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- Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question
About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.
We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.
You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.
If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.
Top tips and golden rules
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:
1) Work out exactly what you’re being asked
It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.
2) Be as explicit as possible
Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.
3) Be brutally honest with yourself about whether a point is relevant before you write it.
It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.
Put it into action: Step One
Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ? To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss. I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:
- The witches are the most important cause of tragic action in Macbeth.
- The witches are partially, but not entirely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, alongside Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and that of his wife.
- We are not supposed to believe the witches: they are a product of Macbeth’s psyche, and his downfall is his own doing.
- The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is shaky – finally, their ambiguity is part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. (N.B. It’s fine to conclude that a question can’t be answered in black and white, certain terms – as long as you have a firm structure, and keep referring back to it throughout the essay).
The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:
- Do you agree that the status of the witches’ ‘malevolent intervention’ is ambiguous?
- What is its significance?
- How powerful is it?
Step Two: Plan
Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:
To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.
My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.
Step Three: Paragraph beginnings and endings
The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:
Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.
The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:
Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth. To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.
Step Four: Practice makes perfect
The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:
- Write a hypothesis
- Write a rough plan of what each paragraph will contain
- Write out the first and last sentence of each paragraph
You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback . If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.
Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .
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Essay Structure
Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.
The focus of such an essay predicts its structure. It dictates the information readers need to know and the order in which they need to receive it. Thus your essay's structure is necessarily unique to the main claim you're making. Although there are guidelines for constructing certain classic essay types (e.g., comparative analysis), there are no set formula.
Answering Questions: The Parts of an Essay
A typical essay contains many different kinds of information, often located in specialized parts or sections. Even short essays perform several different operations: introducing the argument, analyzing data, raising counterarguments, concluding. Introductions and conclusions have fixed places, but other parts don't. Counterargument, for example, may appear within a paragraph, as a free-standing section, as part of the beginning, or before the ending. Background material (historical context or biographical information, a summary of relevant theory or criticism, the definition of a key term) often appears at the beginning of the essay, between the introduction and the first analytical section, but might also appear near the beginning of the specific section to which it's relevant.
It's helpful to think of the different essay sections as answering a series of questions your reader might ask when encountering your thesis. (Readers should have questions. If they don't, your thesis is most likely simply an observation of fact, not an arguable claim.)
"What?" The first question to anticipate from a reader is "what": What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true? To answer the question you must examine your evidence, thus demonstrating the truth of your claim. This "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction. Since you're essentially reporting what you've observed, this is the part you might have most to say about when you first start writing. But be forewarned: it shouldn't take up much more than a third (often much less) of your finished essay. If it does, the essay will lack balance and may read as mere summary or description.
"How?" A reader will also want to know whether the claims of the thesis are true in all cases. The corresponding question is "how": How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument? How does the introduction of new material—a new way of looking at the evidence, another set of sources—affect the claims you're making? Typically, an essay will include at least one "how" section. (Call it "complication" since you're responding to a reader's complicating questions.) This section usually comes after the "what," but keep in mind that an essay may complicate its argument several times depending on its length, and that counterargument alone may appear just about anywhere in an essay.
"Why?" Your reader will also want to know what's at stake in your claim: Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you? This question addresses the larger implications of your thesis. It allows your readers to understand your essay within a larger context. In answering "why", your essay explains its own significance. Although you might gesture at this question in your introduction, the fullest answer to it properly belongs at your essay's end. If you leave it out, your readers will experience your essay as unfinished—or, worse, as pointless or insular.
Mapping an Essay
Structuring your essay according to a reader's logic means examining your thesis and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, in order to grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds. The easiest way to do this is to map the essay's ideas via a written narrative. Such an account will give you a preliminary record of your ideas, and will allow you to remind yourself at every turn of the reader's needs in understanding your idea.
Essay maps ask you to predict where your reader will expect background information, counterargument, close analysis of a primary source, or a turn to secondary source material. Essay maps are not concerned with paragraphs so much as with sections of an essay. They anticipate the major argumentative moves you expect your essay to make. Try making your map like this:
- State your thesis in a sentence or two, then write another sentence saying why it's important to make that claim. Indicate, in other words, what a reader might learn by exploring the claim with you. Here you're anticipating your answer to the "why" question that you'll eventually flesh out in your conclusion.
- Begin your next sentence like this: "To be convinced by my claim, the first thing a reader needs to know is . . ." Then say why that's the first thing a reader needs to know, and name one or two items of evidence you think will make the case. This will start you off on answering the "what" question. (Alternately, you may find that the first thing your reader needs to know is some background information.)
- Begin each of the following sentences like this: "The next thing my reader needs to know is . . ." Once again, say why, and name some evidence. Continue until you've mapped out your essay.
Your map should naturally take you through some preliminary answers to the basic questions of what, how, and why. It is not a contract, though—the order in which the ideas appear is not a rigid one. Essay maps are flexible; they evolve with your ideas.
Signs of Trouble
A common structural flaw in college essays is the "walk-through" (also labeled "summary" or "description"). Walk-through essays follow the structure of their sources rather than establishing their own. Such essays generally have a descriptive thesis rather than an argumentative one. Be wary of paragraph openers that lead off with "time" words ("first," "next," "after," "then") or "listing" words ("also," "another," "in addition"). Although they don't always signal trouble, these paragraph openers often indicate that an essay's thesis and structure need work: they suggest that the essay simply reproduces the chronology of the source text (in the case of time words: first this happens, then that, and afterwards another thing . . . ) or simply lists example after example ("In addition, the use of color indicates another way that the painting differentiates between good and evil").
Copyright 2000, Elizabeth Abrams, for the Writing Center at Harvard University
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How to Answer Essay Questions – The Ultimate Guide
- Posted by Brian Stocker MA
- Date November 30, 2007
- Comments 7 comments
Everyone Loves Essay Questions!
“I hate essays!” This battle cry is famous to most students. That’s because essay questions are either easy or difficult. Either way, there’s no certain formula. Even if you think you know the answer - don’t be overconfident - the critical part is how you make your essay worth reading. So how do you do it?
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Tips for Writing an Essay
Read the question more than once. Some questions can be tricky so make sure you understand it to the letter. A lot of students commit error by simply not reading instructions very well. They read and then write a long essay, only to realize very late that they did not understand the question correctly.
Familiarize yourself with your professor or teacher’s style of organization, if you can. As students, it’s your role to know how your teachers want their essays answered.
Mentally go through your lecture notes before writing anything on your paper.
Create an outline of thoughts and related topics in connection with the essay question. By doing this you are helping yourself create a more organized answer.
Construct an idea in each paragraph. Go back to your essay outline if you think you are repeating yourself or not making sense at all.
Use the terminology of the course . Be professional in knowing what type of words to use in a particular topic or subject.
Read and go back to your previous paragraphs after you are finished with one paragraph. This will help you determine your flow of thought and if you are really making a point or giving an answer.
Don’t include ideas that are off-topic.
If there are too many ideas in your outline , cut out the least important ones. As much as possible, make your idea concrete and pointed, with arguments or statements that is easy to understand.
The body of your essay should have a summary or statement.
Support your summary or statement with adequate details and specifics. If you do not know how to add details, just expand on your generic idea.
Avoid jumping from one point to another.
Avoid vague descriptions if necessary . Include specifics to get your message across.
Review the question again and again so you will not lose your thread of thinking.
If you have time to make revisions, do so.
Use all the time you have to complete your essay. Review and re-check your answers before submitting your paper.
If you have nothing to write and don’t know what to write , don’t leave your paper blank. Write something at least.
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Get the complete guide to taking notes, taking a test complete guide to multiple choice, essay check list.
Here is a great Checklist for answering Essay Questions from Tennessee State University:
Use the following as a guide when writing answers to discussion questions and as a checklist after you have written your answer.
1. Do I understand the question? What am I being asked to do? 2. Do I have a plan? What are my major points and how am I going to present them? 3. Does the reader know, just from reading the first sentence of my essay, both the question and how I will answer it? 4. Are my major points clear and do they stand out? 5. Do I support my argument with facts and examples? 6. Do I make clear and sensible transitions between major points? 7. Is my answer clear to someone who knows nothing about this? 8. Have I answered the question completely? Have I fully covered all of the major points required to completely answer the question? 9. Is there irrelevant material? 10. Do I have a conclusion and summary statement? 11. Have I proofed my essay for common spelling and grammatical errors? 12. Is my handwriting legible? Is there room for comments or additions?
Glossary of Essay Exam Terms
When taking an exam the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with all instructions. At times this can be confusing especially if you do not understand the terms. Below you will find some common terms used on essay exams. Learning these terms is a key step in successful completion of most essay exams.
- Compare (also Compare with): Discuss the similarities between two or more given subjects.
- Contrast: Discuss the differences in two or more given subjects.
- Criticize: Explain the value of a finding or theory. Include both negative and positive aspects based on implementation. This could be the ease of which it is applied, examples of false findings, etc…
- Define: Describe precisely a term’s meaning as it applies specifically to a given subject.
- Describe: Use exact detail to explain a given term. This may call for the use of examples, definitions, or discussion of the term.
- Diagram: Use a visual representation of relevant information to explain implementation of a term. This usually calls for an explicit chart or graph which is thoroughly labelled. In some cases it may call for a detailed plan as well.
