Strategies for Exam
Papers
(and
Essay Questions in General)
Five Basic
Rules:
- Explain
complex things simply
- Define
important notions
- Do
not use notions you do not fully understand
- An
example is NOT an argument
- You
are writing FOR someone
How to deal
with the questions BEFORE writing your answers:
1. Eliminating:
Read ALL questions CAREFULLY first and cross the ones that you
will not (or can not) answer to.
2. Selecting and checking that you have enough
material
When you have selected the questions you think you would like to
answer to, make sure that you can rapidly think about three main arguments that
you would develop in your answer. Write them down as a short outline so that
you will not forget them.
3. Dealing with each question
Look at your watch and make sure that you allow yourself enough
time for each question: each of them has the same importance!
How to answer a question:
- NEVER
write an answer that is 'ready made'. Recycled or 'prepared material' are
ALWAYS very obvious since it does not stick to the actual question and
this UNDOUBTEDLY will lower your mark.
- Read
the question AGAIN very CAREFULLY. Allow yourself the time to think. Make
sure you fully understand the whole question. What are the main concepts?
Do you have a short definition for each of them?
- Go
back to the short outline you wrote previously and re-work it. Think about
your arguments and organise them in a logical way. Do some argument
contradict the others? Are some subordinate to others? Make sure that you
can illustrate your argument with examples but remember that an example is
not in itself an argument.
- Think
about your introduction and your conclusion. NEVER begin writing your
answer without having a good idea of its organisation and of what its
conclusion will be.
- Write
the introduction. The intro should offer hints of what the structure of
the essay will be and what conclusion you might reach (do not give the
whole conclusion because then the reader might not feel the need to read
the rest!). It should also define the concepts that will be central to
your discussion.
- Keeping
your potential readers in mind, write your essay as clearly as possible.
Change paragraph when you switch to another argument. Clearly signal the
beginning of your arguments and their logical link to the previous ones.
- Within
each paragraph, make sure that you make clear links between sentences.
There should be a good balance between simplicity and complexity. Your
sentences should not be too long and complex but they should be
harmoniously combined with each other and not come abruptly one after the
other. You can use subordination (Although A, B), co-ordination (A but B)
and juxtaposition (A. However B). Try to maintain some cohesion by using
anaphora (This, that, these…) and repeating certain terms as to not cause
confusion between pronouns (usual suspects: they, he, it).
- Write
your conclusion. It might be useful to briefly summarise your main
arguments and repeat your answer to the exam question before placing it
into perspective within a broader framework.
- Re-read
your answer critically. Also check for possible confusions and spelling
mistakes. Check your examples in French (in the eyes of an examiner, a
mistake, even if emotionally understandable, is also very damageable for
the overall assessment of your expertise).
Quotations in essays:
- Do
not quote extensively (but show that you understand the quotation)
- When
quoting in your exam, refer to the author and the (short) title of the
work you are thinking about. In essays during the year, mention a short
reference (author, year, page number) next to the quotation AND the
complete reference in the bibliography (author, year, title, publisher,
place).
- Beware:
a quotation should be complete, i.e. it must be understandable outside of
the CONTEXT of the book you are quoting from.
Linguistic commentaries:
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Click here for French 5
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This page was last updated on
31 March 2016