The number of people enrolled in the National Secondary Education Examination (Enem) has grown significantly. According to the Ministry of Education (MEC), in 2025 there was an increase of 11.22% in the number of registrations compared to 2024. The test assesses knowledge in different areas, through multiple choice questions, in addition to requiring the production of a dissertation-argumentative essay, which also has an important weight in the candidates’ final grade.

The essay, in particular, requires attention because specific flaws can compromise the candidate’s entire performance. Situations such as avoiding the topic, copying motivating texts or disrespecting human rights may result in a zero grade, regardless of performance in other areas of the exam. “As many competitive courses give greater weight to writing in SISU, a difference in points in this component can define approval”, points out Thiago Braga, author of Língua Portuguesa do Sistema de Ensino pH.

In order to help candidates better prepare for the entrance exam, Thiago Braga and Felipe da Costa Rico, pedagogical analyst at Redação Nota 1000, bring together seven practices to build a well-structured, coherent text aligned with the skills required by the exam. Check it out!

1. Understand the weight of the essay in the final grade

Before you start studying, it is important to understand the impact of writing in the Enem result. A good score can significantly raise the candidate’s average and make a difference in the cutoff score for the desired course. “The essay grade is counted in the final Enem average. Each course has a cutoff grade and, therefore, a good score can contribute to the overall result of the exam and help the candidate to reach the desired position”, explains Felipe da Costa Rico. Furthermore, skipping the essay may make access to higher education through federal programs unfeasible.

2. Practice writing weekly and within the exam time

Practicing is essential, but it’s not enough to write randomly. The ideal is to reproduce the real exam conditions to develop organization and time management. “Preparation is more productive when it combines three fronts: regular writing practice with guided correction, reading reliable sources to build a repertoire and reviewing the criteria for the five skills. Writing one essay per week, always within the real time of the test, helps to automate the structure and control the clock”, advises Thiago Braga.

3. Rewrite already corrected texts

A common mistake among students is to focus only on producing new essays, without review recurring failures. “Rewriting essays that have already been produced and corrected previously is a good practice to understand the strengths of the text and which aspects need to be improved”, highlights Felipe da Costa Rico. According to the expert, transforming mistakes into learning is one of the most efficient forms of evolution.

4. Plan before you start writing

Starting your essay without planning can result in disjointed arguments and lost points. “The safest path remains planning before writing: defining the thesis, separating two central arguments and outlining the intervention proposal in a few draft lines”, says Thiago Braga. In practice, the recommendation is to take a few minutes to structure the introduction, the central arguments of the development and a complete intervention proposal for the conclusion.

5. Master the essay-argumentative structure

In Enem, it is not enough to write well: you must follow the format expected by the evaluation panel. “It is necessary to have knowledge and know how to organize dissertation-argumentative genre along the lines of Enem based on the structure of introduction, development and conclusion”, says Felipe da Costa Rico. The specialist also recommends studying types of argumentation, such as exemplification, comparison and cause and consequence, in addition to strengthening textual cohesion with the appropriate use of connectives.

6. Study by thematic axes, not by subjects

Trying to guess the topic of the essay can generate frustration. Instead, it is recommended to study broad areas of social debate. Thiago Braga explains that Inep (National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira) never announces the topic in advance, so every list of ‘probable topics’ is, in practice, a gamble.

“Training on axes, and not on closed themes, is smarter because it prepares the student for an entire field of discussion”, he highlights. Felipe da Costa Rico adds that this practice expands the sociocultural repertoire and helps the student to produce a more authorial text, a factor valued by the panel.

7. Pay attention to the areas that could gain prominence this year

Although it is impossible to predict the topic of the Enem essay, some subjects appear strongly in the public debate and deserve attention during studies. Among the axes highlighted by experts are:

• World of work in the 21st century, including artificial intelligence and automation;
• Youth mental health, especially in a scenario of hyperconnectivity;
• Regulation of online betting and its social impacts;
• Inclusion of neurodivergent people in education and the job market;
• Combating misinformation and training critical readers;
• Environment and sustainability;
• Rights, citizenship and social issues.

For experts, the secret to a good essay is less about trying to predict the topic and more about maintaining a training routine, expanding your repertoire and deeply understanding the skills required by the exam. After all, although the 1000 score has been achieved by few candidates in recent years, it can be achieved with method, practice and strategy.

By Patricia Buzaid