essay that answers a question

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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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How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions

Last Updated: March 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed 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 644,255 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!

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.linnbenton.edu/student-services/library-tutoring-testing/learning-center/academic-coaching/documents/Strategies%20For%20Answering%20Essay%20Questions.pdf
• ↑ https://www.ius.edu/writing-center/files/answering-essay-questions.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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Essay Exams

What this handout is about.

At some time in your undergraduate career, you’re going to have to write an essay exam. This thought can inspire a fair amount of fear: we struggle enough with essays when they aren’t timed events based on unknown questions. The goal of this handout is to give you some easy and effective strategies that will help you take control of the situation and do your best.

Why do instructors give essay exams?

Essay exams are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you’ve practiced in the course. Instructors want to see whether:

• You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
• You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
• You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
• You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
• You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
• You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
• You can think critically and analytically about a subject

What essay questions require

Exam questions can reach pretty far into the course materials, so you cannot hope to do well on them if you do not keep up with the readings and assignments from the beginning of the course. The most successful essay exam takers are prepared for anything reasonable, and they probably have some intelligent guesses about the content of the exam before they take it. How can you be a prepared exam taker? Try some of the following suggestions during the semester:

• Do the reading as the syllabus dictates; keeping up with the reading while the related concepts are being discussed in class saves you double the effort later.
• Go to lectures (and put away your phone, the newspaper, and that crossword puzzle!).
• Take careful notes that you’ll understand months later. If this is not your strong suit or the conventions for a particular discipline are different from what you are used to, ask your TA or the Learning Center for advice.
• Participate in your discussion sections; this will help you absorb the material better so you don’t have to study as hard.
• Organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester. Others will catch things you might miss even when paying attention. This is not cheating. As long as what you write on the essay is your own work, formulating ideas and sharing notes is okay. In fact, it is a big part of the learning process.
• As an exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. This will help you forecast the questions that will be on the exam, and prepare for them.

These suggestions will save you lots of time and misery later. Remember that you can’t cram weeks of information into a single day or night of study. So why put yourself in that position?

Now let’s focus on studying for the exam. You’ll notice the following suggestions are all based on organizing your study materials into manageable chunks of related material. If you have a plan of attack, you’ll feel more confident and your answers will be more clear. Here are some tips: 

• Don’t just memorize aimlessly; clarify the important issues of the course and use these issues to focus your understanding of specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to organize and prioritize the information into a thematic pattern. Look at what you’ve studied and find a way to put things into related groups. Find the fundamental ideas that have been emphasized throughout the course and organize your notes into broad categories. Think about how different categories relate to each other.
• Find out what you don’t know, but need to know, by making up test questions and trying to answer them. Studying in groups helps as well.

Taking the exam

Read the exam carefully.

• If you are given the entire exam at once and can determine your approach on your own, read the entire exam before you get started.
• Look at how many points each part earns you, and find hints for how long your answers should be.
• Figure out how much time you have and how best to use it. Write down the actual clock time that you expect to take in each section, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending all your time on only one section. One strategy is to divide the available time according to percentage worth of the question. You don’t want to spend half of your time on something that is only worth one tenth of the total points.
• As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter. Instead, read through all of the options. Jot down really brief ideas for each question before deciding.
• Remember that the easiest-looking question is not always as easy as it looks. Focus your attention on questions for which you can explain your answer most thoroughly, rather than settle on questions where you know the answer but can’t say why.

Analyze the questions

• Decide what you are being asked to do. If you skim the question to find the main “topic” and then rush to grasp any related ideas you can recall, you may become flustered, lose concentration, and even go blank. Try looking closely at what the question is directing you to do, and try to understand the sort of writing that will be required.
• Focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.
• Look at the active verbs in the assignment—they tell you what you should be doing. We’ve included some of these below, with some suggestions on what they might mean. (For help with this sort of detective work, see the Writing Center handout titled Reading Assignments.)

Information words, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject. Information words may include:

• define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning.
• explain why/how—give reasons why or examples of how something happened.
• illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject.
• summarize—briefly cover the important ideas you learned about the subject.
• trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form.
• research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you’ve found.

Relation words ask you to demonstrate how things are connected. Relation words may include:

• compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different).
• contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar.
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation.
• cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen.
• relate—show or describe the connections between things.

Interpretation words ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Don’t see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation. Interpretation words may include:

• prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth.
• evaluate, respond, assess—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons (you may want to compare your subject to something else).
• support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe).
• synthesize—put two or more things together that haven’t been put together before; don’t just summarize one and then the other, and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together (as opposed to compare and contrast—see above).
• analyze—look closely at the components of something to figure out how it works, what it might mean, or why it is important.
• argue—take a side and defend it (with proof) against the other side.

Plan your answers

Think about your time again. How much planning time you should take depends on how much time you have for each question and how many points each question is worth. Here are some general guidelines: 

• For short-answer definitions and identifications, just take a few seconds. Skip over any you don’t recognize fairly quickly, and come back to them when another question jogs your memory.
• For answers that require a paragraph or two, jot down several important ideas or specific examples that help to focus your thoughts.
• For longer answers, you will need to develop a much more definite strategy of organization. You only have time for one draft, so allow a reasonable amount of time—as much as a quarter of the time you’ve allotted for the question—for making notes, determining a thesis, and developing an outline.
• For questions with several parts (different requests or directions, a sequence of questions), make a list of the parts so that you do not miss or minimize one part. One way to be sure you answer them all is to number them in the question and in your outline.
• You may have to try two or three outlines or clusters before you hit on a workable plan. But be realistic—you want a plan you can develop within the limited time allotted for your answer. Your outline will have to be selective—not everything you know, but what you know that you can state clearly and keep to the point in the time available.

Again, focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.

Writing your answers

As with planning, your strategy for writing depends on the length of your answer:

• For short identifications and definitions, it is usually best to start with a general identifying statement and then move on to describe specific applications or explanations. Two sentences will almost always suffice, but make sure they are complete sentences. Find out whether the instructor wants definition alone, or definition and significance. Why is the identification term or object important?
• For longer answers, begin by stating your forecasting statement or thesis clearly and explicitly. Strive for focus, simplicity, and clarity. In stating your point and developing your answers, you may want to use important course vocabulary words from the question. For example, if the question is, “How does wisteria function as a representation of memory in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom?” you may want to use the words wisteria, representation, memory, and Faulkner) in your thesis statement and answer. Use these important words or concepts throughout the answer.
• If you have devised a promising outline for your answer, then you will be able to forecast your overall plan and its subpoints in your opening sentence. Forecasting impresses readers and has the very practical advantage of making your answer easier to read. Also, if you don’t finish writing, it tells your reader what you would have said if you had finished (and may get you partial points).
• You might want to use briefer paragraphs than you ordinarily do and signal clear relations between paragraphs with transition phrases or sentences.
• As you move ahead with the writing, you may think of new subpoints or ideas to include in the essay. Stop briefly to make a note of these on your original outline. If they are most appropriately inserted in a section you’ve already written, write them neatly in the margin, at the top of the page, or on the last page, with arrows or marks to alert the reader to where they fit in your answer. Be as neat and clear as possible.
• Don’t pad your answer with irrelevancies and repetitions just to fill up space. Within the time available, write a comprehensive, specific answer.
• Watch the clock carefully to ensure that you do not spend too much time on one answer. You must be realistic about the time constraints of an essay exam. If you write one dazzling answer on an exam with three equally-weighted required questions, you earn only 33 points—not enough to pass at most colleges. This may seem unfair, but keep in mind that instructors plan exams to be reasonably comprehensive. They want you to write about the course materials in two or three or more ways, not just one way. Hint: if you finish a half-hour essay in 10 minutes, you may need to develop some of your ideas more fully.
• If you run out of time when you are writing an answer, jot down the remaining main ideas from your outline, just to show that you know the material and with more time could have continued your exposition.
• Double-space to leave room for additions, and strike through errors or changes with one straight line (avoid erasing or scribbling over). Keep things as clean as possible. You never know what will earn you partial credit.
• Write legibly and proofread. Remember that your instructor will likely be reading a large pile of exams. The more difficult they are to read, the more exasperated the instructor might become. Your instructor also cannot give you credit for what they cannot understand. A few minutes of careful proofreading can improve your grade.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind in writing essay exams is that you have a limited amount of time and space in which to get across the knowledge you have acquired and your ability to use it. Essay exams are not the place to be subtle or vague. It’s okay to have an obvious structure, even the five-paragraph essay format you may have been taught in high school. Introduce your main idea, have several paragraphs of support—each with a single point defended by specific examples, and conclude with a restatement of your main point and its significance.

