Preparing for essay tests

Now that we’re getting into the school year, it’s exam time. Many classes will include essay questions in their exams.

The goal of an essay question is to show your instructor you know the material. To demonstrate your knowledge, first off, you don’t want to leave any information out just because your instructor is your reader. Essay responses should be written in a way that someone unfamiliar with the topic can understand it.

There are four main types of essay questions: definition, analysis, compare and contrast, and discussion.

1. Definition. State the term you are defining, the details that distinguish it from other things like it, and what it is not. Giving an example is also helpful to show you know what the term means.

2. Analysis. Explain what the concept or or thing is, and its purpose or what it affects. If there are multiple effects, be sure to explain as many as you can.

3. Compare and contrast. Explain the ways the concepts or things are alike, and how similar they are. Do the same for the differences and how different they are. Also try to explain why the differences matter.

4. Discussion. Address the who, what, where, when, why and how of the concept or thing. Then focus on the significance of it.

Knowing the who, what, where, when, why and how and the significance of all the important concepts and terms of the information covered on the test is a good way to study for multiple choice and essay tests. Also be sure to know why each thing is significant.