how to answer literature essay questions

How to Answer Literature Questions

Do these seven simple things to answer Literature questions correctly:

• Identify exactly what the Literature question you are about to answer requires from you.
• Have a brief outline or plan for your Literature answer.
• Begin your Literature essay with a direct reference to the main point of the Literature question.
• State and develop each point of your answer in separate paragraphs.
• For each point, quickly give evidence from the novel, drama or poem to support it.
• Make brief, occasional general comments about how a point relates to real-life situations.
• Finally, close your Literature essay with a brief but compelling concluding paragraph.

The above is just a summary of the necessary steps to take to answer Literature questions correctly. If you need further explanation on these points about how to answer the WAEC Literature question, for example, then continue reading. Because in the coming paragraphs, I will show you the details of all the tips and tricks you can use to answer Literature questions.

So whether you are a high school student or an adult learner looking for how to answer the WAEC/WASSCE Literature essay questions on prose, drama and poetry, I’ve got you covered.

The same applies to you if you are an undergraduate student studying for a college degree in Literature and English. It does not really matter the particular degree-awarding institution you are attending because Literature questions and the way to answer them are generally the same everywhere.

A Special Note to My Colleague Teachers of Literature

I trust that you will find something useful in this post to add to the guidelines you will be giving to your students regarding what they need to do to answer Literature questions correctly.

Access Sample Literature Essay Templates

Do you want a practical demonstration of the tips in this post? Well, you can have as many as over 200 Literature essay templates or plans right here at Cegast Academy.

We have over 80 essay questions and answer templates on Second Class Citizen. Additionally, there are more than 70 questions and answers templates on both African and Non-African Poetry.

Then also, you can access more sample Literature essay plans and templates on The Lion and the Jewel, The Invisible Man, Fences as well as Look Back In Anger.

With that out of the way, allow me to walk you through the simple steps to take to answer Literature questions correctly. We shall begin with the first point above.

You Really Need This

First of all, I assume that any student of Literature who is looking for tips on how to answer Literature questions must have already read, thoroughly, the prescribed Literature prescribed books. At the very least, such a student should have read a detailed plot summary and analysis of the Literature texts.

It is also advisable to have a chapter-by-chapter summary of the novel or a scene-by-scene summary of the prescribed drama text.

Such a student must have as well gone through the set poems for the examination already.

For WAEC/WASSCE, NECO/SSCE and JAMB Literature candidates up to the year 2025, I strongly recommend that you take a look at the following tutorials. They will help you to have a good feel of the various Literature textbooks as well as other related topics you need to study.

Plot Summary and Analysis of Second Class Citizen

Chapter by Chapter Summary of Second Class Citizen

Analysis of Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

The Grieved Lands of Africa Analyzed

17 Reasons Why Students Fail Literature

The Lion and the Jewel Plot Summary and Analysis

Harvest of Corruption Summarized – Themes, Characters and Dramatic Techniques

Summary of Scene 4 of Harvest of Corruption

A Brief Summary of Faceless by Amma Darko

Summary and Analysis of Chapter 4 of Faceless by Amma Darko

You need to know the stories, plays and poems well enough. It makes enough sense to say that you cannot say anything meaningful about what you know nothing about.

So let’s take it that you’ve got your stuff all set and ready to roll.  Now you’re looking for how to use it to answer any Literature question that might come your way.

1. Know what the questions require from you

Look at it this way. When someone asked you a question, you would only give the right answer if you heard and understood it well enough. This is why we ask for a repeat of a question when we didn’t hear it well the first time.

How to Get A WAEC/WASSCE Certificate Without Attending Senior High School

The Shortest Plot Summary of Fences

A Short Summary of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The same goes for examination questions. You can only get the marks you need if you provide the right answer to the Literature question. And the starting point is knowing exactly what you are being asked to do. Take some time to get your understanding of the question right.

Let me explain a bit further. Look at this question.

Comment on the use of repetition in D.H. Lawrence’s poem, Bat.

The above question requires just one simple thing from you. That is, write an essay on the use of REPETITION in the poem BAT.

Almost every Literature essay question tries to make the student’s work as easy as possible. In this case, all you need to focus on is the literary technique known as REPETITION and nothing more. And the poem is ‘Bat’ , please.

This is where you need to convince yourself that you can truly say as much as possible about REPETITION in D.H. Lawrence’s poem called ‘Bat’.