Some physiological tips

Just think—we expect athletes to practice constantly and use everything in their abilities and situations in order to achieve success. Yet, somehow many students are convinced that one day’s worth of studying, no sleep, and some well-placed compliments (“Gee, Dr. So-and-so, I really enjoyed your last lecture”) are good preparation for a test. Essay exams are like any other testing situation in life: you’ll do best if you are prepared for what is expected of you, have practiced doing it before, and have arrived in the best shape to do it. You may not want to believe this, but it’s true: a good night’s sleep and a relaxed mind and body can do as much or more for you as any last-minute cram session. Colleges abound with tales of woe about students who slept through exams because they stayed up all night, wrote an essay on the wrong topic, forgot everything they studied, or freaked out in the exam and hyperventilated. If you are rested, breathing normally, and have brought along some healthy, energy-boosting snacks that you can eat or drink quietly, you are in a much better position to do a good job on the test. You aren’t going to write a good essay on something you figured out at 4 a.m. that morning. If you prepare yourself well throughout the semester, you don’t risk your whole grade on an overloaded, undernourished brain.

If for some reason you get yourself into this situation, take a minute every once in a while during the test to breathe deeply, stretch, and clear your brain. You need to be especially aware of the likelihood of errors, so check your essays thoroughly before you hand them in to make sure they answer the right questions and don’t have big oversights or mistakes (like saying “Hitler” when you really mean “Churchill”).

If you tend to go blank during exams, try studying in the same classroom in which the test will be given. Some research suggests that people attach ideas to their surroundings, so it might jog your memory to see the same things you were looking at while you studied.

Try good luck charms. Bring in something you associate with success or the support of your loved ones, and use it as a psychological boost.

Take all of the time you’ve been allotted. Reread, rework, and rethink your answers if you have extra time at the end, rather than giving up and handing the exam in the minute you’ve written your last sentence. Use every advantage you are given.

Remember that instructors do not want to see you trip up—they want to see you do well. With this in mind, try to relax and just do the best you can. The more you panic, the more mistakes you are liable to make. Put the test in perspective: will you die from a poor performance? Will you lose all of your friends? Will your entire future be destroyed? Remember: it’s just a test.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. 2016. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing , 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Fowler, Ramsay H., and Jane E. Aaron. 2016. The Little, Brown Handbook , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Gefvert, Constance J. 1988. The Confident Writer: A Norton Handbook , 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Kirszner, Laurie G. 1988. Writing: A College Rhetoric , 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Woodman, Leonara, and Thomas P. Adler. 1988. The Writer’s Choices , 2nd ed. Northbrook, Illinois: Scott Foresman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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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

• If you are writing in a new discipline, you should always make sure to ask about conventions and expectations for introductions, just as you would for any other aspect of the essay. For example, while it may be acceptable to write a two-paragraph (or longer) introduction for your papers in some courses, instructors in other disciplines, such as those in some Government courses, may expect a shorter introduction that includes a preview of the argument that will follow.  
• In some disciplines (Government, Economics, and others), it’s common to offer an overview in the introduction of what points you will make in your essay. In other disciplines, you will not be expected to provide this overview in your introduction.  
• Avoid writing a very general opening sentence. While it may be true that “Since the dawn of time, people have been telling love stories,” it won’t help you explain what’s interesting about your topic.  
• Avoid writing a “funnel” introduction in which you begin with a very broad statement about a topic and move to a narrow statement about that topic. Broad generalizations about a topic will not add to your readers’ understanding of your specific essay topic.  
• Avoid beginning with a dictionary definition of a term or concept you will be writing about. If the concept is complicated or unfamiliar to your readers, you will need to define it in detail later in your essay. If it’s not complicated, you can assume your readers already know the definition.  
• Avoid offering too much detail in your introduction that a reader could better understand later in the paper.
• picture_as_pdf Introductions

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Writing Essays for Exams

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What is a well written answer to an essay question?

Well Focused

Be sure to answer the question completely, that is, answer all parts of the question. Avoid "padding." A lot of rambling and ranting is a sure sign that the writer doesn't really know what the right answer is and hopes that somehow, something in that overgrown jungle of words was the correct answer.

Well Organized

Don't write in a haphazard "think-as-you-go" manner. Do some planning and be sure that what you write has a clearly marked introduction which both states the point(s) you are going to make and also, if possible, how you are going to proceed. In addition, the essay should have a clearly indicated conclusion which summarizes the material covered and emphasizes your thesis or main point.

Well Supported

Do not just assert something is true, prove it. What facts, figures, examples, tests, etc. prove your point? In many cases, the difference between an A and a B as a grade is due to the effective use of supporting evidence.

Well Packaged

People who do not use conventions of language are thought of by their readers as less competent and less educated. If you need help with these or other writing skills, come to the Writing Lab

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.
• Write your answers as quickly and as legibly as you can; do not take the time to recopy.
• Begin each answer with one or two sentence thesis which summarizes your answer. If possible, phrase the statement so that it rephrases the question's essential terms into a statement (which therefore directly answers the essay question).
• Support your thesis with specific references to the material you have studied.
• Proofread your answer and correct errors in spelling and mechanics.

Specific organizational patterns and "key words"

Most essay questions will have one or more "key words" that indicate which organizational pattern you should use in your answer. The six most common organizational patterns for essay exams are definition, analysis, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, process analysis, and thesis-support.

Typical questions

• "Define X."
• "What is an X?"
• "Choose N terms from the following list and define them."

Q: "What is a fanzine?"

A: A fanzine is a magazine written, mimeographed, and distributed by and for science fiction or comic strip enthusiasts.

Avoid constructions such as "An encounter group is where ..." and "General semantics is when ... ."

• State the term to be defined.
• State the class of objects or concepts to which the term belongs.
• Differentiate the term from other members of the class by listing the term's distinguishing characteristics.

Tools you can use

• Details which describe the term
• Examples and incidents
• Comparisons to familiar terms
• Negation to state what the term is not
• Classification (i.e., break it down into parts)
• Examination of origins or causes
• Examination of results, effects, or uses

Analysis involves breaking something down into its components and discovering the parts that make up the whole.

• "Analyze X."
• "What are the components of X?"
• "What are the five different kinds of X?"
• "Discuss the different types of X."

Q: "Discuss the different services a junior college offers a community."

A: Thesis: A junior college offers the community at least three main types of educational services: vocational education for young people, continuing education for older people, and personal development for all individuals.

