The TCC Writing Center Guide to
Taking Essay Tests
Introduction
More and more college instructors are including essay tests as part of their assessment of student progress. Essay tests allow instructors to see if students are applying the course information, making connections, and thinking critically. The key to writing effective essays during a test is preparation and organization. The following information should help you prepare for and take your college essay exams.
Studying for the exam
§ Prepare practice essay questions. If you receive a study sheet of questions, focus on these by writing mock essays. If not, check your textbooks for boldface headings. Turn these headings into practice essay test questions, using the verbs listed later in this booklet. You can also form possible essay questions from major topics covered in your lecture notes, course outlines, and from brainstorming sessions with other students in the class.
§ Prepare a study sheet for each possible essay question. Record information you think is relevant for each question, including key points and examples. Try to form an outline (and even a practice essay) for each possible question.
§ While you study, try to see connections between different concepts and ideas you’ve covered in class. Often, the purpose of an essay test is to reveal the relation between ideas--the “big picture,” in other words. A list of random pieces of information, no matter how well they are written, will not fulfill this purpose. Try to uncover how different information fits together.
§ Before exam day, ask your instructor what criteria she will use to grade your exams. Ask if she will focus at all on mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc.) or just the content of your essay. This is a good time to ask if she can provide past essay questions (or even a student writing sample!).
Preparation During Exam
The most important time during an essay exam is the first five to ten minutes. This is when your strategies determine whether your are going to have a good or bad writing experience. Use the following strategies to help you prepare to write an effective essay:
Develop a Time Budget
Look carefully at the tasks you have to accomplish and the time you have. Break down your time so that each part receives the amount of time needed to complete it. If you don’t plan your time, it is easy to spend too much time on one question, leaving no time left for the last tasks. Once you put together a quick time plan, put all of your concentration into the task at hand rather than worry about sections to come. Be sure to stick with your timetable. If you have two short essay questions and one long one to answer in two hours, you might do the following time-schedule:
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§ Plan and brainstorm ideas for short essay one: 5 minutes.
§ Write essay one: 20 minutes
§ Plan and brainstorm for short essay one: 5 minutes
§ Write short essay two: 20 minutes
§ Plan and brainstorm for long essay: 10 minutes
§ Writing long essay: 45 minutes
§ Revising, editing, and polishing: 15 min.
Carefully examine and analyze test question
1) Read all of the questions on the test before starting your exam. Reading all of the questions before starting will help refresh your memory about the material and help you choose between the prompts if you have the option.
2) “Mark up” the test questions you are going to answer. Underline important terms. Generally, verbs will tell you what to do (see list in this booklet) and nouns will tell you what to write about. Ask your instructor to clarify vague terms.
3) If you have time, put the essay prompts into your own words. This will help you understand the prompt and form your thesis. Be sure to compare your version to the original to make sure you haven’t misunderstood the prompt.
4) Do a quick brainstorm/listing of ideas for your essay question(s), particularly items that you are worried you won’t remember. This will work as a reference point for you as you write. It is easier to relax and focus on your writing if you have already successfully remembered tough information. If you get test anxiety at any point of the writing process, you can turn to this list to help you get unblocked.
Essay QuestionsThis is a list of key terms (verbs) you may find in essay exam questions. Understanding what these verbs mean is the first step toward a successful in-class essay.
Analyze/Assess/Examine
Analysis involves breaking a subject, idea, concept, etc. into its components and examining and demonstrating how these parts make up the whole. EX. “Analyze the work of the Clinton administration.”
Classify
To classify is to place your subject into a group with like or similar subjects. It may also mean to break your subject up into types. EX. “Classify the different types of families in America.”
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Compare/Contrast
To compare and contrast is to find key similarities and differences (for example qualities or characteristics) between two items that reveal something significant about them. While “compare” asks you to look at both similarities and differences (with an emphasis on similarities), “contrast” asks you explicitly to explore differences. EX. “Compare and contrast the views of the North and South on the issue of statehood.”
Criticize/critique
To criticize is to point out both the good and bad points of a situation, subject, or idea. In other words, discuss the limitations, drawbacks, benefits, advantages, etc. of the idea, and back up your judgment with specific details. Be sure to set up clear criteria by which you critique your subject; then, determine whether your subject meets these standards. EX. “Using Jungian theories, offer a critique of Freud’s theory of the Oedipal Complex.”
Define
Definitions call for a clear and concise meaning of a term or concept. Details are often not required but limitations of the definition should be briefly cited. You should especially note the “class” or category to which your term or concept belongs and compare and contrast it with other subjects. EX. “Define what is meant by ‘transference’ in a patient/therapist relationship.”
Describe
Using significant detail (including narrative when appropriate), explain or recount an event, characterize a person, or sketch an idea. EX. “Describe a day in the life of a woman in medieval England.”
Diagram
Depending on the subject matter, this may mean to represent something as a picture (drawing, chart, plan, etc.) or to outline or describe something in terms of stages or steps. EX. “Diagram the process of digestion.”
Discuss
This term asks you to go beyond just summarizing. You should examine and analyze, presenting thoughtful conclusions on the subject. This kind of answer should be detailed and often allows you to direct your essay with your own question. EX. “Discuss feminism and its significance in the workplace.”
Enumerate
The word enumerate specifies a list or outline form of reply; or, if an actual outline is not required, you should offer, in a very straightforward and concise manner, the points required. EX. “Enumerate the causes of the Great Depression of 1929.”
