BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO ESSAY EXAMINATIONS
1. DO read this guide carefully,
especially the day before the exam. DO NOT stuff it in you notebook or
locker and lose it.
2. DO recognize that you must come to class and take detailed notes to succeed.
3. DO recognize that success on an essay exam depends on PREPARATION. DO
NOT assume when studying your notes that a quick skim and a prayer will generally
do the trick.
4. DO memorize the basic facts and events so that you can spend your time
during the examination writing down what you know. DO NOT put
yourself in a position
where you must spend time during the examination dredging up the basic facts
that should come to you in an instant. If you must spend ten minutes during
the exam wondering, “ what was the Homestead Act?”, or “ what
were the Fourteen Points?” then you have not studied adequately.
5. DO read the exam question carefully. DO NOT spend fifteen minutes pondering
the question before beginning to write.
6. DO spend a minute writing a BRIEF outline
before you begin your essay. Write it on some scratch paper, then begin writing
your essay to turn in. Write
in
an organized manner. DO NOT toss down one point after another in random
order. Pay attention to spelling and grammar.
7. DO offer a brief introductory paragraph
that includes a thesis statement—what
will you try to prove in this essay? DO NOT scribble down one huge 5-page
paragraph.
8. DO stick to the question. DO NOT ramble on for a paragraph
or a page that concerns material that is only indirectly related to the question.
9. DO use historical specifics: Homestead
Act, Andrew Jackson, Bill of Rights, amendment, Dollar diplomacy etc—these
are specifics. DO NOT rely on
vague generalities: “America rebelled because they were unhappy with
what the English did and how the English were treating them.” BE
SPECIFIC.
10. DO define your terms. If you mention the Homestead Act
or the Articles of Confederation, BRIEFLY explain what they
mean. DO NOT rely on the fact
that the grader (Mr. Murphy) will know what you are writing about. Yes, the
grader
knows what the Homestead Act and the Articles of Confederation were. But the
issue is whether YOU understand it. Prove that you do.
11. DO show connections. Explain causation. DO NOT leave
it to the grader to make the connections as in the following:
“The Puritans were religious people. They established closely-knit communities.”
It is up to you to show how and why the Puritans’ religion and mission
motivated them to establish closely knit communities. For example:
“Because of their goals to establish model biblical communities for the
world to copy, the Puritans shunned individualism, turned their backs on the
frontier, and settled closely together in townships.”
12. DO budget your time. DO NOT spend
90% of your time on one topic. If you have 40 minutes to compare and contrast
Elvis and the
Beatles, don’t
spend 35 minutes on the Beatles.
13. DO answer all parts of the question. DO NOT leave some parts of the
questioned unanswered.
14. DO use all of the time allotted to you. DO NOT quit
writing on your essay after only fifteen minutes when you have the entire hour
to use. Many students
finish their essay in ten or fifteen minutes, then turn around and complain
that they did not have enough time to answer the questions. USE THE
ALLOTTED TIME WISELY.
15. DO recognize that there is not enough time to say
everything you know. Make your key points, define your terms, explain a little,
and move on to your
next point. Your textbooks are hundreds of pages long. Even if we gave you
three hours you would not be able to say everything. Set priorities and
discuss the most important points
16. DO recognize that it takes time and practice to learn
how to write a good essay exam. DO NOT get discouraged if
your first exam does not work
out too well. It is a relatively small fraction of your final grade. If you
did something right in your essay, do it again. If you did something wrong,
correct
it. Your next exam will be better.
17. DO work your hardest and continue to work even if you do well early in the semester. DO NOT expect to pass if you are not willing to work. DO NOT bother trying to cheat.