Writing Essays In Exam Conditions This workshop will: - Introduce you to common examination formats - Offer strategies for managing the time allocated for the exam on the day - Provide tips on essay-writing techniques during an exam Teaching points: 1. Various examination formats 2. Self-assessment of your examination skills 3. Settling in 4. Reading the instructions 5. Choosing questions to answer 6. Answering the questions 7. Techniques and tips for examinations 1
1. Various examination formats Essays are possibly the best known written examination format (some exams are not writing-based, such as presentations, and laboratory and other practicals) but there are others which will be discussed first. Multiple-choice: these usually require you to choose one answer from a selection, although the question may ask you to choose more than one answer. Do not forget to. Use the method for showing your answer as stated in the instructions Answer the questions you are sure of first to give you confidence and to maximise your marks If you are unsure of the answer, first reject those you know are incorrect. This increases your chances of answering the question correctly Do not leave any question unanswered a guess might just get you a mark Technical: these require you to apply set procedures or formulae to resolve given problems. Unlike essay-based answers, there is little opportunity for personalised approaches as there is usually a set, or correct, answer. Do not forget to. Pay attention to the details, e.g. use the units of measurement required and make sure these are clearly identified in your answer and in any diagrams If you must include diagrams, use a sharp pencil and proper measuring tools Make it easy and clear for the marker to award marks, e.g. write solution and differentiate where appropriate Show and highlight the method you are using Short answer: these tend to require actual or descriptive responses as opposed to essay-based exams which tend to be more analytical and creative. You could be asked to List items, e.g. key aspects of a piece of equipment Provide the main aspects of a theory State the reasons for the significance of a particular quote Give the details of a simple experiment or specific procedures, e.g. how to manipulate a limb Provide the main similarities and differences between two items, or groups, or, theories etc. Do not forget to State your points clearly Avoid waffle no padding out Be succinct no unnecessary material 2
2. Self-assessment of your examination skills Activity 1: Self-assessment Before concentrating on writing essays effectively in exams, complete the self-audit below by ticking the appropriate box. Do I Y N Read the whole paper carefully? Follow all instructions? Answer the correct number of questions in full? Plan time well, so that I can check through my answers? Know exactly how long I have for each question? Share out time according to the marks available? Use all of the available time? Read each question at least twice? Spend time working out what all the questions mean? Ask myself what the examiner is looking for? Spend enough time considering the best questions for me? Feel confident about what I am expected to do? Find questions that are similar to ones I have practised? Find I have revised enough topics? Know what a good answer looks like? Know which writing style is appropriate? Know the correct format or layout? Plan my answers (on paper or in my head)? Develop a clear argument (where appropriate)? Use examples from the course materials? Avoid irrelevant detail and going off at tangents? Get to the point quickly? Avoid flowery language and vague introductions? Include an introduction and a conclusion? Keep focused on the exam during the exam? Check my answers for mistakes? Check my answers to see if they make sense? Adapted from Cottrell (2003) If you answered no to any of the above, go through the relevant sections of this handbook in your own time and work out what you need to practise. 3
3. Settling in Lots of people are nervous before an examination, including some people who say they do not. Being a little nervous is a good thing as it means you care about your performance. You will have attended lectures, completed coursework, revised and practised on past papers (hopefully). You will not be in a rush, will have eaten, have all the necessary equipment (pens, pencils, etc), and be fairly calm. It will all be over very soon - as King Solomon said (allegedly): This too shall pass So you are in, have organised your desk and are ready. You do not need luck, you will be fine. You have been told you can start, so what do you do first? 4. Reading the instructions Give as much attention to the instructions as you will to the questions to make sure you give the markers what they want in the order and way they want it. Check how many questions you need to answer for each section (if appropriate). This is so you can start to think about how much time to allocate to each question s answer. Your instruction state you must answer three essay questions and you are given three hours to answer them. It seems logical to allocate an hour to each question. TALKING POINT Together we will consider what to do in an examination which asks you to do three essays with a total of 100 marks with the first having a maximum of 40 marks and the other two having a maximum of 30 marks each. How do you split the time? 4
