Writing in Class

Chapter 15

Steps to Writing Well Under Pressure

• 1. What is the task• Short –answer exam questions• Essay exam questions• Prompted essays• Summary and response essays• 2. Arrive prepared• 3. Read the entire assignment with care• Circle and underline key words that will give you clues on

how to better organize your response. • 4. Prepare to Write• 5. Remember five paragraph essay organizational strategies• 6. Re-read what you have written

Avoid

• Misreading the assignment• Incomplete essay• Composition Amnesia• Gorilla generalizations

Preparing to Take an Essay Exam

References© 2001 by Ruth Luman

What is an essay exam?• A test in which you write an

essay or a certain number of paragraphs in response to a question.

• It helps the teacher check your ability to organize and write paragraphs or an essay.

• Many classes in college have essay or in-class writing exams:

• Psychology• History• Literature• Child Development• Sociology• And many more!

Essay Exams

It’s difficult to relax during an exam, but there are steps you can take to be more successful during an essay exam.

Don’t be Nervous!

Steps to Success

• Read the essay question carefully. Underline key words in the question that will help you decide what kind of information to include in your answer.

Practice: Read the exam question below. Which words are the most important words in the question?

Steps to Success

Click Here for Answers

Question: Many parents do not allow their children to attend the funeral service of a person who has died. Do you think children should be allowed to attend funerals? Why or why not? Give three reasons.

Steps to Success• Rephrase the question into a statement. This can serve

as the thesis statement for your essay answer or the topic sentence for a one-paragraph answer.

Example: Look at the example below of how a question can be rephrased into a statement.

Steps to Success

Question: In what ways has T.V. affected society?

Thesis Statement: Some of the effects of T.V. on society are…

Practice: Read the exam question below. How can you rephrase this into a statement?

Steps to Success

Click Here for Example Answer

Question: What is your major in college? Why did you choose that major? Support your answer.

Thesis Statement: I chose the major of computer science because I enjoy working on computers, it will be easy to find a job when I graduate, and it is a challenging field.

Steps to Success• Brainstorm on paper. Write down notes, words,

phrases, facts, quotations about the question. Do this on another piece of paper. Get down as much information as you can.

Steps to Success• Focus your answer. Read through your brainstormed

notes and select information for your answer. Cross out irrelevant ideas in your notes; add any ideas that you think are important.

Steps to Success• Make a rough plan of your answer. Decide on the

order that you would like to follow when presenting your ideas. Prepare a rough outline with your brainstormed notes.

ESSAY

Thesis: ------------------

Subpoint A

Subpoint B

Subpoint C

Conclusion

Steps to Success• Write your essay. Remember to look at the clock

while you write. You need to know how much time you have left!

Steps to Success• Reread your answer during the testing period. Be

sure that it is complete. If you want to add something, write it in the space above the sentence where you want to add it and use an arrow.

One of the main effects of the atomic bomb on

Hiroshima was the ill health of people affected

by the ^ of radiation.

high amount

Steps to Success

• Edit your answer. On an in-class writing exam, you will not be able to edit as carefully as you can when writing an out-of-class essay. However, because some mistakes in grammar and even spelling can be confusing, it is important that you edit.

Review of StepsOn an essay exam…

Read the question carefully.

Rephrase the question into a statement.

Brainstorm ideas.

Focus your answer.

Make a rough outline.

Write your essay and look at the time!

Re-read your answer.

Edit.

Steps to Success

• Edit your answer. On an in-class writing exam, you will not be able to edit as carefully as you can when writing an out-of-class essay. However, because some mistakes in grammar and even spelling can be confusing, it is important that you edit.