English Media Study of I am Legend.

English Media Study of I am Legend. Free Online Research Papers How adequately does the Director of â€Å"I Am Legend† assemble anticipation and strain? ‘I Am Legend’ is a dystopian sci-fi movie coordinated by Francis Lawrence, featuring Will Smith. It was initially a novel by Richard Matheson written in 1954 which was then made as a film in 2006. ‘I Am Legend’ is about Robert Neville (played by Will Smith) who is a virologist living in Manhattan, New York and is as far as anyone knows the last man alive. This happened by specialists thinking they had discovered a solution for malignancy however rather it transformed the remainder of the populace into ‘Hemocytes’. The ‘Hemocytes’ are consistently watching Roberts moves, hanging tight for him to commit a destructive error, as Robert is attempting to catch them to utilize them to discover a fix. This is a case of the regular film topic ‘hunter or hunted?’ as Robert is attempting to chase them as he needs to fix them, however they’re likewise chasing him since they don’t need to be relieved. The procedures ut ilized in ‘I Am Legend’ show how adequately Francis Lawrence makes pressure and anticipation. He utilizes procedures like diverse camera points, sound, lighting and cinematography to influence the general state of mind of the film and to control the audience’s sentiments. In this film, Francis Lawrence has worked admirably in utilizing these procedures to their full impact. 1) USE OF CAMERA ANGLES IN THE PRE-TITLE SCENE TO CREATE TENSION AND SUSPENSE. Camera edges are utilized all through the pre-title scene to make strain and suspense.The executive in the pre-title scene utilizes camera points to show the set. Francis Lawrence utilizes a wide scope of camera edges all through the film, yet in the principal moment of the pre-title scene he utilizes heaps of various points that show the entire set, Manhattan. The pre-title scene begins with a setting up shot of New York City. It shows an inert, summary New York, which makes inquiries in the audience’s mind. It at that point shows a low edge shot of Times Square, demonstrating comparable things to the principal shot of a city which has been disregarded and totally abandoned of all human life. This is odd for the crowd as Times Square is a popular land mark and would ordinarily be packed and occupied with individuals and vehicles. He at that point proceeds to show a bird’s eye perspective on a road with high rises, however it is quiet once more, aside from the sound of feathered creatures out yonder. Following a couple of moments, a games vehicle shows up and speeds down a central avenue. This edge gives an abandoned inclination to the crowd again as there is just a single vehicle, rather than a packed road .The camera point is then switched to a nearby, concentrating on a firearm, at that point Robert Neville getting it inside the vehicle. This is done to show the character Robert Neville’s watching outward appearance. The camera likewise shows a nearby edge of Sam, Robert’s hound. These two short camera shots present the principle characters. It additionally shows their relationship, as Robert opens the window for Sam, indicating Robert thinks about Sam’s needs. Despite the fact that later on in the film there are indications of the topic of savage human conduct, there is a despite everything shot in the pre-title scene where Robert doesn't shoot the female lion as she and her family merit the deer’s meat more. Despit e the fact that he is as yet not secure with his choice, he despite everything brings down his firearm and gives way. Utilization OF PROPS AND MISE-EN-SCENE IN THE PRE-TITLE SCENE TO BUILD UP TENSION AND SUSPENSE Francis Lawrence utilizes props and mise-en-scene capably to make climate and tension.Throughout the pre-title scene there are banners saying â€Å"God still loves us† This is a since quite a while ago shot hinting that toward the end there are still a few people who endure and make it to the fenced off settlement to attempt to bring back life all over earth. There are likewise military tanks, which means something genuine and risky probably happened providing the crowd some insight, yet additionally making them question over and over. There are deserted squad cars speaking to the absence of law in the city and when Robert passes through red lights and onto asphalts this advises this significantly more. The presence of the deer hopping before the vehicle is another inquiry the crowd would present themselves. Why Robert is chasing deer? It additionally causes tension as the crowd is dubious about the activities coming after. Utilization OF SOUND IN PRE-TITLE SCENE TO BUILD UP SUSPENSE AND TENSION Glancing back at the pre-title scene again and thinking now the utilization of sound, you can see the viability of the audio cues. The utilization of quiet, or at focuses, the sound of fowls whistling out of sight made a nonappearance of sound. The aftereffect of this is making the crowd question more. The quiet is then broken by the thunder of a motor, at that point the presence of the vehicle. This would appear to the crowd as abnormal to be capable simply hear the sound of one single vehicle in New York City. The principal words verbally expressed are, â€Å"What do you see, what do you see?