For decades, the sight of blue books has struck fear in the hearts of collegians. Those books usually signal an essay exam, the topic of one of the handouts in a larger series on specific writing assignments. Using the handout, writers discover strategies to improve their performance on an exam. They range from advice on reading and outlining the essay to physiological tips to help them go into the test with the right attitude.

Concepts

essay questions, essay writing, test preparation

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Create prompts that use each of the interpretation words and, in small groups, have learners break down the prompt and create an outline of its general structure
• Model how to answer an essay exam question following the steps provided in the handout

Classroom Considerations

• Includes tips to help students study throughout a course, not just before an exam

Pros

• Goes beyond strategies and explains the rationale behind the test format
• Organizes information into bullet points

Cons

• Lacks sample responses to support information given

Common Core

W.9-10.9.a W.11-12.9.a