Outline for supporting details and examples. For example, if you were answering the example question, an outline might include:

• Vocational education
• Continuing education
• Personal development

Write the essay, describing each part or component and making transitions between each of your descriptions. Some useful transition words include:

• first, second, third, etc.
• in addition

Conclude the essay by emphasizing how each part you have described makes up the whole you have been asked to analyze.

Cause and Effect

Cause and effect involves tracing probable or known effects of a certain cause or examining one or more effects and discussing the reasonable or known cause(s).

Typical questions:

• "What are the causes of X?"
• "What led to X?"
• "Why did X occur?"
• "Why does X happen?"
• "What would be the effects of X?"

Q: "Define recession and discuss the probable effects a recession would have on today's society."

A: Thesis: A recession, which is a nationwide lull in business activity, would be detrimental to society in the following ways: it would .......A......., it would .......B......., and it would .......C....... .

The rest of the answer would explain, in some detail, the three effects: A, B, and C.

Useful transition words:

• consequently
• for this reason
• as a result

Comparison-Contrast

• "How does X differ from Y?"
• "Compare X and Y."
• "What are the advantages and disadvantages of X and Y?"

Q: "Which would you rather own—a compact car or a full-sized car?"

A: Thesis: I would own a compact car rather than a full-sized car for the following reasons: .......A......., .......B......., .......C......., and .......D....... .

Two patterns of development:

• Full-sized car

Disadvantages

• Compact car

Useful transition words

• on the other hand
• unlike A, B ...
• in the same way
• while both A and B are ..., only B ..
• nevertheless
• on the contrary
• while A is ..., B is ...
• "Describe how X is accomplished."
• "List the steps involved in X."
• "Explain what happened in X."
• "What is the procedure involved in X?"

Process (sometimes called process analysis)

This involves giving directions or telling the reader how to do something. It may involve discussing some complex procedure as a series of discrete steps. The organization is almost always chronological.

Q: "According to Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?, what is the best procedure for finding a job?"

A: In What Color Is Your Parachute?, Richard Bolles lists seven steps that all job-hunters should follow: .....A....., .....B....., .....C....., .....D....., .....E....., .....F....., and .....G..... .

The remainder of the answer should discuss each of these seven steps in some detail.

• following this
• after, afterwards, after this
• subsequently
• simultaneously, concurrently

Thesis and Support

• "Discuss X."
• "A noted authority has said X. Do you agree or disagree?"
• "Defend or refute X."
• "Do you think that X is valid? Defend your position."

Thesis and support involves stating a clearly worded opinion or interpretation and then defending it with all the data, examples, facts, and so on that you can draw from the material you have studied.

Q: "Despite criticism, television is useful because it aids in the socializing process of our children."

A: Television hinders rather than helps in the socializing process of our children because .......A......., .......B......., and .......C....... .

The rest of the answer is devoted to developing arguments A, B, and C.

• it follows that

A. Which of the following two answers is the better one? Why?

Question: Discuss the contribution of William Morris to book design, using as an example his edition of the works of Chaucer.

a. William Morris's Chaucer was his masterpiece. It shows his interest in the Middle Ages. The type is based on medieval manuscript writing, and the decoration around the edges of the pages is like that used in medieval books. The large initial letters are typical of medieval design. Those letters were printed from woodcuts, which was the medieval way of printing. The illustrations were by Burn-Jones, one of the best artists in England at the time. Morris was able to get the most competent people to help him because he was so famous as a poet and a designer (the Morris chair) and wallpaper and other decorative items for the home. He designed the furnishings for his own home, which was widely admired among the sort of people he associated with. In this way he started the arts and crafts movement.

b. Morris's contribution to book design was to approach the problem as an artist or fine craftsman, rather than a mere printer who reproduced texts. He wanted to raise the standards of printing, which had fallen to a low point, by showing that truly beautiful books could be produced. His Chaucer was designed as a unified work of art or high craft. Since Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, Morris decided to design a new type based on medieval script and to imitate the format of a medieval manuscript. This involved elaborate letters and large initials at the beginnings of verses, as well as wide borders of intertwined vines with leaves, fruit, and flowers in strong colors. The effect was so unusual that the book caused great excitement and inspired other printers to design beautiful rather than purely utilitarian books.

From James M. McCrimmon, Writing with a Purpose , 7th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980), pp. 261-263.

B. How would you plan the structure of the answers to these essay exam questions?

1. Was the X Act a continuation of earlier government policies or did it represent a departure from prior philosophies?

2. What seems to be the source of aggression in human beings? What can be done to lower the level of aggression in our society?

3. Choose one character from Novel X and, with specific references to the work, show how he or she functions as an "existential hero."

4. Define briefly the systems approach to business management. Illustrate how this differs from the traditional approach.

5. What is the cosmological argument? Does it prove that God exists?

6. Civil War historian Andy Bellum once wrote, "Blahblahblah blahed a blahblah, but of course if blahblah blahblahblahed the blah, then blahblahs are not blah but blahblah." To what extent and in what ways is the statement true? How is it false?

For more information on writing exam essays for the GED, please visit our Engagement area and go to the Community Writing and Education Station (CWEST) resources.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 6 sat essay examples to answer every prompt.

Just as with most essays, the major secret to excelling on the SAT essay is to pre-plan the examples and evidence you want to use.

"But wait!" I hear you cry. "Can you do that on the new SAT essay? Isn’t the point of the essay that you’re supposed to be using information from the passage in your answer, which you don’t know about ahead of time?"

The answer: Yes and no. While the specifics of each example will obviously change, depending on the passage, the types of examples you choose to discuss (and the way you explain each example builds the author’s argument) can be defined, and thus prepared for, ahead of time.

In this article, we give you 6 good SAT essay examples you’ll be able to find in nearly every prompt the SAT throws at you. By assembling a collection of these reliable types of evidence that can be used to answer most prompts, you'll cut down on planning time and significantly increase the amount you can write, making you able to walk into every SAT essay confident in your abilities.

feature image credit: 1 to 9 mosaic , cropped/Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 .

UPDATE: SAT Essay No Longer Offered

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In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). It is now no longer possible to take the SAT Essay, unless your school is one of the small number who choose to offer it during SAT School Day Testing.

While most colleges had already made SAT Essay scores optional, this move by the College Board means no colleges now require the SAT Essay. It will also likely lead to additional college application changes such not looking at essay scores at all for the SAT or ACT, as well as potentially requiring additional writing samples for placement.

What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications? Check out our article on the College Board's SAT Essay decision for everything you need to know.

Why You Can Prep SAT Essay Examples Before Test Day

The SAT essay prompts have several important things in common:

• They’re all passages that try to convince the reader of the veracity of the author’s claim
• They’re all around the same length (650-750 words)
• They’re all meant to be analyzed and written about in a relatively short period of time (50 minutes)

This means that you can have a pretty good idea ahead of time of what types of argument-building techniques you might see when you open the booklet on test day.

The main techniques the author uses aren't going to be overly complex (like the first letter of every word spelling out a secret code), because you just don’t have the time to analyze and write about complex techniques. B ecause of that, you can prepare yourself with SAT essay examples that’ll be likely found across persuasive passages about many different issues .

Naturally, for each passage you're going to want to play to its particular strengths—if there are a lot of facts/statistics, make sure to discuss that; if it dwells more on personal anecdotes/appeals to emotion, discuss those. However, if you struggle with analysis in a short period of time, memorizing these categories of examples ahead of time can give you a helpful checklist to go through when reading the SAT essay prompt and point you in the right direction.