† He talks with tension and energy. This raises the topic â€Å"hunter or hunted?† as the crowd isn't certain now on the off chance that he is going to utilize the firearm to secure him or to chase with. This makes nervousness and vulnerability in the crowd developing anticipation and pressure. At the point when the deer screeches, it shows the complexity of innovation and nature, innovation being the sound of the motor and nature being the deer’s screech. The sounds toward the finish of the pre-title scene have been diegetic yet when the title shows up on the screen there is a non-diegetic sound which is dim and fabricates pressure as it utilizes low notes. 2) USE OF CAMERA ANGLES IN THE FLASH-BACK SCENE TO CREATE TENSION AND SUSPENSE The story structure of â€Å"I Am Legend† is introduced in a non-sequential request, changing from the past to the present and the other way around. This is on the grounds that there are a few blaze backs that the character Robert faces during the film. The primary glimmer back is one of the most significant; as it gives the crowd a great deal of pieces of information yet at the same time leaves them questionable. It additionally informs us concerning his family and how his significant other isn’t cheerful about him remaining on the island. The contention in the vehicle is halted by a body hitting the vehicle then the travelers shouting then the following scene returning to the current day. The vehicles that pull up outside the Roberts’ house in the glimmer back, and the military individuals who are likewise remaining outside the house holding walkie-talkies which shows that the circumstance happening is significant and potentially risky. The discussion from the president likewise shows the significance and earnestness of the circumstance. As this scene is appeared in a hurried manner, it again develops pressure and tension. This is on the grounds that the crowd is feeling expectation and vulnerability. The camera edges utilized in the flashback are practically all nearby ups or over the shoulder shots. These are utilized to show the outward appearances very close, as they are re ally significant in this scene to depict the characters’ feeling. They additionally attract the crowd to relate to the legend. Utilization OF SOUND IN THE FIRST FLASH BACK SCENE TO BUILD UP SUSPENSE AND TENSION Sound is utilized all through this scene to fabricate environment and strain. The sounds utilized in the primary glimmer back are essential and just incorporates diegetic seems like the sound of alarms outside of the vehicle and when they approach the house. The main different sounds you hear are exchange. The chief, Francis Lawrence has done this as the discussion among Robert and his better half is significant for the crowd to make sense of what's going on. So we have to concentrate on the discussion and not be occupied by temperament music as it is a significant piece of the film. Francis Lawrence just uses calm sounds in the back ground and outside the vehicle to include environment. During the vehicle venture in the blaze back, Robert and his better half show bothering towards Carly (Robert Neville’s little girl) and advise her to be tranquil while they tune in to the radio. They are acting thusly in light of the fact that they are terrified and frightened, so are resolve d to hearing what the president needs to state. This factor, the characters are scared, makes the crowd be questionable, building pressure and tension. The blamelessness of Carly is evident as she is addressing everything except for stops when told as well. She likewise discusses it being Christmas and her presents having been left in the storage room, demonstrating she has next to no at the forefront of her thoughts that she stresses over. Her folks are additionally too bustling contending and disclosing things to each other to address her inquiries. Despite the fact that she is posing blameless inquiries, you can tell through her voice and outward appearances that the experience is as yet stressing her. This again makes strain and tension as a result of what the characters are feeling. 3) IN ROBERT NEVILLE’S LABATORY-USE OF CAMERA ANGLES TO BUILD SUSPENSE AND TENSION Camera points are utilized dexterously all through the research center scene to attract the crowd to relate to Robert. After Robert and Sam have been assaulted by the Hemocytes’ hounds, the scene changes to Robert’s lab. Sam is genuinely harmed and Robert is hurrying to take care of her however doesn’t figure out how to spare her as she transforms into a Hemocyte accordingly, Robert needs to slaughter her. The camera points utilized in this scene change quickly so the crowd can follow all the activity and furthermore incorporates close-ups of outward appearances as it is critical to the story that we see that the choice to slaughter is a hard one for him. At the point when it first changes to this scene, the camera is following Robert in a medium close-up shot. The following impact is utilized to show how quick he is moving yet in addition shows how he is feeling unsettled and upset. Francis Lawrence utilizes a similar method of working up strain anticipation thr ougho

