Part Two, Study Skills Taking Essay Exams

1. Part Two, Study Skills Taking Essay Exams • Objectives: • This chapter will show you: • Two key steps in preparing for an essay exam • Three key steps in writing an essay exam

2. Essay exams may be the • most common type of writing you will do in school. • They include one or more questions to which you must respond in detail, writing your answer in a clear, well-organized manner. • There is a sequence to follow to help you do well on essay exams. • Anticipate probable questions. • Prepare and memorize an informal outline answer to each question. • Look at the exam carefully and do several things. • Prepare a brief, informal outline before answering an essay question. • Write a clear, well-organized essay.

3. Anticipate probable questions. • Go through your notes to mark the areas where your instructor has spent a great deal of time. • In class notes and textbooks, pay attention to definitions and examples and to basic lists of items (enumerations). • If your instructor has given you study guides, look for probable essay questions there. • Look for clues to essay questions in short quizzes you may have been given. • Consider carefully any reviews that the instructor provides.

4. Prepare and memorize an informal • outline answer to each question. • Write out each question you have made up, and under it, list the main points to be discussed. • If you have spelling problems, make up a list of words you might have to spell in writing your answers.

5. Look at the exam carefully and do several things. • Get an overview of the exam by reading all the questions on the test. • Note the direction words (compare, illustrate, list, and so on) for each question. Be sure to write the kind of answer each question requires. • Budget your time. Write in the margin the number of minutes you should spend for each essay. • Start with the easiest question. Getting a good answer on paper will help build your confidence and momentum. Number your answers plainly so your instructor will know which question you have answered first.

6. Direction words used in essay questions Compare Show similarities between things. Contrast Show differences between things. Criticize Give the positive and negative points of a subject as well as evidence of these positions. Define Give the formal meaning of a term. Describe Tell in detail about something. Diagram Make a drawing and label it.

7. Discuss Give details and, if relevant, the positive and negative points of a subject as well as evidence for these positions. Enumerate List points and number them 1, 2, 3… Evaluate Give the positive and negative points of a subject as well as you evidence for these positions. Illustrate Explain by giving examples. Interpret Explain the meaning of something. Justify Give reasons for something. List Give a series of points and number them 1, 2, 3…

8. Outline Give the main points and important secondary points. Put main points at the margin and indent secondary points under the main points. Relationships may be described with symbols: 1. ____________________ a. _____________ b. _____________ 2. ____________________ Prove Show to be true by giving facts or reasons. Relate Show connections among things. State Give the main points. Summarize Give a condensed account of the main points. Trace Describe the development or history of a subject.

9. Prepare a brief, informal outline • before answering an essay question. • Use the margin of the examination or a separate piece of scratch paper to jot down the main points you want to discuss in each answer. • If there is a question on the exam that is similar to the questions you anticipated and outlined at home, quickly write down the catchphrase that calls back the content of the outline. Write the key words represented by each word of the catchphrase. These will remind you of the concepts they represent.

10. Write a clear, well-organized essay. • Keep in mind the principles of good writing • Unity Support Organization Clear, error-free sentences • 1. Start your essay with a sentence that clearly states what it will be about. Make sure everything in your essay relates to your opening statement. • 2. Provide as much support as possible for each main point. • 3. Use transitions to guide your reader through your answer. • 4. Leave time to proofread your essay for sentence-skill mistakes. • Look for: • Illegible words • Words omitted, miswritten, or misspelled • Awkward phrasings or misplaced punctuation marks • Cross out any mistakes and write the correction neatly above the errors.