essay exam practice exercise

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

Unit 7: Lesson 1

Using Khan Academy’s SAT Essay Practice

Important note, sat essay practice on khan academy, the prewriting area.

Start by drafting a Thesis Statement or “Claim.”
Then, add in ideas and examples from the text that support your thesis.
Create categories that correspond to the reasoning, evidence, or stylistic or persuasive elements you are considering including in your body paragraphs.
Copy excerpts from the passage and paste them into the appropriate category.

The Writing Area

Signal check.

Revise your new draft

Want to join the conversation.

SSP Workshop: Practice Exam Essay Writing & Review

The Supplemental Success Program is offering a workshop to provide all first-year students with a valuable opportunity to practice the IRAC method for essay writing in a simulated test-taking environment. Students will also have the opportunity to hone the critical skill of post-practice-exam review and self-reflection.

At the workshop, students will receive a short hypothetical question and will draft a complete essay answer in an allotted period of time, just like on a real exam. The rule statement will be provided, and no prior memorization is required to complete the exercise. After time has expired, students will receive a model answer and guidance on how to review their answers effectively and get the most out of practice-exam exercises.

The workshop will take place Monday, October 30th, at 12:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts

Writing Essays for Exams

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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?

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

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 ... ."

Tools you can use

Analysis involves breaking something down into its components and discovering the parts that make up the whole.

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:

Write the essay, describing each part or component and making transitions between each of your descriptions. Some useful transition words include:

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:

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:

Comparison-Contrast

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

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.

Thesis and Support

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.

Comprehension and Insight

Comprehension and Insight skills refer to your ability to:

The Comprehension and Insight exercises are grouped into two parts:

Exercises based on short stories

Module 1: how to recognize a main idea in a short story.

Module 2: How to identify techniques and devices in a short story

Module 3: How to show evidence of critical or analytical interpretation of a short story

Module 4: How to identify references that demonstrate understanding of a short story

Exercises based on essays

Module 5: how to recognize a main idea in an essay.

Module 6: How to identify techniques and devices in an essay

Module 7: How to show evidence of critical or analytical interpretation of an essay

Module 8: How to identify references that demonstrate understanding of an essay

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 50 comments

Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments , or maybe you'd like to start a popular blog .

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I'm going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.

100 Top Writing Practice Lessons and Exercises

What Is Writing Practice?

Writing practice is a method of becoming a better writer that usually involves reading lessons about the writing process, using writing prompts, doing creative writing exercises , or finishing writing pieces, like essays, short stories , novels , or books . The best writing practice is deliberate, timed, and involves feedback.

How Do You Practice Writing?

This was the question I had when I first started The Write Practice in 2011. I knew how to practice a sport and how to practice playing an instrument. But for some reason, even after studying it in college, I wasn't sure how to practice writing.

I set out to create the best writing practice I could. The Write Practice is the result.

I found that the best writing practice has three aspects:

Deliberate . Writing whatever you feel like may be cathartic, but it's not an effective way to become a better writer. You'll get better faster by instead practicing a specific technique or aspect of the writing process each time you sit down to write.

This is why we have a new lesson about the writing process each day on The Write Practice, followed by a practice prompt at the end so you can put what you learned to use immediately.

Timed . It's no secret writers struggle with focus. There are just too many interesting distractions—Facebook, email, Kim Kardashian's Instagram feed (just kidding about that last one, sort of)—and writing is just too hard sometimes.

Setting a timer, even for just fifteen minutes, is an easy and effective way to stay focused on what's important.

This is why in our writing practice prompt at the end of each post we have a time limit, usually with a link to an online egg timer , so you can focus on deliberate practice without getting distracted.

Feedback . Getting feedback is one of the requirements to deliberately practice writing or any other craft. Feedback can look like listening to the reactions of your readers or asking for constructive criticism from editors and other writers.

This is why we ask you to post your writing practice in the comments section after each lesson, so that you can get feedback from other writers in The Write Practice community. It's also why we set up The Write Practice Pro community , to provide critique groups for writers to get feedback on their finished writing pieces.

Our 100+ Best Creative Writing Practice Exercises and Lessons

Now that you know how we practice writing at The Write Practice, here are our best writing practice lessons and creative writing exercises :

All-Time, Top 10 Writing Lessons and Exercises

These ten posts are our most viewed articles to boost your writing practice:

1. How To Use Neither, Nor, Or, and Nor Correctly . Even good writers struggle figuring out when to use neither/nor and either/or. In this, the most popular post on The Write Practice, our copy-queen Liz Bureman settles the confusion once and for all. Click to continue to the writing exercise

2. Do You Use Quotation Marks or Italics for Song and Album Titles? The wrong punctuation can make any writer look silly. If you've ever been confused about whether to use quotes or italics for song titles and album titles, this post will clear things up. Click to continue to the writing exercise

3. Ten Secrets To Write Better Stories . How does Pixar manage to create such great stories, year after year? And how do you write a good story? In this post, I distill everything I've learned about how to write a good story into ten tips. Click to continue to the writing exercise

4. How To Use an Ellipsis… Correctly . Judging by my Facebook feed, most people are using ellipses incorrectly, or at least over using them. Here's how to use those trio of periods correctly in your writing. Click to continue to the writing exercise

5. 35 Questions To Ask Your Characters From Marcel Proust . To get to know my characters better, I use a list of questions known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by French author, Marcel Proust. Click to continue to the writing exercise

6. How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life . Creating a scene list changed my novel-writing life, and doing the same will change yours too. Includes examples of the scene lists from famous authors. Click to continue to the writing exercise

7. Why You Need to be Using the Oxford Comma . Most people I've met have no idea what the Oxford comma is, but it's probably something that you have used frequently in your writing. Click to continue to the writing exercise

8. How to Conduct an Interview Like a Journalist . The interview is the most-used tool in a journalist's bag. But that doesn't mean novelists, bloggers, and even students can't and don't interview people. Here's how to conduct a great interview. Click to continue to the writing exercise

9. Why You Should Try Writing in Second Person . You've probably used first person and third person point-of-view already. But what about second person? This post explains three reasons why you should try writing from this point-of-view. Click to continue to the writing exercise

10. The Secret to Show, Don't Tell . You've heard the classic writing rule, “Show. Don't Tell.” Every writing blog ever has talked about it, and for good reason. Showing, for some reason, is really difficult. Click to continue to the writing exercise.

