Taking Essay Tests

Your goal in taking an essay test is to make the best possible grade. With a multiple guess or short answer quiz, the teacher tests your ability to regurgitate memorized material. However, the essay test is usually designed to test your ability to synthesize elements from a range of topics. The assumption is that you must know some facts in order to synthesize effectively. Therefore, pay close attention to two elements in your answer—factual information and overall logical coherence.

One thing many students overlook is that considering your audience is just as important on the essay test as it is for every other type of writing. Although we like to think that teachers are impartial grading machines, the truth is that they are human, but don't despair! You can use this fact to your advantage. Knowing the few characteristics that teachers look for while grading tests will give you just the edge you need to improve your grade.

In most discussions about writing essay tests, such as the otherwise excellent section in your St. Martin's Handbook, you will find well-written sample test questions. One knows what the teacher wants as soon as one looks at the question. In this review, we will look mostly at questions that are not so perfectly written and, therefore, the kind of questions you are most likely actually to see.

Pre-Test Activities

• Very simply, learn the material.
  
  
• Make up practice questions. A well-prepared student can guess the questions with a high degree of accuracy. Outline answers to your questions.
  
  
• Know your audience. Who will be grading the test? What is his/her general attitude towards testing? Estimate what kinds of risks you can take. How many students are in your class? The more tests the teacher has to grade, the less attention each test will receive, making it more urgent that you use a clear structure and repeat important words.
  
  
• Memorize at least one or two crucial facts, quotations, or schemas that were often mentioned in lecture or in the texts.
  
  
• Prepare a list of vocabulary words to carry with you during the day. Your ability to employ these words quickly and accurately will improve your writing speed. In the same vein, participate in a study group or discussion, which allows you to frame thoughts and ideas out loud.
  
  
• Practice writing out one answer by hand to see how much time it takes to provide a complete answer. This will help you to plan your time wisely on the actual test.
  
  
• Eat well; don't be hung-over; get enough sleep. Make sure you have informed your instructor well in advance if you need a specific test-taking allowance, such as extra time for some learning disabilities or a left-handed desk.

At the Test

• Arrive early to get the most comfortable seat. Have the proper materials.
  
  
• When you receive your test, sign your name.
  
  
• Read the entire test carefully. Plan your attack with most time spent on items you know and items that count the most. For essays, the general rule for time is 20% planning, 60% writing, 20% editing and polishing.
  
  
• Look for places where a question on one page helps you with the answer on another.

Choosing a Topic

• Always choose the essay question that you have prepared for, the one that best fits your memorized details.
  
  
• Pay close attention to the assignment. Look for key words such as describe, discuss, compare and contrast, define, explain, summarize, evaluate, analyze, suggest, and interpret. Most essay questions will have two or three parts. The strategy will dictate what logical structure your essay will take. The content will determine the subject matter of your essay, including, in some cases, specific works or ideas. Sometimes a third part will occur, the background, which will hint at or suggest a direction for your essay.
  
  
• Hint: The topic that looks the easiest is usually the hardest; most people will choose it and have to be outstanding to look good. The topic that looks the hardest is usually the easiest because it is most specific. Most people will not choose it, so your answer will look good even if it's only average.
  
  
• Recognize trap questions--those that are so vague that you can't tell what the teacher wants or that lead you to forget to use specific details.
  
  
• Create a brief outline.
  

While Writing

• If possible, write each paragraph on a separate sheet of paper. (Number your pages, and put your name on every page, especially if the pages are not stapled). If room does not allow, then you must leave a few blank lines at the end of your first paragraph--your introduction. You will need these lines later.
  
  
• Don't get hung up on individual words. Leave a clear blank line that you can return to later. Place stars in the margin to remind you where you will need to edit.
  
  
• Messy, cramped, or light handwriting will hurt your grade. Clear paragraph indentions, punctuation marks, and sufficient margins are essential to readability.
  
  
• Stick to the plan. Changing your mind in the middle of the essay will result in a non-unified, incoherent mess. Use well-known and easy-to-follow organizational structures.
  
• Never leave the essay unfinished. A one-line conclusion is much better than no conclusion at all.
  

Editing

• Return to your introduction to spice it up. Make very sure that your introduction says what your essay will say. Some writers find it productive to compose introductions last.
  
