limitation of essay test

13. Use at least four alternatives for each item to lower the probability of getting the item correct by guessing.

14. Randomly distribute the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d and e as the correct response.

15. Use the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives should occasionally be used as the correct response.

A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound). An example of each type of true-false item follows:

Sample True-False Item: Simple

Sample True-False Item: Complex

Sample true-false item: compound.

Advantages In Using True-False Items

True-False items can provide...

• the widest sampling of content or objectives per unit of testing time.
• an objective measurement of student achievement or ability.

Limitations In Using True-False Items

True-false items...

• incorporate an extremely high guessing factor. For simple true-false items, each student has a 50/50 chance of correctly answering the item without any knowledge of the item's content.
• can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false.
• do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types.
• can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types.
• can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge.

Suggestions For Writing True-False Test Items

In general, matching items consist of a column of stimuli presented on the left side of the exam page and a column of responses placed on the right side of the page. Students are required to match the response associated with a given stimulus. For example:

Sample Matching Test Item

Advantages In Using Matching Items

Matching items...

• require short periods of reading and response time, allowing you to cover more content.
• provide objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
• provide highly reliable test scores.
• provide scoring efficiency and accuracy.

Limitations in Using Matching Items

• have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information.
• are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses.

Suggestions for Writing Matching Test Items

5.  Keep matching items brief, limiting the list of stimuli to under 10.

6.  Include more responses than stimuli to help prevent answering through the process of elimination.

7.  When possible, reduce the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list.

The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example,

Sample Completion Item

According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems, the _________, the ________ and the ________.

Advantages in Using Completion Items

Completion items...

• can provide a wide sampling of content.
• can efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability.
• can minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
• can usually provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability.

Limitations of Using Completion Items

• are difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated.
• are more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
• are more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered correct if the item was not properly prepared.

Suggestions for Writing Completion Test Items

7.  Avoid lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources.

8.  Limit the required response to a single word or phrase.

The essay test is probably the most popular of all types of teacher-made tests. In general, a classroom essay test consists of a small number of questions to which the student is expected to demonstrate his/her ability to (a) recall factual knowledge, (b) organize this knowledge and (c) present the knowledge in a logical, integrated answer to the question. An essay test item can be classified as either an extended-response essay item or a short-answer essay item. The latter calls for a more restricted or limited answer in terms of form or scope. An example of each type of essay item follows.

Sample Extended-Response Essay Item

Explain the difference between the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. Include in your answer (a) brief descriptions of both theories, (b) supporters of both theories and (c) research methods used to study each of the two theories. (10 pts.  20 minutes)

Sample Short-Answer Essay Item

Identify research methods used to study the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. (5 pts.  10 minutes)

Advantages In Using Essay Items

Essay items...

• are easier and less time consuming to construct than are most other item types.
• provide a means for testing student's ability to compose an answer and present it in a logical manner.
• can efficiently measure higher order cognitive objectives (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

Limitations In Using Essay Items

• cannot measure a large amount of content or objectives.
• generally provide low test and test scorer reliability.
• require an extensive amount of instructor's time to read and grade.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader).

Suggestions for Writing Essay Test Items

4.  Ask questions that will elicit responses on which experts could agree that one answer is better than another.

5.  Avoid giving the student a choice among optional items as this greatly reduces the reliability of the test.

6.  It is generally recommended for classroom examinations to administer several short-answer items rather than only one or two extended-response items.

Suggestions for Scoring Essay Items

Examples Essay Item and Grading Models

"Americans are a mixed-up people with no sense of ethical values. Everyone knows that baseball is far less necessary than food and steel, yet they pay ball players a lot more than farmers and steelworkers."

WHY? Use 3-4 sentences to indicate how an economist would explain the above situation.

Analytical Scoring

Global Quality

Assign scores or grades on the overall quality of the written response as compared to an ideal answer. Or, compare the overall quality of a response to other student responses by sorting the papers into three stacks:

Read and sort each stack again divide into three more stacks

In total, nine discriminations can be used to assign test grades in this manner. The number of stacks or discriminations can vary to meet your needs.

• Try not to allow factors which are irrelevant to the learning outcomes being measured affect your grading (i.e., handwriting, spelling, neatness).
• Read and grade all class answers to one item before going on to the next item.
• Read and grade the answers without looking at the students' names to avoid possible preferential treatment.
• Occasionally shuffle papers during the reading of answers to help avoid any systematic order effects (i.e., Sally's "B" work always followed Jim's "A" work thus it looked more like "C" work).
• When possible, ask another instructor to read and grade your students' responses.

Another form of a subjective test item is the problem solving or computational exam question. Such items present the student with a problem situation or task and require a demonstration of work procedures and a correct solution, or just a correct solution. This kind of test item is classified as a subjective type of item due to the procedures used to score item responses. Instructors can assign full or partial credit to either correct or incorrect solutions depending on the quality and kind of work procedures presented. An example of a problem solving test item follows.

Example Problem Solving Test Item

It was calculated that 75 men could complete a strip on a new highway in 70 days. When work was scheduled to commence, it was found necessary to send 25 men on another road project. How many days longer will it take to complete the strip? Show your work for full or partial credit.