Quite frankly, it is easy to write an essay on just one literary technique in a poem. The same goes for a question about a theme or a character in the text in question.

Knowing what the question requires from you will help you to limit the scope of your essay to only what is needed to carry a very high mark. You will not have to go on writing about unnecessary stuff that takes you nowhere.

2. Have a brief outline for your Literature answer.

A good essay plan is an essay half-written. Take a small fraction of your time to list the key points and stages of your essay.

Let’s take another example.

Examine Senghor’s Black Woman as a negritude poem.

A simple but effective answer plan for the above Literature question could be this.

• Introduction – what negritude literature/poetry is about
• Brief subject matter/meaning of ‘Black Woman’
• Elements of negritude poetry found in Black Woman

-Subject Matter

-Some relevant poetic techniques – 2 or 3

• Conclusion – restatement of elements of negritude and how effective they are.

About six to eight paragraphs should be enough for this essay on Black Woman as a negritude poem.

The moment you have a rough outline of what you will be writing about in the essay, the writing process itself becomes much easier.

3. Begin with a direct reference to the main point.

As you can see in the essay plan example I gave you a moment ago, the introductory paragraph is about the main point in the question – negritude poetry.

Every other thing you know about the poem, novel or drama is irrelevant if it is not mentioned in the question you want to answer.

Just learn to start answering all Literature questions with a quick reference to the main point. Life gets easier this way. And your examiner will reward you for knowing what to say and what not to say.

4. State and develop each point of your answer in separate paragraphs.

Another key step to take to correctly answer Literature questions is to organize your essay in an orderly manner.

Simplify everything by devoting each point to a separate paragraph. And do not waste time in doing so.

For example, in the ‘Black Woman’ essay plan above, the point about the theme can be in a single paragraph. Then you can share the two or three poetic devices among two or three paragraphs as the case may be.

Remember that all your points must have something to do with the main point of the Literature question.

5. Give evidence from the text to support each point.

Do not just make a point and leave it hanging there. Prop it up with concrete evidence from the novel, play or poem.

For example, if you say the poet has used personification in ‘Black Woman’ , go ahead and quickly cite an example or two.

Quote a line or just a couple of words to prove what you have just said. Then explain how this evidence relates to the main point in the question.

Again, in the case of Senghor’s ‘Black Woman’, say how what you have quoted supports the assertion that truly, the poem belongs to the negritude tradition.

Please note that you can paraphrase areas of the original text as your evidence.

The truth is it is not always easy to quote exactly what you want to use as proof of a point you have made in your Literature essay. This is why you are free to use paraphrasing instead of quoting wrongly.

6. Relate your points to real-life situations.

Literature mirrors life. One of the best ways to answer Literature questions, whether in a WAEC exam or similar high school exams, is to occasionally relate what you have observed to practical life situations.

This works best when your Literature answer is about a character and their role in a play or novel. It is equally good for Literature questions that ask the candidate to discuss a particular theme in the text.

A quick warning, though. Do not overdo this. Always remain focused on the core demands of the question.

Also, any brief general commentary can be part of the explanation of your points in the respective paragraphs. You do not need to give them their own separate paragraphs.

7. Write a concluding paragraph.

Here are some quick tips to consider when you are writing your conclusion

• Make it short
• Summarize what you consider to be your most important points in the body of the essay.
• Give an assessment especially when the question contains words like, ‘examine’ and ‘assess’. How do you do this?

All you need to do here is to state the extent to which you think (based on all that you’ve been saying in the essay) the author has been able to effectively deal with whatever literary device or theme or character you are looking at.

In most cases, you will be on the safer side to give credit to the author even if you do not agree with everything.

Final Thoughts

Now you know the key steps to take to answer Literature questions in the most acceptable manner. Make sure to check out additional tutorials on characters and themes that will give you more practical examples of how to answer all types of WAEC Literature questions. And don’t hesitate to leave a comment if something is still not clear to you.

Did you find this information helpful? Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. Thank you!

Cegast Academy empowers students, mature learners, teachers, and parents with top-notch educational resources and publishing services. The centre boasts of a rich experience in English and Literature tutoring with a proven track record. Since 2001, Cegast Academy has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature, and related subjects. With a combination of expertise and a passion for lifelong learning, the platform guides learners from diverse backgrounds to achieve their educational and career goals.

