Essay Questions

Essay questions require students to write a few paragraphs in response to each question. Many college instructors have a strong preference for essay questions for a simple reason: They require deeper thinking than other types of questions. Generally, advanced courses are more likely to include essay exams. To be successful on essay exams, follow these guidelines:

  1. Budget your exam time. Quickly go over the entire exam, and note the questions that are the easiest for you to answer. Estimate the approximate amount of time you should spend on each essay question based on its point value. Remember, writing long answers to questions that have low point values can be a mistake because it takes up precious time you might need to answer questions that count more toward your total grade. Be sure you know whether you must answer all the questions or if you should choose which questions to answer. Wear a watch so that you can monitor your time, and don’t forget to leave a few minutes to review and proofread your essay.
  2. Actively read the whole question. Many well-prepared students write good answers to questions that were not asked, or write good answers to only part of the question. When that happens, they may lose points or even fail the exam.
  3. Develop a brief outline of your answer before you begin to write. Make sure that your outline responds to all parts of the question. Use your first paragraph to introduce the main points; use the other paragraphs to describe each point in more depth. If you begin to lose your concentration, you will be glad to have the outline to help you regain your focus. If you find that you are running out of time and cannot complete an essay question, provide an outline of key ideas at the very least. Instructors usually assign points on the basis of your coverage of the main topics from the material. That means you will usually earn more points by responding briefly to all parts of the question than by addressing just one part of the question in detail. You might receive some credit for your outline even if you cannot finish the essay.
  4. Write concise, organized answers. Some students answer essay questions by quickly writing down everything they know on the topic. Long answers are not necessarily good answers. Answers that are too general, unfocused, or disorganized may not earn high scores.
  5. Know the key task words in essay questions. Being familiar with key task words that appear in an essay question will help you frame your answer more specifically. Table 9.1 lists common key task words. If your instructor allows you to do so, consider circling or underlining key words in the question so that you are sure of how to organize your answer.

TABLE 9.1 image Key Task Words in Essay Questions

Analyze Break the whole topic into parts to explain it better; show how the parts work together to produce the overall pattern.
Compare Identify similarities in ideas, events, or objects. Don’t just describe the elements; state how they are alike.
Contrast Identify the differences between ideas, events, or objects. Don’t just describe the ideas; state how they are different.
Criticize/Critique Judge something; give your opinion. Criticism can be positive, negative, or mixed. A critique should generally include your own judgments (supported by evidence) and those of experts who agree with you.
Define Give the meaning of a word or expression.
Describe Give more information about a topic.
Discuss Give broad statements backed up by detailed information. Discussion often includes identifying the important questions related to an issue and trying to answer these questions.
Evaluate Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of an idea or a position. When you evaluate, you stress the idea of how well something meets a certain standard.
Explain Clarify a statement. Explanations generally focus on why or how something has come about.
Justify Argue in support of a decision or conclusion by showing evidence or reasons that support the argument. Try to support your argument with both logical and concrete examples.
Narrate Relate a series of events in the order they occurred, as you do when you tell a story.
Outline Present a series of main points in order. Some instructors want a formal outline with numbers and letters.
Summarize Give information in brief form, without examples and details. A summary is short but covers all the important points.