12 Exercises and Lessons To Become a Better Writer

How do you become a better writer? These posts share our best advice:

6 Lessons and Exercises from Great Writers

If you want to be a writer, learn from the great writers who have gone before you:

12 Genre and Format Specific Writing Lessons and Exercises

Here are our best writing lessons for specific types of writing, including essays, screenplays, memoir, short stories, children's books, and humor writing:

14 Characterization Lessons and Exercises

Good characters are the foundation of good fiction. Here are our best lessons to create better characters:

15 Grammar Lessons and Exercises

I talk to so many writers, some of whom are published authors, who struggle with grammar. Here are our best writing lessons on grammar:

4 Journalism Lessons and Exercises

Want to be a journalist? Or even use techniques from journalism to improve your novel, essay, or screenplay? Here are our best writing lessons on journalism:

16 Plot and Structure Lessons and Exercises

Want to write a good story? Our top plot and structure lessons will help:

6 Lessons and Exercises to Beat Writer's Block

Writer's block is real, and it can completely derail your writing. Here are six lessons to get writing again:

7 Literary Technique Lessons and Exercises

These writing and storytelling techniques will teach you a few tricks of the trade you may not have discovered before:

3 Inspirational Writing Lessons and Exercises

Need some inspiration? Here are three of our most inspiring posts:

3 Publishing Blogging Lessons and Exercises

If you want to get published, these three lessons will help:

11 Writing Prompts

Need inspiration or just a kick in the pants to write. Try one of our top writing prompts :

Is It Time To Begin Your Writing Practice?

It's clear that if you want to become a writer, you need to practice writing. We've created a proven process to practice your writing at The Write Practice, but even if you don't join our community, I hope you'll start practicing in some way today.

Personally, I waited far too long to start practicing and it set my writing back years.

How about you? Do you think practicing writing is important? Let me know in the comments section .

Choose one of the writing practice posts above. Then, read the lesson and participate in the writing exercise, posting your work in the comments section of that post. And if you post, please give feedback to your fellow writers who also posted their practices.

Have fun and happy practicing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Now, Take Your Idea and Write a Book!

Enter your email to get a free 3-step worksheet and start writing your book in just a few minutes.

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Back to Helpful Handouts o Writing Center Home Page

IMAGES

Practice History Essay Plans & Exam Practice
Sample/practice exam 26 October 2016, questions
Exam Practice exercise
Essay Examination
Essay Exam Test-Taking Tips
Sample written test

VIDEO

Video essay question 1
ඝන වස්තු සහ හැඩතල
Essay Topics
Sample Essay Questions
How to Improve Your English Essays
10 Lines Essay on Exams || Essay on Examination || Write Easy

COMMENTS

What Are Some Practice Questions for a Pesticide Exam?
Practice questions for a pesticide applicator license exam include which body parts are most likely to be exposed to pesticides, how to store specific pesticides properly and the definition of biological control.
What Are Disadvantages of Exams?
Disadvantages of exams include high pressure on students, negative consequences for poorly performing schools and not developing long-term thinking. One of the greatest disadvantages of exams is that they can place unnecessary pressure on s...
What Is a Cumulative Exam?
A cumulative exam is one that tests a student on all of the material since the beginning of the term. The word “cumulative” means that it results from a gradual growing in quantity by successive additions. A cumulative exam covers all the t...
Using Khan Academy's SAT Essay Practice (article)
Note: to practice writing essays under timed test conditions, you should try the timed essays at the end of the first two practice tests.
SSP Workshop: Practice Exam Essay Writing & Review
The rule statement will be provided, and no prior memorization is required to complete the exercise. After time has expired, students will
SAT Practice Test #1 Essay
Make time to take the practice Essay. It's one of the best ways to get ready for the SAT Essay. For information on scoring your essay, view.
Law school essay practice exams with model answers
Every exam is crafted to emulate, as closely as possible, what you would encounter on a real-world law school exam or the Multistate Essay Examination
PTE Grammar Practice Exercises for the PTE Essay Writing Test
PTE Grammar Practice Exercises with Answers - Improve your grammar and sentence construction skills for the PTE Essay Writing Test.
Writing Essays for Exams
consequently. Exercises. A. Which of the following two answers is the better one? Why? Question: Discuss the contribution of William Morris to book
PREPARING EFFECTIVE ESSAY QUESTIONS
practice that essay tests give in writing may be practice in bad writing—hasty
Essay Writing Practice: How to Practice Essay-Writing
Essay-writing exercises—such as writing prompts, sample essays, ... Sample essay writing templates are practice tests that can help you
English Exit Exam > Practice Exercises > Comprehension and
one part for essays. Exercises based on short stories. Module 1: How to recognize a main idea in a short story. Exercise
100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises
Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments
Tips for Writing Essay Exams
Before the Exam: Prepare and Practice Writing a good essay requires synthesis of material that cannot be done in the 20-30 minutes you have during the exam.