Dubai Crisis

http://hubpages. com/center point/FINANCIAL-CRISIS-IN-DUBAI-REASINS-AND-EFFECTS FINANCIAL CRISIS IN DUBAI-REASONS AND EFFECTS Dubai-monetary position That is Dubai-sky penetrating towers, pivoting structures, staggering compositional designs,flow of petro-dollers,broad and clean street notworks, etc,etc. Representatives, investers, and lusury-searchers, used to visit Dubai with all enthusiasm. A little while prior, Dubai had given to worldwide investers, bonds worth $1. 9trillion,whiched sent the message that its monetary position is unwavering! However, since establishment has shaken! failure to rapay credit portions All these show that Dubai's budgetary establishment is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ SHAKING! Reasons Dubai, not at all like other six emirates of UAE isn't a nation rich with oil assets. This city state is simply a business city entirely relying on the travel industry and different organizations. Dubai World, in a scurry to draw in world enterprenuers began spending increasingly more on building fine streets, star hotels,etc. Outside institutional investers likewise contributed much here, particularly during the most recent four years. Be that as it may, for reasons unknown, might be because of monetary emergency essentially, FIIs didnot go to Dubai for speculation.. Therefore, land businessin Dubai unexpectedly fallen. This had an effect on different organizations too. Impacts Dubai world, has business tie-ups in various nations including India. Thes ventures, might be deferred( bringing about cost increment), or dropped, or delayed. Joblessness issue may emerge in Dubai. Endeavors may need to conserve a part of their representatives.! 0 lakh Indians are working in Dubai and other UAE nations. Outside Institutional investers, who have business ties with Dubai World, may confront misfortune. 70 money related establishments have loaned credits to Dubai world. Banks in Duabi may confront emergency. At the point when the world is recouping from a year ago's financial downturn, this may push it back to same position. Beam of expectation. Inspite of every one of these, specialists trust that it is conceivable to recoup. It comes out of past understanding. Dubai had confronted comparable financial emergency in 1999. At that point Abudhabhi, another emirette in UAE, had helped Dubai by loaning an advance of $1,00,000. Abudhabhi is a monetarily steady nation.. It can help. Be that as it may, the quantum of need this time is muchmore than it was in 1999. Just on 29th,November,Abudhabhi has reported that it would concider the financing aspect,item astute, taking every fundamental exchange on merits. It has likewise clarified,it won't assume full liability everything being equal. †¢ Top ten money related foundations of the world By more noteworthy hopefulness and confirmations by America, significant piece of the world surrendered to globalization and WTC understandings. American organizations, for their benefit, energized the purchasing propensities for individuals in the globe,†¦ †¢ Finance and gold stock The financial powers on the planet were astounded a week ago when India bought 200 tons of gold from International money related fund(IMF). This buy required a venture of Rs. 35,000 crores. India likewise announced†¦ ABU DHABI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) †The monetary emergency clearing the world that rose up out of Wall Street has negatively affected the United Arab Emirates (UAE), sending the Gulf oil creating nation's economy into an unsure way. In the primary portion of 2008, the world saw a consistent ascent in oil costs, which moved to a record high of 147. 27 U. S. dollars a barrel on July 11. Be that as it may, the taking off oil costs didn't get a firm balance from that point forward, with the flexibly and request factors stayed in a parity, as high ranking representatives of the oil cartel Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had said over and again. After the theoretical variables offered route to the basics in the market, oil costs started an excursion of remedy, declining underneath 60 dollars a barrel, which spoke to a drop of in excess of 60 percent contrasted and the top in July. The decay of oil costs was nothing but bad news for the UAE, for the oil area represented around 35. 9 percent of the nation's GDP in 2007. Neighborhood paper Gulf News evaluated in July that the oil income of Abu Dhabi whose creation represents almost 94 percent of the UAE's raw petroleum yield, would arrive at 100 billion dollars if the cost stayed on significant level. Be that as it may, the figure appears to be inconceivable at this point. Notwithstanding oil costs, the UAE is confronting a converse in its property advertise which has been blasting since the legislature permitted outside financial specialists to purchase property on a freehold premise in 2002. A report discharged by Morgan Stanley in August anticipated a decay of 10 percent by 2010 in the property market of Dubai, the UAE's business and money related center point. Be that as it may, the amendment of costs in the UAE's property advertise came sooner than Morgan Stanley anticipated. In November, HSBC said in are port that property costs fell in October by four percent in Dubai and five percent in Abu Dhabi, which is the first ever since2002 and might be a defining moment of the six-year positively trending market. In the securities exchanges, the UAE has been enduring a free fall this year, a comparable experience that some developing markets had during a similar period. On Nov. 16, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) list shut down at 1,981. 