how to answer essay questions in university

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.

prompt, they often find that it answers many of their questions. When you read the assignment prompt, you should do the following: • Look for action verbs. Verbs like analyze, compare, discuss, explain, make an argument, propose a solution, trace, or research can help you understand what you’re being asked to do with an assignment.

Strategies to use in answering supported answer questions: Start your answer by writing a clearly worded statement of your opinion or interpretation. Defend your statement with all of the data, examples, facts, and research that you have studied which led you to take the position you have taken.

If you’re a student applying to one of many highly selective colleges, use my How-To-Guide for some extra help answering the short answer questions in your college application.

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 ...

Whether you're facing multiple-choice, true or false, short answer, or essay questions, knowing how to answer exam questions effectively can make all the difference in your performance. In this guide, we'll explore strategies to help you confidently answer various types of exam questions, ensuring you make the most of your study efforts.

How do you write an effective essay exam? Read through all the questions carefully. Budget your time and decide which question(s) you will answer first. Underline the key word(s) which tell you what to do for each question. Choose an organizational pattern appropriate for each key word and plan your answers on scratch paper or in the margins.

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations. Planning your essay. University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question.

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.

Stanford’s freshman application asks students to respond to 4 different short questions and 3 relatively longer essay questions as part of their admissions process. CollegeVine is here to provide detailed tips and examples to help you approach Stanford’s supplemental essays.