- Discuss: The literal meaning of discuss is talk about. To do this in an exam you must thoroughly explain your subject with words.
- Enumerate: Form a list of relevant points and explain each point. This may result in an outline like answer.
- Evaluate: Discuss the pros and cons of the application of your given subject from a professional point of view. This differs from criticize because personal opinion should be avoided unless instructions specify otherwise.
- Explain: Define the given material and give examples of how and why it is important to the subject.
- Illustrate: Use a visual aid or a clearly defined example to explain a given subject.
- Interpret: Explain the given question, include you personal feelings on the subject as well as a solution.
- Justify: Use factual information to argue you view of the situation presented in a given problem.
- List: Brief but thorough list of information that explains the given topic.
- Outline: much like writing an outline for a paper. Answer the question by creating an outline that highlights the main ideas and key points of those ideas.
- Prove: Discuss the topic in a way that readers are convinced to support or reject the idea discussed. This is done through presentation of facts or the step by step illustration of logical thinking.
- Relate: Discuss the connection between two or more events, people, problems, etc…
- Review: Close examination of a problem accompanied by brief comments that explain the main points.
- State (also Give, Specify, or Present): Explain the major points of a subject in brief for. There is typically no need for further explanation.
- Summarize: Create a brief description that highlights the major points of your subject.
- Trace: Explain the progress of the given subject from conception to current date. Highlight anything that is considered a major topic as well as the reason for any changes.
Don’t!
Last piece of advice – Don’t get your parents to edit it!
More Info on Essay Exams
How to Study for an Essay Exam How to Answer Essay Questions – The Ultimate Guide
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Every thing was educational. Had a good feeling on how to deliver good papers.
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How to Answer Essay Questions on an Exam
By: Angelina Grin
Understanding the Question
Identify the question category, writing your response, check yourself, short answer examples, how to answer long essay questions, tips on how to answer an essay question, how can you spot a good essay question 🔥, why do students find essay questions challenging 😓, what is the #1 takeaway for answering these questions 🥇, how can i write better answers ✏️.
From high school English comprehension exams all the way up to college entrance exams and the GRE, essay questions are a mainstay. They can be broadly broken down into four categories: factual recall, analysis, synthesis, and opinion.
You have one hour to respond to as many as five different short essay questions, each of which requires you to write a paragraph. Writing an essay requires you to break it up into several paragraphs. Within the allotted time, you might be asked to compose just one extended essay, or maybe even two of them.
In this article, we will show you how to answer essay-style exam questions.
What are the Steps for Answering Essay Questions Properly?
There are four basic steps you need to focus on.
You are strapped for time in every exam but understanding the question is the most important part. If you cannot understand what it is that you need to do, you will write a quality answer, no doubt, but it will be misguided and wrong, and you will have wasted all that time, resulting in poor test scores. Therefore, to save time in the long run, you have to understand what relevant facts are being asked of you before you commit to a course of action.
The strategy is to begin the exam by answering essay questions. You'll save time by dealing with the most stressful issue first. You should also pay particular attention to the questions themselves: read them 2-3 times to properly comprehend what they are asking of you, paying special attention to the verbs, and ask the examiner before the test begins if you have any doubts or confusions. It will also make answering the question much easier if you underline or highlight the essential terms inside it.
Speaking of relevant terms, that is what we will talk about next.
Essay questions typically include a list of specific keywords that teachers and professors want students to focus on when composing their responses. For instance, an essay question that asks you to "describe" an issue will be different from an essay question that asks you to "argue" a position. Both of these types of questions are part of an essay. When you read an essay question, it is imperative that you locate and identify the corresponding keyword. The following are some of the most frequently used keywords:
- To analyze something means to explain its what, where, who, when, why, and how components. Include a summary of the benefits and drawbacks, the positives and negatives, etc.
- Compare means to talk about the parallels and dissimilarities that exist between two or more things. Remember to explain why the comparison is helpful in your response.
- To contrast is to discuss the ways in which two or more things are different from one another or to differentiate between them. Be sure to include an explanation of why the contrast is helpful.
- Define means to state what something is, what it does, what it accomplishes, etc.
- Describe means to enumerate the qualities or characteristics of something. It's possible that you'll also need to summarize something, such as an essay prompt that asks you to "Describe the major events that led up to the Civil War."
- "Discuss" calls for a more analytical approach. In most cases, you start by describing the topic at hand, and then you move on to presenting either pro or con arguments. You might need to conduct an analysis of the benefits or drawbacks associated with your topic.
- To evaluate something means to present both the advantages and disadvantages, the perks and drawbacks of a topic. You might be asked to analyze a claim to determine whether it is supported by logic or an argument to determine whether it has any flaws.
- To justify your position means to explain why or how something occurred or by explaining why you hold a particular opinion.
- "Prove" is typically saved for essays that are more scientific or objective. In order to build a case for a particular position or set of hypotheses, you might be asked to include evidence and research in your argument.
- To list the most important ideas or themes of a topic is typically what is meant when the term "summarize" is used. It is also possible that you will be asked to present the main ideas and thoroughly discuss them. The vast majority of questions will not ask for a straightforward summary with nothing else attached.
Okay, now you have a grasp on what the question demands from you. That’s great. The next step involves writing your answer. How to structure answers to essay questions? Let’s find out.
In most cases, sticking to the usual five-paragraph formula will work. This consists of an introductory paragraph, up to three body paragraphs, and a final paragraph where you summarize your arguments and conclude your answer.
There is no universally applicable standard for how to answer essay-type exam questions in college or university. One thing is certain, though: your introductory paragraph has to make a strong impact. It's the first thing people will read, so if it doesn't hook them, the rest of the essay better be excellent. It needs to be competent, at the very least. The introduction should take up about 10% of the total number of words in the essay. If you write a 1500-word essay, for instance, your introduction will be about 150 words.
The body of the essay will nearly write itself once you have a plan in place. All that's left to do is fill in the main ideas. Now that you know what they are, it's time to employ the key terms you found in the question. In order for the text to make sense, each paragraph needs to make some sort of connection back to the topic sentence. You will have access to far more data than is actually useful, so write only that which is absolutely necessary. Avoid fluff. You want to be comprehensive but not at the cost of putting your professor to sleep.
In the concluding paragraph of your essay, you will restate your main points. It is crucial, so make sure to always include one. The examiner will spend the least amount of time on this section, but it will have the greatest impact on the final grade.
You should restate the primary points you made and make direct reference to the question's keywords. The most important thing is that it doesn't add anything to what you've already said. It's too late to say anything else that hasn't already been said.
Following this structure for your essay answers is a good way to learn how to write a paper to answer a bunch of questions essay.
Even with the essay questions answered, you’re not finished yet. When you’re done with your essay answer, give yourself some time to go through what you wrote. No matter how carefully you craft the answer in your head and how quickly you write it, you are bound to make some spelling errors. Even if you go through it and find that you didn’t make any, you can now be sure that you didn’t! That in itself is worth the time to go through and proofread your well-rounded essay.
In this section, we will talk about answering multiple questions in essay format examples. By studying these illustrations, we will see how and why they work.
Hopefully, by reviewing these short essay question examples, you now have a better grasp on how you want to do things. These are the kinds of answers admissions officers look at on personal statements when you apply to graduate school.
In this section, we will take two essay answers that are on the longer side and dissect them. We will discuss what makes them good, and why you should try to model your style after them if you can.
There are a lot of things you can do to improve the essay answers you write. In this section, we will discuss the top five things you can and should do in order to write better answers for your tests.
- To begin an essay prompt response, you should try restating the question as a statement. To show that you have read and comprehend the question, you should begin your essay with an introduction like this. Changing the wording of the question forces you to focus on answering that specific question from the get-go. Take the following as an example of a potential question: "Should drugs be made available for recreational use? Defend your position by providing examples and explanations." You may rephrase that as "Recreational drug usage should be legalized." This is the main argument that you'll elaborate on and provide evidence for.
- In a compare and contrast essay, you still need to have a strong thesis statement. If you're arguing for or against legalizing recreational drugs, for instance, you need to answer the other side's position. However, your essay's position on the issue must be made clear. There are many parallels and contrasts between X and Y, which is a common theme in essay prompts. There is no distinct position presented, which can lead to a low grade.
- Bad punctuation, sentence structure, and poor grammar might lower an otherwise good grade on an essay question. There might not be time to go back and fix your grammar and punctuation, so make an effort to do it as you write. It's always a good idea to check what you've written if you find yourself with some extra time. If you need to write your response down, make sure it is easy to read. If your professor has trouble understanding what you've written, they may reduce your grade.
- Keep in mind that your thesis statement should be an answer to the issue that was posed, and that everything you say should support that simple statement. In a formal essay, you can afford to let your thoughts wander, but in an essay exam, you must respond directly to the prompt. If you don't include everything that's needed, you risk giving irrelevant details and getting fewer points. If you find yourself wandering away from the question, go back and read it, as well as any notes you may have made. After refocusing, proceed with the rest of your response.
- An excellent response to an essay question demonstrates your understanding of the topic at hand and provides a pertinent answer. Think about how you can use the information you've gathered in your research to come up with the most effective strategy for achieving this objective without overanalyzing. You might find it helpful to compile a list of the information you intend to include in your essay response. As you compose your response, you can then consult this checklist. Before you begin preparing your answer, it's a good idea to make a list of all the major points you want to make. In this method, you may double-check your work and make sure nothing important was overlooked.