Advantages In Using Problem Solving Items

Problem solving items...

• minimize guessing by requiring the students to provide an original response rather than to select from several alternatives.
• are easier to construct than are multiple-choice or matching items.
• can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability to apply skills or knowledge in the solution of problems.
• can measure an extensive amount of content or objectives.

Limitations in Using Problem Solving Items

• require an extensive amount of instructor time to read and grade.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader when partial credit is given).

Suggestions For Writing Problem Solving Test Items

6.  Ask questions that elicit responses on which experts could agree that one solution and one or more work procedures are better than others.

7.  Work through each problem before classroom administration to double-check accuracy.

A performance test item is designed to assess the ability of a student to perform correctly in a simulated situation (i.e., a situation in which the student will be ultimately expected to apply his/her learning). The concept of simulation is central in performance testing; a performance test will simulate to some degree a real life situation to accomplish the assessment. In theory, a performance test could be constructed for any skill and real life situation. In practice, most performance tests have been developed for the assessment of vocational, managerial, administrative, leadership, communication, interpersonal and physical education skills in various simulated situations. An illustrative example of a performance test item is provided below.

Sample Performance Test Item

Assume that some of the instructional objectives of an urban planning course include the development of the student's ability to effectively use the principles covered in the course in various "real life" situations common for an urban planning professional. A performance test item could measure this development by presenting the student with a specific situation which represents a "real life" situation. For example,

An urban planning board makes a last minute request for the professional to act as consultant and critique a written proposal which is to be considered in a board meeting that very evening. The professional arrives before the meeting and has one hour to analyze the written proposal and prepare his critique. The critique presentation is then made verbally during the board meeting; reactions of members of the board or the audience include requests for explanation of specific points or informed attacks on the positions taken by the professional.

The performance test designed to simulate this situation would require that the student to be tested role play the professional's part, while students or faculty act the other roles in the situation. Various aspects of the "professional's" performance would then be observed and rated by several judges with the necessary background. The ratings could then be used both to provide the student with a diagnosis of his/her strengths and weaknesses and to contribute to an overall summary evaluation of the student's abilities.

Advantages In Using Performance Test Items

Performance test items...

• can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability of the students to apply skills or knowledge in real life situations.
• usually provide a degree of test validity not possible with standard paper and pencil test items.
• are useful for measuring learning objectives in the psychomotor domain.

Limitations In Using Performance Test Items

• are difficult and time consuming to construct.
• are primarily used for testing students individually and not for testing groups. Consequently, they are relatively costly, time consuming, and inconvenient forms of testing.
• generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the observer/grader).

Suggestions For Writing Performance Test Items

• Prepare items that elicit the type of behavior you want to measure.
• Clearly identify and explain the simulated situation to the student.
• Make the simulated situation as "life-like" as possible.
• Provide directions which clearly inform the students of the type of response called for.
• When appropriate, clearly state time and activity limitations in the directions.
• Adequately train the observer(s)/scorer(s) to ensure that they are fair in scoring the appropriate behaviors.

III. TWO METHODS FOR ASSESSING TEST ITEM QUALITY

This section presents two methods for collecting feedback on the quality of your test items. The two methods include using self-review checklists and student evaluation of test item quality. You can use the information gathered from either method to identify strengths and weaknesses in your item writing. 

Checklist for Evaluating Test Items

EVALUATE YOUR TEST ITEMS BY CHECKING THE SUGGESTIONS WHICH YOU FEEL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED.  

Grading Essay Test Items

STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEST ITEM QUALITY 

Using ices questionnaire items to assess your test item quality .

The following set of ICES (Instructor and Course Evaluation System) questionnaire items can be used to assess the quality of your test items. The items are presented with their original ICES catalogue number. You are encouraged to include one or more of the items on the ICES evaluation form in order to collect student opinion of your item writing quality.

IV. ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING (CITL)

The information on this page is intended for self-instruction. However, CITL staff members will consult with faculty who wish to analyze and improve their test item writing. The staff can also consult with faculty about other instructional problems. Instructors wishing to acquire CITL assistance can contact [email protected] . 

V. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

Ebel, R. L. (1965). Measuring educational achievement . Prentice-Hall. Ebel, R. L. (1972). Essentials of educational measurement . Prentice-Hall. Gronlund, N. E. (1976). Measurement and evaluation in teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Mehrens W. A. & Lehmann I. J. (1973). Measurement and evaluation in education and psychology . Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nelson, C. H. (1970). Measurement and evaluation in the classroom . Macmillan. Payne, D. A. (1974).  The assessment of learning: Cognitive and affective . D.C. Heath & Co. Scannell, D. P., & Tracy D. B. (1975). Testing and measurement in the classroom . Houghton Mifflin. Thorndike, R. L. (1971). Educational measurement (2nd ed.). American Council on Education.

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College Teaching, Fall 1997 v45 n4 p150(3) Essays - well worth the effort. Craig W. Steele.