Below, we've chosen two examples of evidence, two examples of reasoning, and two examples of stylistic/persuasive elements you can use as stellar evidence to support your thesis .

For each example below, we also show you how you can use the type of evidence to support your thesis across a range of prompts. This flexibility should prove to you how effective pre-planned examples are.

So, without further ado, onto our list of multipurpose support for any SAT Essay prompt.

Examples of Evidence

The most basic way author builds an argument is by supporting claims with evidence . There are many different kinds of evidence author might use to support her/his point, but I'm just going to discuss the two big ones I've seen in various official SAT Essay prompts. These two types of evidence are Facts and Statistics and Anecdotes .

Example Type 1: Facts and Statistics

Employing statistics and facts to bolster one's argument is one of the most unassailable methods authors can use to build an argument. This argument-building technique is particularly common in essays written about scientific or social studies-related topics, where specific data and facts are readily available.

How Can You Identify It?

Statistics usually show up in the form of specific numbers related to the topic at hand —maybe as percents, or maybe as a way to communicate other data.

Here are a couple of examples of statistics from an official SAT essay prompt, "Let There Be Dark" by Paul Bogard :

Example : 8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way

Example : In the United States and Western Europe, the amount of light in the sky increases an average of about 6% every year.

Factual evidence can also be in the form of non-numerical information. Often, you'll see facts presented with references to the research study, survey, expert, or other source from which they're drawn. Here's another example from "Let There Be Dark":

Example : Already the World Health Organization classifies working the night shift as a probable human carcinogen[.]

Why Is It Persuasive?

Facts and statistics are persuasive argument building techniques because the author isn't just making up reasons for why his/her argument could possibly be true— there's actually something (data, research, other events/information) that backs up the author's claim .

In the case of the examples above, Bogard presents specific data about issues with light pollution (8 in 10 children won't be able to see the Milky Way, light in the sky increases 6% annually) to back up his statements that light pollution is real, then goes on to present further information that indicates light pollution is a problem (working the night shift puts humans at risk for cancer).

By presenting information and facts, rather than just opinion and spin, Bogard empowers the reader to connect the dots on her own, which in turn gives the reader ownership over the argument and makes it more persuasive (since the reader is coming to the same conclusions on her own, rather than entirely relying on Bogard to tell her what to think).

Example Type 2: Anecdotes

Another form of evidence that is often used as an alternative to actual facts or statistics is the anecdote. This type of evidence is most often found in speeches or other sorts of essay prompts that are written as a personal address to the reader.

An anecdote is a short story about a real person or event . When an author discusses own personal experience or personal experience of someone they know or have heard of, that's anecdotal evidence.

Here's an example of (part of) an anecdote from an official SAT essay prompt that was adapted from a foreword by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter :

One of the most unforgettable and humbling experiences of our lives occurred on the coastal plain. We had hoped to see caribou during our trip, but to our amazement, we witnessed the migration of tens of thousands of caribou with their newborn calves. In a matter of a few minutes, the sweep of tundra before us became flooded with life, with the sounds of grunting animals and clicking hooves filling the air. The dramatic procession of the Porcupine caribou herd was a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife spectacle. We understand firsthand why some have described this special birthplace as “America’s Serengeti.”

Even though anecdotes aren't statistics or facts, they can be powerful because it’s more relatable/interesting to the reader to read an anecdote than to be presented with dry, boring facts. People tend to put more faith in experiences if they can personally connect with the experiences (even though that doesn't actually affect how likely or not a statement is to be true).

In the example above, rather than discussing the statistics that support the creation of wildlife refuges, Jimmy Carter instead uses an anecdote about experiencing the wonder of nature to illustrate the same point—probably more effectively.

By inviting the reader to experience vicariously the majesty of witnessing the migration of the Porcupine caribou, Carter activates the reader's empathy towards wildlife preservation and so makes it more likely that the reader will agree with him that wildlife refuges are important.

Examples of Reasoning

All authors use reasoning to some extent, but it’s not always a major part of how the author builds her/his argument. Sometimes, though, the support for a claim on its own might not seem that persuasive—in those cases, an author might then choose to use reasoning to explain how the evidence presented actually builds the argument.

Example Type 3: Counterarguments and Counterclaims

One way in which an author might use reasoning to persuade the reader to accept the claim being put forward is to discuss a counterargument, or counterclaim, to the author's main point. The discussion (and subsequent neutralization) of counterarguments is found in prompts across all subject areas.

A counterargument or counterclaim is simply another point of view that contradicts (either fully or partially) the author's own argument. When "some might claim," "however," or other contrast words and phrases show up in an essay prompt, the author is likely presenting a counterclaim.

Here's an example of an effective presentation (and negation) of a counter claim from an official SAT essay prompt, "The Digital Parent Trap" by Eliana Dockterman :

“You could say some computer games develop creativity,” says Lucy Wurtz, an administrator at the Waldorf School in Los Altos, Calif., minutes from Silicon Valley. “But I don’t see any benefit. Waldorf kids knit and build things and paint—a lot of really practical and creative endeavors.”

But it’s not that simple. While there are dangers inherent in access to Facebook, new research suggests that social-networking sites also offer unprecedented learning opportunities.

So how does bringing up an opposing point of view help an author build her argument? It may seem counterintuitive that discussing a counterargument actually strengthens the main argument. However, as you can see in the brief example above, giving some space to another point of view serves to make it seem as if the discussion’s going to be more “fair.” This is still true whether the author delves into the counterargument or if the author only briefly mentions an opposing point of view before moving on.

A true discussion of the counterargument  (as is present in Dockterman's article) will   also show a deeper understanding of the topic than if the article only presented a one-sided argument . And because the presence of a counterargument demonstrates that the author knows the topic well enough to be able to see the issue from multiple sides, the reader's more likely to trust that the author's claims are well-thought out and worth believing.

In the case of the Dockterman article, the author not only mentions the opposite point of view but also takes the time to get a quote from someone who supports the opposing viewpoint. This even-handedness makes her following claim that "it's not that simple" more believable, since she doesn't appear to be presenting a one-sided argument.

Example Type 4: Explanation of Evidence

In some cases, the clarity with which the author links her evidence and her claims is integral to the author's argument. As the College Board Official SAT Study Guide says,

Reasoning is the connective tissue that holds an argument together. It’s the “thinking” — the logic, the analysis — that develops the argument and ties the claim and evidence together."

Explanation of evidence is one of the trickier argument-building techniques to discuss (at least in my opinion), because while it is present in many essay prompts, it isn't always a major persuasive feature. You can pretty easily identify an author's explanation of evidence if the author connects a claim to support and explains it , rather than just throwing out evidence without much ceremony or linking to the claim; however, whether or not the explanation of the evidence is a major contributing factor to the author's argument is somewhat subjective.

Here's a pretty clear instance of a case where an author uses explanations of each piece of evidence she discusses to logically advance her argument (again from the Dockterman passage):

And at MIT’s Education Arcade, playing the empire-building game Civilization piqued students’ interest in history and was directly linked to an improvement in the quality of their history-class reports. The reason: engagement. On average, according to research cited by MIT, students can remember only 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear and 50% of what they see demonstrated. But when they’re actually doing something themselves—in the virtual worlds on iPads or laptops—that retention rate skyrockets to 90%. This is a main reason researchers like Ito say the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of a two-hour screen-time limit is an outdated concept: actively browsing pages on a computer or tablet is way more brain-stimulating than vegging out in front of the TV.