4 focuses, falling by 68. 51 percent from the year's pinnacle of 6,291. 87 focuses on Jan. 15 with lost 4. 67 billion dirhams (1. 27billion dollars) in showcase esteem. Around the same time, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) additionally tumbled to its absolute bottom this year, with its general list hitting2,755. 62, down 46. 48 percent from 5,148. 49 focuses on June 11 with lost 1. 52 billion dirhams. BANKS' TIGHTENING PURSE STRINGS The UAE Central Bank held a gathering with agents from all banks working in the nation on Sept. 8, three days after the U. S. speculation bank Lehman Brothers declared financial insolvency, to evaluate the status of the UAE banking framework. An announcement discharged by the Central Bank after the gathering said that the UAE banks had no presentation to Lehman Brothers and there was no fundamental hazard in the UAE. In any case, the announcement likewise uncovered that the nation's financial framework was additionally confronting an absence of liquidity by saying that â€Å"various recommendations for boosting liquidity of banks were likewise examined. † On Sept. 2, the Central Bank declared the foundation of a crisis loaning office worth 50 billion dirhams for banks working in the nation, denoting the principal move to infuse liquidity since the Wall Street emergency rose. From that point forward, the UAE government found a way to support the financial framework. The Central Bank reported on Oct. 8 a two-rate point slice in its loaning rate to 3 percent in an offer to help liquidity of nearby banks. It additionally brought down the rate on its repurchase of authentication of store (REPO) from 2 percent to 1. percent with impact from Oct. 8. In mid-October, the UAE bureau said that it chose to take preventive measures to help the financial framework. Under the measures, the legislature will give a three-year assurance to stores and reserve funds in every national bank and remote keeps money with â€Å"significant operations† in the nation. What's more, the administration will likewise ensure all between bank loaning activities between banks working in the nation and infuse adequate liquidity in the money related framework if and when important. The administration likewise chose to infuse another 70 billion dirhams into the financial framework. In spite of the measures taken by the administration, the absence of liquidity has made banks working in the UAE fix their satchel strings. HSBC raised its base compensation prerequisite for an individual advance from 5,000 dirhams to 10,000 dirhams in October and multiplied it again in November to 20,000 dirhams. Another major remote bank working in the UAE Lloyds TSB chose in November to quit loaning to clients who needed to purchase lofts. Meanwhile, the bank brought down its credit to esteem proportion on manors to 50 percent from 80 percent in October. The UAE's national banks, including the nation's biggest bank Emirates NBD, were additionally purportedly fixing their credit. Dubious PROSPECT OF MEGA PROJECTS In the previous barely any years, the UAE has seen a blast in its property showcase, with costs quadrupled. The property part turned into a significant supporter of the nation's endeavors to enhance its economy to lessen the reliance on the oil business. Property engineers in the UAE propelled a progression of famous undertakings during the blast, including the three Palm Islands and Burj Dubai, the most noteworthy design to date on the planet. The achievement of those notorious undertakings in advancing themselves and their designers and the consistent upswing in the property showcase have energized engineers drift more super tasks. In October, Nakheel, the engineer of the Palm Islands, declared another task named â€Å"Nakheel Harbor and Tower. † The undertaking, which will cover a region of in excess of 270 hectares and oblige more than 55,000 individuals, will incorporate a pinnacle in excess of 1,000 meters high. Whenever finished, the Nakheel Tower will take Burj Dubai's title of the world's most noteworthy structure, whose present tallness remains at 688 meters. As indicated by Nakheel, the Nakheel Harbor and Tower will take over 10 years to finish. Presently, with the credit crush and a potential bear showcase for the property segment, the task's destiny appears to be questionable. Truth be told, Nakheel said in mid-November that it will rethink its â€Å"immediate business targets to oblige the current financial atmosphere. †¦ The following barely any months will see a downsizing of movement around a portion of our ventures. â€Å"

Blog Archive Ace the GMAT Essay No, Thanks!

