TACKLING AN ESSAY WRITING EXAM

Essay examinations, whether you love them or detest them, are an essential part of the evaluation process at many colleges and institutions. However, it is not enough for essay-based exams to review your notes or focus on what you remember from a particular subject to succeed.

In exchange for the freedom to write about whatever you want; this exam style involves rigorous pre-preparation and on-the-spot adaptations to your approach to essay writing.

When you’re a first-year student, essay-based exams can be a challenge. However, preparing and writing an exam indeed improves a student’s overall view of the course. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like them, but understanding how to deal with these exams will assist you in the future.

l Using case studies and theoretical frameworks, plan your strategy ahead of time.

It is different from preparing for an essay-based exam compared to a multiple-choice examination. Writing essays and working with a time limit can be challenging, but working with a time limit involves a great deal of proactive pre-preparation.

The review sheets are a great way to help you study better. As a result, you don’t always have to go over the entire course in-depth to do well. For example, assume that the professor provides you with a list of 15 topics to study for a test. Using simple math, you can determine how many subjects you need to study to be well prepared for the test if there are five essay questions and you only need to write three essays. Prioritizing your topics can help you better prepare for the questions you will be asked on the test.

l Focus on case studies that can be modified to fit your needs.

Studying case studies that could be applied to various essay topics is a great tactic for essay-based exams. There should be no less than three or four case studies in each article. While you won’t have time to go into great detail in the essay, make sure you understand the important components of the case study and how it ties to the course’s theoretical framework before you start writing.

l Use theoretical and empirical examples to make a theory more comprehensible.

Ensure that you’re up to date on the current debates in your course readings. Regardless of how you feel about it, do you agree or disagree? Backing up your claims with facts gives you the freedom to disagree with what you’ve read in the textbook. As you go through the course, look at how the various topics are connected. How do you integrate course themes and theory into case studies?

l Finishing the exam questions steadily can help you stay focused.

When the exam is over, and you’ve finished your preparation, keep track of the passing time. For example, if you only have two hours to write three short essays, you shouldn’t waste 90 minutes writing your first essay to discover that you only have half an hour for the second and third.

Spend a few minutes at the beginning of the exam reviewing the questions and formulating an essay strategy. If you spend more time on a section than you intended or want to make some minor changes, it’s best to space out your essays to have some breathing room at the conclusion.

l Make improvements you feel are required for your work.

Teachers and professors aren’t looking for a polished, publishable product for this type of exam. Instead, they’re looking to see if you can put together a compelling argument and demonstrate a distinct point of view on the course topic.

While grammar, syntax, and punctuation are still important, keep your writing to the point and avoid unnecessary details. Getting your point across is more crucial than showing off your best writing skills. Instead of searching for unique synonyms for your papers, focus on writing brief, basic sentences that demonstrate your understanding of the course topic.

While mastering the skill of writing essay-based exams takes time and work, you’ll find that it is a gratifying method to understand a course better and become a competent essay writer in general.