Unfortunately, the explanation the Official SAT Study Guide gives for how to discuss an author's "reasoning" is a little vague:

You may decide to discuss how the author uses (or fails to use) clear, logical reasoning to draw a connection between a claim and the evidence supporting that claim.

But how exactly you should go about doing this? And wh y is it persuasive to clearly explain the link between evidence and claim?

In general, when an author explains the logic behind her argument or point, the reader can follow along and understand the author’s argument better (which in some cases makes it more likely the reader will agree with the author).

In the Dockterman example above, the author clearly lays out data ( Civilization leads to improvements in history class), a claim (this is because of engagement with the game and thus the subject material), provides data that back up that claim (retention rate skyrockets when students do things for themselves), and links that smaller claim to a larger concept (actively browsing pages on a computer or tablet is way more brain-stimulating than vegging out in front of the TV).  This clear pattern of data-explanation-more data-more explanation enables the reader to follow along with Dockterman's points. It's more persuasive because, rather than just being told " Civilization leads to improvements in history" and having to take it on faith, the reader is forced to reenact the thinking processes that led to the argument, engaging with the topic on a deeper level.

Examples of Stylistic/Persuasive Elements

This final category of examples is the top layer of argument building. The foundation of a good argument is evidence, which is often explained and elucidated by reasoning, but it is often the addition of stylistic or persuasive elements like an ironic tone or a rhetorical flourish that seals the deal.

Example Type 5: Vivid Language

Vivid language is truly the icing on the persuasive cake. As with explanations of evidence, vivid language can be found across all topics of essay prompts (although it usually plays a larger role when the passage is lacking in more convincing facts or logic).

Vivid language is pretty easy to spot—it shows itself in similes, metaphors, adjectives, or any words that jump out at you that don’t seem to have purely functional purposes . Here are a couple of examples—the first is Paul Bogard again:

…show that what was a very dark country as recently as the 1950s is now nearly covered with a blanket of light.

This example is relatively restrained, using the metaphor of "a blanket of light" to add emphasis to Bogard's discussion of light pollution. A more striking example can be found in another official SAT essay prompt, adapted from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "Beyond Vietnam—A Time To Break Silence":

Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube.

Vivid language is an effective argument building device because it puts the reader in the author’s shoes and draws them into the passage . If used in moderation, vivid language will also make the topic more interesting for the reader to read, thus engaging them further.

In the excerpt taken from Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech above, the phrase "demonic destructive suction tube" is startling and provocative, meant to rouse the audience's indignation at the injustice and waste of the Vietnam war. If King had left out the second part of the sentence and only said, "Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money," his point would not have had as big of an impact.

Example Type 6: Direct Addresses and Appeals to the Reader

The last category I'll be discussing in this article are direct addresses and appeals to the reader. These stylistic elements are found across all sorts of different passage topics, although as with the previous category, these elements usually play a larger role when the passage is light on facts or logic.

Direct addresses and appeals to the reader are wordings or other stylistic devices specifically designed to provoke a response (often emotional) in the reader . This category covers many different elements, from appeals to emotion to rhetorical questions. Here's an example of an appeal to emotion, taken again from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech:

Perhaps a more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.

And here's an example of a rhetorical question (from the Paul Bogard article):

Who knows what this vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in our children or grandchildren?

Appealing to the emotions , as Martin Luther King, Jr. does in his speech, is an alternate route to persuasion, as it causes readers to emotionally (rather than logically) agree with the author . By describing how the war was causing "their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and die," King reminds the reader of the terrible costs of war, playing upon their emotions to get them to agree that the Vietnam War is a mistake, particularly for the poor.

Rhetorical questions , on the other hand, get the readers to step into the author's world. By reading and thinking about the author's question, the reader engages with the topic on a deeper level than if the reader were just given a statement of what the author thinks . In the case of the Bogard example above, the rhetorical question draws the reader into thinking about his/her descendants, a group of people for whom the reader (presumably) only wishes the best, which then puts the reader into a positive mood (assuming the reader likes his/her descendants).

As you can see, these examples of different argumentative techniques can be extracted from a lot of different article types for a wide range of topics . This is because the examples themselves are so meaningful and complex that they can be used to discuss a lot of issues.

The main point is, you don't have to wait until you see the prompt to develop an arsenal of types of argument-building techniques you can use to support your points. Instead, preparing beforehand how you’ll discuss these techniques will save you a lot of time and anxiety when the test rolls around .

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The Writing Guide

• The First Thing
• Step 1: Understanding the essay question

Identify task, content & limiting words in the essay question

Words, words, words..., academic writing webinar part 1.

• Step 2: Critical note-taking
• Step 3: Planning your assignment
• Step 4a: Effective writing
• Step 4b: Summarizing & paraphrasing
• Step 4c: Academic language
• Step 5: Editing and reviewing
• Getting started with research
• Working with keywords
• Evaluating sources
• Research file
• Reading Smarter
• Sample Essay
• What, why, where, when, who?
• Referencing styles
• Writing Resources
• Exams and Essay Questions

Essay topics contain key words that explain what information is required and how it is to be presented.  Using the essay question below indentify task content & limiting words.  Regardless of your topic or discipline, if you can identify these words in your essay topic, you can begin to consider what you will need to do to answer the question.

Task words : These are words that tell you what to do, for example “compare”, “discuss”, “critically evaluate”, “explain” etc.

Content words : These words in the essay topic will tell you which ideas and concepts should form the knowledge base of the assignment. Refer to subject specific dictionary or glossary.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays. Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.

Before you scroll down to the next box, what can you unpack from this topic? What are you actually going to look for in a search tool like One Search? What are you supposed to do?

• Content Words
• Limiting Words
• Context Words

Task words are usually verbs and they tell you what to do to complete your assignment.

You need to identify these words, because you will need to follow these instructions to pass the assignment.  As you research and write your assignment, check these words occasionally to make sure you are still doing what you have been asked to do.

Here are some definitions of different academic task words.  Make sure you know exactly what you need to do for your assignment.

Don't try to use them in your research - they aren't things to find, only things to do.

The task words from our sample question are:

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays. Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.

• Discuss means to "consider and offer an interpretation or evaluation of something; or give a judgment on the value of arguments for and against something"
• Examine means to inspect something in detail and investigate the implications

So, you would need to give a short description of what essay writing is all about, and then offer an evaluation of the essay structure and the way it presents content.

• Task Words Here are some definitions of different academic task words. Make sure you know exactly what you need to do for your assignment.

The content words are the "meat" of the question - these are things you can research.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays . Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content .

You will often be asked to talk about "the role" something plays or "processes", "importance", "methods" or "implementations" - but you can't really research these things just by looking for those words.

You need to find the keywords - the most concrete concepts - and search for those.  The information you find about the concrete terms will tell you about the "roles" and "methods", the "process" or the "importance", but they probably won't use those words exactly.

One of the core skills of academic research is learning to extrapolate :  to find the connections in the information you can find that will help you answer the questions which don't have clear, cut-and-dry answers in the books and articles.

So, the core keywords/concepts to research are:

• "academic writing"
• "higher education"
• structure and content

Limiting words keep you focused on a particular area, and stop you from trying to research everything in the history of mankind.

They could limit you by:

• Time (you may be asked to focus on the last 5 years, or the late 20th Century, for example)
• Place (you may be asked to focus on Australia, or Queensland, or South-East Asia)
• People groups (such as "women over the age of 50" or "people from low socio-economic backgrounds" or "Australians of Asian descent")
• Extent (you are only to look at a particular area, or the details you believe are most relevant or appropriate).