Blog Archive Ace the GMAT Essay No, Thanks! We all know that the GMAT essay is scored separately and that the schools don’t care as much about the essay score. We also know we have to write the essays first thing, before we get to the more important Quant and Verbal sections (or even IR), so we don’t want to use up too much brain-power on the essay. Still, we can’t just bomb this section; the schools do care about the essay somewhat. So how do we do a good enough job without expending so much energy that we’re negatively affected during the multiple-choice portion of the test? We need to develop a template, an organizational framework on which to hang  our writing. The template will not, of course, tell us exactly what to write. For that, we need the actual essay prompt, which we won’t see until we take the test. We can, however, determine how to organize the information ahead of time, as well as the general kinds of messages we need to convey at various points throughout. The template should tell us: how many paragraphs to use the primary purpose of each of those paragraphs the kinds of information that need to be conveyed in each paragraph The template will vary a little bit from person to person; the important thing is to have a consistent template for yourself that you’ve worked out in advance of the official test. As a general rule, essays should have either four or five paragraphs total. The first paragraph is always the introduction, the last paragraph is always the conclusion, and the body (middle) paragraphs are for the examples we choose to use. Each paragraph should contain certain things; these are listed in the below sections. The information does not need to be presented in the given order below, though; just make sure that each paragraph does contain the necessary information in some sort of clear and logical order. In addition, the information listed below is the minimum necessary info; you can certainly add more where appropriate. Brainstorming First, read the essay prompt. It will look / feel just like the Critical Reasoning arguments we see on the Verbal portion of the test, so tackle it in the same way! The argument will most closely resemble Assumption Family arguments, so find the conclusion and make sure you understand how the author is trying to support his / her conclusion. Next, brainstorm any assumptions* that you can think of and jot these down (or type them into the essay response area). *Note: if you haven’t started studying CR Assumption Family questions yet, assumptions are unstated pieces of information that the author is assuming must be true in order to draw his/her conclusion. Next, articulate flaws. Any assumptions are automatically flaws, because the author hasn’t established that those assumptions are, in fact, true. You may also think of other flaws along the way. Finally, pick your two or three best flaws; these will form the basis of your essay. This whole process should take roughly 3 to 4 minutes. Many people find this the hardest part of writing an essay; you can practice by opening up the essay chapter of your Official Guide book and simply brainstorming for one essay prompt. Don’t write the whole essayâ€"just do the brainstorming portion once a day (only 5 minutes out of your day!) for a week or two and you’ll become much more skilled at this step. First Paragraph summarize the issue state a thesis acknowledge that the other side does have some merit introduce your examples 3 to 5 sentences total First, briefly summarize the conclusion of the given argument in one to two sentences. Make sure to write using your own words (don’t simply quote the exact language from the essay prompt, though using the same word here or there is fine). The first paragraph should also contain a thesis statement. The thesis is typically one sentence and conveys to the reader your overall message or point for the essay that you wrote. For the argument essay, you can write most of your thesis sentence before you get to the test! You already know that the argument will contain flaws, and that you will be discussing how those flaws hurt the author’s conclusion. Guess what? That’s always your thesis! “While the argument does have some merit, there are several serious flaws which serve to undermine the validity of the author’s conclusion that XYZ. â€ DON’T USE THAT EXACT SENTENCE. They’re going to get suspicious if hundreds of people use the same sentence. (Besides, that’s my sentence. Come up with your own! ?? ) Note the opening clause: While the argument does have some merit.  This is what’s called acknowledging the other side.  We don’t say, Hey, your argument is completely terrible! There’s nothing good about it at all!  We acknowledge that some parts may be okay, or some people may feel differently, but our position is that the flaws are the most important issue (that is, our thesis is the most important thing). Notice one other thing that I don’t say: I don’t say I think.  