Exam Essays: Tips to survive them without needing a medical exam afterwards
High school students have a few more months to breathe, but for university students, this is crunch time. Exams are looming. You have in-class assignments, essays and take-home tests piling up and threatening to bury you in an avalanche of stress, sleep-deprivation, headaches and paper cuts! But take a breath. Go outside. Have some tea. Squeeze a stress ball. Watch a comedy. You will get through this.
If you're going into any kind of arts or social science program, essays will almost certainly be a huge part of your exam. If you haven't already discovered this, then spoiler alert! And if you think high school exam essays are intense, wait until you get to university! It's madness on a whole new level. Now, obviously I can't edit those for you (it's unfortunate, I know, because if you're anything like me, you need an editor the most when you're trying to frantically write something which makes some semblance of sense, but you also know the clock is ticking and you're trying not to panic and keep your writing legible and remember what you actually talked about in class and be intelligent, all at the same time and it's just too much and you just want to freak out and bust a pencil!!!!). But there are some ways that you can get through it and still more or less maintain your sanity (that bit's pretty much up to you...and again I say, starting your studying in advance as opposed to the night before is definitely a good call).
Something I've always done to help me prepare is go through all of my class notes, cut out the important parts and glue them into a notebook so that they're all in one place and it's more or less easy to find the important points. But when I got to the eleventh grade, I realised that I'd been using all this glue and getting all of these paper cuts for no good reason. That, people, is when my friend and I pioneered...the study package.
The study package is more or less the same idea. Now, this goes best if you've typed out your notes, but if you haven't, it's still easier than the first technique. Take whatever exam review information your teacher/prof/whatever gives you (and believe me, take it and use it well) and then go through your notes and copy the most important points. Take the points and put them into one big document. You'll probably have something between 20-30 pages when you're done, but that's good! If you're provided with key terms, deal with those specifically. Also, if you haven't typed your notes, writing out the important points again into the document is another really good way to study, and it'll be further reinforced if you read through your massive document a few times.
Now for exam essay questions. First of all, outlining your answers is a very good idea (and just outline ideas, people. There is no need to write a whole essay. The point of an exam essay is the concepts and your ability to apply them coherently to answer an analytical question, not to memorise pre-written answers). If you do this, however, do this independently; do NOT share your outlined answers with other people. If the questions in the review end up being in the exam and you use the points that your friend came up with, this qualifies as both cheating and plagiarism. Both of those are serious on their own. I'm sure you can imagine how much more serious they are if you commit them both at the same time. In university, that kind of thing can get you expelled, which will come back to haunt you if you ever try to apply to another post-secondary institution. Your analysis needs to be entirely your own, and you are taking a HUGE risk if you outline answers with your friends. So just outline concepts, points that you could possibly include. For a history essay, this might take the form of important events relating to the question and maybe a sentence or two of analysis to kind of remind you where you were going with the idea when you read it over again.
Secondly, focus on streamlining. This is where the high school sandwich/martini glass/whatever you want to call it essay comes in handy. By this I mean the essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs laying out your arguments (which are expanding on your thesis) and a conclusion. Now, be aware that it doesn't have to be three argumentative paragraphs. Two is the golden number here. Anything less than two paragraphs is just a paragraph (obvious, right?) and anything less than two proofs per argument/paragraph is just basically a waste. I've never yet seen an essay where that worked. You want to choose your points carefully and make them clearly related to your thesis. So you can safely do two, but three is even better, especially if you know one of your arguments is weak (and we've all been there). Your arguments also need to deal with your proofs thoroughly and carefully. If it's an English essay, analyse meaning as well as the words used and the way they're used. For history, try to think of all of the possible ramifications of your proof.
Thirdly, manage your time. Once you're in the exam, sketching out a rough outline before you write can be very helpful. Try to be mindful of your time and don't spend too long on any one thing. At some point, you have to decide that what you have is good enough and move on to the next question. A common mistake in exams is either to say too much and drown your point in words or say too little and not make a point at all. Try to find the happy medium. If you feel like you're repeating yourself, even sort of, stop and read it over. Do not be afraid to cross things out (I personally prefer white out, but I will be the first to admit that that can take up precious time, especially if you're as OCD about it as I have a tendency to be...). If you find yourself thinking, "Oh whatever. The prof/teacher/whoever will know what I'm getting at", you haven't written enough, or you haven't made it clear. Do not get into the habit of writing for one particular person. That's the lazy way of writing, and you can get burned that way if your exam ends up being marked by someone else. Always aim for clarity, so that anyone could understand what you're trying to say, not just someone who's taken the same class.
Fourthly, edit. Check for spelling and grammar (it may seem unimportant, but it can make a big difference; if it didn't, my job wouldn't exist). Basically, try to remember the five editing tips I gave in the last post (avoiding repetitive words, making sure you're using the correct word for the context, checking for tense consistency, cutting down on words and making sure your analyses are directly related to your thesis).
Also, breathing and sleeping helps. I'm not talking about breaking into Lamaze breathing in the middle of your exam. That would be weird and could get you kicked out of the exam for being distracting. Not what you want. Be optimistic! Things generally go better than you think in my experience, and remember that even if they didn't, there is life after a bad mark. Honestly, I know a D can seem like it is going to change your whole world. You suddenly start picturing yourself stuck as a fry cook for the rest of your life (though if that's what you want to do with your life, more power to you). Honestly, though, if you've put in the work throughout the year, you'll most likely be fine, and if you haven't, doing it over probably isn't the worst thing. Unless you're in a doomsday movie, there is always life after failure!
Finally, do not fixate on your answers after the fact. It will drive you insane, because it's a universal truth that you will remember that one detail that you forgot as you're on your way home.
