Essay Writing Tips

Essays should fill at least four pages in a blue book.

Below are some tips.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE TEST

1. Questions could be one of three types: trace or narrate a story/process define the significance of something compare and contrast

2. The best way to prepare is to come to class, take notes, and form study groups. Brainstorm together and ask: "What facts need to be in this essay to make it complete?"

3. The essay questions are formed using the study guide. Use the study guide to help you. Read the text and review lectures for the additional information you will need.

4. Draft a list. List everything that will go toward making a full essay. This list will constitute the building blocks of your essay.

5. Demonstrate your this statement "in action," which means use examples. Incorporate facts and details. Don't ignore dates and places.

6. Memorize your list.

7. Conclude with, "What is the significance of all this?"

EXECUTION OF THE ESSAY ON EXAM DAY

8. Study the question randomly assigned to you (you will have already seen the possibilities on study guide).

9. Gauge time (about half hour).

10. Replicate the list you memorized in #4 above on scratch paper.

11. Think in terms of paragraphs. Let your list suggest the clusters that will comprise each paragraph.

12. Start each paragraph with a general statement. Then support your essay referring to your list.

13. Start writing.

OTHER POINTS

14. Refrain from moral judgment, religious confessional, or overdone Americanism. Adopt the stance of the dispassionate, scholarly observer.

15. Unlike a research paper, book review, or film review, your test essay is not expected to have polished style. However, it should demonstrate logical organization, critical thinking and mastery of content.

By Dr. Craig Livingston, revised by Prof. Ramsey