Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

10
Jun

How to Write Body Paragraphs

How to Write Body Paragraphs. In essays of any kind, body paragraphs are essential. These are where you provide your supporting arguments to your thesis. These are also where you write your refutations or rebuttals against the challenges to your claim. In short, they serve as the very “meat” of your essay. Here are several tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay.

  • Stick to your topic sentence. The first sentence of the paragraph should be the idea that you want to develop within the same paragraph. Use it as a guide in writing your succeeding sentences. Avoid drifting away from your topic sentence as doing so may confuse your readers or, worse, lose the coherence of your essay. Take note of the key words in your topic sentence as these will help you develop the rest of the sentences in the paragraph.
  • Keep the paragraph within 5 to 7 sentences. Let’s face it. Nobody wants to read a very long essay. Thus, keep your paragraphs at just the ideal length. The challenge, then, is to write what only needs to be written. Avoid cluttering your sentences with unnecessary words and phrases. Skip anything that is irrelevant or that doesn’t make any clear sense. Always remember that your essay need not be very long just to make a valid point. Write to primarily to express, not to impress, unless you’re told to do so.
  • Maintain transitions between paragraphs. To achieve this, you should end a paragraph using a sentence [a "transition" sentence] that smoothly connects to the first sentence of the next paragraph. In other words, end a paragraph with an idea that logically leads to the idea in the succeeding paragraph. This will make your paragraphs read tight and interconnected which, apparently, saves your essay from reading like a couple of distinct paragraphs simply lumped together.
  • Have a logical flow of sentences within paragraphs. Since your first sentence is your topic sentence, continue with the next sentence by developing the idea from the first. Do the same pattern for the rest of the sentences until you reach the transition sentence. For example, if your topic sentence is “Blue looks more beautiful than red,” the next sentence should develop that idea by saying “Blue has admirable visual characteristics that red does not have”. Following that sentence, you may proceed by writing that “Blue has the characteristic of looking relaxing to the eyes”. And so on. Having a logical flow of sentences allows your reader to follow your arguments closely and understand better what it is that you are trying to say.

These are just some of the tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay. Always remember: to stick to your topic sentence, to keep the paragraph between 5 to 7 sentences, to maintain transitions between paragraphs, and to have a logical flow of sentences within paragraphs. Follow these tips on how to write the body paragraphs of your essay and you’ll certainly send your message clearly and effectively.

Search terms:
  • how to write a body paragraph
  • how to write a topic sentence for a body paragraph
  • how to write topic sentences for body paragraphs
  • how to write body paragraphs
  • how to write a body paragraph for a research paper
  • how to write a good body paragraph
  • what is a body paragraph in an essay
  • body paragraph
  • how to write the body of an essay
  • writing body paragraphs
04
Jun

How to Prepare for the Sat

It is totally different than the tests given by your high school teachers. Your high school teachers don’t have to be consistent with their testing styles or questions. But, the testing styles on the SAT must be standardized in order to make meaningful comparisons from year to year. Thus the questions, the format and the concepts must be consistent from year to year.

So, instead of studying for the SAT, you need to determine the concepts, discover the patterns, and develop strategies to conquer the SAT. But, you have a limited amount of time to develop your plan of attack. So, here is a plan for a quick SAT prep.

1. Get “The Official SAT Study Guide” by the College Board
This is the only study guide you need to buy. It is produced by the people who write the test and is the only guide that contains true SAT problems. Don’t waste your time or money on other testing guides.

2. Read and familiarize yourself with the directions
The directions on the study guide practice tests are the same as the directions on the real test. So, learn the directions ahead of time. If you already know the directions before the test, you can skip reading the directions and save lots of time.

3. Take a practice test, NOW
You are short on time and need to get started immediately. So, get two sharp pencils, your calculator, a timer and the answer sheets for the first test. Now, find a quiet location and take the test using the correct times. Try to make everything like it’s the real test. Don’t change anything unless you have modifications for the real test.

After taking the test use the score key to correct your answers and determine your score. The score isn’t important at this point but knowing how you did is.

4. Learn by correcting your mistakes
You need to thoroughly examine the first test and determine why you missed the problems that you missed. You need to do this for every problem that you missed so you can get familiar with the patterns that are used on the different sections. Yes, there are patterns and you need to find them.

5. Practice SAT problems every night
You can use the second and third tests as a source for homework problems. But, you must do at least one hour of SAT homework every day until test time. It’s best if you do a few math problems, a few writing problems and a few reading problems each night. Remember the quality of your practice will be determined by how much time you spend correcting your mistakes.

6. Take another practice test
A few days before the real testing day you need to take another practice test. Test four or five would work just fine for this purpose. Again use the official times and rules that will be used at the real test including any modifications you might have. Then score and correct the test to get the full benefit of a practice test.

7. Test day is here
The night before the test relax, eat a nutritious dinner and get to bed early. Then get up on time and dress comfortable but not to relaxed or sloppy. Be sure to have a good breakfast but stay away from fruit juices and foods high in refined sugar. If possible, balance your carbohydrates with protein.

Search terms:
  • how to prepare for sat essay

Jun

Sat – Myths and Truths

The SAT Reasoning Test, previously known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, is a standardized test, mainly used by colleges and universities in the US to select students for admission. The programme consists of the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests. The SAT is three hours and 45 minutes long and measures skills in three areas: critical reading, math, and writing. Although most of the questions are multiple choice, students are also required to write a 25-minute essay.
The SAT Subject Tests, on the other hand,?are a one-hour, mostly multiple-choice test in specific subjects. These tests measure knowledge of particular subjects and the ability to apply that knowledge. The SAT is offered seven times a year in the United States. Students can prepare for the test with the help of books, tutors, or online   programs. It is published and marked by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

The SAT has been the subject of controversy ever since it was introduced. It has been described as racist, sexist and a very inaccurate pointer to a person’s real abilities. Because of the way it’s constructed, its high pace, and inherent cultural biases, the SAT denies African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and women equal opportunities for higher education.
It’s almost become de rigueur now for students to attend expensive coaching classes for excellent scores on the SAT, for admissions in top universities. So many myths have sprung up around the SAT, that it’s become something of a bugbear for the academic community in general. It’s time we debunked some of these myths (and earn the gratitude of the long-suffering students).

Myth 1: SAT tests alone determine your chances of admission.
Absolutely untrue. While it’s true that the test does play a role in the admissions process, it’s not the only determinant to college admission. The reality is that when admissions officers evaluate students’ applications, they take into consideration evaluation letters, essays, academic records, awards, work experience, extracurricular activities, to get a clear view of the candidate’s all-round abilities. It is fallacious to assume that the SAT alone determines your chances of getting into the college of your choice abroad.

Myth 2: One has to score over 1350 to get into any of the Ivy League colleges.

This is another of those enduring myths. Many guidebooks provide a median score for each school, which indicates the score at which half the students scored better and half scored worse. A few schools’ list ranges between which most of their admitted students scored. One should keep in mind that every year thousands of students with good academic records but lower than average test scores are admitted to top schools.

Page 30 of 35« First...1020...2829303132...Last »