The Essay Exam

Lecture 21

Recap

• What is Literature Essay?• Parts of Literature Essay• How to Write Literature Essay?• Checklist after writing your essay• Types of Literature Essay• Topics for Literature Essay• Example; Hamlet

What is an essay exam?

• A test in which you write an essay or a certain number of paragraphs in response to a question.

• It helps the teacher check your ability to organize and write paragraphs or an essay.

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?

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

Essay Question “Action” Words

• Discuss- Consider important characteristics and main points.

• 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• Evaluate- React to the topic in a logical way.

Discuss the merits, strengths, weaknesses, advantages, or limitations of the topic

• Summarize- Cover the major points in brief form; use a sentence and paragraph form.

Essay Question “Action” Words

• Describe- Tell how something looks or happened, including how, who, where, and why.

• Justify- Give reasons that support an action, event, or policy.

• Criticize- Make judgments about quality or worth; including both positive and negative aspects.

• Prove- Demonstrate or establish that a concept or theory is correct, logical, or valid.

In Essay Exam…

Organization and Neatness have merit..

Before writing out the exam:

• Write down their key words, listings, etc, as

they are fresh in your mind.

– Otherwise these ideas may be blocked (or be

unavailable) when the time comes to write the later

questions. This will reduce "clutching" or panic

(anxiety, actually fear which disrupts thoughts).

Set up a time schedule…

• To answer each question and to review/edit all questions– If six questions are to be answered in sixty

minutes, allow yourself only seven minutes for each

– If questions are "weighted", prioritize that into your time allocation for each question

Set up a time schedule… (cont..)

• When the time is up for one question, stop writing, leave space, and begin the next question. The incomplete answers can be completed during the review time

• Six incomplete answers will usually receive more credit than three, complete ones

Read through the questions once and note if you have any choice in answering questions…

• Pay attention to how the question is phrased, or to the "directives", or words such as "compare", "contrast", "criticize", etc. – See their definitions in previous lectures

• Answers will come to mind immediately for some questions

Before attempting to answer a question, put it in your own words

• Now compare your version with the question.• Do they mean the same thing? If they don't,

you've misread the question. You'll be surprised how often they don't agree.

Think before you write:

• Make a brief outline for each question

• Number the items in the order you will

discuss them

Get right to the point

• State your main point in the first sentence• Use your first paragraph to provide an

overview of your essay.• Use the rest of your essay to discuss these

points in more detail.• Back up your points with specific information,

examples, or quotations from your readings and notes

Teachers are influenced by compactness

• completeness and clarity of an organized answer

Writing in the hope

• that the right answer will somehow turn up is time-consuming and usually useless

To know a little and to present that little well is,

• by and large, superior to knowing much and presenting it poorly--when judged by the grade received.

Writing & Answering

• Begin with a strong first sentence

– that states the main idea of your essay.

– Continue this first paragraph by presenting key

points

Writing & Answering

• Develop your argument– Begin each paragraph• with a key point from the introduction

– Develop each point• in a complete paragraph

– Use transitions• or specify, to connect your points

Writing & Answering• Hold to your time– allocation and organization

• Avoid very definite statements– when possible; a qualified statement connotes a

philosophic attitude, the mark of an educated person• Qualify answers when in doubt.– It is better to say "toward the end of the 19th

century" than to say "in 1894" when you can't remember, whether it's 1884 or 1894. In many cases, the approximate time is all that is wanted; unfortunately 1894, though approximate, may be incorrect, and will usually be marked accordingly.

Summarize in your last paragraph

• Restate your central idea and indicate why it is

important.

Review

• Complete questions left incomplete,– but allow time to review all questions

• Review, edit, correct– misspellings, incomplete words and sentences,

miswritten dates and numbers.

Following Directives for Essays in Exams

Directives for Essays

• "Directives" ask you to answer, or present

information, in a particular way.

• Review these, and most of all note that there

are different ways of answering a question or

writing a paper!

Compare:

• Examine qualities, or characteristics, to discover resemblances. "Compare" is usually stated as "compare with": you are to emphasize similarities, although differences may be mentioned.

