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The Second-Level Writing Handbook // Creating and Implementing Effective Writing Assignments // Responding to Student Writing // In-Class Writing Activities // Peer Response // Preventing Plagiarism // OSU Resources.

Download Using Essay Exams in Your Class as a Microsoft Word file.

Like writing prompts, the manner in which you phrase questions can influence your students' performance on essay exams. An effectively written exam question gives your students an opportunity to succeed; whereas a poorly written one can lead to sub-par responses. Of course, the way in which you word the questions or the format of the exam will not prevent you from receiving poor performances from your students. However, if you consider the goals of your course, the conditions of the exam, and a few thoughts about writing, you and your students may have a better experience with essay exams.

When designing an essay exam, first review the goals of your course. What is it that you want your students to learn in your course? Choose which goals you want meet with an essay exam and which might be better suited for other assignments. An essay exam is a limited tool, but is useful if it is important for your students to analyze, synthesize, and organize under pressure. Your students may respond to this testing scenario better if you explain to them why you think experiencing the time limits and pressure of an essay exam will help them learn the material in your course.

In choosing the phrasing of your essay exam question, consider how descriptive or prescriptive you want your directions to the student to be. In general, a descriptive assignment gives the student a good degree of freedom and responsibility for developing the shape and content of an answer. A more prescriptive assignment gives students step by step instructions on the depth and order of an answer.

Open-ended Questions:

Open-ended essay questions can aid your students in developing the skills necessary to articulate and organize information on a particular subject. Examples of questions in this style could simply be, "discuss feminism," or "discuss capitalism and its implications for the Third World."

Answering these questions successfully requires that a writer make a series of decisions about topic, focus, examples, and manner of organization. Some students, however, will not automatically make cohesive choices, and will instead opt to write everything they know or play the "give the teacher what she wants" game.

If you want your students to include specific information in their answers, it is better to write a directed question such as those described later in this hand-out.

Context Questions:

Creating a context for an exam question can give your students further guidance than one that is open-ended. Write a scenario that posits a purpose and audience. Most students readily adapt to these constructed contexts. They provide a frame in which students can develop their answers and shift the writer's focus toward the posited audience.

Examples of context questions relating to the French Revolution include the following:

• "You are one of the Robespierre's henchmen. You are ordered to quell a riot caused by a food shortage by persuading the masses that the new order is an improvement over the old regime. Write a speech to be read to the people."
• "You are a thin French peasant in 1788 who is starving. Write a petition to the king describing the manner in which you became a peasant and ask for appropriate reforms."

Directed Questions:

In some courses you may want to prescribe how students structure their answers. The instructions usually provide the topic and organization and allow the student to focus on the accurate presentation of information. This type of exam question is particularly helpful for courses utilizing technical or sequential material as it allows students to concentrate on the appropriate expression of specific details.

The following is an example of a directed question on the definition and explanation of successive steps in a scientific process:

• "In two pages, define photosynthesis in words and in a formulaic expression. Explain why it is important to the growth of a plant. Next, describe the specific chemical reactions that take place within an instance of photosynthesis. Your answer should be complete and accurate."

There are several ways to schedule essay exam questions. You may choose, for example, to give students the essay questions in advance or at the time of the exam.

Each of the aforementioned examination conditions creates its own set of performance parameters for the student. In most cases, each of your exams is a new and particular testing situation for your students. The more information you offer them on the ways in which they might approach your exam and your evaluative procedures, the more successful the outcome.

In-Class Essay Exams:

In class exams are often exercises in coping with pressure and time limits. An in class essay exam is an appropriate tool in courses where it is important for students to be able to restate a large amount of information in a short time or to synthesize or apply material that is relatively straightforward. If your exam question or in class instructions do not indicate the purpose of the exam, the students may, in confusion, resort to prior and general experience. It may be helpful to suggest ways in which your students can prepare for and approach this type of testing situation.

Take Home Essay Exams:

Take home essay exams are, in essence, papers for which you have supplied the topic. Careful wording of the exam question will aid your students in the preparation of their answers. Acknowledge that students will probably discuss the exam questions outside of class and encourage students to draft and turn in a polished response.