5. Choosing questions to answer My dad always said Don t pick your pen up before you have read all the questions. This will stop the urge to start writing before making an informed choice about which question to answer, so you will not waste time repeatedly starting answers and abandoning them. Read the questions twice as you may be too nervous to remember the first ones. Would you answer these?? Metaphysics: Describe in detail the nature of life after death. Test your hypothesis.? Write a full piano concerto. Orchestrate and perform it with a clarinet and drum. You will find a piano under your seat.? You will be provided with a rusty razor blade, a piece of gauze, and a full bottle of Scotch. Remove your appendix. Do not suture until your work has been inspected. You have 15 minutes. First, mark all the questions that seem possible and reread them, checking carefully how many parts there are to each question and whether you can answer each part. Next, check the exact wording of each question what is it asking you to do? Key words and especially command words will give you clues. Command words tell you what the marker wants you to do and how they want you to do it. These are definitions of a question which is asking you to answer either using description or critical analysis. Descriptive questions/tasks Test your knowledge of a subject and your ability to present ideas in a clear and organised way. You are expected to identify the component parts, main elements and distinguishing features of any topic under discussion. Critically analytic questions/tasks Test your knowledge of a subject but they are more concerned with your ability to get below the surface of a subject. You are expected to examine it from different perspectives or points of view and (if applicable) to propose alternative ideas, models, and practices. 5
Activity 2: Command words Which command words would you find in a descriptive or analytical question? In pairs or small group, decide which go into which box. Discuss Illustrate Demonstrate Comment on Consider Show how Examine Compare and contrast Identify Describe State Summarise Evaluate Interpret Trace Justify Explain Criticise Outline Distinguish between Descriptive Classify Define Critically analytic Account for Analyse It may help to jot down quick notes of relevant material you know you could include for each answer. If you have learnt mnemonics or other memory techniques, jot them down on the examination paper, spare paper or the back of your examination book if you have one. This may point you in the direction of one question over another especially if you have no favourites to immediately choose from. Do not start writing your answers until you are sure you are going to finish them, but do start writing as quickly as you can, even if your plans are not complete. Could you be putting off starting to write your answer? 6. Answering the questions Do a plan ensuring it covers all aspects of the question. You do have time to do this: a plan will save you time by helping you to keep on track and helps to maximise your marks as you are less likely to forget key points. Try writing headings with key words, references and examples beneath it. You can then add to these if you remember other points during the exam, and cross points off as you write about them. Jot down alphabetically or numerically the order of the points you are going to make. Neatness is not necessary, unless your plan is being marked. 6
Suppose an essay question asked: Discuss the issue of financing tuition fees in Higher Education. There are many angles to be considered, such as If people received no help with tuition fees, fewer would have access to HE, there would be a strain on parental or carer finances, and it could generate difficult relationships within families if one sibling attended whilst others could not as their finances could not stretch to more than one going to university. TALKING POINT Loans: Let s think about the pros and cons of loans and grants. Grants: Activity 3: A plan of the discussion of financing tuition fees Draw a plan involving all the above reasons for and against different ways of financing tuition fees in HE. When you have finished, look at your neighbour s to see how they lay out their plan. Make sure you keep an eye on the clock to ensure you stay on track for the amount of time you have allocated to your questions. A common mistake is to spend too much time on your first answer, and rushing the following ones which will have an impact on the marks you receive. 7
Just like in your assignments, everything you write has to be relevant to the question, so make sure you are answering the question as you write. Keep checking your plan to stay focused so you do not repeat yourself, waffle or forget something. Tick off each point as you address it. Write your answer as if you were writing an essay. It should have: An introduction A main body with the points you wish to make supported by evidence A conclusion drawing together your reasoning Do not try to be clever and include jokes, or over-long quotations, or lists of questions, or anything else bizarre or new (unless specifically asked to do so). This is not what is expected and makes it difficult for the marker to find the points you wish to make. Do not think you are saving time or covering all angles by writing down everything you know about a subject. Marks are given for critical analysis (breaking down and evaluating), argument (taking a stance and supporting it with reasons/points), and selection (pinpointing what to write about). Whilst this might seem difficult, include references in your answers. Just provide the writer s name/s, not the titles of work as your markers will usually know the works to which you refer. You also do not need a list of references at the end. Always read through your answers to edit and proofread. Make sure it is legible and makes sense if it does not make sense to you, it will not to the markers. 7. Techniques and tips for examinations Use your first page as your plans page and remember to put a line through them at the end (unless you are told any plans are marked). Write on every other line for editing and proofreading purposes. Write on every second page to indicate where extra information you have just remembered should be inserted when you are editing. Take in coloured pens to show markers where additional information is inserted. Take a bottle of water in with you. Sip it slowly throughout the whole examination as it will help to keep you calm. Your brain and body need to keep hydrated and there is research suggesting this can make a significant difference to your grades. 8
