Your final essay must do the following in order for you to achieve the highest score possible:

(1) Your essay must effectively discuss the topic you have been asked to address.

It is vital that you read the assigned topic very carefully and not add or delete anything. This is one of the most common mistakes in writing an essay --by adding a few words, or conversely ignoring one or two significant ones, a test taker can easily digress from the assigned topic. Of course, the end result is failure to address the topic.

(2) Your essay must be well organized.

You must have an introduction (with a thesis statement), a body (with supporting details for your thesis), and a conclusion. Because essay organization is very important this will be dealt with in greater detail in our lectures.

(3) You must show consistent ease in your use of the English language.

This includes using correct grammar as well as the appropriate use of idiomatic language. Remember, you are tying to prove that your English skills are advanced enough for you to do as well as native English speakers in an American university class.

(4) You must prove to your readers that you possess a wide range of vocabulary and know how to use terms in an appropriate fashion.

In other words, be very careful with the words you choose and avoid redundancy of both words and ideas. You want to be conservative so that you can show how much vocabulary and how many different word forms you know.

You must be able to paraphrase some or all of the question asked or the quotation given. This shows that you have a broad vocabulary, that your reading comprehension is adequate, and that you can avoid redundancy in your writing. You will also need to be able to paraphrase your thesis in your conclusion to remind your readers of your main idea.