Following these five tips will have shown you how to answer essay questions but they will also improve the overall quality of your test-taking experience as well. You should put these into practice when you take timed mock tests at home to prepare for the big one. The more you write essays, the better position you will be in when the date for the actual test rolls around.
You can tell whether most essay questions are good just by reading them. It will be clear about what it wants and to the point.
Time management. Reading the essay, noting information, understanding the question–all of these take time, and that makes it tough for middle school students to master and leads to a desire for essay question help.
Answering questions in essay form can be hard. The main thing you need to do is understand what the question wants. Once you get that, it’s only a matter of writing it down. So give yourself some time while you read it to understand it effectively.
The key to answering essay questions is to think fast and write fast. You have to recall the main topic from the passage and apply it quickly. And you also have to give yourself enough time to check your answer for errors afterward.
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Two commonly confused words are *affect *and effect. Though their meanings are related, they are quite different. **Affect is most often a verb meaning "to influence." It can also be a noun meaning, "mood; feeling" or a verb meaning "to put on; to make a pretense of being or having." Effect is most often a noun meaning "result." It can also be a verb meaning "bring about." Verb: How will this change affect ‾ \underline{\text{affect}} affect you? Noun: What is the effect ‾ \underline{\text{effect}} effect of the change? In most cases, you can avoid confusing these. words by deciding whether you want a verb meaning "to influence" ( affect ) or a noun meaning "result" ( effect ). Choose the correct word to complete below sentence. The serious subject of Midsummer may (effect, affect) some readers.
A Write the plural for each of the following words on the line provided.
Example 1. airline airlines ‾ \underline{\text{airlines}} airlines
bird-watcher The horse with the sllvery mane and white tall was chosen by the photographer. ‾ \underline{\phantom{\text{The horse with the sllvery mane and white tall was chosen by the photographer.}}} The horse with the sllvery mane and white tall was chosen by the photographer.
Answer the following question about Belgium. Refer to the Points de départ in Le c ¸ \c{c} c ¸ on C.
Quelle est la situation économique de la Flandre?
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Strategy for answering essay questions.
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The formula for a stellar introduction , creating a strong body, writing a standout conclusion, rereading your essay, tips for effective writing, when in doubt, just start writing, do not write fluff and just get to the point, write at your own pace, follow the instructions given.
The instructions for exam questions can be seen as your personal guide to scoring points on the exam. Keep the instructions in mind as you write your essay and respect the essay prompt by addressing all the points mentioned and you will live happily ever after with a beautiful grade.
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To answer an essay question (EQ), students must assess the purpose of the essay question: factual recall, analysis (explanation of relationships) synthesis (application/transfer of previously learned principles) opinion
How much information to include, repeat, restate (intro needed? details needed?).
The chart below outlines 4 main types of essay questions, the verbs/cues that indicate the type of essay question and its purpose, and the strategy to be used to answer it.
Read the questions very carefully at least 2 or 3 times. Circle the main verb (= action verb/imperative) in the question and decide on the necessary rhetorical strategy for answering the question (cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, classification, problem-solution). Make sure you understand what type of answer the main verb calls for (a diagram a summary, details, an analysis, an evaluation). Circle all the keywords in the question. Decide if you need to write a 1-paragraph or a multi-paragraph answer. Write a brief outline of all the points you want to mention in your answer. Restate the question and answer it with a topic sentence (for a 1-paragraph answer) or a thesis statement (for a multi-paragraph answer). Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing. Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence(s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion. Use correct punctuation throughout. Read over your answer again and check if all the main ideas have been included. Check your answer for grammar and punctuation.
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Writing samples are an important part of your application to any college. Your responses show how well you would fit with an institution; your ability to write clearly, concisely, and develop an argument; and your ability to do the work required of you should you be accepted. Use both short answer questions and personal essays to highlight your personality and what makes you unique while also showing off your academic talents.
Short Answer Questions
Short answer questions are almost harder to write than a personal essay, since you usually have a word limit. Often, this may be as short as 150 words (a paragraph). This means that your answers must be clear and concise without being so bare bones that you don’t seem to have a personality. In fact, it’s okay if you answer the question in less than the allotted space. Provided you avoid clichés and sarcasm and answer the question wholly, less can be more. Here are some tips to help you ace your short answers:
- Don’t repeat the question.
- Don’t use unnecessarily large words. Not only will you come off as pretentious at best and ignorant at worst, but it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to keep the same tone throughout your response. After all, wouldn’t it be easier for you to read a paragraph that addresses “how to write concisely” rather than one about “how to circumvent the superfluous use of language?” Craft your response so that your reader can easily understand your point without resorting to a thesaurus.
- Answer honestly. If you are asked to discuss one of your favorite things, don’t feel ashamed to tell the truth. Colleges want to get to know you. A “cool” answer isn’t as interesting as your honest, unique one.
- Supplement your résumé. Talk about things that aren’t mentioned anywhere else in your application to show off a different side of your personality.
- Always use details to bring even a short story to life.
- Don’t be afraid of the word limit. Write out your answer without worrying about the length and then go back and delete any unnecessary information. Underline the stand-out points and trim the rest.
- Describe your personal growth. When discussing an activity or event in your life, ask yourself what you learned or took away from it. Colleges like to understand how you’ve been changed by your experiences and see that you possess self-awareness.
- Be specific about each institution. If asked why you want to attend a particular school, make sure to reference any times you visited the campus, met with admissions counselors, or spoke with current students or alumni. Talk about programs that interest you and how you think they will benefit you in the future. Tell your readers why the idea of being a student at their institution excites you. College admissions officers can spot generic answers, so do your research if you don’t know a lot about the school. Talk about each school as if it is your top choice, even if it’s not. Under no circumstances should you say that a particular school is your “safety.”
The Personal Essay
The majority of colleges will ask you to submit at least one personal essay as part of your application. (You can find the 2019–2020 application platform personal essay prompts here , but not all schools use an application platform. In such cases, you will find essay prompts on the school’s own application.) By reading your submission, college admissions officers become familiar with your personality and writing proficiency. Your essay, along with your other application materials, helps them determine if you would be a good fit for the school and if you would be able to keep up with the rigor of the course load. A well-written, insightful essay can set you apart from other applicants with identical grades and test scores. Likewise, a poorly constructed essay can be detrimental to your application.
To ensure that your essay is the best it can be, you will need to spend some time reviewing the essay prompt to understand the question. Not only will you need time to become familiar with the directions, but you will also want to take your time when constructing your essay. No one can sit down and write the perfect essay in one shot. These things take effort, brainpower, and a significant amount of patience. Consider these steps for producing a well-written, thoughtful response to any essay prompt:
- Get moving. The best way to activate your mind is to activate your body. The act of moving forward, whether you are on foot or on a bike, can help you work through the ideas that might feel stuck. Read the prompt thoroughly, and then see what comes to you as your move through your neighborhood.
- Write down your ideas . When you get home, write down the ideas that stood out. Simply put the pen to paper or your hands to the keys and write without worrying about sentence structure or grammar. There’s plenty of time to edit later on.
- Rule out ideas that won’t work. Use the resources in the section below to decide if you are being asked to write a personal, school, or creative/intellectual statement and read through the the corresponding tips. If any of your ideas don’t fall within our guidelines, find a different approach to answering the question or rule out the topic altogether.
- Construct an outline (or two). At most, you will be able to use 650 words to respond to the question, so every statement you make must serve your overall objective. To stay on topic and build your story or argument, it’s helpful to have a map to guide you. Choose a topic or two from you list and give yourself plenty of time to outline each idea. Use bullet points and separate each section by paragraph. You may realize that one topic is too broad and you need to narrow your focus. If you make two outlines, ask a trusted adult to help you decide which one is stronger than the other. Even if you're not a fan of outlines and prefer to write organically, writing down your ideas in a consecutive list and creating a pseudo-outline can still help you maintain organization and flow between ideas when you actually fill in the blanks.
- Fill in the details with positivity. You are now ready to begin your first draft of your essay. Staying positive in your writing, even if you choose to tackle a hard subject, will endear you to admissions officers while negativity, self-pity, and resentment aren’t going to make your case. Use vivid descriptions when telling your story, but don’t stray too far from your main topic as to become dishonest or exaggerated. Admissions officers are well versed in picking out the real from the fake and aren’t going to be impressed by a made-up story.
- Walk away. When you’ve finished your first draft, walk away for a while, even a day or two, and clear your mind. You’ll be able to look at it with fresh eyes later and make edits to strengthen your argument or main idea.
- Ask for the appropriate amount of help. While it is okay to have a parent or teacher read over your essay to make sure that the points you want to make are coming through or to offer minor suggestions, it is under no circumstances acceptable to allow anyone else to make significant changes, alter the voice or message, or write the essay for you. A dishonest application will be noticed and dismissed by admissions officers.
- Edit. For the initial proofreading, read your essay out loud or backwards, sentence by sentence. Reading it in a form that you haven’t gotten used to will make it easier for you to spot grammatical and spelling errors. Then, ask for one family member or friend to read the essay out loud to you. Together, you can listen for things you missed with your eyes.
The Three Types of Essay Questions
There are three types of personal essays: the personal statement, the school statement, and the creative or intellectual statement. These are described below.
The Personal Statement
- Goal: The personal statement should be a window into your inner life. It is a chance to show schools who you are beyond your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities. An honest, thoughtful reflection will help admissions officers understand your passions, goals, and relationships with family, friends, and other communities.
- Example: “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.” – Common Application, 2015
- Don’t attempt to sum up your life in one statement. Instead, try to pick one significant experience to elaborate on. Use details to paint a picture for the reader. Talk about how you were affected and what changed about your perception of the world. How did the experience bring you to where you are today?
- Don’t reiterate your résumé. Let your résumé, transcripts, and test scores tell one story about you. Use your essay to tell a different one. Think of it not as a place to impress, but as a place to reflect.
- Don’t talk about an experience that isn’t unique. While almost anyone could say that they struggled with history in high school, few could describe the influence that their great-grandfather had on their understanding of U.S. history in the context of World War II. Picking an experience or topic that will set you apart from other applicants is key to catching the eye of the admissions team.
- Don’t write to impress. Schools don’t want you to write about what you think they want to hear. It’s easy for them to tell when you aren’t being genuine. Pick a topic that’s significant and meaningful to you even if it’s not “impressive.” Having personal awareness is impressive on its own.
The School Statement
- Goal: With your school statement, it should be clear that you have done your research on the school to which you are applying. Admissions counselors use the essay to assess your enthusiasm for the school and your commitment to discovering how the education will benefit you in the future. You want them to understand what you are drawn to so they can begin to envision you as a student on campus.
- Example: “Which aspects of Tufts’ curriculum or undergraduate experience prompted your application? In short: Why Tufts?” – Tufts University, 2015
- Don’t make general statements. It’s important to cite specifics instead of referencing the obvious. If a school is highly ranked and is known for its strong liberal arts curriculum, that’s dandy, but it’s common knowledge. Instead, talk about the teachers, programs, school traditions, clubs, and activities that put the school at the top of your list. If possible, reference any times you visited the campus, met with admissions counselors, or spoke with current students or alumni. Show them that you cared to do more than just a simple Google search.
- Don’t use the same essay for every school. It may be tempting to reuse the same essay for every school, but your essay should not be so general that you can sub out each school’s name as if it were a fill-in-the-blank answer. Sure, you may be able to recycle some content that applies to multiple schools on your list, but be sure to round off each essay with tangible information about the institution (references to buildings on campus, your interview, the mascot, an exciting lecture series, etc.). This proves that you aren’t applying to the school on a whim.
- Don’t overlook the facts. Verifying your statements about a school is essential. If you say that you are excited to become a theater major but the college did away with the program five years ago, admissions counselors may not take you seriously. Do yourself a favor and fact-check.
The Creative/Intellectual Statement
- Goal: Colleges ask students creative or intellectual questions to assess their ability to think critically, construct a cohesive argument, and use a nontraditional approach to solve a problem. In short, admissions counselors are looking for students who can think for themselves. They want to see that you are open to new ideas and can support your opinions with thoughtful explanations.
- Example: “What’s so odd about odd numbers?” – University of Chicago, 2014; “Design your own three-and-a-half-week course and describe what you would do.” – Colorado College, 2014
- Don’t tackle the world’s problems. There’s no need to impress colleges with your knowledge of Syria or the spread of Zika virus. Keep it simple. Remember, colleges don’t expect you to be an expert in anything yet.
- Don’t use too many quotes . Your essay is not a collection of other people’s opinions. Back up your arguments, but be selective when using quotes. If you do paraphrase or quote someone’s work, make sure to cite your sources.
- Don’t make it abstract. In an attempt to be creative and original, it’s easy to cross over the line into absurdity, but it’s important to stay grounded.
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Understanding application requirements, the common, coalition, and universal college applications explained, how to write your résumé for college applications, asking for letters of recommendation, gap years and college applications, the community college application, acing your college interview.
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Type of paper: Essay
Topic: Transportation , Synthesis , Infrastructure , Vehicles , Transport , Carbon , Gradient , Actions
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FAD is reduced to FADH2 in Succinate oxidation to fumarate through catalytic action of succinate dehydrogenase. The resulting FADH2 electrons skips the first stage of oxidative phosphorylation by moving into the electron transport chain located in CoQ. This can be illustrated as NADH -> CoQH2. Consequently, there is 2 ATP forming stages found in the electron chain from CoQ to O2 used in this course (Schwender et al, 50). Indifferent to the first scenario, oxidation of malate to produce oxaloacetate results to NADH consequently, the NADH produced electrons completes its movement in 3 ATP forming steps associated with chain of electron transport.
The nigericin aids in exchange of K+ for H+ ions, which then activates discharge of proton gradient through the inner membrane of the mitochondria. Given that electron transport generates the proton gradient and the same gradient is released by the action of ATP synthase-mediated formation, nigericin is found to uncouple the two processes (Gottlieb & Paul, 36). In which case, this means that there will be continuation of electron transport while ATP synthesis will not continue. Valinomycin does not do the same because it is not capable of transporting protons; consequently, its action will generate scanty impact on either of the processes, transport of electron or synthesis of ATP.
Free energy that is attributed to the concentration gradient when the Ph gradient is maintained at 1.4 units DpH = + 1.4 DG = - 2.303 (8.315 x 10-3 kJ/mol-K)(298K)(1.4) = - 7.99 kJ/mol
Computation of free energy that is attributed to the voltage gradient
Dym = yin - yout = - 0.14 V.DG = (1)(96.48 kJ/V-mol)(- 0.14 V) = - 13.5 kJ/mol Computation of the free energy available for 1 mole of protons’ movement starting from the cytoplasm right into the matrix considering the cellular condition will be the sum of energy calculated above. That is: DG = - 2.303 RT DpH + nFDy = -7.99 kJ/mol - 13.5 kJ/molDG = -21.5 kJ/mol
The estimated moles protons should be 3
That is = 3 moles protons per mole. when considering Hess’s law,
Atractyloside acts inhibits respiration by acting as an inhibitor to transport of materials, that is raw materials import across the inner membrane of the mitochondrion; it also hinder ATP export. The atractyloside functions by blocking the adenine nucleotide porter when it binds to the outward. In which case, their action results to inhibition of oxygen consumption in mitochondrial proximal tubule.
Antimycin site of inhibition is found in the photosynthetic and the respiratory electron transport chain located between the b and c types cytochrome (Ormerod, 34). This zone is known as plastoquinones. This reasoning is quite true since the two cytochrome are found in the location of photosynthetic action; that is photochemical –oxidizing point is located near the c-type cytochrome while the photochemical-oxidizing location is found closer to the b type cytochrome. Consequently, by acting in this zone antimycin is capable of actively inhibiting photosynthesis in the chloroplasts.
Average Calvin cycle labelling patterns should be in reliant to the elements given in question. Question 7 The C4 plants remains to thrive because it adapts well to hot and dry systems. This is therefore contributes to the fact that illumination will not affect C4 plant, while affecting C3 that is not better suited. In addition, C4 plant has significantly lower amount of photorespiration; consequently, in a sealed box where we expect O2 concentration to be high, photorespiration will act as a major aspect contributing to the dying of C3 and accommodation of C4.
a). The Ca 2+ ions activate PKC in conjunction with DAG. Increase the amounts of calcium ions are going to result in the increase in the rate of glycogen synthesis and decrease in degradation of the glycogen. b). once released the inactive catalytic subunits of PKA phosphorylate numerous substrate using the phosphate donor. This implies that increase in ATP increases the process of glycogen synthesis and reduces the rate of degradation. c). When adenylyl cyclase is activated, it catalyses the conversion of ATP to cyclic AMP, which leads to an increase in intracellular levels of cyclic AMP. Inhibiting adenylate cycles results to decrease in rate of glycogen synthesis and increase in the rate of degradation. d). Glucagon and epinephrine trigger the breakdown of glycogen. Increasing the amount of epinephrine in the blood increases the rate of glycogen degradation. The increase also results into decrease in the rate of glycogen synthesis. e). The cyclic AMP cascade highly amplifies the effects of hormones. If they amplify the effect of epinephrine then the rate of degradation of glycogen increases rapidly and the rate of synthesis also decreases rapidly.
Muscle enzyme needs a higher Vmax for strenuous muscular activity, particularly when the muscle is working under much reduced oxygen concentrations. Glycogen phosphorylase in the liver is an isozyme of the muscle enzyme, and regulated by glucose (inhibitor) as well as by hormones.
Question 10
Constant hunger and need to eat often; this is because all the energy is to be supplied to the body from external sources of glucose.
Easy bruising and nosebleeds; there is no enough energy in the body.
Fatigue; this is as a result of concentration of excess glycogen in the muscle. Irritability; the excess amount of glycogen in the body Puffy cheeks, thin chest and limbs, and swollen belly; the amount of glycogen that are not degraded results to this 11).
Similarities
They both stabilize carbonionic intermediates. They do this using different mechanism. For transketolase and transaldolase, a carbanion intermediate is stabilized by resonance.
Differences
One difference is that transketolase transfers a two-carbon unit, whereas transaldolase transfers a three-carbon unit. Each of these units is transiently attached to the enzyme in the course of the reaction. In transketolase, the site of addition of the unit is the thiazole ring of the required coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate. Transketolase is homologous to the E1 subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the reaction mechanism is similar.
In transketolase, TPP stabilizes this intermediate; in transaldolase, a protonated Schiff base plays this role.
12). During illumination, the thioredoxin disulfide is reduced to a dithiol by ferredoxin, a constituent of the photosynthetic light reaction pathway, via an enzyme Ferredoxin-Thioredoxin Reductase. The carbamate forms by reaction of HCO3- with the e-amino group of a lysine residue of RuBP Carboxylase, in the presence of Mg++. HCO3- that reacts to form the carbamate group is distinct from CO2 that binds to RuBP Carboxylase as substrate. 13). C4 and CAM plants have, over evolutionary time, evolved a different enzyme to serve in the (initial) fixation of carbon dioxide. PEP Carboxylase has a higher affinity for carbon dioxide than Rubisco and serves to fix carbon dioxide into an organic intermediate molecule. The presence of PEP Carboxylase in C4 and CAM plants reduces photorespiration (Ormerod, 46).
Gottlieb, David, and Paul D. Shaw. Mechanism of Action. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1967. Internet resource. Ormerod, J G. The Phototrophic Bacteria: Anaerobic Life in the Light. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. Print. Schwender, Jorg, Goffman, Fernando, Ohlorogge, John and Shachar-Hill, Yair. Rubisco without the Calvin cycle improves the carbon efficiency of developing green seeds. Nature 432, 779-782 (9 December 2004) | doi:10.1038/nature03145; Received 13 August 2004; Accepted 1 November 2004
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How to Answer Discussion Questions
Last Updated: December 4, 2022
This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. This article has been viewed 131,709 times.
Discussion questions are a great way to explore and apply concepts with critical thinking. Despite many different wordings, the questions are specifically phrased to let you know exactly how to answer them. By breaking the questions down into parts, creating a strong response can be much easier than it seems!
Determining What is Being Asked
- Look for conjunctions, such as the word “and,” that may be breaking the question into multiple thoughts.
- It sometimes helps to rewrite the question into its component pieces separately. Then, you can focus on one part at a time.
- For example: “Using the information from chapters 7 & 8 on emotional intelligence, give your own example that illustrates at least three of the author's main concepts.” Up to the first comma tells you what chapters' information you need to apply to your answer. “[G]ive your own example” lets you know to make up an applicable response that wasn't demonstrated in class already. The last part dictates what the example needs to have, i.e. 3 or more concepts from those chapters. [1] X Research source
- In the above example, “give your own example” would be the task words that show you what the question requires in an answer.
- There are some great resources that describe what each of these task words means in terms of answering a question— https://web.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/ARC/Answering_Essay_Questions_Made_Easier.pdf has 18 with descriptions of what each word needs you to do.
- Content words are the nouns usually that give you the bulk of what the ideas are about. They will let you know the who, what, when, and where that you need to know about in order to answer.
- Content words in the example would be “chapters 7 & 8 on emotional intelligence”.
- Limiting words are often phrases or adjectives that give you hints as to what the question might be looking for specifically. They might seem like filler words, but they are not. Every word in a discussion question is a clue to the answer.
- Limiting words for the example would be “your own,” which indicates the example should not be one already discussed in the class or text, and “at least three of the… concepts,” which dictates how many concepts you need to apply in the answer.
- Reach out to the teacher or whoever posed the question, if you are able. They will be the best resource for explaining their thinking behind the question.
- If you're allowed, discuss with classmates or other individuals trying to answer the question. Sometimes a different perspective can help clarify what you might be missing in the question.
Crafting a Thoughtful Response
- This does not need to be a word-for-word reiteration of the question. However, putting the question back into your answer immediately signifies you're on the right track.
- If you can't do this, you need to go back and start over with determining what the question is asking.
- For example: ”Leonardo da Vinci's iconic works are still some of the most widely taught art pieces, and by POINT ONE, POINT TWO, and POINT THREE, he has forever changed modern art.” This introduces the points you would break up into the answer and points back to the question at hand.
- Trace in a discussion question needs you to make chronological connections between two events.
- Define not only wants you to create a clear description of a topic or idea but wants you to back that up with context and material that lead you to that conclusion.
- Outline is a chance to break up the question into major components. Then add details to each of those major events or points from the lessons.
- In the da Vinci example, the task word “discuss” is an open-ended opportunity to create an argument for (or against) the notion that he has changed art even in today's world.
- You could go into how the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper” are still two of the most iconic artworks that are taught even to elementary school children.
- As an example, continue to expand on the perspective and depth brought to the 2-dimensional world of “The Last Supper” and how that has influenced techniques of perspective in modern art.
- You can still have your opinions on topics as well, but using the material to support even your opinions is best.
- ”Why does the author introduce this character?” could be answered by covering the topic of foreshadowing, for example, if the character hints at a similar one later in the book.
- Quotes from the literary work for English class
- A primary source document or a quote from one, for history class
- Results from a lab or evidence from the textbook for science class
- If you rewrote your question in smaller questions, go back to each and check off the ones you have covered completely with your answer.
- Look at your limiting words again and make sure to check off on all of those as well. If you missed out on a clue, your answer might be falling short.
- In the da Vinci example, you will need to make sure you discuss his artwork, and how that has actually made a “change” to modern art. While da Vinci influenced many fields, you want to answer specific to “art today” by showing there is a change to the techniques or styles from the 1500s when da Vinci lived to now.
Polishing Your Response
- Read your answer to make sure it makes sense. Things like the ordering of sentences or paragraphs can be annoying to move, but it can be a great tool to distill your idea further.
- Check off the parts of your question you've answered, right down to each keyword. If you left out a keyword in your answer, you've left out part of a complete answer.
- Remember to have a thesis statement that outlines the points your body makes in the answer.
- The body is often be broken up into at least three main parts that answer the question. “Compare” or “contrast” questions may only need two larger parts.
- The conclusion needs to wrap up your thoughts from the body in a way that brings it back to the question. “These major milestones show why the author believed…” whatever was asked in the question, for example.
Help Breaking Down Discussion Questions and Sample Responses
Expert Q&A
- Practice, practice, practice. You will get better at answering discussion questions if you practice answering discussion questions. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Back up opinions with facts. If your question asks for your opinion, make sure to have at least one sentence per idea backing that opinion up. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Details are the best sign you know the material. However, make sure they're true and correct details. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Avoid filler sentences that aren't adding any new information. It is a sign that you might not know what you're talking about. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
- Unless instructed otherwise, writing in the first-person is typically frowned upon. Saying, “I think…” or “...to me.” is best avoided. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
You Might Also Like
- ↑ https://crlt.umich.edu/using-discussion-questions-effectively
- ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/answering-assignment-questions
- ↑ https://web.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/ARC/Answering_Essay_Questions_Made_Easier.pdf
- ↑ https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/how-to-answer-essay-questions.html
About This Article
To come up with a polished response to a discussion question, write out your answer like it's a mini-essay. Restate what the question asked including a thesis statement in the first few sentences. Your thesis statement is just a sentence that sums up the main points you plan to talk about. After your thesis statement, answer each question and include references to where you found your information in the text. Before you wrap things up, reread the discussion question to make sure you've answered each part of it. Then, summarize your main points in a conclusion paragraph to tie everything together. To learn how to edit your response, read more from our Education co-author! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Answers in Essay Format – How to Answer Multiple Questions in Essay Format
Answering multiple questions in essay format can be a challenge. However, it is very possible and by following this guide you will soon be able to answer many more questions than before.
Before you start, consider your basic question that you are trying to answer and then use that as your guide. There are many different ways you can tackle a question, so it is important to think about what you are trying to do before you begin to answer the questions. For example, if you were writing for your university, you would likely write an essay on the subject of philosophy. If you were writing for an employer, you would write on your job application.
After you have a basic question to answer, you will need to come up with a list of words that make up that topic. It is a good idea to use a word processor to make this process easier, but remember, your goal here is to find the best answer to your question, not necessarily to make the most sense. As an example, if you were looking for the word “courage” in a college essay, you would be looking for the best possible answers to those questions using the dictionary, or any other tools you have at hand.
The main part of this exercise is to give your reader all of the necessary information to answer their question. This is important because you want your readers to read your essay with interest, and they won’t be interested if you don’t provide them with enough information to answer their question.
Once you have your list of words, you will want to put all of those words into question form. You will also want to take care of punctuation and grammar rules. For example, in college you may use the terms “who, what, when, where, why, etc.”
Remember, if you want your essay to be successful, you will be working on it for quite some time. Be sure that you take the time to prepare each question for your essay and you will see the rewards of being more organized, especially when you are answering multiple questions in essay format.
Once you have completed your essay and are ready to move onto the next stage of this process, it is now time to write your conclusion to answer the multiple questions. Make sure you write your conclusion in the same style as your essay.
By following these steps you should soon be able to answer many more questions in essay format. Remember to practice this process until you become comfortable and confident with answering multiple questions in essay format.
After you have written your essay, you can now print out the completed draft, which can then be used as a reference for your assignments. You may also choose to submit it for publication in college publications that accept your essays.
As a result of answering multiple questions in essay format, you will have a much better chance at getting into a good college and will be in a great way to land a job after graduation. Your high school counselor may even recommend your essay to a prospective employer.