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1 thought on “how to answer literature questions”.

Wow…this was very enlightening and educative. Thank you very much sir. Please sir i am writing JAMB this year and i am an art student. I am not very certain on the prescribed texts, poems and anthologies for Literature in English and i have checked JAMB site for the syllabus but i’m not sure if they’ve updated their literature syllabus. Sir, if you kindly know the texts and poems for this year, it would be really helpful. Thank you sir.

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How to write answers in English Literature – step by step guide to effective arguments and good score

Writing convincing answers in English literature examination – tips, strategy and analysis  

Writing answers to the questions asked in any examination is not an easy job. However, it is not that difficult either. Everything comes down to one’s ability to make the examiner aware of one’s point of view, knowledge of the topic and approach to issues of concern. Now, writing answers to questions about science subjects demands factual accuracy, universally accepted methods, and almost the usual technique to the structure of the answer. There is seldom a place (significant) for creativity. Likewise, in social science subjects, one may need to write about facts, universally-acknowledged facts, accepted norms, and there is (indeed) a place for arguments by the writer of such answers. However, science and social science subjects don’t allow too much freedom to exercise one’s interpretation of the given ideas or situations. One has to play by the book. As a literature student, in direct contrast with the subjects earlier discussed, a person can take considerable liberty while writing answers. It’s all about using one’s interpretational and persuasive skills to logically prove a point and offer commentary on the given circumstance, argument or idea. The best part is one can do so without depending too much on others’ opinions! 

Understanding how is answering in literature examination different from other examinations:  

We will have to keep mathematics and science subjects aside. These subjects demand facts, figures, and universally accepted notions or ‘truths’. As I mentioned earlier, social science subjects like history, political science, sociology and others offer space for conjecture. However, that space is still limited. You cannot go sideways and prove your points entirely backed by your arguments. You would need external support. In literature, however, there are no ultimate truths. (Facts like dates, years, compositions and number of poems in a collection are there.) You can try to prove Marlowe was better than Shakespeare. You may attempt to convince the examiners Arnold was a better poet than Tennyson. You may, very well, exhibit reasons you find T. S. Eliot’s opinions on writers before him problematic. All you need to do is logically create arguments in an orderly sequence and (if possible) in climbing or rising order as you go into the depths and write your closing statements. Yes, literature is a canvas that gives you ultimate freedom. Use this freedom responsibly, and you can persuade anyone to believe your hypotheses, arguments and conclusions. Why do I say so? The main reason is that you have to base your statements (and eventually the answer) on someone’s creative writing. And the interpretation of creative writing can go in the direction you want (with the caution of responsible analysis, evidence-based interpretation and logically tightened progress into the text). 

Step-by-step Guide to Writing Effective Answers in English Literature Examinations:

Step Zero – Become a quick thinker:  It is a prerequisite. Once you start thinking quickly, you can stitch arguments into words in a short time and write fast and better. To be able to think quickly, you need to read a lot. Make sure you finish reading all the books from the syllabus (and even go beyond reading related books that are not in the syllabus). Try to memorise important parts, dialogues, twists in the plot, lines from the poems, and anything else that is vital about the text you read. The more you memorise, the more building blocks you will have in mind for your answers. 

Step One – Divide the answer into three parts:  Please remember that parts do not mean paragraphs. Generally, it is a well-accepted norm that an impactful answer has three parts. It begins with the introduction, develops into the body and culminates with a conclusion. Therefore, you need to understand how to form an ideal beginning for your answer. You should, further, develop a well-structured body that contains an impactful progression of the core arguments. Finally, conclude everything in the third part of your answer. There are no fixed rules for the number of paragraphs. Ideally, a paragraph should contain one or a maximum of two related arguments. Try to stay within the word limit the question paper demands.  

Step Two – Form an effective beginning:  Well begun is half done. It is a fundamental lesson. You need to introduce the examiners to your knowledge of the concerning topic in the best possible way. An introduction can be direct or indirect. Direct introductions begin with the idea in a formal manner. Therefore, logically, what should be the features of an indirect way of opening an answer? An indirect introduction juxtaposes the topic in question with a conflicting argument. It can open with a related perception or bring a quote by an influential personality about the person or literary work featured in question. It might feature something informal but persuasive, impactful and exhibiting the understanding of an examinee that covers the question and many other things related to it. An example will make things clear. 

