How To Tackle The Essay Part

Fret not, we've got you covered.

Now that the HSEE exam is looming closer, it is high time that you brushed up on not just beautiful writing skills, but also skillful time-management; for that's going to be a crucial factor in structuring your essay properly and being a notch above other aspirants. 

As you may already know, the second part of the paper is the essay and you have only thirty minutes to choose one topic (from typically three), brainstorm and put into black and white a proper, structured, 300-word essay while not panicking all the time. This sure needs some nerve, I tell you. But worry not, here are some tips to get you started.

Ground Work:

#1. Research into potential topics that might be asked.

And when I say potential topics, it's probably not going to be your typical 10th or 12th standard essay on pollution, water crisis or any such cliched theme. The question will require you to think deeper and try to interconnect themes that do not exactly coincide. This is not meant to frighten you (sorry, if I just did) but although the topics are generally something you have an idea about, research really does help. Take a look at the past year question papers to get a better idea of what questions might be asked.

#2. Structure your essay.

This primarily depends on the kind of essay that's being asked: argumentative, narrative, descriptive, factual or personal. If you're very sure about your writing skills, you can always choose the personal, narrative or descriptive essay and if you're spot on with facts you can go ahead with the factual essay. But otherwise, it's highly pragmatic to go with the argumentative essay as it primarily concerns your opinions and doesn't bother much with facts and flowery writing. 

The structure for an argumentative essay ideally can be as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Your stand on the argument

3. Elaboration of key points introduced (or the main body, the reasons you cite to back your stand)

4. A few potential counter-arguments that can arise.

5. Refutation of those counter-arguments with valid reasons and reiteration of your original argument.

6. Conclusion.

If you're planning to go with the argumentative essay, try and stick to this format and you should do pretty well. :P

#3. Write.

Do not give in to Mr Laziness' endearing calls. Write on the topic that you researched into; do not leave it at just getting to know stuff. When you write, especially under a time limit, you understand how bad or good you are at it, and there's a lot of room for improvement. Try and carve out thirty minutes every three days to write on at least one topic.

#4. Get Your Essays Corrected. 

Ask the right person (can be your dad, mom, sibling or an English Teacher) for feedback on your essays. Take the time to reflect on what you did wrong and try not to make the same mistakes again. If you're not sure about whom to ask, there's always us, we're nice people and glad to help. :)

Exam Time Tips:

#1. Choose your topic immediately.

You get to know the topics for Part 2 just at the beginning of the last thirty minutes. DO NOT dilly-dally around trying to figure out which one to choose. If you have a good idea about one topic, go for it, no matter how childish it may sound to you. There is no time to brainstorm and write an impressive essay on some difficult topic. Understand that. Make fast choices here.

#2. Spend (only) about 5 minutes structuring the essay in your mind.

Brainstorm and structure your essay in your mind as fast as you can. This is to ensure that you don't go off-track while writing the essay because there's no time to change what you've written and we don't want disconnected paragraphs.

#3. Write Away.

Write legibly, while keeping up with the clock. Make sure you don't write too much or too less because that's going to encroach upon your time nd/or your quality of writing.

#4. Stay cool-headed.

I know that's easier said than done, but it's good to try. Be ever-prepared for what's going to come in Part 2 and do not fret about how hard or how easy it is. Just think, structure and write coolly.

#5. Re-check.

One skim-through of your essay should be good enough to get rid of any spelling or grammatical mistakes. They're very unwelcome, mark that.

So that's about it as regards the essay. 5 minutes for choosing and structuring, 20 for writing, and 5 for re-checking. Pretty decent, eh?

Happy prepping!

-Sruthi.