Test Preparation Courses
The ACT score is highly significant with respect to college admission, course placement, scholarships and grants. In addition to an optional essay element, there are four sections of the ACT: English, science, math, and reading. Writing a strong, well-structured, and creative essay for the ACT gives the student a significant advantage in terms of admission and scholarships. Each English/grammar/punctuation section in the ACT contains 15 questions in which the student must select correct grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation. Some questions ask the student to choose the selection that best re-phrases an underlined portion of the passage, and others ask about the passage’s overall organization. In our on-site seminars which are limited to ten or fewer students, using ACT-approved materials, The Writing Center pre-tests students in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Our instructors cover all areas where weaknesses are exposed. We use one-on-one instruction and peer-to-peer learning strategies to enforce basics. Students are then post-tested and assessed. Students who demonstrate continuing weaknesses are given up to three hours of on-line and/or telephone tutoring to shore up specific weaknesses. The Writing Center’s ACT on-line program focuses upon writing the ACT essay.
SAT English. The SAT is used by most major universities. It is an extremely challenging test which consists of Critical Reading, Math, and Writing components. The Writing Center places heavy emphasis upon writing in its eight-hour SAT course. The English section of the SAT requires the student to correct sentence errors, and to improve sentences and paragraphs. In the SAT, essay writing is a critical component. In fact, the essay is often the determining factor with respect not only to admission, but also to scholarships and other financial assistance. In our on-site sessions, The Writing Center focuses on how to structure an essay, using standard form, including writing topic sentences, theses, supporting paragraphs, summaries and conclusions. We also introduce and/or enforce to the student important literary forms and techniques; proper case and tense utilization; and basic composition and grammar usage. Each student will write (and re-write) four essays for our evaluation. For the English/grammar parts of the SAT, we will use pre-test students using SAT-approved materials, and then our instructors will cover all areas where weaknesses are exposed. We utilize one-on-one and peer-to-peer learning strategies to enforce basics. Students will then be post-tested and assessed. Students who demonstrate continuing weaknesses will be given up to three hours of on-line and/or telephone tutoring to shore up specific weaknesses. The Writing SAT on-line program focuses upon writing the SAT essay.
SAT and ACT on-line support. The Writing Center also provides an on-line resource for those preparing to take the SAT and/or the ACT which consists of the following elements:
(1) We provide The Writing Center’s Guide for Writing SAT and ACT Essays to you and we assign two writing topics to you based on questions asked on previous SAT examinations.
(2) You complete the writing assignments, and return them to The Writing Center.
(3) The Writer Center’s team, (which consists of one or more college admission officers and The Writing Center’s director) evaluates the essays based on established test-specific standard criteria.
(4) The Writing Center returns your original essays to you with our critique and recommendations.
(5) The Writing Center then asks you to re-write the essays and return them to us for our final evaluation.
(6) The Writing Center provides you a final evaluation.
COMPASS English and Reading. Unlike the ACT and SAT, COMPASS tests are computer-administered. In this eight-hour on-site course on grammar and punctuation, The Writing Center uses COMPASS-approved materials to pre-test students to access their strengths and weaknesses. After computer-based pre-testing, our instructors cover all areas where weaknesses are exposed. We use one-on-one and peer-to-peer learning strategies to enforce basics. Students are then be post-tested and assessed. Students who demonstrate continuing weaknesses are given up to three hours of on-line and/or telephone tutoring to shore up specific weaknesses. Students who do not attain required scores on the COMPASS English and Reading tests are required to take additional courses before entering into a degree or certificate program.
