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Exam Strategies for Essay Exams. Office of Learning Resources University of Pennsylvania www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc. Preparing for the Exam. Know what is expected of you. What content will be covered? How many questions will be on the exam? Ask yourself: What do I know about this material?
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Exam Strategies for Essay Exams Office of Learning Resources University of Pennsylvania www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc
Preparing for the Exam • Know what is expected of you. What content will be covered? How many questions will be on the exam? • Ask yourself: • What do I know about this material? • What do I need to know?
Preparing for the Exam • Write out answers to possible exam questions. Practice organizing your ideas and writing a complete response. • If your professor doesn’t provide sample questions, create a few for yourself and practice writing out your answers.
Preparing for the Exam • Practice answering sample questions under conditions similar to those you will encounter in the actual exam. Find a quiet place. Set a time for the allotted time. • Be mentally and physically prepared for the exam. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat healthy food.
Taking the Exam: Preview • Skim over the entire exam to get a sense of everything you have to do • Estimate how much time you have to spend on each question • For example, if you have 4 questions and a 2 hour time period, plan for 30 minutes to organize, write, and review each question.
Taking the Exam: Preview • Identify which essay question you want to answer first • Read the question carefully • Many students do poorly on essay exams because they misread the question. • Underline key words or phrases • Determine whether the question is asking you to respond to more than one thing
Taking the Exam: Planning • Write out a brief outline of your ideas in the margin or on scrap paper • Be careful not to write down everything you know about a topic • Remember that your goal is to answer a specific question in as much detail as possible. • Think of specific examples you can use to support your argument • Refer back to the question to make sure you have covered everything in your outline
Taking the Exam: Writing • Answer the question directly in the first few sentences of your response • Make sure each paragraph begins with a clear topic sentence • Use headings, numbering, or spacing to make skimming the essay easy • Included sufficient explanation • Don’t leave anything to inference • Define terms, explain statements, support ideas with facts and logic • If you’re not specific enough your professor may assume you did not understand the material.
Taking the Exam: Review • Use your time efficiently, but don’t rush! • When you are finished writing, read through your essay to check for errors before moving on to the next question • If you run out of time, try to write at least a partial response or detailed outline rather than leave the question blank
Essay Question “Action” Words • Discuss Consider important characteristics and main points. • Enumerate List or discuss one by one. • Illustrate Explain, using examples that demonstrate or clarify a point or idea. • Compare Show how items are similar or different; include details or examples. • Contrast Show how items are different; include details or examples. • Define Give an accurate meaning of the term with enough detail to show that you really understand it.
Essay Question “Action” Words • Explain Give facts and details that make the idea or concept clear and understandable • TraceDescribe the development or progress of a particular trend, event, or process in chronological order. • Evaluate React to the topic in a logical way. Discuss the merits, strengths, weaknesses, advantages, or limitations of the topic • SummarizeCover the major points in brief form; use a sentence and paragraph form.
Essay Question “Action” Words • DescribeTell how something looks or happened, including how, who, where, and why. • Justify Give reasons that support an action, event, or policy. • CriticizeMake judgments about quality or worth; including both positive and negative aspects. • ProveDemonstrate or establish that a concept or theory is correct, logical, or valid.
Do You Want to Know More? Meet with a Learning Instructor to learn more about taking Essay Exams • Call 573-9235 to make an appointment, M-F, 9-5pm. • Come to walk-in hours, M-F, 12-3pm. • Visit our website and download self-helps and learning tools, www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc.