Task One: Provide your interpretation of the statement.

So the first task is to explain the

statement/prompt and provide an example to support the prompt. (usually 3 examples)
Task two: Offer a concrete example that illustrates a point of view directly opposite to the one
expressed or implied by the statement. You must give a counter-example. (usually 3 examples)
Task three: Explain how the conflict between the view point expressed in the statement and the
viewpoint you described in the second task might be resolved. Youll be coming up with a kind
of rule that you could apply in situations to see whether or not the statement holds true.
Your goal should be to analyze the statement, present it from two perspectives, and explain how
and when you might apply the statement. Your essays need to be written with a critical mind.
The test makers want to see how you think.
Tips on brain storming:
- Try to paraphrase the statement in a conversational tone. This quote is really another way of
saying . . . . What this quote really means is . . . .
- Ask yourself if you believe it or not (based on your experience, your conviction, your
temperament, etc.) and why? For every general statement you make, try immediately to support
it with real, specific detail.
- Do you see the statement as being applicable in some areas but not in others? For
example, true for a person in his private life but not true in public life; true for the rich
but not for the poor; true for men but not for women; true for a first-world society but not
true for a third-world society? How should this generalization be qualified?
Come up with the Rule First
Consider the following writing sample prompt:

Education occurs when the student has a desire to learn.

One example of when a student has the desire to learn is when he enters into a program (e.g.
MBA) to improve his knowledge/understanding of his career field and, therefore, his job
prospects. One example of when education doesnt require the student to have a desire to learn is
when premeds take certain prerequisites just to satisfy medical school requirements. Say you
were to attack the writing sample prompt by coming up with these two examples first before
doing anything else. Sure you might have the first two thirds of the essay now written, but then

you get to task three and can you come up with a rule to connect these two examples (as well
as a rule that can be used to evaluate future examples)? I think its rather difficult to come up
with a good rule/guideline to connect these two specific examples.
In cases like this, you suddenly realize you cannot think of a rule/guideline to bridge the two
examples! (or even if you do, the rule is rather weak) Without this rule, your essay is incomplete,
and you scramble to make up something that barely connects the two examples.

It makes much more sense to think of the rule/guideline first (that is, first determine when
the prompt is true and when it is not), and then use that rule to derive the supporting
example and counter example this way, you know for sure that the two examples can
indeed work together.
So for this prompt, I would first come up with a rule like: What determines whether or not
education requires a desire to learn is at what time point of his education the student is in, with
high school graduation being the dividing line. From there, the examples are easy to derive: If
the student is in high school or below, then education is mandatory and doesnt require his desire
to learn (supporting example). However, after graduating from high school, university/college is
not mandatory, and thus post-secondary education requires the students desire and initiative to
learn (counter-example).
- Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Use specific examples. When I say specific examples, I mean events that have actually
happened (and if possible, elaborate and include details about them). What I dont mean are
hypothetical or generic examples. If you want to use a computer software company as an
example, dont say a computer software company say Microsoft and something that actually
happened to them.
Dont fret too much about how popular or well-known the example is the most important thing
is that it is real, and thus, provides a more vivid picture.
The people who grade this are American and this has two main implications. This is good so you
should use examples of your own culture. EX: your Vietnamese examples, while local to you,
will seem international to the reader (which is a good thing). In addition, since your
Vietnamese examples will likely be unknown to the American grader, its okay if you get some
of the facts wrong, since they wont be able to tell.