The MCAT is used by all accredited medical schools in the United States. It is an extremely challenging examination that merits careful and well-informed preparation. The MCAT consists of four parts: Writing, Physical sciences, Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences. For the writing component, candidates are given 60 minutes to write two different essays on non-medical subjects. For each writing assignment, candidates are given a written statement and asked to perform three tasks in his or her essay: explain the statement; present and explore different interpretations of the given statement; and, finally, develop reconciliation (synthesis) in agreement or disagreement with the original statement. The Writing Center offers both on-line and on-site programs for those who will take the MCAT. In WTC’s on-site two-day workshop, we provide instructional support for the writing section of the test, including basic elements of analytical reasoning (with respect to the given essay topic sentence), structure, style, grammar, and form for successful MCAT writing. The student will write four essays during the two day workshop for WTC’s review and constructive criticism. We are confident that the student who completes this program will score well on the writing section of MCAT.
MCAT on-line support. The Writing Center provides a valuable and unique on-line resource for those preparing to take the MCAT, consisting of the following elements:
(1) We provide The Writing Center’s Guide for Writing MCAT Essays to you and assign two writing topics to you based on questions asked on previous MCAT examinations.
(2) You complete the writing assignments, and return them to The Writing Center.
(3) The Writer Center’s MCAT team, (which consists of one or more consulting physicians and The Writing Center’s director) evaluates the essays based on MCAT criteria.
(4) The Writing Center returns your original essays to you with our critique and recommendations.
(5) The Writing Center then asks you to re-write the two essays and return them to us for our final evaluation.
(6) The Writing Center provides you a final evaluation.
The LSAT is required for law school admission.The exam contains five 35-minute sections, including Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, a Variable (un-graded section) and a Writing Sample. The Writing Section, which consists of two composition tasks, is graded and evaluated at the law school(s) to which the candidate applies. Many law schools use the Writing Sample as a basis for determining whether or not to admit an applicant and for awarding grants and scholarships. In our on-line and on-site sessions, the Writing Center provides instructional support for the writing section of the test, including basic elements of analytical and logical reasoning (with respect to the given essay topic sentence), structure, style, grammar, and form for successful LSAT writing. The student will write four essays during the two day LSAT workshop for WTC’s review and evaluation. We are confident that the student who completes this program will score well on the writing section of LSAT.
LSAT on-line support. The Writing Center provides an on-line LSAT resource which consists of the following elements:
(1) We provide The Writing Center’s Guide for Writing LSAT Essays to you and we assign two writing topics to you based on questions asked on previous LSAT examinations.
(2) You complete the writing assignments, and return them to The Writing Center.
(3) The Writer Center’s LSAT team, (which consists of one or more consulting attorneys and The Writing Center’s director) evaluates the essays based on LSAT criteria.
(4) The Writing Center returns your original essays to you with our critique and recommendations.
(5) The Writing Center then asks you to re-write the essays and return them to us for our final evaluation.
(6) The Writing Center provides you a final evaluation.
The GRE is a computer-based test consisting of three sections: Analytical Writing, Quantitative Math, and Verbal Skills. The analytical writing component requires the student to write two essays. One essay must address the student’s perspective on an issue. The other essay requires the student to analyze an argument. The essays are evaluated in order to determine the student’s ability to communicate complex ideas concisely and effectively, evaluate evidence, use logical reasoning and relevant examples, and use the English language effectively and correctly. The verbal section contains sentence completion questions, analogies, antonyms, and reading comprehension questions. The Writing Center’s GRE program focuses on the analytical writing component of the exam. In our 16-hour on-site training session, we provide models for writing each of the two essays. Each participant will write eight essays – four perspective essays and four argument essays for WTC’s review and evaluation.
GRE on-line support. The Writing Center provides an on-line GRE resource which consists of the following elements:
(1) We provide The Writing Center’s Guide for Writing GRE Essays to you and we assign two perspective writing topics and two argument writing topics to you based on questions asked on previous GRE examinations.
(2) You complete the writing assignments, and return them to The Writing Center.
(3) The Writer Center’s LSAT team evaluates the essays based on GRE criteria.
(4) The Writing Center returns your original essays to you with our critique and recommendations.
(5) The Writing Center then asks you to re-write the essays and return them to us for our final evaluation.
(6) The Writing Center provides you a final evaluation.