Abstract: More college teachers should make use of essay examinations in their courses. Well-constructed essay questions test higher-level knowledge than most objective questions. They also furnish students with valuable writing practice and provide the opportunity for mutual feedback between teacher and student. Some disadvantages of essay exams include the amount of time they take to grade and their inherent subjectivity. Teachers can increase their grading objectivity by covering students' names, deciding in advance the key points each essay should cover, and stopping the grading when they begin to feel tired.

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1997 Heldref Publications

Why do questions requiring essay responses make students so apprehensive? Because they are used to taking multiple-choice tests. By the time they enter college, students have had up to twelve years training in this type of examination; it is what they expect in most classes. Multiple-choice tests are easier to take (usually involving only simple recognition and recall), permit a certain amount of guessing, and require basic study skills.

But multiple-choice exams, in my opinion, are the least appropriate evaluation tools for aiding student learning, at any grade level. They do little to help teachers "teach for understanding" (Perkins 1993). I agree with the position of the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) Association of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, as expressed in the May 1991 issue of Writing and Learning, that "writing is central to all disciplines" because an "active language element is crucial for any significant learning."

Why then, according to WAC, do "most college classes not only neglect the language-based elements of learning, but actively avoid them?" Perhaps the reason is that teachers, as well as students, do not appreciate the advantages of the essay. Also, according to Everett (1994), many teachers avoid writing assignments because of the perceived difficulty and subjectivity in grading them.

Advantages of the Essay

Essays can test higher-level cognitive skills. Objective exams can also test higher-level skills, but on a more limited basis. For any test, the content and style of the questions should be determined by the course objectives. When objectives require students to apply knowledge, analyze data or situations, synthesize, or evaluate, the essay can be an effective test. Because essays address higher-level cognitive processes, you can individually direct students in their thought processes. However, when objectives ask students to describe, to list, or to recognize, the essay exam is probably not useful.

Students study more efficiently in preparing for an essay test. Research has shown that students generally spend less time on rote memorization of material when they study for an essay exam rather than a multiple-choice exam (e.g., Mayer 1975; Shavelson and Stern 1981). Instead, students tend to generalize and conceptualize the material, using facts as support material rather than as ends unto themselves. Students are al so more apt to retain concepts and generalizations than isolated facts and details.

Essays allow students to practice their writing. Many students can graduate from college without having had much practice in writing. Unfortunately, many of these students discover too late that their writing skill in the "real world"--whether it is in the form of a memo, a proposal, or a report--is the difference between success or failure in their profession.

Essays can individualize your instruction. Your feedback on an essay can help students form insights into the subject material, organizational skills, and writing skills. Your comments can also be an important motivator.

Essays provide valuable feedback to you. Sometimes objective test scores do not portray your students' learning. Essays, however, can reveal the depth and breadth of students' knowledge, as well as erroneous conclusions that are drawn.

Essay questions require less time to prepare. Good multiple-choice exams are extremely time-consuming to prepare. The essay, however, requires much less preparation. (Be careful, however, not to "throw together" a list of essay questions.)

Disadvantages of the Essay

Essays are (very) time-consuming to grade. To garner the full benefits of including essays on your tests, you must allot sufficient time to read and comment on the students' responses. Simply scanning a response and assigning it a numerical grade will not close the learning cycle. Students quickly learn how to study for your exams! If they perceive that you fail to grade their responses adequately (as indicated by your written comments and suggestions), students will not bother to study at a higher level for the next test, but will instead return to memorizing facts.

Sometimes an essay question is not representative of the content covered. An example: In an introductory course in human physiology, which has just covered blood, the circulatory system, and the immune system, seven of the ten essay questions are about the circulatory system.

If you use essays, you must use course objectives to determine the content of the questions. By referring to objectives, you will not make the mistake of focusing too narrowly on one aspect of content.

The essay exam often has grading reliability problems. Unlike the multiple-choice format, the essay is a subjective form of evaluation. And teachers often introduce biases into their grading. If you know whose paper is being evaluated, the grade may reflect personal feelings for that student, or may reflect influence from past grades. For example, if the student received an A on a past exam, you may tend to give a higher grade than is actually deserved on this exam (and vice versa if a student had received an F). Also, grades given on first papers may differ significantly from those that are graded later. Other influences include your general mood and stress level at the time of grading, the time of day, and your feelings about the subject of the essay.

Preparing an Essay Question or Exam

These suggestions may help you maximize the benefits of an essay test:

Carefully select those course objectives that can be evaluated through an essay. Cognitive objectives stressing memorization of facts, names, or definitions should not be measured by essays. Essays should require students to analyze hypothetical data, solve sample problems, or compare and contrast concepts.

Phrase the question clearly. After reading the question, the prepared student should know exactly what you expect. If a question's wording is ambiguous or too vague, unprepared students can draw upon the related knowledge they have and write an answer, while claiming (correctly) that they misunderstood what you desired.

Control the level of students' response. If you want more than just a recitation of facts in an essay, word the question so that more is demanded. Read the following examples of essay questions:

When were Medicare and Medicaid established?

How have Medicare and Medicaid contributed to the current U.S. trends of increased demand for health services, increased costs of health care and physicians' services, and longer hospital stays?

What do you suppose might have occurred in the field of health care in the U.S. if Medicare and Medicaid had never been established?

