Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Answering Essay Questions Made Easier

Good Essays
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Answering Essay Questions Made Easier
Instructors frequently remark that a major reason that students don’t receive higher grades on essay exams is because they do not follow directions even when these directions are included in the question. These instructors add that many students don’t seem to know how to recognize words in questions that give directions on how to construct an essay answer and what to include. A list of important words in essay questions has been given below to help students answer essay questions with the kinds of responses that instructors seek. These words are called KEY WORDS! One suggestion many students have found helpful is to mark all the KEY WORDS in all test directions and question before beginning to answer. This makes it easier to organize an answer, know what to say, and know when enough has been written. If there is ever doubt about the clarity of a test question, ask the professor for clarification before beginning your answer. KEY WORDS Explain, step by step or point by point while writing. Pay attention to who, what, where, when, why, and how in the answer. Include strengths, weaknesses, pros and cons, research for and against. Stress similarities and differences between objects, concepts, or ideas. (For example: “Compare Operant and Classical Conditioning)
Emphasize the dissimilarities, differences, or unique and distinguishing characteristics in the response. Clearly state the meaning, list qualities, traits, or characteristics. Include traits, characteristics, or retell a story including those facts that summarize the essential features. Present significant characteristics, pros and cons, pertinent research, and the significance of each. Develop the arguments for and against or analyze the advantages, disadvantages, or problems. Emphasize positive and negative aspects. Include opinions and support these with some kind of proof, information, or examples. Normally, instructors don’t like unsupported opinions from college students. Use brief stories, analogies, relevant events, or similar instance to support general statements and main ideas. Give reasons or justifications for something, or present causes, rationalizations, or how or why something occurred. Cover existing understandings of a topic. Paraphrase, translate, condense, simplify, and/or diagnose as you write. Present rationale, reasons for conclusions, recommendations, or results. Use proof, research, examples, or quotes to support justifications. Record topics in numerical, developmental, or chronological order. Many times

ANALYZE

COMPARE CONTRAST DEFINE DESCRIBE DISCUSS EVALUATE EXAMPLES EXPLAIN INTERPRET JUSTIFY LIST

OUTLINE

PROVE RELATE REVIEW SUMMARIZE

TRACE

a brief description or explanation is expected but the questions will usually request it if desired. If in doubt ask your instructor. Present your answer in terms of major points followed by clarifying details or facts. No elaboration is usually necessary. It is wise to find out if your instructors wish for you to outline by listing only main and subordinate points in short numbered phrases or if they want you to use the narrative format with complete sentences and paragraphs. Include factual evidence, research, logic, and/or scientific proof that substantiates a case, a specific position, or a set of hypotheses. Clearly point out connections or relationships between two or more ideas. Mention important ideas, major points, and/or list topics from lecture or the textbook. Sometimes review means critically evaluate and/or give your opinion. List major ideas, concepts, and consequences in a short paragraph or a sentence. Could also mean present a brief abstract of main ideas, compose a concise resume covering only the highlights and relevant details. Little elaboration is necessary. Discuss according to a pattern such as chronological order, according to a definite sequence, or by presenting phases or stages in order.

The four most important points to remember in answering essay questions are to: 1. 2. 3. 4. Read questions carefully. Mark all key words in questions before answering. Do what the questions ask or what the statements say. If uncertain about a question, check with the instructor before answering.

A helpful tip for taking exams in general is to look at the exam as an opportunity to succeed and not as an opportunity to fail. Being positive will help your memory whether there has been sufficient study or not. Negative attitudes will not only make vague material difficult to remember, they will reduce changes of recalling ideas and facts that were learned. A final point is that the number 1 technique for taking any test is to be prepared and know the facts cold. There is no substitute for knowing the material.

Adapted with permission from Dennis Congo, Certified Supplemental Instruction trainer, University of Central Florida

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    When looking at essay questions it is often not easy to see exactly what is being asked. It is essential to identify all the elements that make up an essay question to ensure that you deal with it appropriately. You need to identify the instruction, the topic, and any limitations or parameters. This is possible without substantial knowledge of the subject.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I have learned about the different types of essays, such as: the remembering essay, the compare and contrast essay, the cause and effect essay, and the reflective essay. I have also learned different techniques to set up an essay. An outline is one of the most important and useful things I have learned this semester. It helps me organize my essays and it also makes it ten times easier to write the essays. Another important thing I have learned from this class is how to use MLA format. These notes are the things that have helped enhance my knowledge about…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    * Structure your essay so that the reader knows what you will be talking about from the first sentence of the essay by defining what your subject is. For example if you are writing about the endangered polar bear, define what that might mean to society.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ESSAYS (Make sure to be as specific as possible in answering your questions-provide specific examples from class materials to support your points)…

