know that dehydration can affect your cognitive performance? Therefore, when preparing for the entrance exam, there is nothing better than staying well hydrated to increase your level of concentration and understanding of the topics studied!
Try to get a good night’s sleep
You may not know, but it is during sleep that the brain organizes the information learned during the day and transfers it to long-term memory, fixing the contents. Therefore, if you are preparing for the entrance exam, it is essential to sleep the appropriate amount of hours to ensure better performance.
Try meditating before the test
In the previous topic, we talked about the importance of having a good night’s sleep. If you have difficulty sleeping or suffer from anxiety, a tip is to practice meditation. To do this, find a calm place, stay in a comfortable position, control your breathing and focus your attention.
This practice can be carried out even before the test, so that you enter the exam room relaxed and focused to answer the questions and develop your essay.
Prepare as much as possible
Finally, there is no point in following all of our tips if you are not intellectually prepared for the entrance exam. Therefore, carefully study the writing formats and grammar tips, read a lot and try to practice text production as much as possible.