Although all three questions request information on Medicare and Medicaid, the first two require only recitation in writing an answer. The third question, however, requires a knowledge of the first two questions and requires the student to analyze rather than recite.

Write essay questions that sample the content covered. Many professors permit students to choose several essays from a list. Although you may believe this choice benefits the prepared student who may be weak in one area, actually the unprepared student benefits more from this practice because it encourages students to "place a bet" and to omit studying some key areas of content. By allowing choice, you also create different exams, which decreases the content validity and the grading reliability.

Inform students of the grading criteria. You must decide what evaluative criteria will be used. It is important to share this information with students before they write the essay. If you will be grading for language usage, spelling, and grammar, tell them. If you desire a minimum or maximum number of words, tell them. If you desire a certain format, specify it ahead of time.

Share examples of good and weak essays with students. Students can benefit greatly from seeing what is expected of them. In groups, have students apply the grading criteria to several sample essays you provide. Discuss their judgments and yours.

Ten Tips for Grading Writing and Reducing Bias

What can you do to improve the reliability of your grading of responses to essay questions? Following is a list of suggestions:

1. Cover the names of the students. Most teachers attempt to treat all students fairly. However, it is human nature to like some students more than others, or to actively dislike some students as individuals. This personal bias can affect the reliability of the grades. Grading can be influenced by the performance of the student on earlier exams, by the amount of class participation, and by the student's attitude toward the course and the teacher.

2. Familiarize yourself with the general performance level on the exam before you begin to grade. Randomly sample exams and read them thoroughly to determine the general level of performance. This practice will keep your evaluations from being unduly influenced by the quality (whether excellent or poor) of one specific paper.

3. List the points you believe should be discussed in each essay. Such a list can keep you from being "bluffed" by students who are exceptionally accomplished writers, or highly clever and verbal. Unprepared students often select one aspect of a question, or an aspect tangential to the question, and elaborate on that one point to the extent that a reader may become immersed in the writing style, overlooking the insufficiency of the answer. A list of expected points can assist you in assessing objectively the breadth and depth of the response. You can get help from your students in developing these criteria (Everett 1994). Ask them what they believe is important in the assignment, what they would expect to read if they were grading it.

4. Do not attempt to grade all exams in one sitting. As stated earlier in this article, a major disadvantage of essays is the time required to grade them. When you begin to tire of reading the responses, you naturally become too critical or too generous in your grading, which affects the reliability of the grades.

5. Grade only one question or topic at a time. Each question on an essay exam, or each essay question included in an objective test, should be graded separately. Reading an entire exam and then trying to assign a grade also affects the reliability of the grades. By grading exams by individual questions, you will be better able to concentrate on the quality of each individual response and how it compares to other students' responses.

6. Write comments on the exams. Point out the good as well as the bad. Comments indicate that you actually read the exam. Also, they serve as an explanation of why you assigned a particular grade. Comments such as "Expand," "What about . . . ," or "How do you conclude this?" readily indicate weakness to the students. When commenting, adopt a nonconfrontational attitude by assuming that you and the student share a common enterprise. Write to convince the student: be direct in your criticisms, but be dispassionate and never engage in ad hominem attack. Ask yourself whether your disagreement with the student's writing is based on specialized knowledge you possess because of your education and training. If so, then offer that knowledge to the student. Don't simply bash the student for not knowing something that "everyone knows." Maintain an appropriate perspective on the writing assignment, i.e., don't fixate on remarks that may be tangential to the principal point/s of the composition (Moore 1992). Finally, realize that you do not necessarily improve a student's writing by writing an "overwhelming" number of comments on an essay (Moore 1992).

7. Before you assign grades, sort your papers into piles. By sorting papers into piles corresponding to A's, B's, C's, etc., you can quickly check through the piles to ensure that there are no changes to be made. This practice assists you in making decisions about "borderline" papers.

8. Discuss the test with the students. Feedback is a critical element in the learning cycle. Testing provides you with an opportunity to give feedback to your students. In addition to written comments on the essay exam, you should allocate class time to discuss the question and the responses. This practice reinforces the testing process as a part of learning.

9. Have colleagues read the papers. This is an effective way of improving the grading for team-taught courses and for teachers teaching different sections of the same course. If you and a colleague differ greatly in scoring a question, reevaluate the response to the question. It is very important, of course, to tell your students about such dual grading arrangements. You could even improve the feedback to your students by having the different graders identify their comments by different colored inks.

10. If students do not meet your established criteria for a question, consider retesting them on the concepts. After providing feedback on the incorrect answers and time to restructure their concepts, allow students to rewrite their responses. Without an opportunity to revise their response, any comments you make have little effect on improving subsequent writings (see Doher 1991, for a more thorough discussion). After all, the ultimate objective of education is learning, not simply receiving a grade.

Student writing, regardless of subject, is only one-half of the equation. The other half is learning through studying the teacher's thoughtful critique of the writing. Bashing may be brought about unintentionally by a teacher's misunderstanding a student's perspective, reasoning, background, or personal values. Constructive critiquing is an art that must be learned and then practiced.

Doher, G. 1991. Do teachers' comments on students' papers help? College Teaching 39:48-54.

Everett, E. 1994. Do the write thing. The Science Teacher 61(7): 35-7.

Mayer, R. E. 1975. Information processing variables in learning to solve problems. Review of Educational Research 45:525-41.

Moore, R 1992. Writing about biology: How should we mark students' essays? Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching. 18(3): 3-9.

Perkins, D. 1993. Teaching for understanding. American Educator 17(3): 8 and 28-35.

Shavelson, R J. and R Stern. 1981. Research on teachers' pedagogical thoughts, judgments, decisions, and behavior. Review of Educational Research 51:455-98.

Steele, C. W. 1992. Critique; don't bash. Writing and Learning 3(1): 5 6.

Craig W. Steele is an associate professor in the Department of Biology and Health Services at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

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The Ultimate Essay Test Guide: Achieve Top Grades With Ease

An essay test, a fundamental tool in academic assessment, measures a student's ability to express, argue, and structure their thoughts on a given subject through written words. This test format delves deeper into a student's critical thinking and writing skills unlike other conventional exam types.

What is an Essay Test?

An essay test is a type of assessment in which a student is prompted to respond to a question or a series of questions by writing an essay.

This form of test isn’t merely about checking a student’s recall or memorisation skills , but more about gauging their ability to comprehend a subject, synthesise information, and articulate their understanding effectively.

Types of Essay Tests

Essay tests can be broadly classified into two categories: Restricted Response and Extended Response .

• Restricted Response tests focus on limited aspects, requiring students to provide short, concise answers.
• Extended Response tests demand more comprehensive answers, allowing students to showcase their creativity and analytical skills.

Advantages and Limitations of an Essay Test

Essay tests offer numerous benefits but also have certain limitations. The advantages of an essay test are :

• They allow teachers to evaluate students’ abilities to organise, synthesise, and interpret information.
• They help in developing critical thinking and writing skills among students.
• They provide an opportunity for students to exhibit their knowledge and understanding of a subject in a broader context.

And the limitations of an essay test are :

• They are time-consuming to both take and grade.
• They are subject to scoring inconsistencies due to potential subjective bias.
• They may cause the students who struggle with written expression may face difficulties, and these tests may not accurately reflect the full spectrum of a student’s knowledge or understanding.

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Understanding the Structure of an Essay Test

Essay tests involve a defined structure to ensure organised, coherent, and comprehensive expression of thoughts. Adhering to a specific structure can enhance your ability to answer essay questions effectively .

The 7 Steps of an Essay

Writing an essay test typically involves seven steps :

• Understanding the question
• Brainstorming ideas
• Creating an outline
• Crafting a thesis statement
• Writing the essay body
• Formulating the conclusion
• Revising and editing for clarity and conciseness

The First Sentence in an Essay

The initial sentence of an essay, often termed a hook , plays a crucial role.

It aims to grab the reader’s attention and provoke interest in the essay topic. It should be engaging, and relevant, and set the tone for the rest of the essay .

The 5-Paragraph Essay Format

The 5-paragraph essay format is commonly used in essay tests, providing a clear and organised approach for students to articulate their ideas. In this format, the introduction and the conclusion include 1 paragraph, while the body of the essay includes 3 .

• Introduction : The introduction sets the stage, providing a brief overview of the topic and presenting the thesis statement – the central argument or point.
• Body : The body of the essay contains three paragraphs, each presenting a separate point that supports the thesis statement. Detailed explanations, evidence, and examples are included here to substantiate the points.
• Conclusion : The conclusion reiterates the thesis statement and summarises the main points. It provides a final perspective on the topic, drawing the essay to a close.

How to Prepare for an Essay Test?

Preparing for an essay test demands a structured approach to ensure thorough understanding and effective response. Here are some strategies to make this task more manageable:

#1 Familiarise Yourself with the Terminology Used

Knowledge of key terminologies is essential. Understand the meaning of directives such as “describe”, “compare”, “contrast”, or “analyse”. Each term guides you on what is expected in your essay and helps you to answer the question accurately.

To make it easier, you can take advantage of AI technologies. While preparing for your exam, use similar essay questions as prompts and see how AI understands and evaluates the questions. If you are unfamiliar with AI, you can check out The Best Chat GPT Prompts For Essay Writing .

#2 Review and Revise Past Essays

Take advantage of past essays or essay prompts to review and revise your writing . Analyse your strengths and areas for improvement, paying attention to grammar , structure , and clarity . This process helps you refine your writing skills and identify potential pitfalls to avoid in future tests.

#3 Practice Timed Writing

Simulate test conditions by practising timed writing . Set a specific time limit for each essay question and strive to complete it within that timeframe. This exercise builds your ability to think and write quickly , improving your efficiency during the actual test.

#4 Utilise Mnemonic Techniques

To aid in memorisation and recall of key concepts or arguments, employ mnemonic techniques . These memory aids, such as acronyms, visualisation, or association techniques, can help you retain important information and retrieve it during the test. Practice using mnemonics to reinforce your understanding of critical points.

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Strategies to Pass an Essay Test

Passing an essay test goes beyond understanding the topic; it also requires strategic planning and execution . Below are key strategies that can enhance your performance in an essay test.

