Exam Essays

The key to writing exam essays is preparation, both before and during the actual exam. Exam essays are meant to follow the same conventions as normal student essays. They should have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Exam essays must attempt to answer the question by showing your knowledge of the subject matter and your ability to analyse the topic by explaining various issues or applying relevant theories. Be as detailed as your memory allows, but there is no need to reference your material.

Essential preparation tips for exam essays

The old adage that ‘practice makes perfect’ is the key to doing well at exams. Part of your preparation should involve doing a ‘dummy run’—that is, writing an essay under exam conditions and time constraints. It makes sense that the more you do something, the easier and less stressful it will become. It's amazing how few students prepare for an exam essay in this way. The three essential tips for preparing for exam essays are:

1. Use memory joggers: Prior to the exam, prepare your lecture and reading notes by summarising them under key headings that can act as memory joggers during the exam. If you summarise the main theories and facts under easily remembered keywords, simply thinking of the word should conjure up a host of related material.
2. Practise with sample questions under exam conditions: Either use past exam papers if available, or think of some sample questions yourself. Test yourself by attempting a question in the same time frame as you are given in the exam.
3. Seek further help: There are many books on the market to help you with exam study and technique, and your tertiary institution is likely to have a study skills centre which could also provide you with further help.

Tips to use during the exam

The first thing you should do is apportion your time. Complete your questions according to the marks or weighting given to them. For example, if there are two questions, one worth 60 per cent and the other 40 per cent of the total mark, divide your time accordingly. That is, 60 per cent of your time should be devoted to the essay worth 60 per cent.Before you begin to write, use the essay planning strategies discussed earlier in this guide. Make a plan of your exam essay. Look for command and keywords in the question and make sure you address them in the essay. Do some mind mapping and even mind clearing if needed. In making your essay plan, use memory joggers. To summarise, key tips to use during an exam are:

1. Allocate your time: Divide your exam time according to the weighting of each question, and keep a close watch on your use of the available time.
2. Do a quick essay plan: Identify command and keywords; use mind mapping and mind-clearing techniques.
3. List your memory joggers: Note the memory joggers you can think of that relate to the essay topic. In exams, you don't have time to write a draft, so the memory joggers act as a shorthand essay draft. The detailed sentences and facts will flow as you begin to write your exam essay by using the memory joggers and your mind map as prompts for your writing.
4. Use point form if time runs out: Exam essays should be written using proper sentence structure and grammar.

The final point to remember about exam essays is to make your handwriting legible. If ‘interpreting’ your writing is likely to be a problem for an exam marker, then print your essay rather than use a cursive style.