How to handle essay exam

Introduction to essay exam


Many students dread essay exam.  I, for one, loved essay exam in college.  I loved to "prove" my professors wrong, and essay exam was the last chance to do it in a module.

It does not matter how hard you study or how many hours you spend in reading and memorizing the notes.

As long as you do not know the techniques to handle essay exam, you are not going to graduate with good grades.  It is better to study smart and master the art of passing essay exam, than to study hard without a single clue on how to handle essay exam.



How to handle essay exam

The first step in essay exam is to understand the concept. When you study for essay exam, you must understand the “why” and “how”. Bear in mind that college essay exam is not testing your knowledge of “what”. College essay exam is testing your application of knowledge.

As long as you understand “why” there is a problem, and “how” to solve the problem, you can pass essay exam. Application of knowledge is more important that the theories and facts. Even if you come out with unusual solution for essay exam, you will pass the essay exam with flying colors.  Your professors will reward you for independent thinking.

The second step in essay exam is to understand the question.

When you get the essay exam paper, you must highlight the important words in the question. For example, “why is succession planning crucial for the survival of the organization?”, you can highlight the word “why”, “succession planning” and “survival”.

This question assumes that you agree succession planning is crucial for the survival of the organization. You have to list the reasons and provide examples to support your argument in the essay exam. Since the question does not ask for “how”, you do not need to talk about the different processes of succession planning.

That is why understand the question in essay exam is very important. You can save time and score better if you understand the question in essay exam.

If you cannot spot the important words in the essay exam at first glance, you will have to read and re-read the question in essay exam. Only when you are very confident that you know what the question in the essay exam ask, and you have enough key points to provide a satisfying answer, then you can start your writing.

Many students who opt to head into essay writing without first understanding the question in essay exam will have mediocre results, even if they are excellent writers.

The third step in essay exam is to start with a plan.

Before you write anything, you must have the few key points to answer the question in essay exam.

You must have enough supporting evidence for each key point. If you can remember any recent news to support your argument, that is a bonus to scoring very well in essay exam.

If you cannot remember anything from real life, you can use a scenario. You can make up a story. You can tell the story of a successful family business, and the boss of the family business suffers heart attack. The family business does not have succession plan in place. That is an easy way to tackle essay exam.

If case you are working on a timed essay, you have to develop a time plan for each question in the essay exam.

You should not run out of time due to bad timing. If you need to answer six questions in an essay exam, and you have only three hours, it is best that you complete each question in essay exam in 20 minutes.

If you fail to plan properly, you could suffer a 'hanging work' in essay exam. That is when you do not have time to do all the 6 questions, or you do not have time to proofread your answer in essay exam.

The fourth step in essay exam is to observe the rules of good writing. It does not matter how good or how bad your skill in writing is, you can pass essay exam as long as the professor understands what you have written.

You must remember to use short sentences and use simple English in essay exam. You must remember to space out the paragraphs. You must remember to have an Introduction, Body and Conclusion as the subheadings.

You should avoid using slang, jargon and superficial words in essay exam. It is better to use simple English to avoid the misapplication of certain jargon in essay exam.

You must remember to have use different paragraphs to explain different key points. You must remember to take a stand in the conclusion for questions that need a “yes or no”, “agree or not agree” answer in essay exam.

The last step in essay exam is to proof-read your work. You must read through the answer script as least once. You must put yourself in the shoes of the professor marking the essay exam. You have to change any word that is unclear or illegible. You must make sure you got the name of the corporations or famous people spelt correctly in essay exam.




Conclusion to essay exam

The purpose of essay exam is not to show how much you know. The purpose of essay exam is to show how you can apply the knowledge. Even if you do not know all the theories in the textbook, as long as you can show your ability to apply what you know, you will pass the essay exam.