Do you think fate plays a vital role in the novels of Thomas Hardy? 

Direct opening:  

In the novels of Thomas Hardy, anyone can witness fate playing a vital role in many ways. Be it the poor farmer Gabriel Oak or the love-struck Jude, the both are merely playing the games fate has decided for them. In many novels by Hardy, the novelist has given due importance to human fate as a game-changer element. 

Indirect opening: 

A critic summarises the role that providence plays in the works of Hardy in the following words: 

“… from Sergeant Troy to Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead Hardy’s novels offer a series of individuals who try in some way to fight social convention and the nature of human existence, and are destroyed in the conflict.”

Many critics often associate the term pessimist with Thomas Hardy. One has to look at the novels by Hardy. The characters seldom have the prowess to change the course of time. They often require the hand of God – sometimes in the loss of Oak or at times in his ultimate gain. The episodes that fate brings in the life of Tess are known to all. 

Please remember that an ideal beginning should be 1/5 or 1/4 of the number of words the answer will contain. This part of the answer should be impactful so that the examiner keeps reading through the entire length. An indirect introduction does sound fancy. However, opt for it only if you are confident in your knowledge about the topic. 

Step Three – Develop your arguments wisely in the body section:  Once you give your answer the appropriate opening, it becomes essential to continue with the momentum and add impressive, logical and fitting arguments to the body section. It is the part where you need to offer support to your introductory paragraph(s). In other words, it is the make or break element of the answer. You have to look at making strong, persuasive, backed by evidence, stuffed with quotations, and not easily refutable assertions, arguments, and statements as you deem suitable while progressing to the conclusion. 

Features of an effective ‘body’:  

• Effective arguments 
• Quotes from the text(s)
• Quotations by critics, scholars, and other literary figures 
• Parallels, contrasts, and comparisons as required 
• Singular approach in questions demanding this or that perspective
• Rising or falling nature of arguments from mild to intense or the contrary as needed *

*  It depends on how do you want to approach the conclusion. If you are trying to prove a positive statement, opt for a rising intensity body. Right before you end the section, you will have the strongest, most intense and most effective assertion for the examiner to observe. 

Step Four – Conclude what you have started:  Time for the knock-out punch! Concluding a presentation, a speech, an innings in a cricket match, or anything else becomes convenient if you have controlled it from the beginning. Depending upon what are you trying to prove, assert, negate, equate or analyse, you may have to put forth the most influential arguments that vouch for things you wrote earlier. Ending with a suitable extract from the primary text(s) or the secondary text(s) is an ideal practice to think. Anything between 1/5 to 1/4 is the word limit you can go for while concluding the answer to a question in an English literature examination. In short, an effective conclusion summarises an examiner’s position against the given question in a precise, straightforward and impactful manner with fitting quotes or extracts. 

• You can begin the conclusion section with these words: to conclude, in the end, let me reiterate once again, therefore, one can observe, apparently, one can see that… and develop your own as per the given scenario
• The indicated lengths for the introduction and conclusion are only suggestions
• To increase your literary horizon, read the primary texts and compensate the understanding by reading many supporting texts – critical views, help books, other writers on the writer of concern (prefer Norton Critical editions)
• NEVER QUOTE WIKIPEDIA 
• On special occasions, while using words that occur in the literary text of concern, use single inverted commas to exhibit your understanding of the text and the context 
• Nothing is perfect in literature… keep practising

All the best, guys! Go and rock! 

Signing off for tonight!

Alok Mishra

Read related articles from this category:

What is note-taking? Why is it important? Key features of effective note-taking – explained in this article

BA English Literature (Honours) Second Year Patliputra University – Syllabus, Books & Analysis

Taking Notes while Studying a Poem – making poetry simpler to understand – tips by Alok Mishra

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16 Comments . Leave new

Thanks a Trillion!🙏🧿

This is so helpful. Developing these characteristics will really shape my answers & overall guide me well. I appreciate & value your time you invested here.

Sir, These tips are not only words but also a proved analysis. I believe that these tips will add an extra jewel into my answer writing skill. Thanking you!

This is just the thing I was looking for… thank you so much for this wonderful article on English literature answer writing! It helped me a lot..

Lucid and informative Thanks !

Wonderful! It helped me understand the subject matter very well. I was very disturbed about writing answers. I am confident and I think I can do better now. Have read other article on this website too. Keep up the good work for students like us.

