Essay length

[scchapin]

Hey, I'm planning on taking the English composition CLEP test pretty soon. I'm wondering what length of an essay they want to see. And if you have taken the test, if you have any helpful advice that would be appreciated as well.

[CDM]

I think the essay length is specified in the CLEP book... it wasn't too long - whatever it is.
Anyway - I hate writing essays like the one in this CLEP - so - I hardly practiced for the essay section and pretty much hoped for the best. On the other hand, the multiple choice questions were really easy for me. In conclusion - I got a 50.
Moral or the story? Uhhh -- practice writing essays?? The question should be easy. Don't forget the Peterson's site!! Best wishes.

[studyhard]

I'd say about 5-6 well-thought out paragraphs, as I recall. Basically, you want your intro paragraph, three main points (each with their own paragraph) and a strong concluding paragraph.

Do you have the Comex guide for this course? That has a lot of practice stuff for the multiple choice part and a whole section on writing the essay, with some sample topics for you to write practice essays. I write all the time (I write a column for a local newspaper) but I still did a practice essay just to see if I could do it in 45 minutes. I could....but it was tough!

(Incidentally, the sample topics in the Comex guide are much more narrowly focused than the actual topics on the CLEP, from what I've heard and from my experience.)

[cookderosa]

Google "5 paragraph essay" I would call it the golden standard of essay writing. (1 paragraph=5 sentences +/- 1) You'll find a truck load of easy websites that show you the basics.
When in doubt, a 5 paragraph essay is the way to go.

My husband and I both had essays that used a little quote and then we had to explain why we thought/didn't think it was true in real life or business. I won't type the exact ones what we got, but here are some along the same lines:
"The squeaky wheel always gets the grease"
"One bad apple spoils the whole bunch"....
"If you mess with the bull, you'll get the horns"....
"the road to success is paved with good intentions"...

You'll find a few interpretations of how to best use the formula for a 5 paragraph essay, but some require too much thinking IMO. The time limit is a factor in this test. Even being perfectly able to write well, this test requires ability to write FAST.

I have a super simple-no brainer- perfect in a time crunch formula you can use. Whatever the topic, quickly pick 3 issues/reasons/examples or whatever they ask for- and then fill in the blanks. This works every time when you have limited time for a draft. After you "fill in the blanks" you can go back and do a few tweaks/upgrades/modifications. If this is confusing- just say so, I tried to keep it simple.

Paragraph 1: opening sentence A, sentence B1 identifies issue 1, sentence B2 identifies issue 2, sentence B3 identifies issue 3, a general conclusion thought C.

Paragraph 2: Restate sentence B1, 3 supporting sentences, conclusion sentence for this thought D1.

Paragraph 3: Restate sentence B2, 3 supporting sentences, conclusion sentence for this thought D2.

Paragraph 4: Restate sentence B3, 3 supporting sentences, conclusion sentence for this thought D3.

Paragraph 5: Restate sentence C starting with the phrase "in conclusion", restate D1, restate D2, restate D3 and an original final sentence E.

[robin9901]

(Incidentally, the sample topics in the Comex guide are much more narrowly focused than the actual topics on the CLEP, from what I've heard and from my experience.)

Thats true. Topics in comex guide are not close enough to what the actual topics are on clep.

Google "5 paragraph essay" I would call it the golden standard of essay writing.

I did the same. Google does help a lot. I got at least 10 good sites on how to write a good essay. You can also give it a try.