Essay Exams

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Learning Strategies

Essay Exams=

As with any exam format to be fully prepared for writing essay exams= you need to keep up on attending lectures, assigned reading and course assignments. Please see our section on exam preparation for furth= er information.

Writing the Exam

· &n= bsp; Read the exam carefully

· &n= bsp; Look at point values so you can judge how much time to spend on each section

· &n= bsp; If you have choices for which questions = to answer, read them all over making notes and points to help make the decision on what you want to answer.

· &n= bsp; The easiest looking question might not be the easiest to answer

· &n= bsp; Look for questions where you can explain your answer and not simply one where you know the answer but can’t explain how you know it.

· &n= bsp; Analyze the questions so that you know f= or sure what you are being asked to do.

· &n= bsp; Focus on what you know about the question and not what you don’t know

· &n= bsp; Look for the active verbs in the questio= ns, they will tell you what you should be doing.

Common Essay Exam Directions<= br>
" A= nalyze" means to find the main ideas and show how they are rel= ated and why they are important.
" Comment on" means to discuss, critic= ize or explain its meaning as completely as possible.
" Compare&= quot; means to show both the similarities and differences.
" Contrast= " means to compare by showing the differences.
" Criticize" means to give the formal meaning by distinguishing it from related terms. This is often a matter of giving a memorized definition.
" Describe= " means to write a detailed account or give a verbal pic= ture in a logical sequence or story form.
" Diagram&= quot; means to make a graph, chart, or drawing. Be sure you = label it and add a brief explanation if it is needed.
" Discuss&= quot; means to describe giving the details and explain the p= ros and cons.
" Enumerate" means to list. Na= me and list the main ideas one by one. Number them.
" Evaluate= " means to give your opinion or some expert's opinion of= the truth or importance of the concept. Tell the advantages and disadvantag= es.
" Illustrate" means to explain= or make it clear by concrete examples, comparisons, or analogies.

· &n= bsp; Strive for focus, simplicity and clarity= in your opening statement

· &n= bsp; Develop an outline for your answer, this will also help if you run out of time and can’t finish a question, you can include some points of what you would have written, therefore letting your professor see the knowledge you have

· &n= bsp; You want to show clear relationships bet= ween paragraphs

· &n= bsp; As you are writing your answer new ideas= may come to you, take a moment to include them on your outline so you won’t forget them

· &n= bsp; Don’t fill your essay with irrelev= ant information just to fill space

· &n= bsp; Make sure you are watching the time carefully so that you do not spend too much time on one area.

· &n= bsp; Double space your answer so that you can have room if you have to add some information

· &n= bsp; Write legible, your professor will be reading many exams, and you don’t want them marking yours feeling frustrated trying to figure out what certain words are.

For more information plea= se see the following websites:

http://ww= w.studygs.net/tsttak4.htm

http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/lsp/eponline/exam5.htm

The Saint M= ary's University Writing Centre can help you prepare for your essay exams and sometimes offer workshops on writing them, please see their website for further information. http://www.smu.ca/academic/writingcentre/welcome.html

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