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How to Answer Essay Questions in Exams (+ Free Printable!)

Many students are afraid of essay-type questions. They may worry about not being able to write anything, or they may think that they can’t answer the questions well. In the previous posts, I have covered a bit on how to write a good essay (which is helpful for essay writing in exams as well), but here I am going to dig a little bit deeper and talk about how you can answer essay questions well in exam.

I am going to talk about:

Why preparation is important for answering essay questions.

How you can analyze the question well and avoid answering in a wrong direction

A good way to draft your essay and sketch your outline

How to write a good introduction

Read the entire post on how to answer essay questions well here!

Make sure to download the printable!

- Sabrina | StudentsToolbox.com

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(via Unlock The Selection)

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Some words to use when writing things:

winking

clenching

pulsing

fluttering

contracting

twitching

sucking

quivering

pulsating

throbbing

beating

thumping

thudding

pounding

humming

palpitate

vibrate

grinding

crushing

hammering

lashing

knocking

driving

thrusting

pushing

force

injecting

filling

dilate

stretching

lingering

expanding

bouncing

reaming

elongate

enlarge

unfolding

yielding

sternly

firmly

tightly 

harshly

thoroughly

consistently

precision

accuracy

carefully

demanding

strictly

restriction

meticulously

scrupulously

rigorously

rim

edge

lip

circle

band

encircling

enclosing

surrounding

piercing

curl

lock

twist

coil

spiral

whorl

dip

wet

soak

madly

wildly

noisily

rowdily

rambunctiously

decadent

degenerate

immoral

indulgent

accept

take

invite

nook

indentation

niche

depression

indent

depress

delay

tossing

writhing

flailing

squirming

rolling

wriggling

wiggling

thrashing

struggling

grappling

striving

straining

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hi i’d like to start a discourse?

the degenerates who put their dishes in the dishwasher without scrubbing off the crusty shit are disgusting and untrustworthy and i am never eating at your house 

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The first draft doesn’t have to be good it just has to be done

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googoo.__ on instagram

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I feel so colorless and unmemorable. Like I don’t think I’ve ever made an impact in anyone’s life in any way. I’m just here.

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So can we like…start normalizing the idea that not everyone dates or has their first boyfriend/girlfriend in junior high or high school?

There are plenty of people who go into college with little to no dating experience. There are tons of people who go into college having not had their first kiss yet. It’s not wrong; everyone experiences things at a different pace, and that’s okay. Don’t feel pressured into doing things you’re not comfortable with at the time just because you feel like you have to fill some sort of “quota.”

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You don't know why you're studying anymore?

You’re studying because you want to get a good grade, you’re studying because you want to show that you’re capable, you’re studying because you want to go to your favorite university, you’re studying because you want to be a doctor, a judge, an engineer, an artist, whatever you dream of. You’re studying because you wanna do what you love. You’re studying what you hate because you want to do amazing things one day. You’re studying because you have a goal. You’re conflicted because you care. You’re procrastinating because you think you won’t be good enough, so why even try? But let me tell you, if you keep lying down and just thinking about your ambitions, they will never come true. You gotta work for it. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. I promise you it will be worth it. And don’t think, not even for a second, that you can’t do it. Don’t make excuses. You CAN and WILL do it. You’re studying because it will help you do it.

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study less study smart

I decided to share my notes taken from this amazing 1 hour Youtube lecture by Marty Lobdell. i really liked him and his tips, i think they are super effective and cover a lot of situations! i highly recommend it!!!!! wow

but here are the tips and examples Marty mentions, so if you don’t have the time to go through the full hour, you can just scroll down. hope this helps somebody!

Break your study time in chunks with breaks

most students lose focus at 25 minutes

it’s a mistake to keep going once you do, since you won’t actually learn anything and you’ll hate every minute of it

so when you start losing focus take a 5 minute break

do something nice like talking to someone or listening to music

it’s something you practice so with time you’ll be able to work for more time without losing focus

in the end of the study session have a big reward you look forward to

Create a study area

environment highly affects the way you act. Bedrooms are for sleeping, kitchens for eating: you’ll feel sleepy in your bedroom and hungry in the kitchen. So if you have a study area, it’ll be easier to start studying and staying focused.

study in a specific room like an office or school library if you can

if you have to study in your bedroom use a specific object you only use for studying: a lamp/desk. Make it a no-distraction, away from your bed, blank walls area.

 The more active the learning, the better

80% active learning 20% passive

ask yourself: is it a concept or a fact?

learning a concept: understand/grasp/know it

put it into your own words

really think about the meaning of it

relate it with something you already know

teach somebody else. Recapitulate what you’ve learned. Talk out loud even if you don’t have anyone to teach - talk alone. Or at anyone that listens.

learning a fact: memorize it

use mnemonics

Acronyms (e.g. colours of the rainbow RoyGBiv – red orange yellow green blue indigo violet)

 Coined sayings - anything popular or sayings you’ve heard since you were a child.

