Verb form 8

Chia sẻ: Rose Flower | Ngày: | Loại File: PDF | Số trang:6

Thêm vào BST

Báo xấu

59
lượt xem 6
download

Download Vui lòng tải xuống để xem tài liệu đầy đủ

Tham khảo tài liệu 'verb form 8', ngoại ngữ, anh ngữ phổ thông phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả

Chủ đề:

Bình luận(0) Đăng nhập để gửi bình luận!

Lưu

Nội dung Text: Verb form 8

– ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT – For example, the Analysis of an Issue essay in the pretest skillfully acknowledged the opposition and then presented a rebuttal to that position: Although some may argue that corporations have a responsibility only to their stakeholders and their bottom line and do not legally have a responsibility to “do good” in society, they miss the point that social responsibility is in the best interest of the company. Companies that actively par- ticipate in social programs aimed at curbing crime, ﬁghting poverty and illiteracy, and teaching skills to those in need reap bottom-line beneﬁts from their social programs every day. These pro- grams not only have a positive impact on the local communities where they are enacted, but they also continue to deliver dividends to the organization in positive public relations, building the image of the company in the eyes of the community and developing a more effective employee base. A nalysis of an Argument For your Analysis of an Argument essay, you will be presented with a short argument (one paragraph that is one to ﬁve sentences long). Your task will be to critique the reasoning behind that argument. In this essay, you should not offer your opinion of the issue in the argument; instead, you must offer your assessment of the argument by evaluating the logic (or lack thereof) of the claims. Argument Topics The argument in your writing prompt can also be about any topic, although a majority of the topics are some- how related to business. Once again, you will not need to have any speciﬁc knowledge about that topic to respond effectively in an essay. For example, the Analysis of an Argument prompt in the pretest is business related, but you do not need to know anything about owning a restaurant to successfully critique the argu- ment. You just need to be able to analyze the argument and present your analysis in an organized and engag- ing manner. The following is a sampling of the kinds of general subjects you might ﬁnd in argument prompts on the AWA: strategies for improving business or services ■ which products or services to choose ■ how to spend funds or save money ■ health and environmental issues ■ societal trends ■ 223
AWA Prompt List Want to see the AWA writing prompts from last year’s GMAT exam? You can download a complete list of the 2001–2002 AWA essay prompts from the website www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT/Tools/AWATopics2001.htm. Analyzing the Argument On the analysis level, your readers will be looking for evidence that you have considered the following questions: What assumptions underlie the argument? Are they reasonable or problematic? If they are problematic, ■ why? What is the conclusion of the argument? Is it a logical conclusion based on the evidence? ■ Does the argument have any logical fallacies? ■ What evidence would help strengthen the argument? ■ Are there counterarguments or alternative explanations that would weaken the conclusion? ■ Is there any information that would help you better evaluate the conclusion? ■ Although the arguments on the AWA may be somewhat logical, they will usually have at least one sig- niﬁcant ﬂaw that you will need to recognize. The argument may do the following: be based on problematic assumptions ■ jump to conclusions ■ compare apples to oranges ■ ignore alternative explanations ■ show poor reasoning ■ The argument from the pretest, for example, was based on the problematic assumption that location is everything and a move was therefore necessary to improve business. This ignored alternative explanations for the lack of business, including the possibility that customers were simply dissatisﬁed with the food, price, or service. It also did not consider other possibilities for attracting customers to the current location. Finally, it neglected to consider the high cost of the move. A solid grasp of critical reasoning skills is essential not only for the critical reasoning questions on the Verbal section but also for an effective analysis of the argument on the AWA. To review critical reasoning skills, see pages 87–107. 224
What Makes a Good Essay? To earn a 4, 5, or 6 on the AWA, your essays will need to have the following six characteristics: • A clear main idea (thesis). Do you have something to say? In the issue essay, have you taken a clear posi- tion? In the argument essay, have you expressed your main assessment of the argument? • Sufﬁcient development. Have you explained your position or your judgment of the argument? • Strong support. Have you supported your ideas with speciﬁc reasons and examples? • Effective organization. Have you presented your ideas and support in a logical order? • Clear, controlled sentences. Do your ideas come across clearly in properly constructed sentences? • Grammatical correctness. Have you followed the conventions of standard written English? Remember that this is an analytical writing assessment. An essay may be beautifully written, but if it doesn’t show evidence of critical reasoning, it will not receive a top score. H ow the Essays Are Scored Two independent readers will score each AWA essay holistically on a scale of 0 (lowest) to 6 (highest). Read- ers will take into consideration the overall effectiveness of each essay, including its content, style, and gram- matical correctness. An essay that expresses sophisticated ideas in sentences full of errors will not receive a top score, but that same essay can earn a 6 even if it has a couple of grammatical mistakes or an awkwardly phrased sentence. A holistic approach means that readers will be looking for the following elements: the level of critical thinking evident in your ideas ■ effective organization ■ sufﬁcient development of ideas ■ strong and sufﬁcient support of ideas ■ effective word choice and sentence structure ■ clear and controlled sentences ■ a command of the conventions of standard written English ■ Your AWA score will be the average of all four scores, two for each essay. If two scores for one essay dif- fer by more than one point, a third independent reader will rate your essay and all ﬁve scores will be aver- aged for your total AWA score. Getting to Know E-rater ® As we noted in the ﬁrst chapter, one of your readers will be a college or university faculty member specially trained to review GMAT essays. The other reader, however, is likely to be a computer program called E-rater®, 225