In this example, you have two limits:

• "higher education" is the industry focus. This could be expanded to include the tertiary or university sector.
• Essays - we are concentrating on essay writing as the aspect of communication.  Note that this is also a content word. There can be (and usually is) some crossover.

Sometimes it can help to add your own limits .  With health sciences, you almost always limit your research to the last five or six years. Social sciences  are not as strict with the date range but it's still a good idea to keep it recent.  You could specifically look at the Australian context.  You may decide to focus on the private sector within that industry.

With the question above you could limit yourself to only looking at first year university students.

Sometimes an assignment task will give you phrases or sentences that aren't part of the task at all:  they exist to give you some context .

These can be ignored when you do your research, but you should read over them occasionally as you are writing your assignment.  They help you know what the lecturer was thinking about (and wanted you to think about) when they set that task.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays . Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.

You don't have to do anything with the first sentence of this question - but it does get you to think specifically about the "using essays to communicate knoweldge" - something that isn't mentioned in the task itself.

Obviously, whoever wrote the task wants you to think about the assignments as a form of writing and communication.

It is easy to get distracted and go off on tangents when doing your research .  Use the context words to  help you keep your focus where it should be.

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How to answer a “to what degree/extent” essay question

One of the most popular question types to appear on History assessment tasks is one that starts with the phrase, “To what extent/degree...”.

Despite the fact that it appears so frequently, particularly on exam papers , some teachers and students are not sure how to correctly write a response to it.

Thankfully, "to what degree/extent" questions are relatively easy to understand and to write a sophisticated response to, as long as you know what they are specifically asking you to do.

In this blog post, I will explain what such questions are asking you to do and give you some practical tips on how to write an essay response to a “To what extent/degree” question so that you feel confident in your assessment pieces.

Watch a video explanation:

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Understanding the question

First of all, it is crucial to understand the purpose of the word “degree” or “extent” in this kind of question. Regardless of which of the two words are used, they mean exactly the same thing: they are asking you to assign a degree of importance to how influential or important a particular factor is regarding the topic at hand.

A useful way of conceptualising the degree of importance , is to think of a simple scale that you could measure it against:

Most of the time, a "to what degree/extent” question is ultimately asking you to decide a single factor’s importance in comparison to another, potentially equally important factor. In other words, you need to argue which of two things is the most important.

Therefore, you will say that one of the two factors was “ to a greater degree ” important, while the other is “ to a lesser extent ” important.

It is rare that this kind of question will require you to say that only one factor was the only important element in regards to a topic. Any event in history is a complex combination of multiple factors, and it is too simplistic to assign only one factor to any topic.

That is why this kind of question is so popular with essays about historical causation , consequences or significance in History exams. These topics acknowledge that there are multiple factors which contributed to a historical event or idea. 

Example essay questions

Sometimes, the question itself will provide you with the two elements that it wants you to compare. For example:

“To what degree was political ideology more important in Hitler’s rise to power than the economic conditions in Germany in the early 1930s?” 

As you can see in this “to what degree” question, it is asking you to decide whether “political ideology” was “more important” than “the economic conditions in Germany in the early 1930s”. Therefore, in your answer to this question, you need to clearly state which you think was “more important”.

Here is another example: 

“To what extent did the Black Death in 14th century Europe decrease the papacy’s cultural influence in comparison to the political scandals within the curia?” 

Once more, it is easy to identify what you are being asked to decide between: whether “the Black Death in 14th century Europe” or “the political scandals within the curia” was more important in causing the decline of “the papacy’s cultural influence”.

However, sometimes an essay question will only give you one factor, in which case you will need to choose the second factor to compare it against.

For example 

“To what degree was Julius Caesar’s assassination the result of his own hubris?” 

In this example, the question only gives you “his own hubris” as one important element. Therefore, you will need to decide, based upon your own historical knowledge and the sources supplied, something else to compare it against.

It is still important, though, that you still come to a conclusion about which of the two elements was the most important.

How to structure your answer to the question (the hypothesis)

Once you have identified the two elements you are going to compare in your answer, you need to decide which of the two you are going to assign most importance to.

When you write your answer to the essay question (which will become your hypothesis ), you have to ensure that you clearly state which of the two options you have decided is the most important. You can use the following cues to identify the greater and lesser factors:

“[Factor 1] was, to a greater degree , more important in [the Topic] than [Factor 2] because...” 

“[Factor 1] was the main cause of [the Topic] despite the role of [Factor 2] because...” 

“While [Factor 2] did play a role in [the Topic], [Factor 1] was by far the most significant element because...”

As you can see in these example structures, you need to:

• clearly state the two topics you’re comparing
• mention the topic to which they relate
• have a clear decision about which of the two factors are most important to the topic

Also, don't forget to provide clear reasons for your decision after the “because” in your hypothesis.

How to structure your essay

 Once you have decided which of the two factors was the most important and which was the least important, then you can start planning your essay paragraphs .

Since essays typically require you to follow the standard five-paragraph structure ( introduction paragraph , three body paragraphs , and a conclusion paragraph ), you know that you will have three body paragraphs available for arguing your decision.

• In two out of your three body paragraphs, provide two separate reasons for why one factor was the most important  
• In the third of your body paragraphs, talk about the lesser contributing factor  

This helps us to use a simple structure to respond to a “to what degree/extent” essay question:

Here is a visual representation of the structure to help you:

By dividing your three body paragraphs in this way, you devote two-thirds of your essay to the most important of the two factors, and then one-third to the lesser of the two factors.

At the start of each body paragraph, then, you need a clear topic sentence that provides a reason why this factor was important. Ensure that you have two separate reasons to support the factor you’ve chosen as the most important, and one for the lesser of the two factors.

For example: 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 1: 

“[Factor 1] was the most important element in [the Topic] because...” 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 2: 

“Another reason that [Factor 1] was the most important element in [the Topic] is because...” 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 3:  

“To a lesser degree, [Factor 2] was important to [the Topic] because...”

Some rare exceptions

The advice provided above will serve you well in replying to almost all “to what degree/extent” essay questions. However, here are some rare exceptions which you might need to watch out for, along with some quick advice for how to deal with them.

Some questions may ask you to compare three separate factors. On these occasions, the question is probably guiding you to argue that all three factors were of equal importance. Typically, you can assign each factor to a body paragraph and provide one reason why each element was a contributing factor.

Some questions may ask you to only assign a degree of importance to only one factor, without expecting you to provide a second alternative. In short, if this happens, it is probably a poorly written question.

Essay questions that require the analysis and explanation of only one factor should probably be a “how” or “why” question, rather than a “to what degree/extent” question. Firstly, check with your teacher about if they really do only want one factor considered and ask how they intend for you to answer the question.

Additional resources

For additional resources on how to write all the elements in a History essay, please check out the following scaffolding guide , which has examples of full paragraphs to help you out. 

For advice on other kinds of exam questions, read over the exam question advice section .

Write a comment

Kim Brett ( Tuesday, 01 September 2020 23:32 )

As always, you've got your finger on the pulse, Michael. My students at Our Lady's College Annerley really appreciate your posts. Best wishes

History Skills ( Wednesday, 02 September 2020 02:13 )

My absolute pleasure, Kim. So good to hear that your students are finding the information helpful. Please say 'hello' to them for me and tell them I wish them all the best for their upcoming assessment.

Jeffery ( Friday, 18 December 2020 16:41 )

Hello, I am unsure how to formulate a thesis to this question, can you help me. "To what extent were the American colonists justified in revolting against England?"