• Read the exam paper thoroughly before diving into writing : read the entire exam paper thoroughly. Understand each question’s requirement and make a mental note of the points to be included in each response. This step will help in ensuring that no aspect of the question is overlooked.
• Answer in the First Sentence and Use the Language of the Question : Begin your essay by clearly stating your answer in the first sentence. Use the language of the question to show you are directly addressing the task. This approach ensures that your main argument is understood right from the start.
• Structure Your Essay : Adopt a logical essay structure , typically comprising an introduction, body, and conclusion. This helps in organising your thoughts, making your argument clearer, and enhancing the readability of your essay.
• Answer in Point Form When Running Out of Time : If time is running short, present your answer in point form. This approach allows you to cover more points quickly, ensuring you don’t leave any questions unanswered.
• Write as Legibly as Possible : Your writing should be clear and easy to read. Illegible handwriting could lead to misunderstandings and may negatively impact your grades.
• Number Your Answers : Ensure your answers are correctly numbered. This helps in aligning your responses with the respective questions, making it easier for the examiner to assess your work, and reducing chances of confusion or error
• Time Yourself on Each Question : Time management is crucial in an essay test. Allocate a specific amount of time to each question, taking into account the marks they carry. Ensure you leave ample time for revising and editing your responses. Practising this strategy can prevent last-minute rushes and result in a more polished essay.

About the Author Oğulcan Tezcan is a writer, translator, editor, and an accomplished engineer. Oğulcan is also a keen researcher and digital market analyst, with a particular interest in self-development, productivity, and human behaviour.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Essay Tests

How do you answer an essay question, when taking an essay test what is the first step, what type of test is an essay test, what is the first sentence in an essay, what are the six elements of an essay.

Essay Examinations

The uses, misuses, problems, limitations, potential uses, alternatives, suggested methods of improvement, and areas of future research regarding essay questions are presented here. Essay questions are defined and considerations favoring their use--including as a performance test--are discussed. The difficulty of constructing good objective tests and the effect of exclusive use of objective tests on teaching and learning are also considered. The limitations of essay tests--including error associated with rating of essays, error associated with the sampling of essay questions, and imperfect reliability and validity of essay questions--are also presented. Suggestions for improving essay exams include limiting the use of essay questions to appropriate testing situations, combining their use with objective test questions, and adopting sound techniques for constructing and scoring essay questions. Several such techniques are listed and elaborated on. The limitations of current knowledge about essay testing is noted and areas of future research on essay tests are suggested. Limitations on the information gained from essay tests and appropriate contexts for their use and possible side effects of eliminating their use are also discussed.

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Objective type test: meaning, merits and limitations | statistics.

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After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Objective Type Test 2. Merits of Objective Type Test 3. Limitations 4. Construction.

Meaning of Objective Type Test:

Simply, an objective type test is one which is free from any subjective bias either from the tester or the marker. It refers to any written test that requires the examinee to select the correct answer from among one or more of several alternatives or supply a word or two and that demands an objective judgement when it is scored.

Objective-Centered Test/Objective based Test:

When questions are framed with reference to the objectives of instruction, the test becomes objective-based. This type of test may contain essay type and objective type test items.

An essay test may be objective-centered or objective-based, though it may be difficult to score it objectively. An objective type test, on the other hand, can always be scored objectively, though it may not be objective-centered if it is not planned with reference to the objectives of instruction.

Objective-type tests have two characteristics viz.:

1. They are pin-pointed, definite and so clear that a single, definite answer is expected.

2. They ensure perfect objectivity in scoring. The scoring will not vary from examiner to examiner.

Merits of Objective Type Test:

1. Objective type test gives scope for wider sampling of the content.

2. It can be scored objectively and easily. The scoring will not vary from time to time or from examiner to examiner.

3. This test reduces (a) the role of luck and (b) cramming of expected questions. As a result, there is greater reliability and better content validity.

4. This type of question has greater motivational value.

5. It possesses economy of time, for it takes less time to answer than an essay test. Comparatively, many test items can be presented to students. It also saves a let of time of the scorer.

6. It eliminates extraneous (irrelevant) factors such as speed of writing, fluency of expression, literary style, good handwriting, neatness, etc.

7. It measures the higher mental processes of understanding, application, analysis, prediction and interpretation.

8. It permits stencil, machine or clerical scoring. Thus scoring is very easy.

9. Linguistic ability is not required.

Limitations of Objective Type Test:

1. Objectives like ability to organise matter, ability to present matter logically and in a coherent fashion, etc., cannot be evaluated.

2. Guessing is possible. No doubt the chances of success may be reduced by the inclusion of a large number of items.

3. If a respondent marks all responses as correct, the result may be misleading.

4. Construction of the objective test items is difficult while answering them is quite easy.

5. They demand more of analysis than synthesis.

6. Linguistic ability of the testee is not at all tested.

7. Printing cost considerably greater than that of an essay test.

Guidelines for Constructing Better Objective Type Test Items:

To be a good item writer, one should have:

(a) A thorough understanding of the subject matter;

(b) A thorough understanding of the pupils tested;

(c) Perseverance; and

(d) A little creativity to prepare fertile kind of items.

It is of paramount importance for him to be cognizant of the pitfalls involved in writing objective type test items.