Another reason to answer questions in essay format is that the finished article will give you a great chance to write about the subjects that interest you. and providing the best possible answers to the questions you have to answer.
Finally, if you follow this simple advice you will end up with a much better chance of getting accepted to a university, and you will be able to enjoy your college experience much more. and you will have a more enjoyable college education.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AS A SHORT ESSAY ANSWEE (ONE OR TWO PARAGRAPH)...
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AS A SHORT ESSAY ANSWEE (ONE OR TWO PARAGRAPH)
- Butterflies are ectothermic, active during the day, and found in all biomes from the tropics to the high-temperate latitudes (even in some polar zones).
a) Would you expect butterflies to bask in the sun more in tropical or temperate biomes? Why?
b) In a biome with a wide temperature range for a single day, how would you expect butterfly basking to vary within a day?
2. A tiny plant growing on the black beaches of warm, dry North Africa is very dark green, with very small leaves that are covered in pubescence and a large root system, while its sister species on the white beaches is also tiny aboveground with a large root system, but with leaves that are larger and a very pale shade of green, but not pubescent. A third, closely related species is aquatic, found in large, fairly deep freshwater pools, and has a very small root system and much larger leaves that are just a nice medium shade of green, with no pubescence.
a) What are some evolutionary trade-offs demonstrated for these plants in these 3 environments? You might consider some of the different trade-offs we discussed in class: temperature, water, energy, and/or natural selection due to herbivory.
b) Do you think these plants most likely perform C 3 , C 4 , or CAM photosynthesis? Why?
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Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts
Writing Essays for Exams
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While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.
What is a well written answer to an essay question?
Well Focused
Be sure to answer the question completely, that is, answer all parts of the question. Avoid "padding." A lot of rambling and ranting is a sure sign that the writer doesn't really know what the right answer is and hopes that somehow, something in that overgrown jungle of words was the correct answer.
Well Organized
Don't write in a haphazard "think-as-you-go" manner. Do some planning and be sure that what you write has a clearly marked introduction which both states the point(s) you are going to make and also, if possible, how you are going to proceed. In addition, the essay should have a clearly indicated conclusion which summarizes the material covered and emphasizes your thesis or main point.
Well Supported
Do not just assert something is true, prove it. What facts, figures, examples, tests, etc. prove your point? In many cases, the difference between an A and a B as a grade is due to the effective use of supporting evidence.
Well Packaged
People who do not use conventions of language are thought of by their readers as less competent and less educated. If you need help with these or other writing skills, come to the Writing Lab
How do you write an effective essay exam?
- Read through all the questions carefully.
- Budget your time and decide which question(s) you will answer first.
- Underline the key word(s) which tell you what to do for each question.
- Choose an organizational pattern appropriate for each key word and plan your answers on scratch paper or in the margins.
- Write your answers as quickly and as legibly as you can; do not take the time to recopy.
- Begin each answer with one or two sentence thesis which summarizes your answer. If possible, phrase the statement so that it rephrases the question's essential terms into a statement (which therefore directly answers the essay question).
- Support your thesis with specific references to the material you have studied.
- Proofread your answer and correct errors in spelling and mechanics.
Specific organizational patterns and "key words"
Most essay questions will have one or more "key words" that indicate which organizational pattern you should use in your answer. The six most common organizational patterns for essay exams are definition, analysis, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, process analysis, and thesis-support.
Typical questions
- "Define X."
- "What is an X?"
- "Choose N terms from the following list and define them."
Q: "What is a fanzine?"
A: A fanzine is a magazine written, mimeographed, and distributed by and for science fiction or comic strip enthusiasts.
Avoid constructions such as "An encounter group is where ..." and "General semantics is when ... ."
- State the term to be defined.
- State the class of objects or concepts to which the term belongs.
- Differentiate the term from other members of the class by listing the term's distinguishing characteristics.
Tools you can use
- Details which describe the term
- Examples and incidents
- Comparisons to familiar terms
- Negation to state what the term is not
- Classification (i.e., break it down into parts)
- Examination of origins or causes
- Examination of results, effects, or uses
Analysis involves breaking something down into its components and discovering the parts that make up the whole.
- "Analyze X."
- "What are the components of X?"
- "What are the five different kinds of X?"
- "Discuss the different types of X."
Q: "Discuss the different services a junior college offers a community."
A: Thesis: A junior college offers the community at least three main types of educational services: vocational education for young people, continuing education for older people, and personal development for all individuals.
Outline for supporting details and examples. For example, if you were answering the example question, an outline might include:
- Vocational education
- Continuing education
- Personal development
Write the essay, describing each part or component and making transitions between each of your descriptions. Some useful transition words include:
- first, second, third, etc.
- in addition
Conclude the essay by emphasizing how each part you have described makes up the whole you have been asked to analyze.
Cause and Effect
Cause and effect involves tracing probable or known effects of a certain cause or examining one or more effects and discussing the reasonable or known cause(s).
Typical questions:
- "What are the causes of X?"
- "What led to X?"
- "Why did X occur?"
- "Why does X happen?"
- "What would be the effects of X?"
Q: "Define recession and discuss the probable effects a recession would have on today's society."
A: Thesis: A recession, which is a nationwide lull in business activity, would be detrimental to society in the following ways: it would .......A......., it would .......B......., and it would .......C....... .
The rest of the answer would explain, in some detail, the three effects: A, B, and C.
Useful transition words:
- consequently
- for this reason
- as a result
Comparison-Contrast
- "How does X differ from Y?"
- "Compare X and Y."
- "What are the advantages and disadvantages of X and Y?"
Q: "Which would you rather own—a compact car or a full-sized car?"
A: Thesis: I would own a compact car rather than a full-sized car for the following reasons: .......A......., .......B......., .......C......., and .......D....... .
Two patterns of development:
- Full-sized car
Disadvantages
- Compact car
Useful transition words
- on the other hand
- unlike A, B ...
- in the same way
- while both A and B are ..., only B ..
- nevertheless
- on the contrary
- while A is ..., B is ...
- "Describe how X is accomplished."
- "List the steps involved in X."
- "Explain what happened in X."
- "What is the procedure involved in X?"
Process (sometimes called process analysis)
This involves giving directions or telling the reader how to do something. It may involve discussing some complex procedure as a series of discrete steps. The organization is almost always chronological.
Q: "According to Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?, what is the best procedure for finding a job?"
A: In What Color Is Your Parachute?, Richard Bolles lists seven steps that all job-hunters should follow: .....A....., .....B....., .....C....., .....D....., .....E....., .....F....., and .....G..... .
The remainder of the answer should discuss each of these seven steps in some detail.
- following this
- after, afterwards, after this
- subsequently
- simultaneously, concurrently
Thesis and Support
- "Discuss X."
- "A noted authority has said X. Do you agree or disagree?"
- "Defend or refute X."
- "Do you think that X is valid? Defend your position."
Thesis and support involves stating a clearly worded opinion or interpretation and then defending it with all the data, examples, facts, and so on that you can draw from the material you have studied.
Q: "Despite criticism, television is useful because it aids in the socializing process of our children."
A: Television hinders rather than helps in the socializing process of our children because .......A......., .......B......., and .......C....... .
The rest of the answer is devoted to developing arguments A, B, and C.
- it follows that
A. Which of the following two answers is the better one? Why?
Question: Discuss the contribution of William Morris to book design, using as an example his edition of the works of Chaucer.
a. William Morris's Chaucer was his masterpiece. It shows his interest in the Middle Ages. The type is based on medieval manuscript writing, and the decoration around the edges of the pages is like that used in medieval books. The large initial letters are typical of medieval design. Those letters were printed from woodcuts, which was the medieval way of printing. The illustrations were by Burn-Jones, one of the best artists in England at the time. Morris was able to get the most competent people to help him because he was so famous as a poet and a designer (the Morris chair) and wallpaper and other decorative items for the home. He designed the furnishings for his own home, which was widely admired among the sort of people he associated with. In this way he started the arts and crafts movement.
b. Morris's contribution to book design was to approach the problem as an artist or fine craftsman, rather than a mere printer who reproduced texts. He wanted to raise the standards of printing, which had fallen to a low point, by showing that truly beautiful books could be produced. His Chaucer was designed as a unified work of art or high craft. Since Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, Morris decided to design a new type based on medieval script and to imitate the format of a medieval manuscript. This involved elaborate letters and large initials at the beginnings of verses, as well as wide borders of intertwined vines with leaves, fruit, and flowers in strong colors. The effect was so unusual that the book caused great excitement and inspired other printers to design beautiful rather than purely utilitarian books.
From James M. McCrimmon, Writing with a Purpose , 7th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980), pp. 261-263.
B. How would you plan the structure of the answers to these essay exam questions?
1. Was the X Act a continuation of earlier government policies or did it represent a departure from prior philosophies?
2. What seems to be the source of aggression in human beings? What can be done to lower the level of aggression in our society?
3. Choose one character from Novel X and, with specific references to the work, show how he or she functions as an "existential hero."
4. Define briefly the systems approach to business management. Illustrate how this differs from the traditional approach.
5. What is the cosmological argument? Does it prove that God exists?
6. Civil War historian Andy Bellum once wrote, "Blahblahblah blahed a blahblah, but of course if blahblah blahblahblahed the blah, then blahblahs are not blah but blahblah." To what extent and in what ways is the statement true? How is it false?