I state my thesis as though it is fact and reasonable people surely agree with me. That’s a hallmark of a persuasive essay. Finally, the first paragraph needs to introduce whatever examples we’re going to use in the body paragraphs below. Don’t launch into the examples fully; that will come later. Do, though, mention the two or three flaws that you plan to discuss in the essay. Body Paragraphs Each flaw gets its own paragraph, so you’ll write either 2 or 3 body paragraphs of 4 to 6 sentences each. (I personally pick my 2 best flaws, so I write 2 body paragraphs. Remember, we just need to be good enough! ) Your goal here is to support your thesis statement. In each paragraph: introduce one flaw (don’t repeat the exact language from the prompt) explain why it is a flaw (how does this make the conclusion less likely to be true?) suggest ways to fix the flaw (you’re fixing the flaw, not changing the conclusion; what could the author do to strengthen his/her argument?) For example, let’s say that an argument claims that firing half of a company’s employees will help the company to reduce costs and therefore become more profitable. What’s the conclusion, what supports that conclusion, and what assumptions is the author making? While it’s certainly true that chopping half of your payroll will reduce costs, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the company will become more profitable! That loss of personnel may negatively impact revenues, reduce productivity, hurt morale of the remaining employees, and so on. The author is assuming that no such adverse effects will result from this action; that’s a flaw in his/her thinking. The author of such an argument could bolster the claim by, for example, presenting evidence that half of the employees are truly dead weight  and firing them wouldn’t affect the company adversely. (Don’t worry about whether this is likely, whether such evidence actually exists, or even whether this is the best way to improve profitability. Your job is only to strengthen the author’s existing argument a little bit. If the author could actually produce evidence showing that there wouldn’t be adverse effects from such layoffs, then his conclusion would be strengthened. Period.) Conclusion Paragraph re-state your thesis (using new words) re-acknowledge the other side (using new words) briefly summarize how your examples supported your thesis (using new words) 3 to 4 sentences Are you noticing a theme within the above bullet points? Basically, the conclusion paragraph isn’t going to contain much new information. It’s a conclusion; the major points should already have been made earlier in the essay. What you’re doing now is tying everything together in one neat package: yes, the other side  has some merit, but here’s my point-of-view and, by the way, I proved my case using examples X and Y. Before you go into the real test, you should have a fully developed template, so that all you have to do is come up with your two examples, and then hang  your words onto your framework. This doesn’t mean pre-writing and memorizing actual sentences, but do know in general the kinds of points you want to make in each paragraph. Practice with the above as a starting point until you develop something with which you’re comfortable. Don’t forget to leave some time to proof your essay; it’s okay to have a few typos, but systematic errors will lower your score. Manhattan Prep is one of the world’s leading test prep providers. Every one of their instructors has a 99th percentile score on the GMAT and substantial teaching experience. The result? 17 years and thousands of satisfied students. By providing an outstanding curriculum and the highest-quality instructors in the industry, they empower students to accomplish their goals. Manhattan Prep allows you to sit in on any of their live GMAT classesâ€"in-person or onlineâ€"for free! Check out a trial class today. Share ThisTweet GMAT Impact Blog Archive Ace the GMAT Essay No, Thanks! We all know that the GMAT essay is scored separately and that the schools do not care as much about the essay score. We also know we have to write the essays first thing, before we get to the more important Quant and Verbal sections (or even Integrated Reasoning), so we do not want to use up too much brainpower on the essay. Still, we cannot just bomb this section; the schools do care about the essay  somewhat. So how do we do a good enough job without expending so much energy that we are negatively affected during the multiple-choice portion of the test? We need to develop a template, an organizational framework on which to hang our writing. The template will not, of course, tell us exactly what to write. For that, we need the actual essay prompt, which we will not see until we take the test. We can, however, determine how to organize the information ahead of time, as well as the general kinds of messages we need to convey at various points throughout. The template should tell us the following: how many paragraphs to use the primary purpose of each of those paragraphs the kinds of information that need to be conveyed in each paragraph The template will vary a little bit from person to person; the important thing is to have a consistent template for yourself that you have worked out  in advance of the official test. As a general rule, essays should have either four or five paragraphs total. The first paragraph is always the introduction, the last paragraph is always the conclusion, and the body (middle) paragraphs are for the examples we choose to