After the Evil Testing Serpent crafted all the “Standard English Conventions”
questions, it still felt like there was something missing. So from the dark, grimy
recesses of its serpenty mind it conjured up another question category,
christening it with the vaguest of names: “Expression of Ideas.” What does it
mean? Well, these questions will focus on everything beyond grammar. . . .
Namely, the development of an argument, the organization of a passage, and the
use of effective language. Again, imagine you are peer-editing a friend’s paper,
and you’ve already caught all of the basic grammar mistakes (good job!). Now,
you have to actually improve the quality of the writing.
Gasp!
—Samantha
If this sounds subjective, that’s because it is. Although there are hard and fast
grammar rules, “Expression of Ideas” is murkier territory—two different people
could have two different yet equally viable approaches to editing the same essay.
However, don’t fret—we happen to know just what the Serpent is looking for,
and we’re going to show you how to jump through all of its hoops one concept at
a time, with sample questions along the way.
How to Build an Argument
Remember how we said in the Reading Test chapter that the Serpent is totally
evidence-crazy now? Well, its madness persists in the Writing Test. Many
questions are going to ask you to identify the best piece of evidence to support
an author’s argument. Check this: