Writing Essays in Exams

A good essay is easy to read because the ideas are clearly expressed and logically organised. The writer also demonstrates familiarity with important issues and concepts relevant to the topic. Most importantly, a good essay offers the reader a succinct response to the essay question in the form of a reasoned and well-organised argument.

It isn't easy to write a good essay, and it's even harder to write a good essay under exam conditions. Preparation and rehearsal are vital. Students sometimes feel that it isn't possible to plan for essay writing in exams because they won't know what the topic will be until they see the exam. This is a mistake! You can and should plan for what you'll do in the exam by practising writing essays to time constraints as early as possible.

What do examiners look for?

Essays are a popular form of assessment because they can be used to assess a range of skills as well as subject knowledge. Writing essays under exam conditions is quite different to 'normal' essay writing, however. Generally, you won't have access to source material or notes; you have only limited time to reflect on the question and plan your response; and there is no time for redrafting or major editing.

Fortunately, examiners take these factors into account. They will not expect a highly crafted piece of writing, extensive referencing, nor that arguments will be as well structured and supported as in a term essay. Some departments will give you explicit guidelines about what they are looking for in exam essays. If such information is not available, however, assume that examiners are looking for and evaluating the following:

• Has the question been answered? Marks will be allocated for certain pieces of information and for the depth of your discussion. No marks will be awarded if you don't answer the question, no matter how interesting your response.
• Knowledge of the subject area and understanding of the concepts, theories and issues explored through the course.
• Critical thinking skills Have you made connections and comparisons between different arguments, interpretations or fields? Have you evaluated the merit or strength of particular theories or pieces of evidence?
• Ability to produce a reasoned and organised written argument The argument is the thread holding an essay together. An essay should adopt and argue for a particular position in relation to an issue, a question or a contention. Examiners will be evaluating the clarity, comprehensiveness and structure of your argument.
• Reading and reflection Have you systematically reviewed the materials used in the course or have you occasionally skimmed the essential reading for tutorials? When reading, have you compared authors, studies and results and identified connections, relations and counter-arguments? All these things will be apparent in the evidence and supporting arguments you advance in your essay.
• Written communication skills Grammar, sentence construction, expression, punctuation and spelling - even in handwriting - all contribute to the clarity of your essay. Whether or not examiners are looking at written expression specifically, it will contribute to - or detract from - your final result.

Where can you improve?

Using the examiner's criteria, identify which areas of essay writing you most need to improve.

1. Do you know enough about the subject? If Yes, go to Q2. If No, start swotting and see exam prep.
2. Have you read and analysed the essential material? If Yes, go to Q3. If No, see critical thinking.
3. Do you need to work on your written English or your construction of written arguments? If No, read on. If Yes, see argument.

Prepare yourself

Find out what you will be expected to do in the exam

• How many essays must you write?
• How many marks will each one be worth?
• Will you have some choice of topics or must you be prepared to write on any and all topics covered by the course?

Note how much time you will have to write your essay(s) in the exam. Remember that the time available to write on a topic - along with the number of marks allocated - indicates the breadth and/or depth with which you are expected to cover the topic.

Review your notes

Systematically review your notes and course material. As with any revision, your aim is to identify key topics, concepts and major theories or approaches.

Prepare a set of exam notes that are essay friendly. Given that you will need to write paragraphs in the exam, your exam notes shouldn't necessarily be limited to dot points. That is, while it's fine to develop a list of the main points you might want to include in an essay, be sure to develop that list into a paragraph or two.

Review old exam papers

Review old exam papers in the subject. You can use past exam papers in different ways - to test yourself and monitor your progress, to increase your knowledge and understanding of certain topics, or to help you to recognise the types of questions you are going to encounter, and the format of the exam itself.

Analyse the kinds of questions asked. Note the 'directive' words used and consider the implications for how you should structure your answers. Consider the following most common directives:

• Analyse

  - Examine the main ideas or components; consider how they are related and why they are significant.

• Compare and contrast

  - Identify two or more views about the same topic and examine both the similarities and differences.

• Define

  - Provide the meaning of a term or establish the boundaries of a concept or topic.

• Discuss

  - Consider a topic from various points of view. You should describe and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches/arguments and then draw conclusions.

• Evaluate

  - Pass judgment on the worth of something. Such judgment must be supported by pertinent evidence.

• Explain

  - Make clear or plain - usually the steps involved in a process, or the causes/effects of an event or phenomenon.

• Illustrate

  - Use examples, comparisons, diagrams or graphs to explain or demonstrate a point.

• Outline

  - Briefly review the most important aspects of a topic or the main points of a procedure or argument.

Identify probable exam topics

Looking at both your notes from the year and the past exam papers, try to anticipate the topics you might be asked to write on. It won't matter if you don't guess exactly the question that appears on the exam. The benefit of this exercise is to give your mind practice at imagining how the material could be organised in different ways to answer different questions.

Sitting an essay exam

• Follow the usual exam prep practices.
• At the start of reading time make yourself some brief notes next to each of the questions you plan to attempt. Consider how you will respond to the question, the subject area(s) you will be dealing with, and any main points or initial thoughts. This will give you something to start from, build on, later in the exam when you may be a bit tired.
• Write the easiest essay first.
• Write yourself a brief essay plan. Consider the following:
  1. How many paragraphs do you expect to write?
  2. What will the topic of each paragraph be?
  3. What supporting evidence or information will you provide for each major point you make?
  4. What is the most logical order in which to make your points so they develop and support your argument?
• Try to use the wording of the question in your first sentence. For example, given 'Compare the main features of orthogonal and oblique cutting processes', you could begin your response with 'The main features of orthogonal and oblique cutting processes differ in three main ways. Firstly...'.
• Use clear transition or connecting words to help organise your ideas and to make it easier for the examiner to follow your arguments. For example: Firstly, Secondly, In contrast to, In addition, As a result, etc.
• Try to include an introduction and conclusion. While introductions and conclusions can be pretty basic in exam essays, they are worth including for the guidance they provide you as a writer and especially for the reader/examiner. Furthermore, make them as clear and succinct as possible. If you're struggling, resort to the basics: 'This essay will argue that...'; 'In conclusion...'; 'To sum up...'.
• Write clearly''' Don't detract from an otherwise clear and well-argued essay with handwriting that is difficult for the examiner to read.