<p>My handwriting might have been messy (I am incapable of neat handwriting - I try, but fail). I mean, it’s not horrendously messy but I write relatively large and my letters always come out a bit harried looking. I also only wrote a page and a half, of what I thought was an excellent, well-thought out essay. I had no idea of the “formula” so I just focused on making it well-thought out, grammatically correct, with good vocab and concise examples. I didn’t care for length, but it begun and ended well. </p>
<p>I mean, come to think of it, collegeboard essay graders spend on average a minute on each essay. How on earth could one properly assess an essay in one minute?</p>
<p>As for the MC, I practiced it like crazy, but there are ALWAYS some questions that come in from left field, where you have absolutely no idea where the error is. For those, I put “E” and am usually wrong. Since I’m from Quebec, I’m completely bilingual, so the fact that I learned both English and French at the same time, the same amount, might have complicated things because sentence structure in French is completely different, so the whole “what feels right” is just not there sometimes, no matter how hard I try and how much I study. </p>
<p>As for the comment about “well, maybe you’re just good at prose and fiction-type stuff and not so much formulaic writing”. As long as it’s not too formulaic and leaves room for some degree of creativity and “style” or “flair”, I usually do exceptional. Especially on essay competitions, which involve a higher order thinking and a ridiculous amount of originality. I placed 3rd in the prestigious “QAIS Provincial Essay Competition” in grade 9, against far more “elite” private school kids than my own ordinary public school. (I was still annoyed that 1st and 2nd just HAD to come from LCC, which is the Andover of Montreal, where only the super-rich kids go.</p>