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How to Answer Exam Essay Questions



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Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:43 am
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BluesClues says...



Once in a while, you come across an exam that is a nice, breezy test full of kindly multiple choice questions waiting for you to take a stab at the answers you're unsure of.

This topic is not about those tests.

This topic is for the tests that, last minute, whip out the dreaded ESSAY QUESTIONS.

Personally, I love essay questions (provided I know my stuff). This is my time to shine. Pull out all the knowledge I know and throw it down on the paper to dazzle my teacher.

Ooooooor it could be the fact that I'm going to be a teacher once I'm done with school.

Either way, I ROCK extended response and essay questions. So here's some advice from a perpetual student and future teacher that might just help you out on your next exam.

Make a list to help organize your thoughts. For example, if the question is, "What are some design advantages that members of phylum Cnidaria (jellyfish) have over members of phylum Porifera (sponges)?" you would list design advantages of Cnidaria in the margins of your paper, like this:

stinging cells
mouth and internal cavity
simple net-like nervous system

Once you've made a list, it's a lot easier to write your response.

It's always good to start your response by restating the question. In the above example, you would start your response like this:

"Some design advantages that members of phylum Cnidaria have over members of the phylum Porifera are..."

This shows that you understood the question and are responding accordingly, plus it makes sure that your answer will be in a complete sentence (and extended responses should always be in complete sentences).

Expand on your list. Depending on what kind of extended response your teacher gives you, you will either need to write one paragraph or several paragraphs. Generally, an "extended response" will be a few sentences, while an "essay" will be several paragraphs. However, it depends on your teacher's style and way of wording things.

Use your list as a basic outline to write your response. Each item on your list will need a sentence about it (if the response requires one paragraph) or a paragraph about it (if the response is a full essay).

So in the above example, you response would look something like this:

Some design advantages that members of phylum Cnidaria have over sponges are stinging cells, a mouth and internal cavity, and a simple net-like nervous system.Stinging cells allow Cnidarians to hunt for food, while sponges rely on food that floats through them on the water filtering through their bodies. Because they have a mouth and an internal cavity, Cnidarians are able to digest their food fully. Additionally, while sponges do not have a nervous system, Cnidarians have a nerve net that allows them to respond immediately to outside stimuli such as threats or food.


Of course, that's just if the response requires a paragraph. If it takes a full essay, it'll have to be longer because each point will need one paragraph of its own.

Follow the usual rules of essay writing. All extended response and essay questions should include a thesis and supporting details.

(You can get away without a real conclusion in extended response questions, but essays should have one.)

The nice thing about an extended response question is that your introduction can be abridged--rather than writing a full introduction like in a non-test essay, you can skip the hook and dive right into the thesis. The thesis will always be the sentence in which you restated the question. In this case, my thesis is "Some design advantages that members of phylum Cnidaria have over sponges are stinging cells, a mouth and internal cavity, and a simple net-like nervous system."

Be sure to answer all parts of the question. I can't stress this enough. Oftentimes, people miss out on points because they forgot a key part of the original question.

Notice that, in my example, I made sure to mention how the Cnidarians' design advantages differed from those of sponges, because the question wanted to know what design advantages Cnidarians have over sponges, not just what their design advantages are. Reread the question after you have written your answer, to make sure you have answered the question as fully as possible.

Bonus: Persuasive Essays

If the extended response is a persuasive essay, start off by drawing a table of pros and cons for both sides. For example, if the question wants a persuasive essay about whether or not the United States should stop minting pennies (a real topic, I might add), your table might look like this:

Stop minting pennies
Pros
less time making change at the register
save taxpayer money minting fewer coins
save taxpayer money by not minting coins for more money than they're worth
save metal

Cons
what to do with old pennies???
products go up in price due to rounding

Once you have your table, decide which side has more points in favor of it and write about it regardless of your feelings on the topic. In this case, whether you like pennies or not, you would write an essay about why the U.S. SHOULD stop minting pennies. I know that seems like you're selling out on your ideals just to write a good essay, but a) this is absolutely the best ACT essay-writing advice any teacher ever gave me and b) guess what? You'll probably have more points on whichever side you're for, because you've given that side more thought, learned more arguments in favor of it, and are more passionate about it. Thus, you'll have more to say on that topic and will likely end up writing about it anyway.

This is also helpful because, in any persuasive essay, your penultimate paragraph should be a counterargument from the opposing side and a rebuttal by you as to why it's incorrect. In the example above, one paragraph would have to look something like this:

People who do not want to stop minting pennies claim that prices of products would go up if the U.S. Mint stopped making pennies, because, for example, items that were previously $9.99 would be rounded to $10.00. However, this argument is a moot point as no longer minting pennies would save Americans more money overall: the United States currently loses money on every penny made, as it costs 1.83 cents to make a 1 cent coin.


By having a prepared table of arguments and counterarguments, you won't spend precious time trying to think up a point the opposing side would make when you get to that point in your essay.

This is in no way a comprehensive guide to writing essays, but I hope it'll serve you well on tests. Even if you don't know an answer in entirety, you'll get partial credit for organization and the information you do include. Beyond that, I advise you to study and know your stuff before going into any exam. Find a study buddy to quiz you, if possible--you'll be able to answer test questions better if you've answered them orally instead of reading the same pages of the textbook over and over again.

Good luck!
  





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Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:59 am
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ssurkho says...



1. Understand the question: Read the question carefully. Be sure to distinguish between the relevant information and the extraneous information.

2. Plan out your answer before you start writing: This may seem like a waste of your time. However, it is a greater waste of time to write unnecessary information or to erase and re-write.

3. Convey your thoughts in an organized manner: The key points to your answer should be clearly stated and be the focus of your answer. The key points should be obvious to the reader and not buried amongst peripheral material.

4. Use relevant technical terminology to answer the question: Correctly use the relevant biology and science terms that you learn from your courses.

5. Cause and effect relationships should be made obvious: Do not expect the instructor to make these connections for you.

6. Making a drawing can often assist you in your answer: However, your written answer must explain what is in the drawing.

7. Support your answer with evidence and/or examples from class lectures and reading: A hallmark of a good scientist is that they support statements with evidence. Check with your instructor to see if thorough examples are required on essay questions.
  








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