Mutsawashe (Tuesday 15 June) ( Tuesday, 15 June 2021 15:29 )

please help me answer this question,"how far did the Germans benefit from the social policy ".My answer should start with ,the Germans benefited from the social policy to a lesser extent. So what comes next.

sharon odawa ( Thursday, 02 September 2021 01:12 )

my question is."to what extent does common and equity law a source of kenya"please help

maddison ( Sunday, 07 November 2021 03:06 )

this has literally saved me so much time on my assessments.

Karina Doherty ( Wednesday, 10 November 2021 17:26 )

It is possible to ask a well written 'to what extent' question that does not require a comparison, but only asks students to provide a judgement about a degree of success. There will naturally be a discussion about factors that limited the success or impact of a particular event or policy, but this is not really a comparison. The question could still be a perfectly valid and well-written.

Christina ( Monday, 13 June 2022 02:19 )

Great advice! Would be great if you correct the reference to a hypothesis. The correct word hers is "thesis".

Queenest ( Wednesday, 12 October 2022 17:41 )

Thank God I came across this article. It has been a blessing to me. Thank you so much

Ishmael ogechi ( Wednesday, 28 June 2023 10:59 )

Can an extent be used in questionnaire construction to elicit responds from respondents? Please may I know the firs scholar that used this term or introduced it in research work and when? Thank you.

Joy ( Wednesday, 18 October 2023 08:32 )

Can a ''to what extent'' question be used for the prevalence of the disease in two different parts of the world?

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IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2024

• Test Information FAQ
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• Writing Task 1
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• 100 Essay Questions
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100 IELTS Essay Questions

Below are practice IELTS essay questions and topics for writing task 2. The 100 essay questions have been used many times over the years. The questions are organised under common topics and essay types. IELTS often use the similar topics for their essays but change the wording of the essay question.

In order to prepare well for writing task 2, you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practise applying them to the tasks given (to the essay questions). Also see model essays and tips  for writing task 2.

Below you will find:

• Essay Questions By Topic
• Essay Questions by Essay Type

Please also note that my new Grammar E-book is now available in my store along with my Ideas for Essay Topics E-book and Advanced Writing Lessons. To visit store, click here: Liz’s Store

1) Common IELTS Essay Questions

IELTS practice essay questions divided by topic. These topics have been reported by IELTS students in their tests. Essay questions have been recreated as accurately as possible.

• Art   (5 essay questions)
• Business & Money   (17 essay questions)
• Communication & Personality   (20 essay questions)
• Crime & Punishment   (12 essay questions)
• Education   (17 essay questions)
• Environment   (12 essay questions)
• Family & Children   (8 essay questions)
• Food & Diet (13 essay questions)
• Government (6 essay questions)
• Health   (9 essay questions)
• Housing, Buildings & Urban Planning (8 essay questions)
• Language (6 essay questions)
• Leisure (1 essay question)
• Media & Advertising   (12 essay questions)
• Reading  (5 essay questions)
• Society   (10 essay questions)
• Space Exploration (3 questions)
• Sport & Exercise   (6 essay questions)
• Technology  (6 essay questions)
• Tourism and Travel   (11 essay questions)
• Transport  (7 essay questions)
• Work (17 essay questions)

2) IELTS Essay Questions by Essay Type 

There are 5 main types of essay questions in IELTS writing task 2 (opinion essays, discussion essay, advantage/disadvantage essays, solution essay and direct question essays). Click on the links below to see some sample essay questions for each type.

• Opinion Essay Questions
• Discussion Essay Questions
• Solution Essay Questions
• Direct Questions Essay Titles 
• Advantage / Disadvantage Essay Questions

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How to Answer a Discuss Essay

When an essay title includes the word ‘Discuss’, this means that you are being asked to debate the subject of the essay. In other words, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have understood and evaluated both sides of the topic, problem, or opposing views in a theoretical perspective. At the same time, you need to be able to show, through rational evaluation of the evidence why you favour a particular view.

From this definition, it is clear that a ‘discuss’ essay is looking for balance, not bias or persuasion. In other words, the essay is not starting from one perspective and aiming to confirm this. Rather the intent of a ‘discuss’ essay is to deliver a work that clearly separates facts and opinions. The skills required for this include paraphrasing, summation, and the clear evaluation of different viewpoints. Common titles for a discuss essay include the format “AI is killing natural innovation from engineers. Discuss”, “Highlight and examine the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling for toddlers”, “Examine the arguments for and against the widespread mandatory delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine”. All of these titles require a discuss essay to be produced.

• A discuss essay of the highest standard will be logical, flow well and make arguments and statements based on knowledge and evidence, covering all perspectives.
• You should include all the most important (key) factors or issues in a subject area, highlighting where there is debate over these, ensuring that both sides of the argument are presented.
• Make statements and deliberations that are based only on credible and viable research, that has been previously well presented.

Structure of a Discuss Essay

Introduction.

In all essays the best introductions are those which draw in the reader with a strong statement from the outset.  The remainder of the introduction should give a brief indication of the subject being covered, the key points that will be discussed, and if you wish, anticipated conclusions. You should also incorporate any acronyms, or industry specific terms that will be covered in the essay.

Main Body of the work

The main body (or the meat of the essay) should be divided into separate paragraphs that each cover one distinct point or statement.  A discuss essay requires presentation of evidence, so each paragraph should be focused on one point with both for and against perspectives, before a final summary point identifying one or the other as being justified.  In all cases, any points made should be backed up by evidence, correctly cited and referenced at the end of your work.

Important point: The evidence provided, and references cited should only come from valid, credible sources, preferably peer-reviewed articles, and fully referenced. It is vital to ensure that the views expressed are not opinions but have been delivered based on evidence of wider reading in the field.

To ensure a logical flow, you should raise the main or key points of an arguments first, and then move onto sub-arguments, ensuring that all the paragraphs are well linked to deliver a cohesive, essay that flows in a logical way.

A discuss essay conclusion should contain two elements.  Firstly, a summary of the core ideas, returning to the evidence presented and the points made, along with an indication of which you believe delivered the strongest arguments for or against the statement in the title.

Secondly, a discuss essay should give your opinion, which should be grounded in the presented evidence, to demonstrate your ability to draw a conclusion from the data considered.  In other words, following an internal debate with yourself, evaluating the information available, you should demonstrate that you have an informed opinion on the subject under discussion.

To help you in the construction of your discussion essay, we have put together a list of key words and phrases that can be used to ensure you deliver a first-class piece of work.

Key Discussion Essay Vocabulary

When presenting evidence:.

• It is suggested that…
• Evidence available indicates that….
• It has been indicated that…
• Aspects of the work suggest that…
• The evidence presented supports the view that…
• The evidence presented however overlooks…
• Closer examination suggests….

For summarising, the following phrases are useful:

• The most important

When introducing an opinion:

• There is no doubt that…
• A key argument in favour is that…
• I believe that…

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How to ask a question in an essay (with tips and examples)

An essay question is designed to test your understanding of a given subject. It is typically framed as a statement, or series of statements, that require you to answer with an essay-length response. The purpose of asking questions in an essay is to explore ideas, concepts, and topics in greater depth, enabling you to demonstrate your knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Essay questions are often composed of several parts. The introduction sets the stage, giving the reader an overview of what’s to come. The body of the question will typically contain the main points you need to discuss in your response. Finally, the conclusion will ask for your overall thoughts on the topic and provide you with a final chance to drive home the overall argument of your essay .

