One of the biggest mistakes students make in answering the essay questions on the exams is not writing an essay. Essay questions require more than a sentence, or two, or even three. An essay is a multi-paragraph written response to the question.
To write a successful answer to an Essay Question on your exams for this class, follow the tips below.
Read the question carefully. Make sure you understand what the question is asking you to do (explain, compare, contrast, identify, criticize, etc.).
Write Down Key Words. Jot down everything that first comes to mind as you read the questions. Then, jot down notes to help you answer the question as you review your materials. If you jot them down before you begin typing out your answers, you won’t be as likely to forget to include everything.
Manage Your Time. Remember, your test is timed. Watch your timer and figure out how much time you have to answer / research each essay question.
Get to the point. When you begin typing an answer, state your overall answer / point in the first sentence (“The main differences between Judaism and Christianity were . . . .”). Use the first paragraph to provide an overview, and then use the rest of the essay to discuss points in greater detail.
Proofread. Before you submit your answer, reread it to make sure that you have not left out any words and that your answers are understandable. Compare your answer to the list you made before you began; did you cover everything? Ask yourself, if I were the professor, what grade would I give this answer?
Now remember, the most points on an exam are given from the essay questions (a total of 5 points out of the 15 for the entire exam). You need to spend some time on these.
Good Luck!
Here’s a bonus for those of you reading the blog regularly. The essay questions for the first exam are:
- Discuss the role of Greek religion in helping to shape the civilization of Hellenic Greece. Use examples from two of the following: the arts, architecture, history, philosophy, literature, and music.
- What were the primary differences between Judaism and Christianity?
HUM 120 Course Blog 
Thanks, Your the best!
I am glad someone found them! ;o)
I am glad that I read the posts each day. Thank you so much for posting. Everything has been very helpful and I think will help me be successful in this class.
Yay! Thanks so much for this helpful hint!! This blog has been very helpful with all the useful tips you put on here everyday!
Thank you so much for all the helpful tips. I am glad I am reading through most of these blogs/discussions. This will help me out throughout the course and help me to be successful.
Thanks,
Kayla Harrell
Like the others I too am Thankful that you post all of these Great and Very hepful tips.
Thank you for posting these tips. I think the most important one for online assignments in general is to proofread your answer. When I’m typing it is very easy hit an extra key without realizing it. It only takes a couple of minutes to read over your response for errors, which not only helps your grade, but saves your professor time for not having to decipher our words. This is also a great reminder to slow down enough to carefully read the question. Time management was an issue for me on the first test. I did the essays first because they are such a large portion of the grade, but it left me with little time to do the multiple choice.