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Thank you, Eshanee! All the best for your studies!

The article was very helpful.. Thankyou so much

Many thanks for reading the article, Suvarna! All the best for your exams and studies!

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How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions

Last Updated: July 9, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is an English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 653,386 times.

Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused. Developing your ability to give excellent answers on essay exams will take time and effort, but you can learn some good essay question practices and start improving your answers.

Understanding the Question

• Analyze: Explain the what, where, who, when, why, and how. Include pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
• Compare: Discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things. Don't forget to explain why the comparison is useful.
• Contrast: Discuss how two or more things are different or distinguish between them. Don't forget to explain why the contrast is useful.
• Define: State what something means, does, achieves, etc.
• Describe: List characteristics or traits of something. You may also need to summarize something, such as an essay prompt that asks "Describe the major events that led to the American Revolution."
• Discuss: This is more analytical. You usually begin by describing something and then present arguments for or against it. You may need to analyze the advantages or disadvantages of your subject.
• Evaluate: Offer the pros and cons, positives and negatives for a subject. You may be asked to evaluate a statement for logical support, or evaluate an argument for weaknesses.
• Explain: Explain why or how something happened, or justify your position on something.
• Prove: Usually reserved for more scientific or objective essays. You may be asked to include evidence and research to build a case for a specific position or set of hypotheses.
• Summarize: Usually, this means to list the major ideas or themes of a subject. It could also ask you to present the main ideas in order to then fully discuss them. Most essay questions will not ask for pure summary without anything else.

• Raise your hand and wait for your teacher to come over to you or approach your teacher’s desk to ask your question. This way you will be less likely to disrupt other test takers.

Forming Your Response

• Take a moment to consider your organization before you start writing your answer. What information should come first, second, third, etc.?
• In many cases, the traditional 5-paragraph essay structure works well. Start with an introductory paragraph, use 3 paragraphs in the body of the article to explain different points, and finish with a concluding paragraph.
• It can also be really helpful to draft a quick outline of your essay before you start writing.

• You may want to make a list of facts and figures that you want to include in your essay answer. That way you can refer to this list as you write your answer.
• It's best to write down all the important key topics or ideas before you get started composing your answer. That way, you can check back to make sure you haven't missed anything.

• For example, imagine that your essay question asks: "Should the FIFA World Cup be awarded to countries with human rights violations? Explain and support your answer."
• You might restate this as "Countries with human rights violations should not be awarded the FIFA World Cup because this rewards a nation's poor treatment of its citizens." This will be the thesis that you support with examples and explanation.

• For example, whether you argue that the FIFA World Cup should or should not be awarded to countries with human rights violations, you will want to address the opposing side's argument. However, it needs to be clear where your essay stands about the matter.
• Often, essay questions end up saying things along the lines of "There are many similarities and differences between X and Y." This does not offer a clear position and can result in a bad grade.

• If you are required to write your answer by hand, then take care to make your writing legible and neat. Some professors may deduct points if they cannot read what you have written.

Staying Calm and Focused

• If you get to a point during the exam where you feel too anxious to focus, put down your pencil (or take your hands off of the keyboard), close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Stretch your arms and imagine that you are somewhere pleasant for a few moments. When you have completed this brief exercise, open up your eyes and resume the exam.

• For example, if the exam period is one hour long and you have to answer three questions in that time frame, then you should plan to spend no more than 20 minutes on each question.
• Look at the weight of the questions, if applicable. For example, if there are five 10-point short-answers and a 50-point essay, plan to spend more time on the essay because it is worth significantly more. Don't get stuck spending so much time on the short-answers that you don't have time to develop a complex essay.

• This strategy is even more important if the exam has multiple essay questions. If you take too much time on the first question, then you may not have enough time to answer the other questions on the exam.

• If you feel like you are straying away from the question, reread the question and review any notes that you made to help guide you. After you get refocused, then continue writing your answer.
• Try to allow yourself enough time to go back and tighten up connections between your points. A few well-placed transitions can really bump up your grade.

Community Q&A

• If you are worried about running out of time, put your watch in front of you where you can see it. Just try not to focus on it too much. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you need more practice, make up your own questions or even look at some practice questions online! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Look up relevant quotes if your exam is open notes. Use references from books or class to back up your answers.
• Make sure your sentences flow together and that you don't repeat the same thing twice!

