Why the ENEM Essay Can Make or Break Your Score
The ENEM essay (Redação) is scored from 0 to 1000 and accounts for roughly 20% of your total score. For competitive courses like Medicine, Engineering, and Law, the essay is often the deciding factor between getting in or not.
The good news: the ENEM essay follows a predictable, learnable structure. It's graded on 5 specific competencies, each worth 200 points. Master all 5, and you get 1000. This guide covers exactly how.
The 5 ENEM Essay Competencies
Competency 1: Command of Formal Written Portuguese (200 pts)
This evaluates your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and register. You must write in formal standard Portuguese (norma culta).
- No slang, colloquialisms, or internet language
- Correct verb agreement, pronoun placement, punctuation
- Proper use of accents and spelling rules
How to improve: Create flashcards for the most common grammar mistakes in ENEM essays: verb agreement with collective nouns, use of "onde" vs "em que", comma rules, and crase usage. Review daily with SM-2 in Mayinab.
Competency 2: Understanding the Theme (200 pts)
You must demonstrate that you understood the prompt and are addressing the specific theme proposed -- not a tangential topic. Going off-topic results in a zero.
- Read all support texts carefully
- Identify the specific problem the theme addresses
- Your thesis must directly respond to the theme
- Stay on-topic throughout all paragraphs
Competency 3: Argumentation with Sociocultural Repertoire (200 pts)
This is where most students struggle. You need to support your arguments with external references: philosophers, laws, statistics, historical events, literary works, or films.
The repertoire must be productive -- not just mentioned, but integrated into your argument:
- Bad: "As the philosopher Kant said, we should act morally." (citation without connection)
- Good: "According to Kant's categorical imperative, every person must be treated as an end in themselves, never as a means. In the context of [theme], this principle is violated when..." (integrated into argument)
How to build repertoire: Create flashcards in Mayinab with thinkers, laws, and data that apply to common ENEM themes. Example: "Zygmunt Bauman - liquid modernity" → "Describes how modern relationships and institutions are unstable and fluid. Apply to themes about technology, social media, consumerism, or identity."
Competency 4: Textual Cohesion (200 pts)
This evaluates how well your text flows and connects. Paragraphs must link logically, and ideas within paragraphs must connect using cohesive devices (connectors).
Key connectors to memorize:
| Function | Connectors |
|---|---|
| Addition | Além disso, outrossim, ademais, não apenas... mas também |
| Contrast | Entretanto, contudo, todavia, não obstante, em contrapartida |
| Cause | Porquanto, visto que, uma vez que, haja vista que |
| Consequence | Logo, portanto, por conseguinte, dessa forma, assim |
| Exemplification | Por exemplo, a título de exemplo, como evidência |
| Conclusion | Em suma, portanto, diante do exposto, à luz do exposto |
How to memorize: Create flashcards for each category of connector. Front: "Connector for contrast (formal)" → Back: "Entretanto, contudo, não obstante, em contrapartida." Review with SM-2 until automatic.
Competency 5: Intervention Proposal (200 pts)
The ENEM essay requires a detailed intervention proposal in the conclusion. This must include 5 elements:
- Agent: Who will act? (Government, Ministry of Education, NGOs, media, schools...)
- Action: What will be done? (Create a program, implement a policy, launch a campaign...)
- Means: How? (Through legislation, public investment, partnerships, technology...)
- Purpose: Why? What's the goal? (In order to reduce, to promote, to guarantee...)
- Detail: An extra specification of any element above
Template: "Therefore, [AGENT] must [ACTION] by means of [MEANS], with the purpose of [PURPOSE], [DETAIL]."
How to prepare: Create flashcards with intervention templates for common themes. Practice writing complete proposals until the 5-element structure becomes automatic.
The Perfect ENEM Essay Structure
Introduction (7-10 lines)
- Hook: Start with a relevant reference (philosopher, fact, historical event)
- Contextualization: Connect the reference to the theme
- Thesis: State your position clearly, previewing your 2 arguments
Example pattern: "[Reference]. In the Brazilian context, [connection to theme]. Nesse sentido, [thesis: problem persists due to Argument 1 and Argument 2]."
Development 1 (8-12 lines)
- Topic sentence: Introduce Argument 1
- Repertoire: Support with external reference
- Analysis: Explain how the reference connects to the theme
- Closing: Reinforce the point and transition
Development 2 (8-12 lines)
Same structure as Development 1, but with Argument 2 and a different repertoire reference.
Conclusion (7-10 lines)
- Connective: "Diante do exposto..." / "À luz do exposto..."
- Thesis summary: Brief restatement of the problem
- Intervention proposal: Agent + Action + Means + Purpose + Detail
Essential Repertoire for ENEM (Flashcard-Ready)
| Reference | Applicable Themes |
|---|---|
| Zygmunt Bauman - Liquid Modernity | Technology, social media, relationships, consumerism, identity |
| Michel Foucault - Power and discipline | Institutional control, prisons, education, surveillance |
| Hannah Arendt - Banality of evil | Violence, authoritarianism, human rights, indifference |
| Immanuel Kant - Categorical imperative | Human dignity, ethics, individual rights |
| Karl Marx - Social inequality | Class struggle, exploitation, economic inequality |
| Constituição Federal, Art. 5 | Fundamental rights, equality, freedom |
| Constituição Federal, Art. 6 | Social rights: health, education, housing, work |
| ECA (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente) | Children's rights, education, protection |
| Simone de Beauvoir - "The Second Sex" | Gender equality, women's rights, feminism |
| Pierre Bourdieu - Cultural capital | Education inequality, social reproduction, meritocracy |
Create a flashcard for each reference. Front: "Zygmunt Bauman - Liquid Modernity" → Back: "Describes instability of modern relationships and institutions. Use for themes about technology, social media, consumerism, superficial relationships."
Weekly Practice Plan
| Week Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Monday | Review connector/repertoire flashcards in Mayinab (20 min) |
| Tuesday | Read opinion articles on current themes (30 min) |
| Wednesday | Write 1 complete essay (timed: 60 min) |
| Thursday | Review flashcards + study grammar rules (30 min) |
| Friday | Read and analyze a score-1000 essay from a previous year |
| Weekend | Write 1 more essay + review all due flashcards |
Why Mayinab Helps with ENEM Essay Prep
| Feature | How It Helps the Essay |
|---|---|
| SM-2 Spaced Repetition | Memorize connectors, repertoire, and grammar rules permanently |
| Flashcards | One card per philosopher/law/connector. Instant retrieval on exam day. |
| Notes + Flashcards Together | Keep essay templates, repertoire notes, and review cards in one place |
| Subject > Topic Organization | Create a "Redação" subject with topics: Connectors, Repertoire, Grammar, Templates |
| 100% Offline | Review repertoire anywhere, even without Wi-Fi |
| 100% Free | No paywall for unlimited flashcards and notes |
🍵 The 1000-Point Formula
Scoring 1000 on the ENEM essay isn't talent -- it's technique and preparation. Master the 5 competencies, follow the paragraph structure, build a repertoire of references, and memorize connectors. Use Mayinab to create flashcards for every philosopher, law, connector, and intervention template. Review daily with SM-2. On exam day, you'll have instant access to everything you need -- from memory.