If I were to ask you what your least favorite type of test question is, I'm pretty sure I could guess it before you gave me your answer, because it is clearly the essay question.
Other types of questions are easy, right? Multiple choice? More like multiple guess.
True false? Fifty-fifty, I'll take it.
But with an essay there's no guessing.
Everything that's gonnabe on that piece of paper has to come out of your head.
And that can be intimidating.
But if you look at it froma different perspective, it's also an opportunity.
Essay questions put you 100% in control.
Rather than having to pick from questions that were written for you, you have the opportunity to demonstrate exactly how well you understand the question and the material that it was based on.
And assuming you're actually did study and you do understand the material, the five rules we're gonna go over in today's video will show you how you can most effectively communicate that understanding inyour next essay question.
When you're faced with anessay question on a test, you're almost always working under a pretty stressful time limit.
And it can often feel likethe best way to tackle that is to start writing immediately.
But before you do, remember, a good essay is when it communicates your thoughts in an organized way, andif it's not organized, it's not gonna be effective and it's not gonna get you a good grade.
Without a good plan to guide you, it can be really easy to misinterpret, or even outright miss, important points the prompt wants you to cover.
So before you start writing your essay, use a piece of scratch paper to plan it out in advance.
First, read the prompt carefully and make sure you understand exactly what it's asking for.
And if it's a longprompt, it might actually be useful to highlightthe important points in that prompt, or to create a checklist so you know that you're gonna cover everything within it.
Next, you want to create arough outline of your essay.
And I recommend going througha two-stage outlining process.
In the first stage,you just want to create a bullet list of everythingthat comes to mind related to the prompt.
This is essentially a brainstorming phase, so at this point don'tworry about the order of the points that you're writing out, because it's all about just getting things out of your head and onto the paper and ensuring that they cover what's being asked for in the prompt.
Once you've got that done, then it's time to move onto stage two.
At this point you'recreating a more organized, ordered list of points that represents the flow of your essay.
When you have that in hand, you'll find that writing the actualessay itself is much easier.
Alright, let's talk about essay formats.
There are plenty of creative ways to structure your writing, as I'm sure you'll probably know if you've ever seen Memento or read House of Leaves.
But when you're dealingwith an essay on a test, it's often best to stick with a simple, time-tested format, both to compensate for your own limited time, and as a courtesy to your teacher.
As the author Walter Pauk once wrote, "Instructors don't havetime to treat each essay "as a puzzle in need of a solution.
"Take the guesswork out of your essay.
" A good default format that does this is the five-paragraph-essay,which consists of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, though you can use more if you need to, and finally a conclusion.
Within this structure, there are several different methods that you can use to organize your points.
The most popular is probably the decreasing-importance pattern, in which your first body paragraph contains your strongest argument, and the last one covers the weakest or least consequential.
However, this pattern isn'talways the right one to use.
For example, if you've beenasked to summarize an event, then it's probably best togo in chronological order.
And, likewise, if you'vebeen asked to write the word "potatoes" 600 times, then you should probably do that.
In short, use the promptas a guide for choosing the pattern that you're going to use.
Going back to that idea of taking the guesswork out of the essay, let's talk about the introduction.
In most contexts, an essayhas to earn its audience.
That's why it's usually a good idea to start with a hook, something designed to grab the reader'sattention and draw them in.
You might use a quote, oran interesting statistic, or sometimes even a story.
But when you're answeringan essay question on a test, you've got a guaranteed audience, namely your teacher.
And when you're writing for an audience that you know, you can write with their needs in mind.
So, the question is, whatare your teacher's needs? Well, number one, your teacher is looking to get through your essayas quickly as possible because he's got dozensof others to grade, and number two, he's lookingfor a solid understanding of all the points that wereasked for in the prompt.
And here's the thing.
A clever introduction doesn't really serve either of those twopurposes, and also wastes your precious time during the test.
So, unless you think it'sabsolutely necessary, I say just jump right intothe thesis statement instead.
When you write that thesis statement, there is one big thing that you need to make sure you avoid and that is blatantly restating the prompt.
What do I mean by that? Well, say you're facedwith a prompt like this: "Explain the tactics used by Genghis Khan "against the Khwarezmian Shah's armies "that allowed for his victory in 1221.
" With a prompt like this, your teacher is almost guaranteedto get a ton of essays from your classmates that all start virtually the same way: "The tactics used by Genghis Khan "against the Khwarezmian Shah "included utilizing superior speed," et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
You get the point.
This is boring, lazy writing.
It literally grabs aphrase from the prompt and restates it verbatim.
And you're better than that.
So let's consider animproved way to do it.
(clears throat) "Genghis Khan's swift conquest "of the Khwarezmid Empire in 1221 "hinged on the use ofseveral innovative tactics, "chief among them beingthe constant utilization "of superior speed and maneuverability.
"The Khan also subverted "the Khwarezmian Shah'sexpectations by sending "a force across the dangerousTien Shan mountain range "in order to attackfrom a different angle, "and dedicated anotherforce solely to the task "of hunting down the Shah himself, "forcing the Shah to continually flee "and diminishing his ability "to effectively command his forces.
"These tactics, in conjunction "with a numerically greater force, "allowed for a decisive Mongol victory "that led directly to the destruction "of the entire Khwarezmid Empire.
" This is the kind of introduction that covers what the prompt is asking for, but does so in a much more interesting way that demonstrates your ability to think and write independently.
Speaking of writing andthinking independently, I love what the Harvard Writing Center has to say about theconclusion to your essay.
"So much is at stake inwriting a conclusion.
"This is, after all, your last chance "to persuade your readersto your point of view, "to impress yourself upon them "as a writer and thinker.
" With that being said, want a way to leave a really weak impression with your reader? Well, if you do and you're in the market for sabotaging all of your hard work, then just do what all of the other study skills books and websites that I came across seemto be recommending, just blindly restate yourpoints in the conclusion, summarize them and call it a day.
I'm kidding, don't do that.
Instead, synthesize, find a way to tie everything together.
Here's how I might end that essay about the Mongol tactics.
"As countless militaryconflicts through history "have demonstrated, numerical superiority "is not always a perfectpredictor of victory.
"Hannibal's victory over the Romans "at the Battle of Cannaeis a perfect example.
"However, Genghis Khan'suse of speed, surprise, "and unrelentingaggression towards the Shah "gave his forces an unbeatable edge.
"The Khwarezmid Empire,with its more settled ways "and reliance on fortifications, "was unable to adapt.
" Alright, so let's quickly recap.
To make sure that you write the best essay possible on your next test, first, start with an outline.
Get really, reallyfamiliar with the prompt, know exactly what it's asking for, and then use thattwo-stage outline process to create a plan so you know that you're going tohit every single point.
Next, follow a standard essay format, like the five-paragraph essay.
Don't make your teacherwork more than they have to.
Third, get right to the point.
Don't waste time on a clever introduction.
Fourth, don't restate theprompt in your introduction.
Instead, write aninteresting thesis statement that covers the promptbut in your own words.
And finally, ensure your conclusion synthesizes everything you've written.
Avoid simply summarizing your points, especially since your essayis probably a short one.
In addition to keepingthese points in mind, always seek to ensure that your essays are logical and thorough, but that they're also concise and don't waste words.
As the author William Strunk wrote in The Elements of Style, "Vigorous writing is concise.
"This requires not that the writer "make all his sentences short, "or that he avoid detailand treat his subjects "only in outline, butthat every word tell.
" When it comes to doing well on tests, whether they're full ofessays or other challenges, one of the best tools in your arsenal is your ability to think critically and to analyze the problems facing you from all sides.
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