Entrance Essay Grading Explained

Professors who have finished grading 2006 college entrance exam essays agree that even well written essays will sometimes receive average scores, and suggest that essays written “freestyle” that better express what students are thinking could score higher.

Score Distribution is Diamond-Shaped—

Essay graders described the distribution of student essay scores as diamond-shaped. According to them, about 10 percent of students wrote good essays, while 10 to 20 percent didn’t even understand the question. The rest of the scores were similar.

Based on the criteria of the student’s understanding, analysis of the question as well as his or her opinion, the essays are assorted into three categories: understands, understands more or less, and does not understand.

Characteristics of Private Tutoring Institutes Shown—

Professor A of Sungkyunkwan University said, “When reading essays, you have a hunch that some essays were written by students who went to the same institutes.”

“When you put all the essays that start off in a similar way and read them carefully, they all write the same stuff. After you read a few sentences you know to which institute the student went to study,” said Hanyang University professor B.

Sogang University professor C commented, “When I compared the essay score of students who went to a famous essay tutoring institute to prepare for Sogang University and the score of a Seoul student who passed the exam, there was almost no difference. The students think that if they go to an institute, they will receive average scores, but considering that it is a relative evaluation, average scores in the end can be failing scores.”

Avoid Model Examples—

One feature of students who received average grades belonging in the middle of the diamond-shape score distribution is that the examples they wrote or the name of the scholars they mentioned were all similar, with little of their opinion.

As a matter of fact, essay tutoring institutes hand out about 15 to 20 quotes for each topic. The problem is that students use these quotes even in places that do not belong or are out of context.

This year’s Hanyang University essay topic for Liberal Arts College was “The Identity of Humans in the Future World and Mutual Relationship between Men and Machines.” Many applicants wrote such as “The difference between animals and humans is emotion,” or, “Robots can feel neither friendship nor love.”

Hanyang University professor D said, “It will be a minus to set the subject on an expected topic just as learned in the essay institution.”

There were surprisingly many students quoting French writer Simone de Beauvoir, “Women are not born but made,” if the subject was women’s issue or Socrates’ famous, “A law is a law, however undesirable it may be,” if the subject was related to law.

Professor E of Seoul National University commented, “Last year, many students applying for the music college had better essay scores than those applying for the law or liberal arts college. Free thinking will reap higher scores than standardized essay writing training received in institutes.”

Make a Necklace with Pearls—

Professors say that the secret to essay writing is reading for a long time and then thinking for oneself.

“If knowledge learned in school is a pearl, essays are pearl necklaces. The ability to string the pearls comes from reading books and newspapers,” said Sogang University professor F.

Korea University professor G said, “Students must first think of how to make an organic framework for the essay. A planned outline fit for the given topic is more necessary than model essay writing.”