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WRITING ESSAYS

Part Three

Special College

Writing Projects

19. Writing under Pressure 319

20. Writing Summaries and

Reports 334

21. Writing the Research Essay 346

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319

You Know This

You’ve taken tests under pressure.

• You study for the test for your

driver’s license.

• You practice and try out for a

team.

Writing under Pressure

Tests and Essay Exams

You will need good reading and writing skills to do well on the many tests

you will take in college. To become a good test-taker, you also need to

develop good test-taking strategies.

Studying for Tests

Some students spend hours studying for a test that they then fail. Often,

they have not studied efﬁ ciently. This chapter will give you tips on study-

ing for tests and for taking essay exams and other timed writing assign-

ments.

Here are ﬁ ve reliable tips to help you study for any exam:

TIPS FOR STUDYING

Ask about the test.

2. Study with a partner or a group.

3. Predict what will be on the exam.

4. Use study aids.

5. Review actively.

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WRITING ESSAYS

320 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

Ask about the Test

Ask your instructor about an upcoming test. Just make sure you ask rea-

sonable questions.

ASK NOT

• What part of the course or • What’s on the test?

text will it cover?

• Will the format be multiple • You’re not going to give us an

choice, short answer, or essay? essay question, are you?

• Will we be allowed to use notes • We can just look up the answers,

or books? right?

• What percentage of my course • Is this test important?

grade will this count for?

• Can you recommend what • Do I need to read the book?

to review? Is the stuff you said in class

important?

• Will we have the whole period • How long is it?

to complete the test?

• I know I have to miss class that • Is there a makeup test?

day (give your reason). Can I

arrange to take the test at

another time?

Write down your instructor’s answers to your questions. Don’t rely on

your memory. You will be busy enough remembering the material for the

exam without having to remember what your instructor said.

Study with a Partner

or a Group

Forming a study group is well worth the time and effort it takes. Setting a

time to study with others guarantees that you’ll study, and pooling ideas

improves everyone’s ability to predict what will be on the test. Do some

preparation before group meetings so that you make the most of the study

time. The tips on the following page can help study group members pre-

pare for a meeting:

■ DISCUSSION

Ask students why the

questions in the “Not”

column are inappro-

priate. Use humor to

describe how you as an

instructor might react

to such questions.

■ TEACHING TIP

If students are will-

ing, create a contact

list for the class with

everyone’s telephone

number and e-mail

address. Students can

then use the list to

arrange study groups.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 19 • Writing under Pressure 321

• Each person can take responsibility for a particular section of the

material, preparing a list of ﬁ ve to ten questions that might be on

the test. Questions and possible responses can then be discussed in

the group.

• Each person can photocopy his or her notes on a particular chapter,

section, or topic and distribute them to the members of the group.

• Each person can come up with a list of the ﬁ ve most important things

he or she learned about the material to be covered on the test.

• Each person can make a list of things he or she doesn’t understand.

Predict What Will Be

on the Exam

Whether you are studying with other people or by yourself, make a list of

what you think will be on the exam. Look over your notes, assignments,

and any previous tests or quizzes. Try writing questions for that material,

and then try answering your own questions.

If you are confused about any material, ask about it either in class,

after class, or during your instructor’s ofﬁ ce hours. Your instructor will

probably welcome questions by e-mail as well. Do not go into an exam

knowing that you don’t understand a major concept.

PRACTICE 1 PREDICTING THE CONTENT OF A TEST

Imagine that you are having a quiz in this class next week. With a partner or

in a small group, identify three topics that might be on that quiz, and write

one question for each.

TOPIC: Fragments

QUESTION: What are four kinds of sentence fragments?

TOPIC:

Answers will vary.

QUESTION:

TOPIC:

QUESTION:

TOPIC:

QUESTION:

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WRITING ESSAYS

322 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

Use Study Aids

Use one or more of the following study aids — or any other that is available

to you — to ensure your success:

• Reread your notes, looking especially for anything you’ve underlined or

marked in some other way.

• If you are being tested on material from your textbook, reread chapter

reviews, summaries, and boxes containing key concepts.

• Review handouts from your instructor.