use. Each paragraph should contain certain things; these are listed in the following sections. The information does not need to be presented in the given order, though; just make sure that each paragraph does contain the necessary information in some sort of clear and logical order. In addition, the information listed here is the minimum necessary info; you can certainly add more where appropriate. Brainstorming First, read the essay prompt. It will look/feel just like the Critical Reasoning (CR) arguments we see on the Verbal portion of the test, so tackle it in the same way! The argument will most closely resemble Assumption Family arguments, so find the conclusion and make sure you understand how the author is trying to support his/her conclusion. Next, brainstorm any assumptions* that you can think of and jot these down (or type them into the essay response area). *Note: if you have not started studying CR Assumption Family questions yet, assumptions are  unstated  pieces of information that the author is assuming must be true to draw his/her conclusion. Next, articulate flaws. Any assumptions are automatically flaws, because the author has not established that those assumptions are, in fact, true. You may also think of other flaws along the way. Finally, pick your two or three best flaws; these will form the basis of your essay. This whole process should take roughly three to four minutes. Many people find this the hardest part of writing an essay; you can practice by opening up the essay chapter of your Official Guide book and simply brainstorming for one essay prompt. Do not write the whole essayâ€"just do the brainstorming portion once a day (only five minutes out of your day!) for a week or two, and you will become much more skilled at this step. First Paragraph summarize the issue state a thesis acknowledge that the other side does have some merit introduce your examples three to five sentences total First, briefly summarize the conclusion of the given argument in one to two sentences. Make sure to write using  your own words (do not simply quote the exact language from the essay prompt, though using the same word here or there is fine). The first paragraph should also contain a thesis statement. The thesis is typically one sentence and conveys to the reader your overall message or point for the essay that you wrote. For the argument essay, you can write most of your thesis sentence before you get to the test! You already know that the argument will contain flaws, and that you will be discussing how those flaws hurt the author’s conclusion. Guess what? That is always your thesis! “While the argument does have some merit, there are several serious flaws which serve to undermine the validity of the author’s conclusion that XYZ.” DO NOT USE THAT EXACT SENTENCE. They are going to get suspicious if hundreds of people use the same sentence. (Besides, that is my sentence. Come up with your own!) Note the opening clause: While the argument does have some merit. This is what is called acknowledging the other side. We do not say, Hey, your argument is completely terrible! There’s nothing good about it at all! We acknowledge that some parts may be okay, or some people may feel differently, but our position is that the flaws are the most important issue (that is, our thesis is the most important thing). Notice one other thing that I do not say: I do not say, I think. I state my thesis as though it is fact and reasonable people  surely  agree with me. That is a hallmark of a persuasive essay. Finally, the first paragraph needs to introduce whatever examples we are going to use in the body paragraphs. Do not launch into the examples fully; that will come later. Do, though, mention the two or three flaws that you plan to discuss in the essay. Body Paragraphs Each flaw gets its own paragraph, so you will write either two or three body paragraphs of four to six sentences each. (I personally pick my two best flaws, so I write two body paragraphs. Remember, we just need to be good enough!) Your goal here is to support your thesis statement. In each paragraph, introduce one flaw (do not repeat the exact language from the prompt) explain why it is a flaw (how does this make the conclusion less likely to be true?) suggest ways to fix the flaw (you are fixing the flaw, not changing the conclusion; what could the author do to strengthen his/her argument?) For example, let us say that an argument claims that firing half of a company’s employees will help the company to reduce costs and therefore become more profitable. What is the conclusion, what supports that conclusion, and what assumptions is the author making? While it’s certainly true that chopping half of your payroll will reduce costs, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the company will become more profitable! That loss of personnel may negatively impact revenues, reduce productivity, hurt morale of the remaining employees, and so on. The author is  assuming  that no such adverse effects will result from this action; that’s a flaw in his/her thinking. The author of such an argument could bolster the claim by, for example, presenting evidence that half of the employees are truly deadweight and firing them would not affect the