MCAT Test Writing Sample Testing Tips - Avoiding Common Spelling Mistakes

The writing sample section of the MCAT test is specifically designed to evaluate an individual's ability to analyze a particular subject and convey that analysis in an essay. As a result, it is essential for an individual to be able to turn a series of different, but related ideas into an essay that is both coherent and concise. The trained readers that will be evaluating each essay are mainly concerned with the content of the essay rather than small spelling mistakes. However, it is still important for an individual to try to avoid spelling mistakes, as these mistakes will often interfere with the reader's ability to understand the essay and may make the essay appear less coherent than it actually is. One of the best ways to avoid these types of mistakes is to be aware of the most common errors that individuals usually make.

First, even though spelling is not a major factor in your score for this section of the exam, it is important to make sure that you at least come close to the actual spelling of the word. Even though you will be required to type the essay out on a computer, you will not have access to a spell-check feature so it is important to make sure that the individual reading your essay can easily determine the appropriate word even if you spell it incorrectly. This is especially true for words that have similar spellings, but drastically different meanings as it is very common for an individual to spell a single word incorrectly and discover that the entire meaning of the sentence has been changed or, more likely, that the sentence no longer makes sense. Secondly, try to avoid using the incorrect version of common words such as "their," "there," and "they're" or "its" and "it's." "Their" is a possessive pronoun as in "they studied for their test," "there" refers to a place, and "they're" is the contraction of "they" and "are," so each spelling actually has a different meaning and using the wrong spelling can easily make the sentence more confusing. This is also true for "its" and "it's," as "its" is actually a possessive adjective that shows something owns or possesses something else such as "he was using the computer and its speakers" and "it's" is the contraction of "it" and "is" or "it" and "has" as in "It's going to be a bad winter."

Writing a Good Essay
A Short and Simple Technique
Avoiding Common Grammatical Mistakes
Reading Over Your Essay