For more information on writing exam essays for the GED, please visit our Engagement area and go to the Community Writing and Education Station (CWEST) resources.
Home » Marquette University » What Are Five Things You Should Do When Answering An Essay Question?
What Are Five Things You Should Do When Answering An Essay Question?
Table of Contents
General Rules:
- Analyze the question by circling all the important words.
- Collect and sort your information.
- Develop your thesis.
- Write your introduction.
- In the body of your essay, write several paragraphs that present, prove, and support your thesis.
- Write your conclusion.
- Read over your essay.
What is the most important thing to do when answering an essay question?
Read the questions and instructions carefully . Read over all the questions on the exam. If you simply answer each question as you encounter it, you may give certain information or evidence to one question that is more suitable for another. Be sure to identify all parts of the question.
How do you answer an essay question?
Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing. Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence(s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion. Use correct punctuation throughout.
What makes a good essay question?
An essay question will have an instruction or action word(s) , e.g. Discuss, Explain, Evaluate, etc. You will need to think about these words and their usage, if you are writing your own question, as they will indicate what is to come in your essay.
What is the proper way to answer exam questions?
Short answer questions
- Keep to the point. Short answers are usually two-three sentences.
- Main ideas. Your answers should incorporate the key points, words, ideas and phrases the marker will be looking for.
- Leave one or two lines after each answer.
- Try to answer all the questions.
How do you answer a general question paper?
Crucial Tips For General Paper (GP) Comprehension
- Read widely. It is crucial that you read widely!
- Consistently work on your language. If you know you are weak in certain aspects like grammar or sentence structure, put in the due effort to improve it!
- Read the question carefully.
- Always paraphrase your answers.
Which questions should you answer first when taking a test?
1. Answer the easy questions first, then the harder ones. Don’t get nervous if some questions look unfamiliar. Skip them and return to them later.
How do you right a good essay?
Six top tips for writing a great essay
- Analyse the question.
- Define your argument.
- Use evidence, reasoning and scholarship.
- Organise a coherent essay.
- Write clearly.
- Cite sources and evidence.
What is the order of a 5 paragraph essay?
The five-paragraph essay is a format of essay having five paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one concluding paragraph . Because of this structure, it is also known as a hamburger essay, one three one, or a three-tier essay.
What is an essay question?
Definition of essay question : an examination question that requires an answer in a sentence, paragraph, or short composition .
How do you pose a question in an essay?
The question should meet the following criteria: It should, generally, ask us to determine relationships (frequently cause and effect relationships) that cannot be directly observed ; that is, it should generally ask “why” or “how,” rather than “when” or “who.”
How do you prepare for exam questions?
Practise with past test questions if possible . Don’t worry too much about timing, but get used to using strategies for working out best answers. Look out for other possible questions and answers while revising. If you have any past test questions, think about the kind of questions that are asked.
How can I cheat in exam?
5 unusual ways students cheat in exams and yet get caught
- Bluetooth. Bluetooth is likely among the most common methods used by examinees to try to one-up their tests.
- Impersonation.
- Literally climbing on to the side of the exam hall and reading the answers out.
- Apple Watch.
- Paper leak.
What does General paper consist of?
A General paper is set in Part IB and Part II. The paper consists of a list of topics indicated by just one word, or a brief phrase — for example ‘Necessity’, ‘Pleasure’, Knowledge of God’, ‘Nature’, ‘Mental causation’, ‘Originality’.
What is the first thing you should always do when answering multiple-choice questions?
Multiple-Choice Test Taking Tips and Strategies
- Read the entire question.
- Answer it in your mind first.
- Eliminate wrong answers.
- Use the process of elimination.
- Select the best answer.
- Read every answer option.
- Answer the questions you know first.
- Make an educated guess.
Which is the recommended first step in answering an essay question on a test?
The first step in answering an essay question effectively is to understand the question by reading the directions carefully and looking for key words . The next step involves making a quick outline highlighting the main points, the beginning and ending points, and key terms to include in the essay.
When you’re writing an essay for a test what should you do first?
1. When you’re writing an essay for a test, what should you do first? Make a brief outline .
What are the 5 parts of an essay?
As a result, such a paper has 5 parts of an essay: the introduction, writer’s arguments, counter arguments, refutation, and conclusion .
What are the 5 steps to writing an essay?
- Step 1: Prewriting. Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary research.
- Step 2: Planning and outlining.
- Step 3: Writing a first draft.
- Step 4: Redrafting and revising.
- Step 5: Editing and proofreading.
What are the steps in writing an essay?
8 Steps to Writing an Essay
- decide what kind of essay to write.
- brainstorm your topic.
- research the topic.
- choose a writing style.
- develop a thesis.
- outline your essay.
- write your essay.
- edit your writing to check spelling and grammar.
What are the 5 parts of an argumentative essay?
The five parts include a strong introductory paragraph with a clear thesis, three body paragraphs substantiated with detailed evidence, and a compelling conclusion . Students should also use transitional words and phrases to guide readers through their arguments.
By Edmund Duncan
Edmund Duncan is an education expert and thought leader in the field of learning. He has dedicated his life to helping students achieve their full potential in the classroom and beyond.
Edmund's work as a teacher, administrator, and researcher has given him a unique perspective on how students learn and what educators can do to foster a love of learning in their students. He is passionate about sharing this knowledge with others, and he frequently speaks at education conferences around the world.
When Edmund isn't working or speaking, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He loves traveling and exploring new places, and he is an avid reader who loves learning about new cultures and customs.
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- –Accountability Buddies
- –Effective Study Strategies
- –Concept Mapping
- –Guidelines for Creating a Study Schedule
- –Five-Day Study Plan
- –What To Do With Practice Exams
- –Consider Exam Logistics
- –Online Exam Checklist
- –Open-Book Exams
- –How to Tackle Exam Questions
- –What To Do When You Get Your Graded Test (or Essay) Back
- –The Cornell Note Taking System
- –Learning from Digital Materials
- –3 P’s for Effective Reading
- –Textbook Reading Systems
- –Online Learning Checklist
- –Things to Keep in Mind as you Participate in Online Classes
- –Learning from Online Lectures and Discussions
- –Online Group Work
- –Learning Online Resource Videos
- –Start Strong!
- –Plans if you Need to Miss Class
- –Managing Time
- –Managing Stress
- –The Perils of Multitasking
- –Break the Cycle of Procrastination!
- –Finish Strong
- –Neurodiversity at Cornell
- –LSC Scholarship
- –Study Skills Workshops
- –Private Consultations
- –Resources for Advisors and Faculty
- –Presentation Support (aka Practice Your Talk on a Dog)
- –About LSC
- –Meet The Team
- –Contact Us
How to Tackle Exam Questions
Learn more about how to tackle different kinds of exams and exam questions.
We cover the following topics on exam preparation on this page:
- Quantitative Questions
- Multiple Choice Questions
- Essay Questions
First, Let’s Think About De-Coding Different Types of Exam Questions
It’s helpful to understand the kinds of question that are asked on a exam, because the response you need to come up with depends on the type of question. Knowing about different types of exam questions can help you activate appropriate strategies for formulating answers and reduce exam-taking anxiety.
Exam questions generally fall into one of three categories: 1
“Green Light”
- Go right ahead!
- These are factual questions, and the answers are straight-forward. You either know the answer or you don’t; it’s right there in your head or it’s not.
- Some green light questions can be very difficult, and your ability to recall details is often tested with this typeof question.
- Study for this type of question by using recitation, making flash cards, quizzing yourself or a study partner, etc.
- If you don’t know the answer to a green light question right away, circle it and move on; often the answer will pop into your head later on during the exam.
“Yellow Light”
- These questions are more detailed than green light questions, but are based on the same idea: you either know the answer or you don’t.
- Often you’ll have to put multiple or “green light” details together.
- Similar strategies work for yellow and green questions, but with yellow light questions you’ll need to recall many ideas, concepts, formulas, etc., just to answer one question.
- These questions ask you to make inferences or apply your knowledge to new situations, which is sometimes called “critical thinking”.
- You need to know the material being covered to answer these questions at the “green light” level, but the exam question is not asking you to simply regurgitate it. You will need to take what you know and use it in ways you have not yet used it.
- This type of question sometimes flummoxes students, because they are surprised to they are being asked a question that wasn’t exactly covered in class. Remember that with red light questions you are not supposed to already know the answer. You have to come up with the answer yourself, it is not already in your head. (You will need to know the basic information, though, to be able to answer this type of question.)
- Red light questions are asked more frequently in college than in high school.
- To study for red light questions, make diagrams or concept maps that link ideas or topics from the course together. Think about how what you’re learning relates to what you’ve learned in other classes. Sit down with friends or classmates and talk about how one might use information from the class in a job setting.
See this link for a pdf of Decoding exam questions.
How to Tackle: Problem-Solving and Quantitative Questions
Study for problem-based exams by practicing (new!) problems
As you work on the problems, remember:
- DO let yourself be stuck.* (yes, we mean that!)
- DON’T sneak a peak at the answer if you get stuck. (keep trying!)
- Check your answer only after you’ve put something–anything–down. Think partial credit, which is better than no credit if you freeze when you get stuck on hard problems on the test.
* You need to get your “stuck” muscles stronger so you know what to do on tests when you feel stuck.