Contrast:

• Stress dissimilarities, differences, or unlikeness

of things, qualities, events, or problems.

Criticize:

• Express your judgment or correctness or

merit. Discuss the limitations and good points

or contributions of the plan or work in

question.

Define:

• Definitions call for concise, clear, authoritative meanings.

• Details are not required but limitations of the definition should be briefly cited.

• You must keep in mind the class to which a thing belongs and whatever differentiates the particular object from all others in the class.

Describe:

• In a descriptive answer you should recount,

characterize, sketch or relate in narrative

form.

Evaluate:

• In an evaluation question you are expected to

present a careful appraisal of the problem

stressing both advantages and limitations.

• Evaluation implies authoritative and, to a

lesser degree, personal appraisal of both

contributions and limitations.

Explain:

• In explanatory answers it is imperative that you clarify and interpret the material you present.

• In such an answer it is best to state the "how or why," reconcile any differences in opinion or experimental results, and, where possible, state causes.

• The aim is to make plain the conditions which give rise to whatever you are examining.

So….Are you Prepared to

take Essay Exam?

It’s difficult to relax during an exam, but there

are steps you can take to be more successful

during an essay exam.

Don’t be Nervous!

Steps to Success

• Read the essay question carefully.

Underline key words in the question

that will help you decide what

kind of information to include in

your answer.

Practice: Read the exam question below. Which words

are the most important words in the question?

Steps to Success

Question: Many parents do not allow their children to attend the funeral service of a person who has died. Do you think children should be allowed to attend funerals? Why or why not? Give three reasons.

Steps to Success• Rephrase the question into a statement.

This can serve as the thesis statement for

your essay answer or the topic

sentence for a one-paragraph answer.

Example: Look at the example below of how a question can be rephrased into a statement.

Steps to Success

Question: In what ways has T.V. affected society?

Thesis Statement: Some of the effects of T.V. on society are…

Practice: Read the exam question below. How can you rephrase this into a statement?

Steps to Success

Question: What is your major in college? Why did you choose that major? Support your answer.

Thesis Statement: I chose the major of computer science because I enjoy working on

computers, it will be easy to find a job when I graduate, and it is a challenging field.

Steps to Success

• Brainstorm on paper. Write down notes, words,

phrases, facts, quotations

about the question. Do this

on another piece of

paper. Get down as much

information as you can.

Steps to Success

• Focus your answer. Read through your

brainstormed notes

and select information for

your answer. Cross out

irrelevant ideas in your

notes; add any ideas that

you think are important.

Steps to Success• Make a rough plan of your answer. Decide on the

order that you would like to follow when presenting your ideas. Prepare a rough outline with your brainstormed notes.

ESSAY

Thesis: ------------------

Subpoint A

Subpoint B

Subpoint C

Conclusion

Steps to Success

• Write your essay. Remember to look at the clock

while you write. You need to

know how much time

you have left!

Steps to Success• Reread your answer during the testing period. Be sure

that it is complete. If you want to add something, write it in the space above the sentence where you want to add it and use an arrow.

One of the main effects of the atomic bomb on

Hiroshima was the ill health of people affected

by the ^ of radiation.high amount

Steps to Success

• Edit your answer. On an in-class writing exam,

you will not be able to edit as

carefully as you can when

writing an out-of-class essay.

However, because some

mistakes in grammar and even

spelling can be confusing, it is

important that you edit.

Review of StepsOn an essay exam…

• Read the question carefully.

• Rephrase the question into a statement

• Brainstorm ideas

• Focus your answer

• Make a rough outline

• Write your essay and look at the time!

• Re-read your answer

• Edit

Summary

• What is an essay exam?• Preparing for the Exam• Taking the Exam: Preview• Essay Question “Action” Words• What merits in Essay Exam?• Writing & Answering• Following Directives for Essays in Exams • Steps to success

References

• www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc• http://www.studygs.net/tsttak4.htm• http://www.studygs.net/essayterms.htm• PowerPoint Presentation by Ruth Luman:

Modesto Junior College