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• ↑ https://www.linnbenton.edu/student-services/library-tutoring-testing/learning-center/academic-coaching/documents/Strategies%20For%20Answering%20Essay%20Questions.pdf
• ↑ https://success.uark.edu/get-help/student-resources/short-answer-essays.php

About This Article

To write a good answer to an exam essay question, read the question carefully to find what it's asking, and follow the instructions for the essay closely. Begin your essay by rephrasing the question into a statement with your answer in the statement. Include supplemental facts and figures if necessary, or do textual analysis from a provided piece to support your argument. Make sure your writing is clear and to the point, and don't include extra information unless it supports your argument. For tips from our academic reviewer on understanding essay questions and dealing with testing nerves, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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To answer an essay question (EQ), students must assess the purpose of the essay question: factual recall, analysis (explanation of relationships) synthesis (application/transfer of previously learned principles) opinion

How much information to include, repeat, restate (intro needed? details needed?).

The chart below outlines 4 main types of essay questions, the verbs/cues that indicate the type of essay question and its purpose, and the strategy to be used to answer it.

Read the questions very carefully at least 2 or 3 times. Circle  the main verb (= action verb/imperative) in the question and decide on the necessary rhetorical strategy for answering the question (cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, classification, problem-solution). Make sure you understand what type of answer the main verb calls for (a diagram a summary, details, an analysis, an evaluation). Circle all the keywords in the question. Decide if you need to write a 1-paragraph or a multi-paragraph answer. Write a brief outline of all the points you want to mention in your answer. Restate the question and answer it with a topic sentence (for a 1-paragraph answer) or a thesis statement (for a multi-paragraph answer).  Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing.  Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence(s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion.  Use correct punctuation throughout. Read over your answer again and check if all the main ideas have been included. Check your answer for grammar and punctuation.

© 2005: Christine Bauer-Ramazani ; last updated: September 02, 2019

How to Answer Essay Questions – The Ultimate Guide

• Posted by Brian Stocker MA
• Date November 30, 2007
• Comments 7 comments

Everyone Loves Essay Questions!

“I hate essays!” This battle cry is famous to most students. That’s because essay questions are either easy or difficult. Either way, there’s no certain formula. Even if you think you know the answer - don’t be overconfident - the critical part is how you make your essay worth reading. So how do you do it?

Audio Version of this Post

Tips for Writing an Essay

Read the question more than once. Some questions can be tricky so make sure you understand it to the letter. A lot of students commit error by simply not reading instructions very well. They read and then write a long essay, only to realize very late that they did not understand the question correctly.

Familiarize yourself with your professor or teacher’s style of organization, if you can. As students, it’s your role to know how your teachers want their essays answered.

Mentally go through your lecture notes before writing anything on your paper.

Create an outline of thoughts and related topics in connection with the essay question. By doing this you are helping yourself create a more organized answer.

Construct an idea in each paragraph. Go back to your essay outline if you think you are repeating yourself or not making sense at all.

Use the terminology of the course . Be professional in knowing what type of words to use in a particular topic or subject.

Read and go back to your previous paragraphs after you are finished with one paragraph. This will help you determine your flow of thought and if you are really making a point or giving an answer.

Don’t include ideas that are off-topic.

If there are too many ideas in your outline , cut out the least important ones. As much as possible, make your idea concrete and pointed, with arguments or statements that is easy to understand.

The body of your essay should have a summary or statement.

Support your summary or statement with adequate details and specifics. If you do not know how to add details, just expand on your generic idea.

Avoid jumping from one point to another.

Avoid vague descriptions if necessary . Include specifics to get your message across.

Review the question again and again so you will not lose your thread of thinking.

If you have time to make revisions, do so.

Use all the time you have to complete your essay. Review and re-check your answers before submitting your paper.

If you have nothing to write and don’t know what to write , don’t leave your paper blank. Write something at least.

Get the Complete Guide to Studying

Get the complete guide to taking notes, taking a test complete guide to multiple choice, essay check list.

Here is a great Checklist for answering Essay Questions from Tennessee State University:

Use the following as a guide when writing answers to discussion questions and as a checklist after you have written your answer.

