When you have two or more essay questions to answer, block out your time roughly based on the points or minutes your instructor allots to each. Give extra minutes to a complicated question with several parts. Then pace yourself as you write. For example, wrap up question 2 at 10:30 and move on.

As you draft, give yourself room for second thoughts by writing on only one side of the page in your exam booklet and skipping every other line. Should you wish to add material later, you can do so with ease.

Begin with the Easy Questions. Many students find that it boosts their morale to start with the question they feel best able to answer. Unless your instructor specifies otherwise, why not skip around? Clearly number or label each answer as your instructor does. Then begin in such a way that the instructor will immediately recognize which question you’re answering.

QUESTION

Compare and contrast the 1930s depression with the recession of 2008 on.

ANSWER

Compared to the paralyzing depression that began in 1929, the recession that began in 2008 seems like …

State Your Thesis at the Start. Try making your opening sentence a thesis statement that immediately makes clear the main point. Then the rest of your answer can back up that statement. Get started by turning the question into a statement and using it to begin an answer.

QUESTION

What reasons for leasing cars and office equipment, instead of purchasing them, can be cited for a two-person partnership?

ANSWER

I can cite at least four reasons for a two-person partnership to lease cars and office equipment. First, under present tax laws, the entire cost of a regular payment under a leasing agreement may be deducted. …

Stick to the Question. Throwing into your answer everything you have learned in the course defeats the purpose of the exam — to use your knowledge, not to parade it. Answer by selecting and shaping what matters. On the other hand, if a question has two parts, answer both.

Name three styles of contemporary architecture. Evaluate one of them.

Stay Specific. Pressed for time, some exam takers think, “I haven’t got time to get specific here. I’ll just sum this up in general.” That’s a mistake. Every time you throw in a broad statement (“The Industrial Revolution was beneficial for the peasant”), take time to add specific examples (“In Dusseldorf, as Taine notes, deaths from starvation among displaced Prussian farmworkers dropped from a peak of almost 10 percent a year”).