Watch: LSC’s Mike Chen Shares “The Key to Problem-Solving Tests”
Taking problem-based exams
1. Understand the problem: Determine what you are supposed to find, what you need to find it, and what the unknown is (and if there is extra information). Consider whether drawing a sketch will help. Also – note each part of the question. Not answering each part is an easy way to lose points.
2. Determine a way to solve the problem: Write down all that is given or known. Draw a sketch when appropriate to show relations. Write down all relevant formulas.
3. Carry out the procedure you have devised: For numerical problems, try and estimate an answer first. This will help you to check your work later. Neat, careful work keeps you from making mistakes, and allows you to find them when you do make them (show your units!!). Additionally, when the instructor can see your work clearly, he or she may give you partial credit for what you do know, even if your ultimate answer is incorrect.
4. Check your Answers: This requires the same quality of thought originally used to solve the problem. Is your answer what you thought it would be in your original estimate? Is it a quantity that makes sense? Is your answer in the correct units? If your answer does not seem reasonable, rework the problem.
How to Tackle: Multiple Choice Questions
1. Read the stem: First, read the stem and make sure you understand what it is getting at. Look out for double negatives or other twists in wording before you consider the answer.
2. Try to come up with the correct answer: Before you look at the answer choices, try to come up with the correct answer. This will help you to rule out choices that are similar to the correct answer. Now read and consider each option carefully.
3. Look for clues in the stem: Look for clues in the stem that suggest the correct answer or rule out any choices. For example, if the stem indicates that the answer is plural you can rule out any answers that are singular. The basic rule is: the correct answer must make sense grammatically with the stem. Options which fail this exam can be ruled out.
4. Cross off any options you know are incorrect: As you rule out options cross them off with your pencil. This will help you focus on the remaining choices and eliminates the chance of returning to an item and selecting an option you had already eliminated.
5. Come back to items you were unsure of: Put a mark next to any questions you are unsure of. If you complete the entire exam with time to spare, review these questions – you will often get clues (or even answers) from other questions.
Take a look at some additional information on difficult “ Multiple Choice Tests ” (opens a PDF).
How to Tackle: Essay Questions
The best way to prepare for essay tests is to practice writing essays.
- Anticipate questions : Make outlines of possible essay topics using your course materials so you know you’ve got a good grasp of what might be on the test. Then recreate your outlines from memory (unless it’s an open-notes test).
- Practice writing at least one full essay; be mindful of the time you spend practicing and think about how much time you will have during the exam. It is also important to think about how you are organizing the information you are including in your essay — for example, if you are asked to compare and contrast two theories as they relate to an issue, you might want to define each of them, describe the issue, and then compare and contrast them.
- If your exam is closed book, memorize key events, facts, and names that you will need to support your argument. If it is open-notes, then make sure you develop good outlines.
When you are taking essay tests:
- Manage your time well. As with all exams, if there are multiple essay questions, be sure to look at them all at the beginning (taking note of the points each is worth), and prioritize the order you answer the questions.
- Read the directions carefully. Ask yourself honestly: are you answering the actual question on the test, or the question you want to be on the test? (tip: instructors know when you aren’t really answering the exact question, so make sure you are addressing the actual question and don’t just write random information that is unrelated to the question.)
- Before you write the essay, decide on your argument and quickly list your supporting evidence (it is ok to do a brain dump of all the important information that you want to include so that you have it handy when you begin writing).
- Make a quick outline of what you are going to write to organize your thoughts and arguments.
- Write! And, make your point right away – you don’t want to get to the end of a timed essay test with your amazing argument still unmade!
- If you have time, go back and quickly proof-read your essay for errors.
You might want to take a look at some “ Words to Watch for in an Essay ” (opens a PDF).
References:
1 Taffy E. Raphael, Teaching Question Answer Relationships, Revisited, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 39, No. 6 (Feb., 1986), pp. 516-522.
Ellis, D. (1998). Becoming a Master Student. Houghton Mifflin: Boston
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It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you're going to write. I call these 'command phrases' and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases. 2) Be as explicit as possible
To answer the question you must examine your evidence, thus demonstrating the truth of your claim. This "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction. Since you're essentially reporting what you've observed, this is the part you might have most to say about when you first start writing.
Some of the most common types of essay questions include: Discussion questions: Such questions expect you to provide in-depth answers through extensive research. You use evidence to debate the topic. Discussion questions explore your reasoning and contemplations.
A list of important words in essay questions has been given below to help students answer essay questions with the kinds of responses that instructors seek. These words are called KEY WORDS! One suggestion many students have found helpful is to mark all the KEY WORDS in all test directions and question before beginning to answer.
How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions Download Article parts 1 Understanding the Question 2 Forming Your Response 3 Staying Calm and Focused Other Sections Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Related Articles References Article Summary Co-authored by Tristen Bonacci Last Updated: October 17, 2022 References Approved
Here is a great Checklist for answering Essay Questions from Tennessee State University: Use the following as a guide when writing answers to discussion questions and as a checklist after you have written your answer. 1. Do I understand the question? What am I being asked to do? 2. Do I have a plan?
In this section, we will talk about answering multiple questions in essay format examples. By studying these illustrations, we will see how and why they work. Question 1: What is acid precipitation? Answer: Rain, snow, or fog with a pH lower than that of uncontaminated rain is acid precipitation. Review: This is how to answer a what essay question.
You will also want to consider what kind of conclusion you are going to come up with as you are considering how to answer questions in essay format. This is something that can really depend on the question you are trying to answer. and can really help you with answering the question.
Complete sentences are never necessary as long as you can get your point across in the answer. A. A strong summary will mention. a. All three of the three supporting details to an argument. b. The reason the essay question was chosen by the student. c. The student's personal feelings about an essay topic.
Essay On Answering Questions Type of paper: Essay Topic: Canada, Social Issues, Workplace, Poverty, Labor, Students, Inequality, Income Pages: 6 Words: 1800 Published: 02/20/2023 ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS
In this article I will go over how to answer essay questions on an exam. To effectively answer essay questions, start with considering what points you want to make in your essay and make an outline. Use a basic essay structure that contains an introduction, at least three body paragraphs and a conclusion. After you finish writing, reread your ...
Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing. Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence (s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion. Use correct punctuation throughout.
Short answer questions are almost harder to write than a personal essay, since you usually have a word limit. Often, this may be as short as 150 words (a paragraph). This means that your answers must be clear and concise without being so bare bones that you don't seem to have a personality.
Good Example Of Essay On Answering Questions Type of paper: Essay Topic: Transportation, Synthesis, Infrastructure, Vehicles, Transport, Carbon, Gradient, Actions Pages: 5 Words: 1300 Published: 02/20/2023 ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS Question 1 FAD is reduced to FADH2 in Succinate oxidation to fumarate through catalytic action of succinate dehydrogenase.
Key words are the words in an assignment question that tell you the approaches to take when you answer. Make sure you understand the meaning of key words in an essay question, especially t ask words. As Task words are verbs that direct you and tell you how to go about answering a question, understanding the meaning helps you know exactly what ...
answer without considering whether what they are writing actually addresses the question asked. This will be immediately obvious to anyone reading the essay. Read the question several times to make sure you understand what it is asking. Analyze the Question . When you have read the question, you should then analyze it. This is vital. Look for ...
2. Check that you have a clear intro, body, and conclusion. The intro is going to setup your answer and outline the steps in the thesis statement. The body should answer the task words in a clear but concise manner. The conclusion will restate how this has answered the question, bringing it full circle.
Another reason to answer questions in essay format is that the finished article will give you a great chance to write about the subjects that interest you. and providing the best possible answers to the questions you have to answer.
When answering this essay question word, the key is to provide your opinion or verdict concerning the extent to which an argument or set of research findings is accurate. You may also be required to demonstrate the extent to which you agree with a particular argument or hypothesis.
Strategies to use in answering analysis questions: 1. Sketch the relationship between the parts as a way of helping you write your answer without forgetting a component. 2. Take advantage of transitional phrases which will help you make the links between the component parts. Examples of transitional phrases are: first second, third, ...
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AS A SHORT ESSAY ANSWEE (ONE OR TWO PARAGRAPH) Butterflies are ectothermic, active during the day, and found in all biomes from the tropics to the high-temperate latitudes (even in some polar zones). a) Would you expect butterflies to bask in the sun more in tropical or temperate biomes?
Most essay questions will have one or more "key words" that indicate which organizational pattern you should use in your answer. The six most common organizational patterns for essay exams are definition, analysis, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, process analysis, and thesis-support.
The first step in answering an essay question effectively is to understand the question by reading the directions carefully and looking for key words. The next step involves making a quick outline highlighting the main points, the beginning and ending points, and key terms to include in the essay. ...
1. Read the stem: First, read the stem and make sure you understand what it is getting at. Look out for double negatives or other twists in wording before you consider the answer. 2. Try to come up with the correct answer: Before you look at the answer choices, try to come up with the correct answer.
Below are the top 25 questions students ask us about essay writing and our answers, plus plenty of links to other useful articles on our blog and on the web. Hopefully, this material will help get your essay writing off to a great start! 1. How do you write an academic essay?
Although essay questions are one of the most commonly used methods for assessing student learning, many are poorly designed and ineffectively used. Writing effective ... Again, determine whether the given example contains the basic elements of an essay question and then compare your answer with the explanation below the example.
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