Evaluate
To evaluate is to make a value judgment, often focusing on the effectiveness and/or ineffectiveness of the subject. This kind of writing assumes an authoritative voice, but should be backed up with evidence (rather than be based entirely on personal
opinion or appeals to authority). You should carefully present the issue, offering both positive and negative feedback. Also see “Criticize/critique.” EX. “Evaluate the role the automobile has had on contemporary society.”
Explain
To explain means to bring out into the open, to make a subject clear. You should also interpret the ideas you present. This term is similar to “discuss” but implies closer attention to the “how or why” of an event or idea, including causes and effects, past conditions that lead to present conditions, etc. This does not always open up the need for examples or illustrations.
Illustrate
Unlike the term “explain,” “illustrate” asks you to provide detailed examples (“illustrate” can mean literally a picture or diagram, but it can also mean a concrete example, anecdote, hypothetical situation, etc.). In other words, use a specific example to clarify the characteristics of your subject.
Interpret
An interpretation question is similar to one requiring explanation. You are expected to translate, exemplify, or show a specific application for a fact, principle, or subject. It can also involve some evaluation (your comment upon the subject). You should be sure to back up your interpretation with evidence. “Interpret William Carlos William’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”
Justify
When you are asked to justify, you must prove that your perspective or point is correct and show grounds for your decisions. In such an answer, evidence should be presented in convincing form and should emphasize the positive reasons. EX. “Justify the idea that Democracy is the best form of government in the world.”
List
Listing is similar to enumeration or outline, but perhaps asks more clearly for a sequenced answer. You may be expected to present an itemized series or tabulation. Such answers should always be given in concise form. EX. “List the characteristics that determine an organism’s species.”
Outline
An outline answer is organized description that offers main points and supporting points, but few minor details. The information should be presented in an organized, even systematic, arrangement. EX. “Outline the movement of Germany across Europe in the late 1930’s.”
Prove
“Prove” asks for logical reasoning and evidence to support your point. Your opinion/main idea should be clearly and authoritatively worded, and then defended carefully with evidence drawn from the material you’ve studied. EX. “Take a stand on the issue of bilingual education in America. Prove and defend your point.”
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Relate
Show the relationship between two subjects, emphasizing the similarities, in a descriptive manner. Take care to find the less obvious connections and associations. Sometimes this term means “to relate” (to tell). Ask for clarification if you are not sure which one applies. EX. “Relate the concepts ‘identity’ and ‘community.” “Relate to your readers the theory of thermodynamics.”
Review
This can mean two very different things. In some cases, “review” means that you should summarize key points (here, “review” means “go over” or “retell”). In other cases, reviewing is similar to critiquing and evaluating, where you need to offer a critical examination of a subject (see “Critique” and “Evaluate). EX. “Review the main tenets of Catholicism.” “Write a review of the film ‘Episode One: Phantom Menace.’”
State
To state is to offer a concise statement of a position, point of view, or fact. In questions that direct you to specify, give, state, or present, you should offer the main points in a clear and succinct form. Examples and details are not necessary. EX. “State the rules of chess.”
Summarize
To summarize is to offer the main points or facts relevant to your subject in a shortened, condensed form. Specific details, illustrations and elaboration should be omitted. EX. “Summarize Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, ‘I Have A Dream.’”
Trace
To trace is similar to summarize, outline, and enumerate. When you are asked to trace a course of events, relate them in terms of time, location, order of importance, by description of progress, or cause and effect. The most common is by time order. EX. “Trace the influence of online business on the stock market.”
Organizing and Writing
Make a brief outline for each question
This will help you stay focused and avoid rambling in your essay. Your writing should be planned, organized, coherent, and thorough. An outline will help you accomplish this. Note that to know just a little about your topic but to present it well is actually better than knowing everything about your topic but presenting it poorly. When you turn in your essay, ask your instructor if he would like you to include your outline.
Writing your essay
Introduction
Start your essay with a strong statement, one that states the main idea you are going to explore in your essay. It helps to repeat key words from the essay question. If your essay prompt is not already in the form of a question, you might consider rephrasing it into a question; your thesis, then, would be the answer to that question. Your introduction should, if possible, also include an essay map. This is a quick explanation of the key points you will use in your essay to develop your main point.
BodyThis is where you develop your thesis.
§ Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that refers back to your thesis and to one of the key points you outlined in your intro.
§ Within each paragraph, bring in supporting details to support your key point.
§ End each paragraph with a summarizing sentence.
§ Provide transitional phrases and words to create coherency between each paragraph and to tie each point back to your thesis.
ConclusionSummarize your key points, reiterate your main point, and explain why it is important to consider.
Other advice for writing your essay
§ Avoid absolute statements like “always,” “never,” and “must/must not,” general subjects like “media,” “society,” and “people,” and vague terms like “interesting,” “good,” and “a lot.”
§ Stick with your time schedule. If you get to the end of the time you allotted for a particular answer, stop, leave some space, and start the next one. If you have time at the end, return and complete that answer. Generally, you will receive more points for five incomplete answers than three complete ones.
§ If you face writer’s block (you suddenly can’t think of anything to write on the subject), it is time to act fast. Many of us face test anxiety and “choke up” at the beginning of the test. One thing you might try is to begin your essay in the middle (leaving space for an introduction). You might jot down a quick intro. on notepaper. The important thing is to start writing.
§ If you run out of time and don't get to everything you mapped out in your outline, quickly write down the additional points you included in your outline along with a note to your instructor explaining that you ran out of time. You may receive partial credit for this effort.
§ When you’ve finished your exam, leave time to go back over and check for errors and digressions. If you find that you did digress, cross out those sentences or paragraphs (neatly). This will allow your instructor to see that you were thinking critically about your own essay. Also check sentence structure, spelling and punctuation.
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