F ollow Directions Your essay will not be scored if you write on a topic other than what was assigned. It is extremely important that you respond to the prompt you are given. Never write about a different topic. which “reads” the essays looking for very speciﬁc elements. E-rater cannot understand your ideas and will not grasp the nuances of your argument and style. Rather, it looks for evidence that you have presented a logi- cal, well-organized argument in clear and controlled sentences. Although some might argue that this is a highly superﬁcial way to score an essay, the general writing elements that E-rater will be assessing are the same elements that human readers — who really only have a few minutes to devote to each essay — are also looking for. These elements include the following: the number and length of paragraphs and other indications of logical grouping of ideas ■ transitions and other words and phrases that suggest the development and organization of ideas (e.g., ■ in addition, more important) variety in sentence structure (varied sentence length and combinations of phrases and clauses) ■ correct grammar and mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) ■ Keep It Simple Because you only have a half-hour to write each essay, because human readers must read AWA essays quickly, and because E-rater is designed to look for fundamental structural elements, a simple, straightforward pres- entation of your ideas using all of the signposts possible is the best way to write on this exam. Don’t try to write an elaborate, complicated essay, and do not try to gain points by showing off sophisticated stylistic tech- niques. Aim for simplicity and clarity throughout your essays. Instead of implying your main idea, for example, make sure you have a clear thesis statement for your essay and topic sentences for each paragraph. Choose a simple, easily recognizable organizational pattern for your ideas. Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs, even if the connections seem obvious to you. Avoid stylistic techniques that you might sometimes use for emphasis. For example, sometimes a one-word sentence or paragraph can have great impact as a stylistic technique. However, E-rater is likely to see it as a grammatical error (sentence fragment) or an underdeveloped paragraph. Instead, stick to a more traditional sentence or paragraph length. The GMAT Scoring Rubric Although scoring an essay is far more subjective than correcting a multiple-choice exam, the GMAC has devel- oped a detailed scoring rubric to guide its human readers through the essay-scoring process. This rubric lists the speciﬁc criteria that essays should meet for each score. The following shows a scoring rubric modeled after the ofﬁcial GMAT scoring guide. Be sure to review the scoring guide carefully. The more you know about what is expected of you in the essay, the better you will be able to meet those expectations. 226
– ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT – CONTENT DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION EXPRESSION CONVENTIONS The content of The development The organization The expression of The use of stan- your written of your written of your written your ideas reﬂects dard English in response shows response gives a response shows a an awareness of your written an understanding clear and logical coherent, orderly, audience, a com- response exhibits SCORE and interpretation explanation of and well-reasoned mand of vocabu- the correct use of of the issue or ideas using spe- approach. lary and sentence spelling, punctua- argument and the ciﬁc and relevant structure, and an tion, paragraph task presented in support. ability to use lan- organization, the prompt. guage to convey capitalization, purpose. and grammar. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Forms a thesis Develops ideas Maintains the Exhibits a Shows control statement that clearly and fully. focus of the mature, sophis- of the conven- ■ reveals an in- Provides a wide thesis state- ticated use of tions of stan- depth under- range of rele- ment. language that is dard English. ■ ■ standing of vant and spe- Uses a logical precise and Has few, if any, the issue or ciﬁc evidence and coherent engaging. errors even ■ argument. to support the structure. Has a voice and when using 6 ■ ■ Presents a thesis state- Applies skillful a sense of sophisticated sophisticated ment. writing devices awareness of language. and insightful and transitions. audience and analysis of the purpose. ■ issue or argu- Varies the ment. structure and length of sen- tences to enhance meaning. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Forms a thesis Develops ideas Maintains the Uses language Shows control statement that clearly and focus of the that is ﬂuent of the conven- reveals a thor- consistently. thesis state- and original. tions of stan- ■ ■ ough under- Makes refer- ment. Has an aware- dard English, ■ standing of ence to relevant Uses a logical ness of audi- but may have the issue or and speciﬁc sequence of ence and some errors, argument and evidence that ideas. purpose. especially when ■ ■ the task pre- supports the Applies the Varies the using sophisti- 5 sented in the thesis state- appropriate structure and cated language prompt. ment. writing devices length of sen- or sentence ■ Presents a and transitions. tences to con- structure. clear and trol the rhythm thoughtful and pacing. analysis of the issue or argu- ment. 227
– ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT – ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Forms a thesis Develops some Maintains a Uses appropri- Shows incom- statement that ideas more fully clear and appro- ate language. plete control of ■ shows a basic than others. priate focus Shows some standard ■ understanding Provides some throughout most awareness of English. ■ of the issue or speciﬁc and rel- of the essay. audience and Has some errors 4 ■ argument and evant evidence Uses a logical purpose. but they do not ■ the task pre- to support the sequence of Occasionally interfere with sented in the thesis statement. ideas but may varies the sen- comprehension. prompt. lack consis- tence structure ■ Presents a rea- tency. and length. sonable analy- sis, often of the most obvi- ous aspects of the issue or argument. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Forms a thesis Develops ideas Creates, but Uses very basic Attempts to statement that brieﬂy. does not main- vocabulary. control standard ■ ■ shows a basic Provides some tain an appro- Demonstrates English but has 3 understanding evidence and priate focus. little sense of some errors that ■ of the issue or support material Uses a basic audience or pur- interfere with argument and to support the structure but pose. comprehension. ■ the task pre- thesis statement. may include Attempts to vary sented in the some inconsis- the sentence prompt. tencies or irrele- structure or ■ Presents an vancies. length but has incomplete uneven success. analysis of the issue or argu- ment or neg- lects important aspects of the analysis. 228