how can i prepare for essay writing with just a week to go for xat?

Before we start discussing on what should be your approach regarding Essay in XAT exam,let’s look at some previous years’ topics first:

2018: *Ethical practices and sustainability: do they co-exist?*

2017: *Globalization and Jingoism always coexist* .

2016: *Technology and Nature are natural enemies.*

2015: *Listening is a dying art. We hardly listen to understand. We only listen to refute or reply*

2014: *The most beautiful thing can neither be seen nor be touched but can only be felt.*

2013: *Corruption is the root cause of economic slowdown in India.*

2012: *Government is not addressing the root cause of poverty*

Government is not able to implement the policies properly due to the huge magnitude of poverty.

Now, see how comfortable you are with these topics.

Reasonably comfortable: Congratulations! I can say that for sure that you need worry. Just work on your writing style.

Comfortable : well,ok! If you belong to this category then some worries but again you are doing a lot well than majority of people writing XAT this year.

Reasonably uncomfortable: Congratulations, My friend! Because you never know what topic they are going to give you this year.

The point I was trying to make was , there are things under your control and then there are things that are not. And as a fairly pragmatic individual I would suggest let’s focus on things that are under our control. What we can control is, how to structure our essay so that we are still doing a lot better than our competitors.

Let’s start!

We will start with the examiner’s expectations of your essay:

So, what does an examiner expect from your essay:

Remember this word : ORAL which means

Your essay should be :

O- ORGANIZED

R-RELAVANT

A-ANALYZED

L- LANGUAGE

Now, let’s talk about the first word mentioned above :

ORGANIZED: BY organization I mean your essay should have a proper Introduction, Body and conclusion. You are supposed to properly distribute the word limit on these three facets your essay. The ideal distribution should be:

Introduction: 15-20%

Body - 70-80%

Conclusion -15- 20 %

Remember, introduction is the most important part of any essay and that is why I would like to spend few words here. Your introduction should have 3 crucial components, a hook,a thesis and a background narration. The sole purpose of an introduction is to catch the reader’s attention .You should clarify your purpose and also give the reader a clear idea what is going to unfold in the coming paragraphs.

What is a Hook?

As I mentioned above the purpose of your introduction is to get the reader’s attention, a HOOK serves that purpose in your introduction. It helps generate the reader’s interest in whatever you are writing. A good example of hook can be a shocking ,exciting facts or some quote by famous person that is relevant to your topic.

What is a Thesis ?

A thesis is the essence ,the soul or the guiding principal of your essay. It states the purpose and sets the direction of the whole essay. Through your thesis you should be able to display your 3-dimesnional approach towards the topic.

What is Background Narration?

This is a part where you show the reader that you are familiar with the topic. How do you do that? By establishing some correlation of your topic with any events that have happened in the recent past . This will help the examiner understand your thought processes and what are your views on the recent happenings. Make sure that the hook and background narration you pick should be relevant to the topic and easier to be made connections with.

NOW –the BODY

This is the main part of your essay. After you have generated the interest of the reader by creating a hook in your introduction, this is the section where you develop your argument in detail and make reference to secondary sources that provide documentation of arguments that have influenced your thinking. Try balancing your argument by presenting both side of the argument and then pick a side .Your body should have a topic sentence and then you should support the topic sentence with proper reasoning and evidence. Each word you chose should develop the argument in a logical and structured manner, and make sure that your body paragraph is properly linked to the paragraph that go before and after.

CONCLUSION

A conclusion is the final piece of writing in a research paper, essay, or article that summarizes the entire work. The conclusion paragraph should restate your thesis, summarize the key supporting ideas you discussed throughout the work, and offer your final impression on the central idea. This final summation should also contain the moral of your story or a revelation of a deeper truth. A good conclusion will wrap up your final thoughts and main points, combining all pertinent information with an emotional appeal for an ending statement that resonates with your readers.

The purpose of a conclusion paragraph is to wrap up your writing and reinforce the main idea that you presented in the body of your paper. Conclusion structure is one of the key elements of essay writing. A conclusion ties in the initial thesis statement presented in the opening paragraph along with supporting points and a final impression that gives the reader closure. A well-written conclusion clearly relays the writer’s take-home message. A strong conclusion can provide the reader with a different perspective or shed new insight on an old idea.

IF you have been through whatever I have written so far then understanding RELAVNCE and analysis should not be difficult to you. And if you still want them discussed feel free to reach out to me.

I will now give you some language tips that will help you make your essay look better:

Your essay should have these three components in all to communicate proper flow of thoughts:

1)Main idea key words

1)In general, to a great extent, broadly speaking, in conclusion, in sum, in brief, therefore, thus, so, hence, as a result, overall,

Use these words to communicate:

A generalization or conclusion follows

2) first, second, firstly, secondly, etc., to begin with, next, finally, again

Use these words to communicate:

Highlight two or more important points

3) X argues that, X contends that, theory suggests, hypothesis explain

Use these words to communicate:

A named person or group holds a specific theory or opinion