High School Entrance Exam Essay Guide

Author: / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-09-01
Features:
1. Ignoring the material and going off on a tangent Although the topic essays in the recent college entrance exams have relaxed the requirements for topic review, "" (diluting the topic review) does not mean ignoring the topic review. In particular, the thesis of the article must be based on the material and closely tied to the topic. Some candidates often start running halfway through without fully understanding or comprehending the material. Due to ignoring the implicit restrictions in the material, the articles they write often become unfocused and veer far off-topic. The 1998 national college entrance exam essay topic was "Overcoming Vulnerability," and the focus should be on the word "overcoming." The article should focus on elaborating or describing the process of "overcoming," as it is through these specific processes that the author's cultivation and character can be reflected, achieving the examiner's intention. However, some candidates used a large amount of space to write about "vulnerability," emphasizing how difficult it is to overcome, even analyzing its causes and explaining the harm it may eventually lead to, without connecting it to the requirements of the topic or the author's own subjective awareness. There was an essay topic with the following material: A young man always complains about being poor. An old man asks him, "If you cut off one of your fingers and give you 5,000 yuan, will you do it?" The young man refuses. "If your legs are paralyzed and you are given 10,000 yuan, will you do it?" The young man still refuses. "If you die immediately and you are given 3 million yuan, will you do it?" Then the old man says, "Look, you are now a millionaire with a net worth of three million." The topic is to write an essay on "The Value of Life." A student wrote an essay with the central idea that "the value of life lies in pursuing dreams." The content was detailed, and the structure was clear, making it a good essay on its own. However, upon close analysis, we find that the idea of "pursuing dreams" has no relevance to the material. "The value of life" can manifest in many ways, and having and pursuing dreams are certainly among them. However, due to its disconnect from the material, this thesis is somewhat inappropriate. The "wealth" pointed out by the old man to the young man all comes from the young man himself, meaning the young man has not discovered that he actually has great wealth hidden within him, such as wisdom, youth, and health. Extending from this, being able to correctly recognize oneself and fully affirm oneself is the greatest meaning of life. Therefore, the central idea can be set as: "The value of life lies in recognizing oneself and continuously tapping into one's potential."
2. Taking a detour, with a mismatched beginning and end Students who write in this way actually have some planning before writing, so their introductions are usually well-written, able to enter the topic and align with the material's thesis. However, due to incomplete planning or a lack of consistency during the writing process, they deviate from the topic, go further and further off track, and ultimately reach a conclusion that does not match the initial thesis. The 1994 national college entrance exam essay topic was "Trying," with the requirement for a narrative essay. The examiner's intention was clear: "Trying" means tentatively carrying out practice to achieve a certain purpose, with a definite outcome, though failure is possible. A candidate began the essay by directly addressing the topic, narrating an experience of trying to communicate with their parents. The material and thesis were initially good, but as the author wrote, they gradually deviated from the topic, emphasizing the deep generation gap between parents and children. The conclusion also raised many reflections and discussions on modern family education, completely disconnecting from the topic.
3. Adding irrelevant decorations, with the material detached This type of essay has a certain hidden nature because its introduction and conclusion both pay attention to the topic and reflection, and it has a clear central idea with a three-part structure. Due to these superficial aspects, many students become complacent, thinking they have succeeded and are sure to get a guaranteed score. Unaware, they have actually strayed from the topic during the writing process, with the conclusion merely serving as a forced return and a mere decoration. The main reason for this detachment lies in the choice of material. Since the chosen material does not align well with the central idea, the content naturally becomes "self-contained." Taking the 2001 national college entrance exam as an example, "integrity" refers to honesty and trustworthiness, a moral cultivation. After entering the topic, a candidate used an example to elaborate. The material was about a scientist who returned from abroad despite difficulties, determined to dedicate his life to his country's aerospace (cause). Many details in the material repeatedly emphasized the scientist's belief that his country would become increasingly strong and that his ideals would be realized. It reflected the scientist's spirit of "overcoming all difficulties and adhering to his beliefs," which is far removed from the concept of "integrity." However, the author was not aware of this. In the comments at the end of the material and the conclusion of the article, he still emphasized "integrity." Despite the "boots" and "hats," in the eyes of the grading teachers, it was still off-topic, and the essence was obvious.
II. Unclear Central Idea If the inappropriate central idea is usually determined by the candidate's level of understanding, then unclear central ideas are largely caused by incomplete planning and lack of attention during the planning stage. Many students have a clear understanding while writing but fail to clearly reflect it in the text, leaving readers confused and unable to grasp the meaning. Through summarizing and organizing such essays, we have identified some typical manifestations: a disorganized central idea, vague expressions, and a mere listing of phenomena. All three directly lead to an unclear central idea and result in losing points in the basic grading level. It can be said that most grading teachers pay great attention to whether the central idea is clear and use it as a key factor in evaluating the scoring level. Below, we will examine the specific manifestations of these three situations in detail.
(a) Disorganized Central Idea Due to the lack of a clear and singular central idea before writing, many candidates constantly generate new insights during the writing process but find it difficult to choose, resulting in a situation where multiple central ideas emerge simultaneously, without a unified connection. The article naturally becomes a disorganized collection of ideas. The 2002 Shanghai national college entrance exam essay topic was "Facing the Sea," and although the topic did not impose too many restrictions on the central idea, the central image of "the sea" itself has very clear characteristics, such as tolerance and vastness. A student wrote an essay as follows: [Example Essay] Facing the Sea I was born and raised in Chongqing, where opportunities to see the sea are rare. What I have seen firsthand are the gentle streams, the regular-shaped ponds, and the roaring Yangtze River. To me, the sea is a mysterious unknown. On TV, the sea appears blue and far away, merging with the horizon.