We shall now offer some general guidelines for the writing of objective type test items:

1. Each item must be clearly expressed i.e. there must be precision in writing the test items.

2. Test for important facts and knowledge and not for trivial details; e.g.,

(a) Give the name of the ship that Columbus was on when he discovered America.

(b) Give the date (and/or time) when Edison invented the light bulb.

These items test the ability to recall or supple trivial details and therefore are unsound.

3. Avoid ambiguous statements. Each item should be subjected to one and only one interpretation.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote Gitanjali in……….. The item is ambiguous because the examinee does not know whether the teacher wants to know the year, the date, the language or the place.

In which language did Rabindranath Tagore write Gitanjali?

4. Quantitative rather than qualitative words should be used. Words such as few, many, low, high, large, etc. are vague, indefinite, and, therefore, should be avoided.

TF Many people are literate in Orissa.

TF About 85% of the people are literate in Orissa.

5. Use good grammar and sentence structure to improve clarity.

TF In a triangle, whose one of the angle’s measure is 90°, the hypotenuse is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

TF In a right-angled triangle, the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.

6. Avoid lifting statements verbatim from the text-book. The use of text book language in a test encourages a pupil to memorise rather than to understand the subject matter.

7. There should be only one correct answer.

Fill in the blank by inserting an operational symbol.

2……… 2 = 4

Here, some students may write +, others may write X.

8. Avoid negative questions whenever possible. An indiscriminate use of the negative should be avoided. It takes more time to answer.

TF The longitude of Bombay is not 73°E.

TF The longitude of Bombay is 73°E.

9. Directions to questions should be specific. Ambiguous wording and double negatives should be avoided in questions.

Related Articles:

• Merits and Demerits of Objective Type Test
• Types of Recall Type Test: Simple and Completion | Objective Test