Check the back of the paper to see if there are further questions - many people forget to do this. If there are four marks available for the description of XXX, then the marking scheme will probably have four key points. Mention them all, and you get the marks. Often, tutors will have a list of five or six points, and give one mark for each of them, up to a maximum of four. One thing you can be (reasonably) certain of: if you have not made four key points, you have missed something. Do not panic if your mind goes blank: try brainstorming words and ideas onto a sheet of rough paper or onto the back page. These will eventually begin to stimulate your ideas. Leave a space and go onto something you can do rather than sitting with the same problem. What you need will probably come back to you later- and if it does not, it may not be critical. Find a point of calm. Breathe slowly. What do you do if you're running out of time? Let s say you have time left to do one question, but two questions are left. Which one do you choose? The way to maximise your marks is to do the first half of both of them. You gain marks faster at the start of a question than at the end. If you do not have time to write full sentences, but you do know what to include, just write bullet points. If you do not have time to do the calculations, write and explain what calculations you would do. You may get marks for method. Never leave an exam early as there is always a way to improve your paper. Check, and check again. When you have finished, go back to the beginning, and try to answer the questions in different ways, and check they agree with your original answers. Perhaps you could add more explanations. If you feel your anxiety may interfere with your ability to perform well in an examination, visit the University s Counselling Service website: www.bradford.ac.uk/counselling. 9
References Cottrell, S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook. 2 nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Cottrell, S. (2007) The Exam Skills Handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Palgrave Study Skills. (2014) Exam Techniques. Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. [online] Available at: http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/exams/techniques.asp [Accessed 18.3.2014] Pearce, D. (2014) Exam Techniques, Tips and Tricks. York: University of York [online] Available at: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~dajp1/exam_hints/exams.html [Accessed 18.3.2014] Answers TALKING POINT Three essays with a total of 100 marks Time: 60 minutes x 3 hours = 180 minutes First essay: 40 marks/100 marks = 2/5 of total marks so you need 2/5 of total time which is 72 minutes. Other essays separately: 30 marks/100 marks = 3/10 of total marks so you need 3/10 of total time which is 54 minutes each. Activity 2: Command words Descriptive Critically Analytic Classify Define Demonstrate Describe Explain Illustrate Identify Outline Show how State Summarise Trace Account for Analyse Comment on Compare and contrast Consider Criticise Discuss Distinguish between Evaluate Examine Explore Interpret Justify 10
Descriptive terms Define Describe State Classify Identify Demonstrate Illustrate Show how Outline Summarise Action expected You are expected to locate, identify, and present the main features, elements, or components of the topic under discussion and, if applicable, the underpinning theoretical knowledge of the subject. As above, plus you would be expected to present and explain examples to show that you understand how something works, e.g. how a theory, model, idea, or practice can be applied to a given situation. You are expected to identify and summarise the main points of the topic under discussion. Trace This means that you identify and outline the stages of development of the topic under discussion. Account for You would clarify why something is as it is, or what Explain happened in any given situation. Critically analytic terms Discuss Examine Explore Evaluate Consider Interpret Comment on Analyse Criticise Action expected If you see any of these command terms you are expected to identify and explain the main features of the subject under discussion, including the main theories, ideas, models, or practices underpinning the topic. If applicable, you would be expected to know of and weigh up any counter-arguments and to make connections between different ideas, models, or practices. This involves a detailed scrutiny of the topic in question. This could include explaining the origins, structure, organisation, or development of the topic in question, the positive and negative features of it, and the connections between theories, ideas, models, and practices. You would also demonstrate your awareness of any flaws in particular points of view, and your knowledge of alternative viewpoints. Justify This involves making out a case and giving reasons to support a particular viewpoint, position, judgement, or decision against other possibilities. Compare and contrast Distinguish between This involves a close study of the differences between one idea, phenomena, or situation, and another. You would need to identify the structure or features of one and make comparisons with another. You may be required to make a judgement on which is more applicable or relevant for the situation in question. 11
TALKING POINT and Activity 3: A plan for tuition fees discussion For Against 1.HE more accessible for all Grants 1.Is expensive for country 2.Not starting life in debt 2.General population having to pay for education of others 3. Is an individual s responsibility to pay for their education at 16+ 1.You take responsibility for paying for your own study and debt Loans 1.Some people could be put off going into HE 2.Paying off a loan is good practise for the real world No help 2. The population has to find the money up front 3.Organisation/contract is expensive 1.Fewer would have access to HE 2.Strain on parental or carer finances 3.Could generate difficult relationships within families if one sibling attended whilst others could not as their finances could not stretch to more than one going to university In a real plan, you would also include supporting evidence by citing different writers and/or studies. Your plan could be a family tree, spray chart, mind-map, table or any other format you choose. 12