  
• Return to spots marked by stars or blanks. But again, don't get bogged down. The chances are that you thought of that crucial word while you were writing the essay.
  
  
• If you must erase, do it neatly. If you must cross out words or lines, do so with one simple line through the word. Neatly exised text is the mark of a careful reviser.
  
  
• If time permits, re-read the whole essay to make sure you haven't left out an important sentence. If you know you are prone to sentence-level errors, it's a good idea to read the essay backwards sentence by sentence.

Analyzing a Test

Essay Questions from an actual ENGL 2310 exam—

1. Discuss the significance of the following lines:

2. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the minimalist staging of the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express. NB: be sure to be specific in your comments.

3. Discuss the dual roles of teaching and delight in the Renaissance literature we have read.

Analysis of Test Results:

Sample Introductory Paragraphs: Below are a few introductory paragraphs from actual student essays written for this test. See which ones you think are the best!

(1) The significance of the lines is to compare lovers and poets. In the lines the writer describes the similarities between lovers and poets. The writer depicts poets and lovers to be a realm of imagination and madmen. It is a description between what is known and unknown. There is a type of creation that occurs out of nothing.
[Comments: The first two sentences say exactly the same thing. "Poets" and "lovers" cannot be a "realm." One does not "describe between" things, one compares them. This students diction is so carelessly imprecise that he/she will be mighty lucky to earn a C.]

(2) In the plays "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Henry IV, Part 1" the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express used a very minimalist form of staging. They used very few props and simple costumes, as was used in Shakespeare's time. Because of this, the actors had to do an extraordinary amount of characterization so that none of the ideas or events of the play would be lost or misunderstood. In both plays, the minimalist staging had benefits and drawbacks, but was excellently performed.
[What does it mean for an actor to "do" characterization? Yet there is a thesis here. This student will need to provide examples of how the actors somehow make up for the lack of props. But this is difficult evidence to isolate. This student will probably earn either a B or a C, but the potential for a high B is there.]

(2) Minimalist staging has been used for hundreds of years. Shakespeare's plays were indeed staged minimaly at the Globe Theatre. Minimalist staging by the SSE gives the play to the audience for intellectual digestion. Yet minimalist staging of plays is also sometimes difficult to understand.
[Despite the interesting metaphor, this introduction needs one more sentence. How does the play's being difficult to understand make it inappropriate for intellectual digestion? This shows sign of being a B essay, but is in danger of being incomplete]

(2) The SSE utilized minimalist staging to complement their style of acting. This lack of props and grandeur emphasized the aspects of the plays that the group wished to convey. While this minimal amount of scenery has its drawbacks, it serves the SSE best and works well with the group's purpose.
[Again the topic of staging is tied to something about the acting. But the thesis shows promise because the benefits and drawbacks are described clearly in the context of the performers' "purpose." It may be a bit difficult to find concrete evidence that will allow one to infer their purpose(s), but the student has a chance for an A if he/she can.]

(2) The minimalist staging of the SSE has both benefits and drawbacks.
[This is a terrible opening paragraph that has little chance of earning above a low C. The reason is that this student has made the fundamental error of taking the strategy of his essay for his thesis. Yes, one is supposed to address the 'benefits and drawbacks' of the minimalist staging. But you should always have a thesis that is arguable, as in the previous paragraph, for example, where the discussion of benefits and drawbacks promises to clarify the SSE's purposes in performing the play. This thesis reminds me of the famous bad thesis for Regents' Tests: Some people own dogs, but many people own cats. Who can argue with that?]

(2) Plays that are staged similarly to SSE have definite benefits and drawbacks. (A sentence from the last paragraph: I think the benefits outweighed the drawbacks since plays acted out in front of an audience are more personable than those acted out in front of a camera.)
[A sentence from the conclusion is given here to emphasize that your introduction should anticipate your conclusion. The introductory paragraph of one sentence has the same weaknesses as the preceding example, but the conclusion demonstrates that the writer actually will set the 'benefits and drawbacks' in the context of a specific issue, namely, how do live performances compare with filmed performances. A minute of editing would have raised this student's grade by as much as a whole letter grade!]

(2) I was only able to see Henry IV performed by the SSE. However, I was able to realize some of the benefits and some of the drawbacks in their staging techniques.
[Very weak introduction because it comes so close to using the strategy for the thesis. A few more sentences to clarify the introduction will make the whole essay appear smarter and more controlled.]