company adversely. (Do not worry about whether this is likely, whether such evidence actually exists, or even whether this is the best way to improve profitability. Your job is only to strengthen the author’s  existing  argument a little bit. If the author could actually produce evidence showing that there would not be adverse effects from such layoffs, then his conclusion would be strengthened. Period.) Conclusion Paragraph restate your thesis (using new words) reacknowledge the other side (using new words) briefly summarize how your examples supported your thesis (using new words) three to four sentences Are you noticing a theme within these bullet points? Basically, the conclusion paragraph is not going to contain much new information. It is a conclusion; the major points should already have been made earlier in the essay. What you are doing now is tying everything together in one neat package: Yes, the other side has some merit, but here is my point-of-view and, by the way, I proved my case using examples X and Y. Before you go into the real test, you should have a fully developed template, so that all you have to do is come up with your two examples and then hang your words onto your framework. This does not mean prewriting and memorizing actual sentences, but do know in general the kinds of points you want to make in each paragraph. Practice with the above as a starting point until you develop something with which you are comfortable. Do not forget to leave some time to proof your essay; a few typos is okay, but systematic errors will lower your score. Manhattan Prep is one of the world’s leading test prep providers. Every one of its instructors has a 99th percentile score on the GMAT and substantial teaching experience. The result? Nineteen years and thousands of satisfied students. By providing an outstanding curriculum and the highest-quality instructors in the industry, it empowers students to accomplish their goals. Manhattan Prep allows you to sit in on any of its live GMAT classesâ€"in person or onlineâ€"for free!  Check out a trial class today. Share ThisTweet GMAT Blog Archive Ace the GMAT Essay No, Thanks! With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s  Stacey Koprince  teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Your business school application essays  are  critically important. Your GMAT essay? Not so much. We do, though, have to write the essays first thing, before we get to the more important Quant and Verbal sections (or even the Integrated Reasoning section), so we do not want to use up too much brainpower on the essay. Still, we cannot just bomb this section; the schools do care about the essay  somewhat. So how do we do a good enough job without expending so much energy that we are negatively affected during the multiple-choice portion of the test? We need to develop a template, an organizational framework on which to “hang” our writing. The template will not, of course, tell us exactly what to write. For that, we need the actual essay prompt, which we will not see until we take the test. We can, however, determine how to organize the information ahead of time, as well as the general kinds of messages we need to convey at various points throughout. The template will vary a little bit from person to person; the important thing is to have a consistent template for yourself that you have worked out  in advance of the official test. Brainstorming First, read the essay prompt.  It will look/feel just like the critical reasoning arguments we see on the Verbal portion of the test, so analyze it in the same way! Take about three to four minutes to brainstorm, then pick your two or three best flaws; these will form the basis of your essay. First Paragraph Summarize the issue (make sure to note the conclusion) State a thesis;  acknowledge that the other side does have some merit:  â€œWhile the argument does have some merit, several serious flaws undermine the validity of the author’s conclusion that XYZ.” Introduce your examples (but do not give much detail) Three to five sentences total Body Paragraphs Each  flaw gets its own paragraph, so you will write either two or three body paragraphs of four to six sentences each. (I personally pick my two best flaws, so I write two body paragraphs. Remember, we just need to be “good enough!”) Introduce one flaw (do not repeat the exact language from the prompt) Explain why it is a flaw (how does this make the conclusion less likely to be true or valid?) Suggest ways to fix the flaw (you are fixing the flaw,not  changing the conclusion; what could the author do to strengthen his/her argument?) Conclusion Paragraph Restate your thesis (using new words) Re-acknowledge the other side (using new words) Briefly summarize how your examples supported your thesis (using new words) Three to four sentences You are not trying to pre-write and memorize actual sentences, but do know in general the kinds of points you want to make in each paragraph. Practice with the bullets we have provided here as a starting point until you develop something with which you are comfortable. Do not forget to leave some time to proof your essay; it is okay to have a few typos, but systematic errors will lower your score. Share ThisTweet GMAT