Writing An Essay Question And Answer

You may often be asked in college to take essay exams.

In certain ways, the same principles for writing good out-of-class essays apply to writing good in-class essays as well.

They read and then write a long essay, only to realize very late that they did not understand the question correctly. Have I fully covered all of the major points required to completely answer the question?

That’s because essay questions are either easy or difficult. Even if you think you know the answer - don’t be overconfident - the critical part is how you make your essay worth reading. A lot of students commit error by simply not reading instructions very well.

Create an outline of thoughts and related topics in connection with the essay question.

By doing this you are helping yourself create a more organized answer. Go back to your essay outline if you think you are repeating yourself or not making sense at all. Be professional in knowing what type of words to use in a particular topic or subject. What are my major points and how am I going to present them? Does the reader know, just from reading the first sentence of my essay, both the question and how I will answer it? If you see one of these terms, try to organize your essay to respond to the question or questions indicated.classify: Into what general category/categories does this idea belong? As was said earlier, essay exams are like other essays, so use the same good writing strategies you use for other kinds of writing.compare: What are the similarities among these ideas? contrast: What are the differences between these ideas? Keep in mind that your purpose is to persuade your reader—the examiner—that you know the material.Most essay exam questions, or "prompts," are carefully worded and contain specific instructions about WHAT you are to write about as well as HOW you should organize your answer. In an exam situation, it's easy to forget points if you don't write them down.The prompt may use one or more of the following terms. Write out your essay, using good writing techniques.You will want to devote most of your time to the questions that are worth the most points, perhaps answering those questions first. outline: What are the main points and essential details? trace: What is the sequence of ideas or order of events? Jot down the main points you intend to make as you think through your answer.On the other hand, you might want to answer first the questions that you are best prepared for. Take a few minutes before writing your essay to read the question carefully in order to determine exactly what you are being asked to do. Then, you can use your list to help you stick to the topic.Otherwise, try to anticipate questions your instructor is likely to ask and practice those.At the very least, outline how you would answer the test questions; however, it's better to actually write out the answers.Read and go back to your previous paragraphs after you are finished with one paragraph. This will help you determine your flow of thought and if you are really making a point or giving an answer. If there are too many ideas in your outline, cut out the least important ones.