Brainstorming
Last updated: 13 Oct 2008
Unfortunately, too many test-takers just start writing as soon as they have finished reading the author's arguments (or even before they finish reading).
One of the potential pitfalls of doing this is that it is easier than one might think to misunderstand what the essay exactly is about, and then write something completely off-topic. If you happen to so this, you run the risk of getting a 0 score for that essay.
Take a couple of minutes at least in order to understand what is being asked of you and to jot down some ideas on how you will approach this essay.
Let's assume this is your essay topic:
The Awesome Energy Riders have become an extremely popular toy line for the ACME Co. Management at Hollywood Pictures thinks that this success will translate to the silver screen, and have bought the rights of the Awesome Energy Riders to make four pictures.
Discuss how well reasoned you find the plan of Hollywood Pictures. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusions.
We recommend that you take 2-4 minutes to consider and write down what you are going to write.
First, you determine you are going to agree with and support the statement.
Second, you jot down some points on your scratch paper, usually in short-hand version for yourself:
For example. Possible problems with the Riders movie plan
- The Riders will not be successful in movie format
- The Riders movie will be poorly made
- The Riders movie would be too violent
- The first movie is good, but successors flop
- Parents won't take kids to the movie
- They may fall out of fashion quickly
