|
How international students should tackle the AWA and the E-rater.
The conventions
for the AWA can be summarized in a single statement: written English
requires that each paragraph be developed either directly away from
a topic (or thesis) sentence or directly towards a topic (or thesis)
sentence. Writers in English have
less freedom to wander from the main point of their discourse than
writers in other languages. English writing style must
be direct and to
the point even though it is necessary to support each main
idea with examples, explanations, and illustrations. The thesis
(or topic sentence) must contain the germ of the idea that permeates
the entire paragraph. Each example or illustration must be connected
to that idea with transitional markers such as for example, thus,
or moreover.
The E-rater speaks "American."
Your essays
should be written in "American", not "English."
Phrases that are more commonly spoken in English (indeed, hence,
midst, "do the needful," etc.) are less common in an American writing style. Phrases that
are commonly spoken in English are unlikely to be picked up by the
E-rater, which picks up phrases used among high scorers (who are
overwhelmingly American).
Students from
the UK, Hong Kong, India and other Commonwealth nations should adjust
their syntax, style, and language to better suit the flavor of English
used in America, as this is the language of the E-rater. Avoid any
local jargon and, particularly, any unusual transitional phrases
(e.g., "heretofore").
Got that mate? In addition, the human graders are overwhelmingly
American and will have an easier time with arguments written in
American.
Beware of words that have a non-American spelling:
"centre" = center
"organisation"= organization
"analyse" = analyze
The best solution
to writing in the appropriate style is to read all
of our sample essays. You should also familiarize yourself with
American scholarly journals to see how American writers structure
arguments.
|
