How to Write a Perfect Timed Essay for High School
- 1). Research old test questions. Don't try to memorize them, though, but rather try to find themes between them. If the last year, year before and year before that had essay questions where you needed to compare and contrast certain events, you can probably anticipate a similar question this year -- the events may not be the same, but the general theme likely will be. This preparation can help you anticipate the kind of question you are going to be asked, which will give you an edge.
- 2). Look for key verbs in the question. "Assess and evaluate this theory" is different than "describe this theory." Regardless of how well you know the theory, if you don't follow the question's directives you are probably not going to write a perfect essay.
- 3). Write every single piece of information that may answer the question down before you start writing the actual essay. This note-taking provides a firm foundation and saves you the time you need to access the information in your memory banks when you are actually writing.
- 4). Write a thesis that makes a clear argument. This thesis is going to provide the entire backdrop of your essay, so make sure it is something you can support with facts and explanations. It may be helpful to borrow wording from the question itself in your thesis.
- 5). Write your essay, taking care to have every single sentence respond to your thesis. If your thesis responds to the question and your essay responds to your thesis with a large amount of facts and explanations, you will receive a score that is close to perfect.