Educational Statistics , Evaluation Tools , Objective Type Test

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Speaker 1: If I were to ask you what your least favorite type of test question is, I'm pretty sure I could guess it before you gave me your answer because it is clearly the essay question. Other types of questions are easy, right? Multiple choice, more like multiple guess. True, false, 50-50, I'll take it. But with an essay, there's no guessing. Everything that's gonna be on that piece of paper has to come out of your head. And that can be intimidating, but if you look at it from a different perspective, it's also an opportunity. Essay questions put you 100% in control. Rather than having to pick from questions that were written for you, you have the opportunity to demonstrate exactly how well you understand the question and the material that it was based on. And assuming you actually did study and you do understand the material, the five rules we're gonna go over in today's video will show you how you can most effectively communicate that understanding in your next essay question. When you're faced with an essay question on a test, you're almost always working under a pretty stressful time limit. And it can often feel like the best way to tackle that is to start writing immediately. But before you do, remember, a good essay is one that communicates your thoughts in an organized way. And if it's not organized, it's not gonna be effective and it's not gonna get you a good grade. Without a good plan to guide you, it can be really easy to misinterpret or even outright miss important points that the prompt wants you to cover. So before you start writing your essay, use a piece of scratch paper to plan it out in advance. First, read the prompt carefully and make sure you understand exactly what it's asking for. And if it's a long prompt, it might actually be useful to highlight the important points in that prompt or to create a checklist so you know that you're gonna cover everything within it. Next, you wanna create a rough outline of the essay. And I recommend going through a two-stage outlining process. In the first stage, you just wanna create a bullet list of everything that comes to mind related to the prompt. This is essentially a brainstorming phase. So at this point, don't worry about the order of the points that you're writing out because it's all about just getting things out of your head and onto the paper and ensuring that they cover what's being asked for in the prompt. Once you've got that done, then it's time to move on to stage two. And at this point, you're creating a more organized, ordered list of points that represents the flow of your essay. When you have that in hand, you'll find that writing the actual essay itself is much easier. All right, let's talk about essay formats. Now, there are plenty of creative ways to structure your writing, as I'm sure you'll probably know if you've ever seen Memento or read House of Leaves. But when you're dealing with an essay on a test, it's often best to stick with a simple, time-tested format, both to compensate for your own limited time and as a courtesy to your teacher. As the author Walter Pock once wrote, instructors don't have time to treat each essay as a puzzle in need of a solution. Take the guesswork out of your essay. A good default format that does this is the five-paragraph essay, which consists of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, though you can use more if you need to, and finally, a conclusion. Within this structure, there are several different methods that you can use to organize your points. The most popular is probably the decreasing importance pattern, in which your first body paragraph contains your strongest argument and the last one covers the weakest or least consequential. However, this pattern isn't always the right one to use. For example, if you've been asked to summarize an event, then it's probably best to go in chronological order. And likewise, if you've been asked to write the word potatoes 600 times, then you should probably do that. In short, use the prompt as a guide for choosing the pattern that you're going to use. Now, going back to that idea of taking the guesswork out of the essay, let's talk about the introduction. In most contexts, an essay has to earn its audience. That's why it's usually a good idea to start with a hook, something designed to grab the reader's attention and draw them in. You might use a quote or an interesting statistic or sometimes even a story. But when you're answering an essay question on a test, you've got a guaranteed audience, namely your teacher. And when you're writing for an audience that you know, you can write with their needs in mind. So the question is, what are your teacher's needs? Well, number one, your teacher is looking to get through your essay as quickly as possible because he's got dozens of others to grade, and number two, he's looking for a solid understanding of all the points that were asked for in the prompt. And here's the thing, a clever introduction doesn't really serve either of those two purposes, and it also wastes your precious time during the test. So unless you think it's absolutely necessary, I say just jump right into the thesis statement instead. Now, when you write that thesis statement, there is one big thing that you need to make sure you avoid, and that is blatantly restating the prompt. What do I mean by that? Well, say you're faced with a prompt like this. Explain the tactics used by Genghis Khan against the Khwarezmian Shah's armies that allowed for his victory in 1221. With a prompt like this, your teacher is almost guaranteed to get a ton of essays from your classmates that all start virtually the same way. The tactics used by Genghis Khan against the Khwarezmian Shah included utilizing superior speed, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. You get the point. This is boring, lazy writing. It literally grabs a phrase from the prompt and restates it verbatim, and you're better than that. So let's consider an improved way to do it. Genghis Khan's swift conquest of the Khwarezmian Empire in 1221 hinged on the use of several innovative tactics, chief among them being the constant utilization of superior speed and maneuverability. The Khan also subverted the Khwarezmian Shah's expectations by sending a force across the dangerous Chanshan Mountain Range in order to attack from a different angle, and dedicated another force solely to the task of hunting down the Shah himself, forcing the Shah to continually flee and diminishing his ability to effectively command his forces. These tactics, in conjunction with a numerically greater force, allowed for a decisive Mongol victory that led directly to the destruction of the entire Khwarezmian Empire. This is the kind of introduction that covers what the prompt was asking for, but does so in a much more interesting way that demonstrates your ability to think and write independently. Speaking of writing and thinking independently, I love what the Harvard Writing Center has to say about the conclusion to your essay. So much is at stake in writing a conclusion. This is, after all, your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon them as a writer and thinker. With that being said, want a way to leave a really weak impression with your reader? Well, if you do, and you're in the market for sabotaging all of your hard work, then just do what all of the other study skills, books, and websites that I came across seem to be recommending. Just blindly restate your points in the conclusion, summarize them, and call it a day. I'm kidding, don't do that. Instead, synthesize. Find a way to tie everything together. Here's how I might end that essay about the Mongol tactics. As countless military conflicts throughout history have demonstrated, numerical superiority is not always a perfect predictor of victory. Hannibal's victory over the Romans at the Battle of Kini is a perfect example. However, Genghis Khan's use of speed, surprise, and unrelenting aggression towards the Shah gave his forces an unbeatable edge. The Khwarezmian Empire, with its more settled ways and reliance on fortifications, was unable to adapt. All right, so let's quickly recap. To make sure that you write the best essay possible on your next test, first start with an outline. Get really, really familiar with the prompt, know exactly what it's asking for, and then use that two-stage outlining process to create a plan so you know that you're going to hit every single point. Next, follow a standard essay format, like the five-paragraph essay. Don't make your teacher work more than they have to. Third, get right to the point. Don't waste time on a clever introduction. Fourth, don't restate the prompt in your introduction. Instead, write an interesting thesis statement that covers the prompt, but in your own words. And finally, ensure your conclusion synthesizes everything you've written. Avoid simply summarizing your points, especially since your essay is probably a short one. Now, in addition to keeping these points in mind, always seek to ensure that your essays are logical and thorough, but that they are also concise and don't waste words. As the author William Strunk wrote in The Elements of Style, vigorous writing is concise. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. Now, when it comes to doing well on tests, whether they're full of essays or other challenges, one of the best tools in your arsenal is your ability to think critically and to analyze the problems facing you from all sides. And if you're looking for a great way to improve those abilities, you should check out Brilliant. Brilliant's library of courses helps you become a better thinker and develop your intuition by immediately challenging you with interesting problems, rather than focusing on rote memorization and passive delivery. If you're looking to become an all-around better thinker, a great place to start would be their logic course, which will solidify your ability to think ahead and avoid common logical fallacies. Or if you're interested in gaining a greater understanding of math and science, check out their courses on probability, calculus, astronomy, algorithms, and many, many more. Throughout all of Brilliant's courses, you'll be faced with challenges that enable you to learn as efficiently as possible. And when you need help, you'll have access to their extremely detailed wiki, as well as an active community of thousands of other learners. To start learning for free, head on over to brilliant.org slash Thomas Frank, which you'll find in the description down below. And if you're among the first 83 people to sign up with that link, you'll also get 20% off of your annual subscription. Big thanks to Brilliant for sponsoring this video and helping to support this channel. And as always, guys, thank you so much for watching. And thank you so much for one million subscribers. The channel just recently passed that threshold. And to be honest, I'm still kind of processing it, and it's freaking awesome. And hopefully, if I have anything to say about it, the best on this channel is still yet to come. So if you enjoyed this video, hit the like button, get subscribed so you don't miss out on future videos, and you also might wanna grab a free copy of my book on how to earn better grades right there. Lastly, you can check out our latest podcast episode right around here, or watch one more video on this channel by smashing your face into your phone, as always, right there. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next week.