    • 800 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are different types of questions. One type involves a quote (or a cartoon) that you must ‘discuss’ in reference to your outcome. You MUST explore the quote itself and then structure your essay according to the quote. You will lose many marks if you just write your standard essay and just start each paragraph connecting it to the question. So forget anything you have already written and start with the question itself.…

    • 2181 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Write your introduction. In a longer essay you will summarize what you are about to say, which is basically just quickly hitting the high points of the list. For a in-class essay test, you can probably skip straight to your "thesis" or point of view. For our point of view sentence, first acknowledge the opposite view from the one you are taking, then state your chosen point of view. "Although dogs and cats both make loving pets, they are very different animals."…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Academic Writing Skills

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Break down the topic into its parts, explain the nature or relative importance of components, definitions or concepts and explain how they are interrelated and why certain outcomes occurred. Express an opinion on the issue or topic. Such an opinion should draw upon both supporting and opposing evidence with your preference clearly stated. Look for similarities and differences between propositions or topics. Identify aspects or characteristics of two or more concepts or entities;…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Writing an essay can be daunting, but understanding the correct steps in the process can relieve stress and set the student on the proper path. Student's have been taught numerous ways on how to develop a paper and picking the correct one can be challenging. Some people may write well in high school, but when they get to college they find out their methods are conflicting to the professor's. Joan Arbery’s article “Some Thoughts Concerning Academic Essays" has caused me to consider the experiences that I have had writing academic essays. I agree with Arbery's methods because she offers a clear and concise outline on how to construct and organize an argument…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay Evaluation Questions

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Everyone, including a goat, runs away for some reason in “Runway,” by Alice Munro. The protagonist, Carla, runs from her family to be with Clark, who is now her husband, and later in the story, she runs away from Clark. Clark ran away from high school and lost touch with his family, saying “families were like a poison in your blood.” Flora, who used to be Clarks’ buddy, but is now Carla’s pet goat, has disappeared. The neighbor from down the road, Sylvia, ran to Greece after the recent death of her husband, Leon. After she helps Carla run away from Clark, Sylvia runs to live in another town where she is teaching, instead of staying in her country home.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    5 year plan

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Like good paragraphs, essays need to have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Without these three essential paragraphs, an essay will not be effective to a reader in fully grasping what it is that is being conveyed in the essay. For Social Studies courses students are often asked to write essays to demonstrate knowledge of a subject area, and to prompt students to demonstrate synthesis of knowledge. Students are often asked to answer a question, address a theme, or possibly do both. What is being asked of you to write on is known as a task, and there is often for students of the Social Sciences the event where multiple tasks are expected to be addressed in one essay. In whatever situation, it is important that students realize that what they learned to write an effective paragraph translates into what is needed in writing an effective essay.…

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I need to make sure I stick to the question given and think more about quality not quantity when writing an essay.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before you start an essay you should make sure you know what is needed in the essay, such as the word count that is needed for the essay and how words you are able to go under or over the word count. The next step in the process of producing a good essay is to analyse the title, is very important in understanding what exactly the essay should be about (Palmer, 2004). A good grade essay, for example merit and destination will come from a well-planned essay. Excellent planning of the essay allows the essay to stay on point and flow well. Cottrell, (2008) proposes that a good way to get started when planning an essay to draw a spider diagram to help get all the ideas for the essay down on paper. All essays will have the same layout. The structuring of an essay should be, the title, introduction where you will intrude the essay and it will include the main points of the essay in, main body which will develop the essay then the conclusion to conclude the essay this should not include any new or addition information that is not already stated in the essay. The interdiction and conclusion should both be ten percent of the essays word count (Cottrell, 2008). Taylor, (2003) indicates that time keeping is one of the most important skills when writing any academic work. Time keeping is an important skill as it allows the essay to be at the best standard possible as it will not be rusted. time keeping is also important because if an essay is not in on time the mark of the…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Well Written Essays

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Well-written essays incorporate the concepts of writing keeping the audience in mind so they can experience the writer’s intended point; the audience can either accept or reject the writer’s perspective. Developing an outline, planning topic sentences, and identifying supporting points are three important concepts in planning to write an essay; by applying these concepts in planning, it allows the audience to follow the flow of ideas in a writer’s final essay.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Opening with a question- Questions can create personal interest in the essay, but be careful your question…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Briefly describe a time when you achieved a goal in the face of challenges (or while balancing multiple responsibilities).…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics