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Essay ExamsDuring the Exam
If you are taking an in-class exam, arrive early and
make sure that you come well-prepared. Bring plenty of paper or a
blue book (if required) and several pens or sharpened pencils. If
the instructor is allowing you to use notes or texts during the exam,
be sure to bring these along as well.
If you are writing an at-home essay exam, preparation is still important.
Make sure that your word processor and printer are in working condition.
It would be a shame to lose valuable points on your essay simply because
you had computer problems that could have been resolved ahead of time.
Take a few minutes at the beginning of the exam to get organized.
Do not feel pressured to frantically scribble down something just
because other students have started writing already. Taking time to
get organized is much better than diving into something without any
preparation.
Begin by reading all directions and questions on the essay prompt
thoroughly before deciding which one to answer first. Start with a
question that has a high point value yet is also one that you think
you can answer. Read the question several times, and decide how many
different parts it has. Underline or highlight parts of the question
that you feel the need to emphasize. Remember to answer all
parts. Sketch a brief outline before getting started on the body of the work.
It is very important that your answer is well-organized. Consider
following the same steps with all remaining questions, and always
be sure to answer the ones that you know well first.
The following are some key points to keep in mind when writing
an essay response:
- Remember to write a clear thesis statement. It is
imperative that the instructor knows how you are planning on
answering the questions
presented on the exam.
- Remember to leave a couple of blank lines in between your introduction and the first body paragraph of your
paper. Sometimes
your thesis will change, or your key points in the introduction
will need reorganization. These blank lines allow you to go back
and fill
in information that may be necessary once you get further into the
essay.
- If your instructor will permit you to do so, “double
space” by skipping lines within your paper. This format allows
you to more easily work in information that you may decide to add
or change later on.
- Remember to write to a general audience. If you write solely to
your instructor, you may omit necessary details because you feel
that your instructor already knows them. This could have a lasting
impact on your grade.
- Remember to keep your response clear and concise.
The instructor would much rather see a well-thought-out and detailed
analysis with fewer main points than a broad essay covering
all of the points discussed in the course.
- Remember to support your
ideas with specific examples. Use concrete details taken from
lecture notes, or use material
from the text and other sources. For example, if you are
writing about one of Shakespeare’s plays, and you want to
confirm a statement that you are making about a particular character,
it might help to quote, summarize or paraphrase from the
play
itself.
- Remember that there are guidelines for supporting
your ideas. It is best to keep quotations short.
It is also important
to properly integrate any cited material into your essay,
regardless of whether it is a quotation, summary or
paraphrase. For more
information on using source material, check out the
following handouts that can be found in our
Research
Paper Information Resource Center here in the Academic Center:
Signal
the Use of a
Source and
Signal
Your Commentary of a Source.
- Remember
that legible handwriting does count.
It is unlikely that you will receive a good grade
if the
instructor cannot read your handwriting.
- Remember to construct
a cohesive conclusion. Although the clock
may be ticking, it is important
to bring all of your
ideas together in one brief and final paragraph.
Typically, conclusions in essay exams are only one
or two sentences long.
- Remember always to allow time
at the end of the exam to proofread your
work.
Review the essay for
grammar and spelling
errors, as well as any other mistakes that might
have been made out of carelessness or haste. Also,
remember to make sure that
you have cited all of your source material in
the correct documentation style.
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Copyright 2003 by the Academic Center and the
University of Houston-Victoria.
Created 2003 by Candice Chovanec Melzow. |
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