• Consider other ways to review material — audiotapes, videos, computer

exercises, study guides, the course or textbook Web site, and so on.

Review Actively

The following are some suggestions for reviewing material actively:

• To review material from a book, take notes. Improve your retention by

writing information in your own words.

• To review handouts, use a colored pen or highlighter to mark the most

important ideas, most useful facts, and other key information.

• Say important material aloud. Many people learn well by hearing some-

thing in addition to seeing it.

• To review notes, rewrite them in other words or in another format. For

example, if you’ve written an outline, transform it into a chart or dia-

gram that shows the relationships among ideas (see, for example, the

clustering diagram on p. 65).

Test-Taking Strategies

Good test-takers know how to manage the test-taking process. They start

with studying, and after they have studied, they move on to the next steps.

■ TEACHING TIP

Show students the

study aids in a chap-

ter of this book — the

major headings, the

boxed information,

deﬁ nitions, and so

forth.

■ For more on active,

critical reading,

see Chapter 2,

pages 22–34.

STRATEGIES FOR TAKING EXAMS

Be prepared.

2. Manage your nerves.

3. Understand the directions.

4. Survey the whole exam before starting.

5. Develop a plan.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 19 • Writing under Pressure 323

Be Prepared

If you have followed the advice in the ﬁ rst part of this chapter, you’ve

already done the most important preparation. But don’t arrive at the exam

and discover that you’ve left something essential at home. Take some time

the night before to think about what you need. Make a list of what to bring

(pen? books? calculator? notebook? textbook? computer disk? watch?), and

assemble everything so that it’s ready to go.

Manage Your Nerves

Get as much rest as possible the night before the exam, and allow extra

time to get to class. Arrive early enough to settle in. Sit up straight, take

a deep breath, and remind yourself that you know the material: You’re

prepared; you’re ready; you will pass. When your instructor starts to talk,

look up and listen.

Understand the Directions

Misunderstanding or ignoring directions is a major reason students do

poorly on exams, so please pay attention to the advice here. First, listen to

the spoken directions your instructor gives. It’s tempting to start ﬂ ipping

through the exam as soon as you get it rather than listening to what your

instructor is saying. Resist the temptation. Your instructor may be giving

you key advice or information that’s not written elsewhere, and you may

miss it if you’re not paying attention.

Second, when you begin the test, carefully read the written direc-

tions for each part. Sometimes, students answer all of the questions in a

section only to ﬁ nd out afterward that the directions said to answer only

one or two. If you don’t understand any part of the directions, be sure to

ask your instructor for clariﬁ cation.

Survey the Whole Exam

before Starting

Look over the whole exam before doing anything. See how many parts the

exam has, and make sure to look on both sides of all pages. Note the kinds

of questions and the number of points each question or part is worth. The

toughest questions (and the ones worth the most points) are often at the

end, so you will want to leave enough time to answer those.

■ DISCUSSION

Early in the term,

discuss how to prepare

for an exam from

the beginning of the

course. Discuss the

hazards of cramming

for a test, and empha-

size that college-level

work requires consis-

tent study over the

course of the term.

■

TEACHING TIP

Most people need to

jot down directions

that are given orally

and highlight or make

notes about written

directions. Emphasize

to students the impor-

tance of understanding

directions.

■

TEACHING TIP

Assure students that

neither surveying nor

developing a plan takes

much time away from

the test-taking pro-

cess. Planning should

take only three to ﬁ ve

minutes.

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WRITING ESSAYS

324 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

Develop a Plan

First, budget your time. After surveying the whole test, write down how

much time you will allow for each part. You might even ﬁ nd it helpful to

calculate what time you want to start each section: Part 1 at 9:40, Part 2

at 9:55, and so on. Make sure you leave enough time for the parts with

the highest point values, such as essay questions: They can take longer

than you think they will. As you plan your time, keep in mind how much

time you really have for the exam: A “two-hour” exam may be only one

hour and ﬁ fty minutes once your instructor has ﬁ nished giving directions.

Remember also to leave a few minutes to check your work.

Second, decide on an order — where you should start, what you

should do second, third, and so on. Start with the questions you can an-

swer quickly and easily, but stay within your time budget on them.

