Answering university exam essay questions

In the exam Exam essay question Exam essay questions require an answer that can vary from several paragraphs to several pages. How much you can write will depend on the marks available for the question, and the time available. Remember, though, that it is the quality, and not just the quantity, of the answer that counts in marks.

Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty Development Literature General Strategies Do not use essay questions to evaluate understanding that could be tested with multiple-choice questions.

Save essay questions for testing higher levels of thought application, synthesis, and evaluationnot recall facts. Appropriate tasks for essays include: Identify the similarities and differences between Relating cause and effect: What are the major causes of? What would be the most likely effects of?

Explain why you agree or disagree with the following statement. State a set of principles that can explain the following events. How would character X react to the following?

Describe a situation that illustrates the principle of.

Find and correct the reasoning errors in the following passage. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of. Don't give students a choice of questions to answer.

Preparation

There are three drawbacks to giving students a choice. First, some students will waste time trying to decide which questions to answer. Second, you will not know whether all students are equally knowledgeable about all the topics covered on the test.

Third, since some questions are likely to be harder than others, the test could be unfair. Ask students to write more than one essay. Tests that ask only one question are less valid and reliable than those with a wider sampling of test items.

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In a fifty-minute class period, you may be able to pose three essay questions or ten short answer questions. Give students advice on how to approach an essay or short-answer test. To reduce students' anxiety and help them see that you want them to do their best, give them pointers on how to take an essay exam.

Survey the entire test quickly, noting the directions and estimating the importance and difficulty of each question. If ideas or answers come to mind, jot them down quickly.

Outline each answer before you begin to write. Jot down notes on important points, arrange them in a pattern, and add specific details under each point. Writing Effective Test Questions State the question clearly and precisely.

Avoid vague questions that could lead students to different interpretations. If you use the word "how" or "why" in an essay question, students will be better able to develop a clear thesis. As examples of essay and short-answer questions:Why do instructors give essay exams?

As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter.

Short Answer & Essay Tests | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Instead, read through all of the options. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Make a Gift. View All Tips & Tools.

The Writing Center Campus.

Answering Essay Questions Cem Kaner My typical midterm university exam includes points worth of questions, with concise answer. If an exam question is worth 20 points (a long answer question, in my grading structure), I will allow 21 or 22 points, giving the.

• Strategies for answering questions

Answering Assignment Questions In order to decide how to answer an essay question, you need to identify what the question requires in terms of content and genre. This guide outlines some methods to help you analyse essay questions. Writing a good essay requires synthesis of material that cannot be done in the minutes you have during the exam.

In the days before the exam, you should: Anticipate test questions.

Exam essay question - OWLL - Massey University

3 Answering the Short Answer/Essay Exam. Enhanced Learning Center, University of Arkansas [ashio-midori.com] Most essay questions contain an Action Word that you can use to . In a fifty-minute class period, you may be able to pose three essay questions or ten short answer questions.

Give students advice on how to approach an essay or short-answer test. To reduce students' anxiety and help them see that you want them to do their best, give them pointers on how to take an essay exam.