Taking Essay or Short Answer Exams

Taking Essay or Short Essay Exams

Organization is key to performing well on essay or short answer exams. The advantage of essay-type exams is you control the material you include and can pull it from your memory in an order that makes sense to you. However, it is important that (1) you answer the question directly and completely, and (2) that your essay is organized in a way that the reader/grader can skim through it and easily see that you knew and supported the answer to the question.

Tips for a full essay

·         Read through the question carefully; circle key words; look for trigger words that tell you how to organize; e.g. compare, develop, describe, explain, etc.

·         Before you begin, jot down key points as bullets (in case you don’t finish the essay in the time limits, at least some points will be enumerated briefly for the reader).

·         Use the question itself to help you organize the first paragraph of the essay.

EXAMPLE:  Discuss the origination and development of the Triangle Slave Trade.

Answer begins:  Four major nations were players in the Triangle Trade, which originated almost as an afterthought with early Portuguese traders and developed and changed in nature with the introduction of Spanish, Dutch, and British trade.

·         Use signal or transitional words to mark off sections of your essay and make it easy for the grader to find points: e.g. First, second, third, next, similarly, in contrast, etc.

·         Finish with a summary that reiterates key points in list form.

Tips for short answer and identification questions

·         The tendency with short answer responses is to make your answer too short; be thorough and complete.

·         To test thoroughness, apply the traditional journalistic questions: who, what, when, where and why or how? Not all these questions always apply, but respond to all that do and you should be safe. End every answer with a statement of significance; i.e. explain why this is an important question.

·         If asked to answer 3/5 or 6/8 items, generally it is a good idea to pick your best answers rather than attempting every one. Most graders will just grade the first three or the first six if you answer all five or all eight. They won’t go to the trouble of choosing your best efforts.