1. Do I understand the question?  What am I being asked to do? 2. Do I have a plan?  What are my major points and how am I going to present them? 3. Does the reader know, just from reading the first sentence of my essay, both the question and how I will answer it? 4. Are my major points clear and do they stand out? 5. Do I support my argument with facts and examples? 6. Do I make clear and sensible transitions between major points? 7. Is my answer clear to someone who knows nothing about this? 8. Have I answered the question completely?  Have I fully covered all of the major points required to completely answer the question? 9. Is there irrelevant material? 10. Do I have a conclusion and summary statement? 11. Have I proofed my essay for common spelling and grammatical errors? 12. Is my handwriting legible?  Is there room for comments or additions?

Glossary of Essay Exam Terms

When taking an exam the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with all instructions. At times this can be confusing especially if you do not understand the terms. Below you will find some common terms used on essay exams. Learning these terms is a key step in successful completion of most essay exams.

• Compare (also Compare with): Discuss the similarities between two or more given subjects.
• Contrast: Discuss the differences in two or more given subjects.
• Criticize: Explain the value of a finding or theory. Include both negative and positive aspects based on implementation. This could be the ease of which it is applied, examples of false findings, etc…
• Define: Describe precisely a term’s meaning as it applies specifically to a given subject.
• Describe: Use exact detail to explain a given term. This may call for the use of examples, definitions, or discussion of the term.
• Diagram: Use a visual representation of relevant information to explain implementation of a term. This usually calls for an explicit chart or graph which is thoroughly labelled. In some cases it may call for a detailed plan as well.
• Discuss: The literal meaning of discuss is talk about. To do this in an exam you must thoroughly explain your subject with words.
• Enumerate: Form a list of relevant points and explain each point. This may result in an outline like answer.
• Evaluate: Discuss the pros and cons of the application of your given subject from a professional point of view. This differs from criticize because personal opinion should be avoided unless instructions specify otherwise.
• Explain: Define the given material and give examples of how and why it is important to the subject.
• Illustrate: Use a visual aid or a clearly defined example to explain a given subject.
• Interpret: Explain the given question, include you personal feelings on the subject as well as a solution.
• Justify: Use factual information to argue you view of the situation presented in a given problem.
• List: Brief but thorough list of information that explains the given topic.
• Outline: much like writing an outline for a paper. Answer the question by creating an outline that highlights the main ideas and key points of those ideas.
• Prove: Discuss the topic in a way that readers are convinced to support or reject the idea discussed. This is done through presentation of facts or the step by step illustration of logical thinking.
• Relate: Discuss the connection between two or more events, people, problems, etc…
• Review: Close examination of a problem accompanied by brief comments that explain the main points.
• State (also Give, Specify, or Present): Explain the major points of a subject in brief for. There is typically no need for further explanation.
• Summarize: Create a brief description that highlights the major points of your subject.
• Trace: Explain the progress of the given subject from conception to current date. Highlight anything that is considered a major topic as well as the reason for any changes.

Don’t!

Last piece of advice – Don’t get your parents to edit it!

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Every thing was educational. Had a good feeling on how to deliver good papers.

Please no pictures.

This is a great tool for us.

i learned a lot – – super

I still hate essays tho

I am a big fan.

Above all are logically important and desirably topics which is value for everyone,thanks.

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• Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question

About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.

You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.

If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.

Top tips and golden rules

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:

1)     Work out exactly what you’re being asked

It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.

2)     Be as explicit as possible

Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.

3)     Be brutally honest with yourself about whether a point is relevant before you write it.

It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.

Put it into action: Step One

Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ?   To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss.   I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:

• The witches are the most important cause of tragic action in Macbeth.
• The witches are partially, but not entirely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, alongside Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and that of his wife.
• We are not supposed to believe the witches: they are a product of Macbeth’s psyche, and his downfall is his own doing.
• The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is shaky – finally, their ambiguity is part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. (N.B. It’s fine to conclude that a question can’t be answered in black and white, certain terms – as long as you have a firm structure, and keep referring back to it throughout the essay).

The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:

• Do you agree that the status of the witches’ ‘malevolent intervention’ is ambiguous?
• What is its significance?
• How powerful is it?

Step Two: Plan

Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:

To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ?  Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.

My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.

Step Three: Paragraph beginnings and endings

The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:

Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.

The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:

  Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth.  To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.

Step Four: Practice makes perfect

The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:

• Write a hypothesis
• Write a rough plan of what each paragraph will contain
• Write out the first and last sentence of each paragraph

You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback. If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.

Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .

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