Interacting images – work even better if they’re weird. Creative associations make you never forget specific details. (e.g. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories: picture a fat cat – each cat has 9 lives)

any time 2 things are highly similar but not the same you will get maximal interference!! USE mnemonics!! (e.g. afferent vs efferent neurons: SAME - Sensory Afferent Motor Efferent)

Be a part of  study groups

others can help you in ways you never thought before

Recognizing VS remembering

never confuse the two

while reviewing a chapter you may recognize concepts but not actually know them

and when you get to the test you won’t be able to remember any of it

so quiz yourself without looking at it

or stop in a page of your notes/textbook and ask yourself what is the concept immediately after and before it

Get your REM Sleep 

get ~8 hours so you don’t undo your studying

this is how your brain stores permanent memories

without it you’re ability to remember seriously decreases

most people don’t even begin to take the advice but it’s simple: sleep better. Do better.

There’s 162 hours in a week. There is time.

reflect on what you are doing with your time and what activities you have to prioritize to succed as a student

Taking notes is vital.

right after the class take 5 minutes to expand everything you’ve jotted down, give it depth.

NOT hours later. You won’t remember half the things you wrote down.

Ask your questions to class mates and teachers.

teachers want you to succeed and it’s more than ok to ask your question in the teacher’s office or in the next class

How to use a textbook: SQ3R technique

Survey Question Read Recite Review

Survey: skim through the entire chapter in a couple of minutes.

Raise questions: e.g. what is osmosis? What is this graphic about? What is a prototype?

it causes you to look for answers and you’ll find the information better once you actually study it after. If you intend to find something you learn it better.

Start studying for tests early.

don’t undo yourself. You should only be reviewing the days before the test. don’t leave it till the last minute!

(don’t just scroll through this!!!! really think about these methods and how you can actually implement them so you can benefit from them!!! these actually work but only if you put them into practice boo good luck!)

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Writing an essay on one piece of literature is difficult enough, so when it comes to comparing two or more in the same essay, it’s easy to get bogged down and struggle to write anything meaningful. Here are a few ideas which can help the whole process and make writing these essays a little easier!

While reading the texts

Construct a table where you can note down ideas about the themes, stylistic devices, characterisation, or other important elements commonly found in most literature. Delegate a column for each piece of literature you’re studying and a separate row for each literary technique. This serves as an easy source of comparison and a starting point for your essays.

Copy important quotes which can demonstrate these techniques which you can later use in your essays as evidence.

Understand the context of the literature. This can provide useful information which can explain the similarities and differences you encounter between the texts.

Writing the essay

Select the elements of the text your essay will compare. This is likely to be dictated by the essay question. Supposing you’ve created a table as outlined in the above section, you will already have a vague comparison of the texts your essay will cover. Rereading the literature with these elements of comparison in mind can allow you to gain a better understanding of the texts and the techniques you will compare, and also supply you with further evidence to support your argument.

Create an outline which you can follow to write your essay. Outlines are critically important to writing essays which are coherent and clearly expressed. They can be as crude or as detailed as you like, just so long as you include the main ideas. I also like to include quotes  I will use as evidence in my outline so as not to forget them while writing the essay. With an outline, all that’s left to writing the essay is finding the right words to express your ideas!

The introduction is as you would write any essay introduction. Start with an opening sentence which encapsulates the overall ideas of the essay in an interesting way, outline the ideas your essay will cover, and outline the thesis to your reader. Be sure to define key terms relevant to your essay, and provide a grounds for comparison between the texts. 

The body of the essay can be structured in numerous ways, some of which I have outlined below. These only include 2 texts and are certainly not the only ways to structure comparative essays, so do not feel limited to these alone!

Text-by-text - This method outlines each text separately in the body section (i.e. discuss all of text A, then discuss all of text B) and leaves the comparative element until the end.

Point-by-point - This method deconstructs the texts down to the individual elements your essay will compare and you alternate between texts A and B for each element, comparing them as you go. I’ve found this to be a more sophisticated way of writing comparative essays, and it has generally scored higher grades in my experience, however the demands of the essay question, the marker, the texts themselves, and you as the writer ultimately determine which structure is most effective. 

The conclusion, like the introduction, is similar to any conclusion you write for an essay. I have a separate post which can help with writing conclusions should you need it!

Proof read and edit as necessary! A single typo or grammatical error can undermine any essay, no matter how persuasively it is written.

