Lecture Essay writing & presentation skills - Lecture 21: The essay exam
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Lecture 21
The Es s ay Exam
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
•
•
•
•
DiscussConsider important characteristics and
main
points.
Compare- Show how items are similar or different;
include details or examples.
Contrastdetails
Show how items are different; include
or examples.
Define- Give an accurate meaning of the term with
enough detail to show that you really
understand it.
Es s ay Que s tio n “Ac tio n” Wo rds
•
•
•
ExplainGive facts and details that make
the
idea or concept clear and
understandable
EvaluateReact 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
•
•
•
•
Describehappened,
why.
Tell how something looks or
including how, who, where, and
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
review/edit all questions
and
to
–
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
Pay attention to how the question is
questions…
•
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
Now compare words
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
•
–
Develop each point
•
–
with a key point from the introduction
in a complete paragraph
Use transitions
•
or specify, to connect your points
Writing & Answering
•
Hold to your time
–
•
Avoid very definite statements
–
•
allocation and organization
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;
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