Once you're done, take a moment to congratulate yourself! You have finished another course, and you are that much closer to freedom.
If you want to see an example of the exam package I mentioned above, send me an email and I'd be happy to send you a sample.
If you're going into any kind of arts or social science program, essays will almost certainly be a huge part of your exam. If you haven't already discovered this, then spoiler alert! And if you think high school exam essays are intense, wait until you get to university! It's madness on a whole new level. Now, obviously I can't edit those for you (it's unfortunate, I know, because if you're anything like me, you need an editor the most when you're trying to frantically write something which makes some semblance of sense, but you also know the clock is ticking and you're trying not to panic and keep your writing legible and remember what you actually talked about in class and be intelligent, all at the same time and it's just too much and you just want to freak out and bust a pencil!!!!). But there are some ways that you can get through it and still more or less maintain your sanity (that bit's pretty much up to you...and again I say, starting your studying in advance as opposed to the night before is definitely a good call).
Something I've always done to help me prepare is go through all of my class notes, cut out the important parts and glue them into a notebook so that they're all in one place and it's more or less easy to find the important points. But when I got to the eleventh grade, I realised that I'd been using all this glue and getting all of these paper cuts for no good reason. That, people, is when my friend and I pioneered...the study package.
The study package is more or less the same idea. Now, this goes best if you've typed out your notes, but if you haven't, it's still easier than the first technique. Take whatever exam review information your teacher/prof/whatever gives you (and believe me, take it and use it well) and then go through your notes and copy the most important points. Take the points and put them into one big document. You'll probably have something between 20-30 pages when you're done, but that's good! If you're provided with key terms, deal with those specifically. Also, if you haven't typed your notes, writing out the important points again into the document is another really good way to study, and it'll be further reinforced if you read through your massive document a few times.
Now for exam essay questions. First of all, outlining your answers is a very good idea (and just outline ideas, people. There is no need to write a whole essay. The point of an exam essay is the concepts and your ability to apply them coherently to answer an analytical question, not to memorise pre-written answers). If you do this, however, do this independently; do NOT share your outlined answers with other people. If the questions in the review end up being in the exam and you use the points that your friend came up with, this qualifies as both cheating and plagiarism. Both of those are serious on their own. I'm sure you can imagine how much more serious they are if you commit them both at the same time. In university, that kind of thing can get you expelled, which will come back to haunt you if you ever try to apply to another post-secondary institution. Your analysis needs to be entirely your own, and you are taking a HUGE risk if you outline answers with your friends. So just outline concepts, points that you could possibly include. For a history essay, this might take the form of important events relating to the question and maybe a sentence or two of analysis to kind of remind you where you were going with the idea when you read it over again.
Secondly, focus on streamlining. This is where the high school sandwich/martini glass/whatever you want to call it essay comes in handy. By this I mean the essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs laying out your arguments (which are expanding on your thesis) and a conclusion. Now, be aware that it doesn't have to be three argumentative paragraphs. Two is the golden number here. Anything less than two paragraphs is just a paragraph (obvious, right?) and anything less than two proofs per argument/paragraph is just basically a waste. I've never yet seen an essay where that worked. You want to choose your points carefully and make them clearly related to your thesis. So you can safely do two, but three is even better, especially if you know one of your arguments is weak (and we've all been there). Your arguments also need to deal with your proofs thoroughly and carefully. If it's an English essay, analyse meaning as well as the words used and the way they're used. For history, try to think of all of the possible ramifications of your proof.
Thirdly, manage your time. Once you're in the exam, sketching out a rough outline before you write can be very helpful. Try to be mindful of your time and don't spend too long on any one thing. At some point, you have to decide that what you have is good enough and move on to the next question. A common mistake in exams is either to say too much and drown your point in words or say too little and not make a point at all. Try to find the happy medium. If you feel like you're repeating yourself, even sort of, stop and read it over. Do not be afraid to cross things out (I personally prefer white out, but I will be the first to admit that that can take up precious time, especially if you're as OCD about it as I have a tendency to be...). If you find yourself thinking, "Oh whatever. The prof/teacher/whoever will know what I'm getting at", you haven't written enough, or you haven't made it clear. Do not get into the habit of writing for one particular person. That's the lazy way of writing, and you can get burned that way if your exam ends up being marked by someone else. Always aim for clarity, so that anyone could understand what you're trying to say, not just someone who's taken the same class.
Fourthly, edit. Check for spelling and grammar (it may seem unimportant, but it can make a big difference; if it didn't, my job wouldn't exist). Basically, try to remember the five editing tips I gave in the last post (avoiding repetitive words, making sure you're using the correct word for the context, checking for tense consistency, cutting down on words and making sure your analyses are directly related to your thesis).
Also, breathing and sleeping helps. I'm not talking about breaking into Lamaze breathing in the middle of your exam. That would be weird and could get you kicked out of the exam for being distracting. Not what you want. Be optimistic! Things generally go better than you think in my experience, and remember that even if they didn't, there is life after a bad mark. Honestly, I know a D can seem like it is going to change your whole world. You suddenly start picturing yourself stuck as a fry cook for the rest of your life (though if that's what you want to do with your life, more power to you). Honestly, though, if you've put in the work throughout the year, you'll most likely be fine, and if you haven't, doing it over probably isn't the worst thing. Unless you're in a doomsday movie, there is always life after failure!
Finally, do not fixate on your answers after the fact. It will drive you insane, because it's a universal truth that you will remember that one detail that you forgot as you're on your way home.
Once you're done, take a moment to congratulate yourself! You have finished another course, and you are that much closer to freedom.
If you want to see an example of the exam package I mentioned above, send me an email and I'd be happy to send you a sample.
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