There are many elements that help create strong writing. We are going to focus on two, higher-level concepts that will not only help you on the English Subject Test, but also on the Optional Writing Test. These two concepts are:

• Short and Concise

  • ​Because short and concise sentences clarify your subject, verb, and object; avoid redundancies; and help establish your overall message.

• Active Voice

  • ​Because writing in the active voice gives agency to your subjects and reads more dynamically.

Keep it short and concise

Some English exam questions ask you:

Make sure your ideas are expressed clearly and concisely, avoiding puns and awkwardness. Identify and eliminate excess material. Ideas written in standard English are best expressed in short, direct sentences. Generally, the fewer words you use, the more direct the sentence and the easier it is to understand. Beware of words that have the same meaning and are used in the same sentence - redundant. For example, you don't have to say, "A little girl smiled at me." Both tiny and little mean the same thing, so using either will suffice.

example: Canadian currency usually looks very different from American currency.

Since "sees" and "appears" have the same meaning, you can make the sentence redundant by using only one or the other.

So the shorter the answer choices, the less opportunities for redundancy, verbosity, and awkwardness. Many English teachers put a lot of emphasis on length and the use of large, complex sentences, so it can be difficult for students to understand that longer is not always better. Length over length should be avoided, and a short, clean answer is almost always what you're looking for.

Decide on the active voice

An active voice makes for stronger, better writing.

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action.

Elijah caught the ball.

Muhammad cooked a delicious meal. The dog ate cookies.

In the passive voice, the subject is the recipient of the action.

The ball was caught by Elijah.

A delicious meal was prepared by Muhammad.

The biscuit was eaten by a dog.

All other things being equal, choose No Passive Response. Only consider active versus passive if you have already ruled out alternatives due to incorrect usage or punctuation (clearly incorrect or clearly misleading alternatives). There are still several options left.