The written expression says a lot about the student's maturity and intellectual engagement with his or her environment. In the entrance examination to secondary schools, writing an essay is an essential part. Language expression is a key skill and carries corresponding weight in grading.

But what is an essay anyway? The definition according to general essay theory is relatively simple: an essay is a text that deals with a specific topic. 

In the grammar school exam, you are given several essay topics to choose from. You should choose the topic that suits you best, both in terms of content and the type of essay to be used for this topic. The type of essay usually has to be read from the assignment. 

It is true that the essay types differ in parts of the structure, in the way the topic is developed and in the linguistic means used. However, there are also points that are the same for most essay types, such as the rough structure of the essay, which is usually divided into three parts:

• Introduction (5 - 10 %) 
• Main body (80 - 90 %) 
• Conclusion (5 - 10 %)

For the grammar school exam, but also for the other central entrance exams (ZAP) such as IMS, FMS, HMS or BMS, there is no special essay syllabus that would apply specifically to the ZAP exams. Instead, students have to write the essays according to the rules of general essay writing, which also apply at school, at university or at work.

No special criteria for grammar school exam essay assessment 

German essay training does not require you to learn the specific requirements of the ZAP examinations, but rather to master the universal requirements that apply to essays in all areas in which essays are written. There are therefore no assessment criteria for the grammar school essay assessment that only apply to the Gymiprüfung. 

Nevertheless, it is helpful to familiarise yourself with the type of tasks set for the grammar school exam in the examination subject ‘German: Writing a text (essay)’, for example by downloading old grammar school exams from Zurich from our grammar school exam archive. In the old grammar school exams you will find a variety of essay topics that you can use for essay practice. Simply write sample essays on these old essay topics from past grammar school exams and then have your essays corrected by the Lern-Forum's professional essay corrector. After your essay has been corrected, you will receive a detailed report with an error analysis and suggestions for improvement.

Mastering several essay types   

But back to essay theory: In the context of universal essay theory, you need to know what types of essays there are and how to write an essay of the most important essay types. This is because the respective essay types differ in terms of subject matter, text structure, text purpose, linguistic devices (e.g. tenses), topic development (e.g. reporting, narrative, descriptive, argumentative) and other points. 

The most important types of essay in the grammar school examination in the Canton of Zurich include narrative, report, argumentation, statement, letter and description, whereby the description in the central entrance examination (ZAP) usually does not appear as a separate essay type, but as part of another essay type.   

For more in-depth information on the topic of essay theory, you can read the following specialist article from us: "Is there a specific essay theory for the Gymi exam?"

Learn general essay theory in the essay course 

Of course, we also cover essay theory in our essay courses and prepare you in the best possible way for the Gymi exam in the canton of Zurich or, generally speaking, for the ZAP exams (Gymnasium, IMS, FMS, HMS, BMS).

Free spots in essay course: Course dates and registration

Course organisation if the number of participants is low 

As an alternative to cancellation, Lern-Forum.ch may, at its discretion, combine classes of different levels if the number of participants is too low. 

In this case, the course fee already paid will not be refunded