Knowing how to write answers to essay questions in an exam will help you get top grades. First, you should understand the essay question and identify the question type. Next, you should plan your answer and write a well-structured essay without errors.
Essay questions are a common part of several exams, including high school English tests, college entrance exams, and even the GRE. If you wish to score high grades in these exams, you must know how to answer essay questions. Generally, you will only have a limited time in exams to write answers to multiple short essay questions or write one or two longer essays. For short essay questions, you will have to write answers in one or two paragraphs. On the other hand, for longer essay questions, you will have to provide answers in several paragraphs. No matter what your essay question is, you must effectively answer it by writing clear and concise paragraphs. In case you have no idea how to write answers to essay questions in an exam, continue reading this blog. Here we have suggested key steps and tips for answering essay questions in an exam.
Types of Essay Questions
Typically, essay questions are categorized into four types. They are
Opinion
In this essay question, you will be asked to present your thoughts and opinions. Usually, when you see questions like “What do you think about…?”, you can share your opinions, but you need to support them with evidence and logical reasoning. Particularly, when writing this essay, you should convince the readers to agree with your point of view.
Synthesis
For synthesis essay questions, you will have to think critically and apply what you have learned. The main verbs used in this type of essay question are “analyze”, “evaluate”, “explain”, “illustrate”, or “justify”. When you answer these questions, you should think about how you can use your knowledge to make a point or support an argument.
Factual Recall
These essay questions will ask you to remember and state facts. Keywords like “name”, “list”, “state”, “summarize”, or “define” will be present in this essay question type. When you answer these essay questions, simply write down the facts as you know them, instead of opinions.
Analysis
In this essay question, you will be required to break down information and explain it. These questions often use words like “explain” or “discuss”. When you answer these questions, break down the topic and describe it in detail. You can also use examples and discuss causes and effects to present your point.
Steps for Writing Answers to Essay Questions
Are you clueless about how to write answers to essay questions in an exam? If yes, then follow these steps and answer your essay questions
Understand what the question is
When you are asked to answer an essay question, first read and get a clear understanding of what the question is. If you don’t understand your essay question properly, then it might be challenging for you to provide the correct answer. Moreover, your grades will be affected if you write the wrong answer. So, to avoid all these issues, carefully read your essay question two or three times and get a clear idea of what is being asked. Especially, while reading the essay question, look at the important keywords and phrases in it. If you wish to stay focused and answer correctly, then underline or highlight the key terms in the essay question.
Determine the type of question
Before you answer your essay question, make sure to identify the keywords that tell you what to do. With the keywords, you can identify what your professor or teacher expects to see in your response. These are some major keywords you will often find in your essay question
- Analyze: When you are asked to analyze, you should break down a topic into its parts and discuss its good and bad points.
- Compare: If you are asked to compare, you should discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things and explain why it is useful.
- Contrast: If you are asked to contrast effectively, you need to discuss the differences between two or more things and explain why it is helpful.
- Define: When defining a term, you should explain what something is and what it does.
- Describe: If a question requires description, you should list the qualities or characteristics of something.
- Discuss: When you are asked to discuss a topic, you should examine it closely, describe it, and present arguments for or against it.
- Evaluate: If you are required to evaluate something, you should explore the pros and cons of a topic and analyze its strengths and weaknesses.
- Justify: If you need to justify your position, you should explain why you believe something or why something happened.
- Prove: When you are asked to prove a point, you need to provide evidence and facts that support your argument.
- Summarize: When summarizing, you should give a brief overview of the main points of the essay topic.
Write the answer
Once you get a clear idea about your essay question, start structuring your answer. If you want to create a well-structured answer for your essay question in an exam, then follow the 5-paragraph format. It includes
- An introductory paragraph
- Up to 3 body paragraphs
- A concluding paragraph
When you answer an essay question, start with an introduction paragraph. The introduction should grab the reader’s attention and set the tone for the rest of your essay. It should be about 10% of your total writing. For example, if you are writing a 1500-word essay, your introduction should be around 150 words.
Next, write body paragraphs that support your arguments. In your body paragraph, try to add 2-3 relevant paragraphs. Make sure each paragraph connects back to the question and uses relevant keywords. Especially when writing your body paragraphs, stick to the point and avoid adding unnecessary information.
Finally, conclude your essay by summarizing your main points. In the conclusion section, restate what you have already said and refer back to the keywords in the question. Don’t introduce new information at the conclusion. Simply end your arguments concisely.
By following this structure, you can write a clear and effective essay answer that addresses the question and showcases your knowledge.
Proofread
After you finish writing your essay, take some extra time to review it carefully. When you write quickly without proper planning, you will make many mistakes. Therefore, thoroughly review your work multiple times. This will help you identify and fix spelling errors and other issues in your essay answers. Simply by following this step, you can submit error-free essay answers in an exam and score good grades.
Tips for Answering Essay Questions in an Exam
Would you wish to write better answers to your essay questions in an exam? If yes, then follow these tips and improve your answers to the essay questions
- Before you start writing, take some time to brainstorm and make a list of the key points you want to cover in the essay. When you do so, you can easily organize your thoughts. Also, you will not forget to include important things in the essay.
- When you begin writing your essay, try to restate the question as a statement. This will help you show that you have read and understood the question. Also, it will keep you focused on the topic.
- You need to make sure your essay has a clear position on the issue or the topic of discussion. Even if you are comparing and contrasting two things, you must have a strong thesis statement that answers the question.
- Everything you write in your essay should support your thesis statement. If you divert from the topic, stop and read the question again to refocus. Following this tactic will help you write relevant answers to the questions.
- When you write your essay, you should pay attention to punctuation, sentence structure, and grammar. If you are writing by hand, make sure your handwriting is easy to read. A well-written essay will help you get a good grade. Therefore, take your time and do your best.
Wrapping Up
By now, you will have gained knowledge of how to write answers to essay questions in an exam. If you still have doubts about essay writing, contact us immediately. The academic writers on our team will offer you the best essay writing help on diverse subjects. Specifically, our professionals will teach you how to write different types of essays as per the standard format. Furthermore, utilizing our expert essay writing services will help you submit plagiarism-free essays worthy of an A+ grade.