Finally, monitor your time during the exam. If you ﬁ nd you’re really

stuck on a question and you’re going way over your time budget, move on. If

you have time at the end of the exam period, you can always go back to it.

Answering an Essay Question

An essay question requires writing several well-supported paragraphs in

response to a question or prompt within a set amount of time.

Essay questions on an exam are usually worth more points than short-

answer or multiple-choice questions, so they deserve special attention.

Apply the following strategies to essay questions.

■ DISCUSSION

Ask students to discuss

their experiences with

taking tests that have

multiple parts (includ-

ing standardized tests).

What strategies not

listed here did they

ﬁ nd especially

effective?

■

TEACHING TIP

Give students practice

essay exams on topics

that will allow them

to determine how to

focus their ideas.

Language Note: Read the whole test through for any vocabulary

you don’t understand or cultural issues you are not familiar with. If

you have questions, go to the teacher, and ask for clariﬁ cation.

STRATEGIES FOR ANSWERING AN ESSAY QUESTION

Read and analyze the question.

2. Write a thesis statement.

3. Make an outline.

4. Write your answer.

5. Reread and revise your answer.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 19 • Writing under Pressure 325

Read and Analyze the Question

Read an essay question carefully so that you know exactly what it calls for

you to do. Look for three kinds of key words:

• Words that tell you what subject to write on.

• Words that tell you how to write about it.

• Words that tell you how many parts your answer should have.

Tells how many parts the answer should have

Discuss two major causes of personal bankruptcy in this country.

Tells how to write the response Tells what subject to write about

Deﬁ ne and give examples of the phenomenon of global warming.

Tells how to write the response Tells what subject to write about

The following chart translates some common types of essay questions into

an action plan.

Analyzing Essay Questions

KEY WORDS WHAT’S REQUIRED SAMPLE ANSWER

“Analyze the theory

of relativity.”

Break into parts and

discuss.

“The theory

of relativity is

made up of four

components . . .”

“Deﬁ ne

carpetbaggers.”

State the meaning, and

give examples.

“Carpetbaggers were

people who. . . .”

“Describe the steps

in taking a blood

pressure reading.”

List and explain the

steps.

“To take a person’s

blood pressure,

ﬁ rst. . . . Next, . . . .

Finally, . . . .”

“Discuss the

causes of poor air

quality.”

List and explain the

causes.

“Poor air qual-

ity is caused by

several different

factors. . . .”

continued

■ TEACHING TIP

Ask students to bring

in exams with essay

questions from other

classes. Look for the

key words used on

these exams — whether

from this list or in addi-

tion to it — and discuss

what they mean.

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WRITING ESSAYS

326 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

KEY WORDS WHAT’S REQUIRED SAMPLE ANSWER

“Discuss the

effects of ozone

levels.”

List and explain the

effects.

“Ozone levels af-

fect air quality in

several different

ways. . . .”

“Discuss the

meaning of

obesity.”

Deﬁ ne and give

examples.

“Obesity, which

the NIH deﬁ nes

as having a body

mass index of 30 or

higher, is reaching

epidemic propor-

tions in some parts

of the industrialized

world. . . .”

“Compare

obsession and

compulsion.”

List and give examples

of how the two items

are similar. (Note:

Sometimes the word

compare can mean to

write about both simi-

larities and differences.

When in doubt, ask.)

“Obsession and

compulsion are

both. . . .”

“Obsession and

compulsion share

some traits such

as . . . , but they

differ in. . . .”

“Discuss the simi-

larities and dif-

ferences between

obsession and

compulsion.”

List and give examples

of how the two items

are similar and how

they’re different.

“Obsession and

compulsion share

some traits such

as . . . , but they

differ in. . . .”

“Contrast obsession

and compulsion.”

“Discuss the

differences

between obsession

and compulsion.”

List and give examples

of how the two items

are different.

“Obsession and

compulsion are

related disorders,

but they are not the

same. . . .”

“Evaluate John

Smith’s argument.”

Make a judgment

about the subject, and

support that judgment

with reasons, opinions,

and evidence.

“John Smith’s

argument in favor

of X has several

weaknesses. . . .”

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