Fuvest 2024: how to do well in the 2nd phase writing test – 12/15/2023 – Education

On Sunday (17) and Monday (18), 30,787 candidates approved in the first phase of Fuvest will take the second phase tests to compete for one of the 8,147 places offered at USP (University of São Paulo).

On the first day, in addition to the ten Portuguese questions, on text interpretation, grammar and literature, the candidate will also have to write the essay, which is extremely important for all the chosen areas. Receiving a zero in the essay is certain elimination.

The test is an argumentative dissertation (the student presents a vision and supports it through arguments), as requested in Enem, Vunesp and PUC. However, it has particularities that differentiate it from others.

Therefore, the Sheet He listened to writing teachers to give tips for students to get top marks and stand out among their competitors.

Writing takes priority

A common point cited by all experts is that the essay should have priority for the candidate on the first day of the tests. More rested, he will be able to more easily identify the topic and remember the arguments necessary to defend the proposed thesis.

They suggest the following steps:

1) Identify the topic, which is generally located after the texts in the collection.

2) Fcarry out targeted reading of the texts in the collection. With the topic identified, the candidate must go back and highlight the most important parts of the texts.

3) List in the draft the sources of knowledge stored in memory. It is important to take notes on philosophical memories, sociology, ancient and contemporary history, geopolitical geography, reports, documentaries, music, cinema, anthropology, etc. Anything related to the proposed topic.

4) Write your text, presenting the topic in the first paragraph and leaving at least implicit the answer to the question asked by the panel. Next, you will present your arguments in two paragraphs and, in the conclusion, you must return to the topic with the answer, but this time explicitly.

With the draft text ready, the candidate must take the Portuguese test. This period of around two hours without thinking about the essay will make the candidate come back later with a more critical eyeto identify possible flaws or adjustments before writing the final text, in pen, on the writing sheet.

“At Fuvest you can dedicate an hour and a half to two hours to writing. It’s a generous amount of time. You can think more carefully, make notes and review the draft well before handing it in.
The questions on the literature test can give new ideas for writing”, explains Felipe Leal, professor of writing and philosophy at the Anglo Course.

Thematic profile

Fuvest tends to expand the scope of its discussions, suggesting philosophical, sociological and anthropological themes for writing, such as consumerism, decoloniality, transhumanism, among others.

The collection available is normally made up of texts that can be literary, artistic, poems, comic strips and even images, in addition to academic texts, university research results, or major figures, authorities, on the respective subject.

“The thematic sentence is constructed from a social, global, normally abstract problem, and, therefore, needs an author capable of seeing it as if it were a problem in academic research. Thus, the candidate must apply their knowledge of the world to support the point of view”, highlights Luiz Carlos Dias, editorial coordinator at Colégio Passo.

“Sometimes, a song, book or series that the student has checked out serves better what he is defending than the use of quotes from unstudied authors”, adds Dias.

Repertoire and authorship

The panel privileges repertoire and authorship.

• Repertoire: It is the search for extracurricular knowledge. The panel likes quotes from philosophy, sociology, works of art, literature and music. The important thing is for the candidate to make the most of their cultural repertoire.
• Authorship: It is originality, the person thinking for themselves and showing that they are not following ready-made models. In Enem it is possible to get good grades with ready-made models. Not at Fuvest.

The Fuvest essay is an argumentative dissertation that follows structural standards, but highlights candidates who better understand the discussions proposed by the collection, managing to produce an in-depth text, with a critical social analysis, use of precise language (and not necessarily elaborate) , with choices that contribute to the arguments.

“Some time ago, a student wrote an essay on fanaticism talking about football idols, organized fan groups, but the collection addressed political, religious and polarization fanaticism. The grade dropped significantly, because although he wrote about fanaticism, he did not write contemplating the theme of the examining band”, warns Maria Aparecida Custódio, writing teacher at the Course and Colégio Objective.

Conclusion

At the conclusion of Fuvest’s writing, it is not necessary to present a proposal to deal with the problem, a solution — nor is it recommended, according to the notice. This makes the conclusion shorter and just a summary of the ideas presented in the text.

“The test places a high value on thematic development, that is, how the candidate interpreted the collection, what differences he was able to see regarding the topic and how he took advantage of the reflections to construct a good thesis. After that, the topic was developed in depth, adding information, that is, informativeness is an important quality factor in this text, and thematic progression”, says Gabrielle Cavalin, general editorial coordinator at Poliedro.

In conclusion, the candidate needs to avoid repeating the beginning of the text. He has to go beyond what he has already written.

“Depending on how he approached the subject, he can make a prediction of what he discussed: is it a trend? Is it that the issue will worsen, intensify, or disappear? The candidate can also issue a warning, show what could happen if that doesn’t change or if it stays the same”, adds Custódio.

Comparison between Fuvest and Enem

According to the teachers, the main difference between the Enem and Fuvest essays is that the first asks for a solution to a social problem, while the second wants to evaluate the candidate’s ability to argue.

In Enem: O The theme is always a problem of Brazilian reality, with a collection of base texts from the journalistic universe, such as news and infographics, which support the reader to understand the causes and consequences of the problem presented. So, the candidate has to talk about the problem, understanding its causes and/or consequences, to propose a solution at the end.

At Fuvest: This collection leads to a great reflection on the contemporary world and, normally, is made up of texts that are from other universes, which can be literary, artistic, poems, comic strips and even images, in addition to academic texts and university research results.

Fuvest requires slightly more elaborate reading skills from the candidate, in terms of selecting information, inference and interpretation.

“Fuvest’s proposals do not usually have an interventionist character like those of Enem. This means that it is unlikely that an intervention proposal will be suitable for discussion, although, in some cases, there is the possibility of proposing a confrontation with the issue addressed”, says Jéssica Dorta, writing coordinator of the Student Workshop Course and College.

How to avoid getting a zero grade in your essay?

– Never copy supporting excerpts. It does not mean collecting information or an idea, but copying it. The panel does not admit this and lowers the grade considerably;
– Do not deviate from the proposed theme or genre (argumentative dissertation);
– Do not address any controversial point outside the discussion curve;
– Do not present conflicting ideas;
– Obey the minimum number of 20 lines;
– Do not leave the sheet blank;
– Do not add verbal or visual elements that are unrelated to what was proposed by the examining board.

Sources: Felipe Leal, professor of writing and philosophy at the Anglo Course; Gabrielle Cavalin, general editorial coordinator at Poliedro; Jéssica Dorta, writing coordinator of the Student Oficina Course and College; Luiz Carlos Dias, writing coordinator at Colégio Passo.