Results: The table below lists the grades on the test. As you can see, out of 40 tests, only 4 people answered question three, yet as a group their grades were a little better. That question may have looked more difficult, but it would have been the best one to do! Why? Probably because the topic has an obvious suggested organization--either one body paragraph on teaching and one on delight, or a body paragraph on each literary work, with teaching and delight covered in each paragraph. A thesis suggests itself--the words "dual roles" suggest that both items are important, but one may be valued over the other.

Another ENGL 2310 test

A. Why did Troilus "[laugh] within him at the woe of those / Who wept his death so busily and fast"? Note: you may find it helpful to compare/contrast the end of Gawain and the Green Knight.

B. Give at least two particular examples of the use of irony in Chaucer's works that we have read, and suggest what literary benefits Chaucer's use of irony brings to the reader.

C. What is the power of love in Troilus and Criseyde and in the Malory that we read? What positive effects does it have? Negative effects? Note: do not just make a list; make an argument for what you see as love's power either over men or for the good of men.

Here is another set of questions, this time for a final exam in an ENGL 1102 class. Notice how the questions are constructed. Usually there is a sentence or two of background information. Then follows the explicit question you are supposed to address, in some cases with a familiar word that tells you what strategy you are to employ (as in #3 "interpret," #4 "explain,"). Some topics suggest some works you might use in your answer (#1, #2), others are very specific about which works to use (#3, #5), while others give you great latitude (#4). Which topic do you think would be the easiest? The hardest?

English 1102 for Non-Native Speakers

Directions: Chose one topic, and write an approximately five-page essay. Skip lines, leave plenty of margin, and put your name on every page. Please write the number of your topic on the top of your first page. Suggestions for material follow each topic, but you may write on any work we studied this term. Failure to write on an assigned topic will result in a failing grade. Be sure to develop your topic carefully, and use examples from your textbook.
[Notice this is an open-book test, so there are no excuses for not having concrete, specific examples and the occasional quotation.]

1. We have read about quite a few dead bodies this quarter. What benefit(s) could an author gain by including a dead body in his/her story, poem, or play? "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," "The Bustle in a House," "After great pain, a formal feeling comes," "Musee des Beaux Arts," Death and the King's Horseman, Trifles.
[This topic is good because it asks for discussion about an element that most people will remember. It is dangerous because one must define the "benefit" for the author. Most people will recognize that a dead body will get the reader's attention, but what further benfits can be observed?]

2. We have also read about quite a few characters who, for one reason or another, are estranged from their society. How does it feel when you become aware that you don't fit in? Suggestions: "Enoch and the Gorilla," "Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock," "The Panther," "Much Madness is divinest Sense--," A Doll's House.
[This could be a good topic because you could make a list of different reactions to estrangement and support every entry with two or three examples. However, it could be troublesome because the word "you" in the topic might cause you to write an autobiographical essay, and how can you be sure that the teacher doesn't want that?]

3. In Death and the King's Horseman, the praise-singer declares that "our world is tumbling in the void of strangers" (1449). How do you interpret this line in the context of the play? Suggestions: You may want to look back at Wordsworth also.
[This may be a good topic to answer. If you studied the play and are confident working with it, then you should have no trouble. The context of your answer is included in the question: how do you interpret this line in the context of the play? Also, most people will avoid it because it appears too specific--it looks as if it demands a 'right' answer. If you can work with this play, then this question may be the best one to answer.]

4. Sometimes prose writers employ techniques we normally associate with poetry, such as rhyme, alliteration, complex imagery, metrical constructions, and vivid diction. Choose any prose work, and explain why it seems poetic to you.
[This one looks easy, so you should be suspicious. All you need to do is choose a prose work, then find three poetic techniques in it, right? If it has poetic techniques, then it must "seem poetic," right? However, is technique really all that is important in poetry? For a thesis, you would have to say something that relates the poetic techniques to the prose forms, and this might be anything at all. It's hard to know what the teacher will be looking for on this essay.]

5. Both "Shiloh" and A Doll's House end with a woman's declaring the dissolution of her marriage. Do you see any other similarities between the two works?
[Beware—Potentially dangerous topic! Don't be deceived into writing an essay that has for a thesis "yes, there are some more similarities"! Your thesis will have to bring the two works together on some more significant level than simply that they are similar, which could prove quite difficult.]