Miscellaneous tips

Comparative essays are less concerned with the ideas a novel presents than they are with the comparison of the ideas and techniques of the texts. This should be reflected in your essay, such that the bulk of its content is comparison. A brief outline of the ideas is necessary, but it is not the focus!

Always be clear which text you are discussing by referring to the title or author. 

Using the authors’ names and putting them in the foreground as the creator of the texts is an easy way to do this, and also serves as an excellent writing style.

e.g.: Fitzgerald creates a curiosity within the reader to understand her motives and to better comprehend her actions. 

e.g.: Atwood’s construction of The Handmaid’s Tale and the nature of Offred’s character creates unreliability such that we cannot entirely trust her story. 

Signpost your comparisons with easily identifiable linking/transition words

Differences e.g.: contrastingly, conversely, alternatively, however, unlike, whereas

Similarities e.g.: similarly, likewise, the same can be seen, this is mirrored in

Hopefully this can be of some help when you next need to tackle a comparative essay! My inbox is open if you ever need further help.

other essay writing posts: how to write a critical review how to write conclusions how to structure essays  how to reduce your word count understanding the question how to write a killer unprepared text essay

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First of all, I’d like to thank you all for 1000 followers! It’s honestly overwhelming how fast this blog has grown, specially in such little time. Your support is amazing! 

So, as a 1K special, I decided to make (as you may have guessed) a studyblr masterpost. Let’s go: 

1. Specifics:

   1.1 Chemistry

How to study chemistry

How to take chemistry notes

Tips for studying chemistry

Super cool Periodic Table

    1.2 Biology

Basically everything you need

Advice for studying biology

Biology guide

How to draw a biological diagram

     1.3 Math

Mathaway

Algebra Calculator

2. Phone and Computer

Productivity apps for iOS (mine)

Evernote (app and site)

Fliqlo (computer)

Momentum (computer)

Apps (phone and computer)

3. Notes

Guide to aesthetically pleasing notes

Banners reference

Guide to color coding

Sketchnotes References

Make Your Notes Pretty!

Stiky Notes - How to

Huge note-taking masterpost

4. Time Management

Tips on time management 

Stop procrastinating

Bullet Journal - How to start one

5 days study plan

Pomodoro technique

How to do a lot in little time

How to schedule study for exams

5. Masterposts

Study (everything)

Studyblr- How to

School 

Note Taking 

Note Taking (2)

Note Taking (3)

Chemistry 

Math

Biology

Languages

School resources

Printables

Bullet Journals

Music

Music (2)

Others

(FREE)Printables

How to start a study group

Study 101

10 mistakes when studying

100 reasons to study

Start Studying

Types of learners

How to stick to your plans

How to stay motivated

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i use ‘!!’ a lot, but it’s honestly like a quiet ‘!!’

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bullet journal

recipe book

dream journal

write down the dreams that you had last night

goal book

write down your goals

favorite quote book

sketchbook

art journal

journal

gratitude journal

write down things that you’re grateful for

morning pages

write 3 pages worth of stuff every morning, doesn’t matter what it’s about as long as you get your thoughts out on paper

travel journal

write about the places that you’ve been to, and start planning new trips to more places

sentence journal

write one sentence about your day, every day

scrapbook

doodle book

school notes

notes on subjects that you’re genuinely interested in

progress book

write down your progress in various areas

grade tracker

habit tracker

favorites book

write down all of your favorites, whether it’s foods, books, etc

lyric book

write down all of your favorite lyrics

food log

exercise log

diary

expenses

idea journal

write down any idea that you have, regardless of what it is. it could be a useful prompt, a handy idea to use later on, an idea for a plot, a character’s name, etc

poetry book

start writing the novel that you always wanted to write

photo book

list book

for any lists that you want to make

brainstorming

mind mapping

review book

reviews on movies, books, tv shows, new foods, whatever you want

passwords

song writing

word book

write down any new and interesting words you find

language book

start learning a new language

wishlist

encounter book

write about new things and people and situations that you’ve encountered

secrets

keep it safely hidden away!!

plant book

a database of your favorite plants + care

positivity journal

write down positive things. go back to it when you’re feeling down 

hope this helped and good luck! if you’d like to request a post, go here and if you’d like to see more helpful posts, go here!! thanks :)

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december studyblr of the month

hi guys!! i thought that i would bring back my studyblr of the week thing back for the holidays, but this time for a whole month! i can’t wait to see all of your beautiful blogs!

rules

follow me (mention your main blog in the tags!)

reblog this post before monday, december 5

only open to studyblrs

no likes pls!

that’s all!

what you get

a spot on my blog until the end of the month

promos whenever you want for the month!!

a follow back

a name/blog aesthetic if you want one

you get to be best buds w/ me!!

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sept. 27 - taking biology notes on cell transport. now I realize why I’ve always had something against that one pen.