Sometimes an essay question can be divided into two or more sections, each containing a separate, but related, set of instructions. This type of question requires you to break down the topic into chunks, focusing on one element at a time before connecting them together in a cohesive way.

Essay questions are a great way to show off your understanding of the material, so make sure to read the question carefully and provide thoughtful, comprehensive answers. Think about the key concepts and relationships that are being addressed and focus on the underlying message or point of the question. Doing so will ensure that you are providing the best possible answer to the essay question.

Asking the right questions can be a major factor in writing a successful essay . The goal is to craft questions that are both thoughtful and direct – questions that will help you uncover and explore the key ideas within the essay topic. Here are some tips on how to ask questions in an essay:

Focus on the Big Picture

When crafting questions, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. Start by thinking broadly about the topic and narrowing it down to a specific question. Ask yourself, “what overall insight can I gain from this topic?” or “what relevance does this topic have to the present world?”

Use Open-ended Questions

Open-ended questions allow for more creative exploration of the topic than closed-ended questions. An open-ended question is one that requires the reader to think critically and offer more than a single answer, while closed-ended questions are ones where the reader sees only one possible answer. Examples of open-ended questions include: “What are the most important considerations to make when exploring this topic?” and “How could this topic impact future generations?”

Be Mindful of the Structure

Questions should have a clear structure and logical flow. When crafting questions, make sure that each subsequent question builds upon and expands upon the previous ones. This helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Think Critically

Asking critical questions encourages deeper thinking and analysis. Questions that require the reader to reflect on the implications or consequences of their answers are especially effective. Examples of critical questions include: “What are the ethical implications of this topic?” and “How can this topic be used to better the world?”

Incorporate Problem-solving Questions

Problem-solving questions are those that challenge the reader to consider an issue from multiple points of view and to develop an appropriate solution. In addition to being interesting and thought-provoking, these types of questions also allow the reader to apply their own knowledge and skills towards solving the issue. Examples of problem-solving questions include: “What steps can be taken to reduce environmental damage?” and “What legal policies should be instituted to prevent discrimination based on gender or race?”

By following these tips, you can ensure that your questions are well-crafted and thoughtfully constructed. Asking the right questions will enable you to uncover important insights and make your essay a success!

Tip 1: Read the Prompt Carefully and Analyze Keywords

Understanding the essay prompt is key to coming up with questions that are relevant and meaningful. You should begin by carefully reading the prompt and evaluating any keywords or topics to consider. This will help you to stay focused on the task at hand and ensure that your questions address the relevant points.

It is a good idea to make a list of all the keywords in the prompt and then come up with a few questions for each keyword. This will help you to tailor your questions to the specific points of the essay and ensure that you don’t miss any important details. Additionally, make sure to focus on the main topic and try to avoid getting sidetracked by tangential topics.

Finally, it is important to remember that the essay question should be clear and concise, so you need to make sure that your questions provide an effective way to explore the topic in depth. Avoid asking too many questions that are overly general or provide little insight into the subject matter.

Tip 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Brainstorming is an important step in the essay writing process. It involves generating ideas and topics related to the essay prompt or topic. Brainstorming can help you come up with a range of possible questions related to the essay prompt, as well as the many ways those questions could be addressed.

First and foremost, it’s important to carefully read the essay prompt and analyze any keywords or key topics within the prompt. Then, think of broader topics that may relate to the prompt. For example, if the prompt is about the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, consider what specific events, people, or legislation could be included in an essay about this topic.

It can also be helpful to generate ideas related to the prompt by doing research online or by consulting additional texts. This way, you can find new facts, data, or examples that can be used when forming questions and developing arguments for your essay. Additionally, conducting research and familiarizing yourself with other essays on the same topic can help you gain a better understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure related to the prompt.

Finally, brainstorming can involve coming up with multiple questions from a single prompt. This means exploring different angles on the same topic and creating questions that can be answered in various ways. For instance, if the prompt is asking you to write an essay on the effect of the civil rights movement on public education, consider how this topic can be approached and what unique points you can make using evidence and facts.

Seeking Feedback to Ask Engaging Questions

When you are writing an essay , it is easy to get stuck on coming up with the right questions. Seeking feedback from peers or editors can be a great help in this process. Having someone else read your work can help identify areas that need improvement or need more thought. It also gives you the opportunity to get outside perspectives and develop new ideas for asking questions.

Having feedback from others can help you answer questions more effectively. It can also help you see your own essay from a different angle, helping you to come up with more engaging questions. Sometimes, even just talking about the essay idea to someone else can provide insight into the topic and help you come up with new and interesting questions.

When seeking feedback, it’s important to explain your goal: to come up with engaging questions. That way, the person reviewing your work can offer more help in that area. Additionally, it can be helpful to share any research you’ve already done, sources you’ve consulted, or any reading material you’ve found that could support your ideas.

To get the most out of feedback, it’s important to ask questions that will help you better develop your ideas. You might want to ask questions such as “What other questions could I ask to explore this topic further?” or “Are there any other points I could make to support my ideas?” Asking these types of questions will help you get the most out of the feedback and gain valuable insight into the topic.

Seeking feedback from peers and/or editors is a great way to improve your essay and come up with engaging questions. By leveraging feedback from others who are familiar with the essay topic , you can gain valuable insight, identify potential gaps in your understanding, and develop better questions. Ultimately, seeking feedback can help you write a better essay and ask questions more effectively.

Tip 4: Ask Clarifying Questions

Asking clarifying questions about the essay prompt or topic can be extremely helpful when trying to select the right question. It is important to focus on the key elements of the essay and try to understand the overall message or purpose being conveyed in the prompt. This can help guide you in finding the best question to ask in order to get the most out of your essay.

What Are Clarifying Questions?

Clarifying questions are questions that are used to help better understand a given topic or prompt. They are asked to gain a clear, concise understanding of what is being asked in the essay. For example, if the prompt for an essay was “Describe the changes that occurred in the economy during the Industrial Revolution”, a clarifying question might be “Which countries are being referenced when discussing economic changes during the Industrial Revolution?”.

How Can Asking Clarifying Questions Help?

Asking clarifying questions can help you hone in on the right question to ask in your essay. It can also help to provide context which can make it easier to craft an effective essay. Crafting the right questions before starting the actual writing of the essay can give you an advantage over other students who may not have put in the same time and effort to think through their essay topics.

Tips for Asking Clarifying Questions

When asking clarifying questions there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure you get the necessary information from the prompt:

• Be precise – use precise language that is easy to understand and doesn’t leave room for interpretation.
• Ask why – don’t just ask what, but also ask why the prompt is asking what it is.
• Be specific – make sure the questions you are asking directly relate to the essay prompt.

Asking clarifying questions can help you develop a deeper understanding of the essay topic and ensure that you are crafting the best question for your essay. Taking the time to ask clarifying questions will be well worth the effort as it can help you construct an engaging and effective essay.

Tip 5: Be Specific

Writing effective questions for an essay requires some thought and consideration. Asking the right question can mean getting the most comprehensive answer or uncovering significant detail. For this reason, it’s important to be specific and avoid vague descriptions when writing your questions.

The difference between a specific and a general question can be seen in the wording and detail provided. A specific question will ask for detail, analysis, and examples, while a general question will provide broad statements or multiple choice answers.

For example, let’s say you are writing an essay about the Revolutionary War. A specific question might be, “What role did African Americans play during the Revolutionary War?” This question requires more detailed research and thinking as it is specific. A general question such as, “Who fought in the Revolutionary War?” is much too broad and does not require any further thought on the matter.

When writing your question, consider what information you need to answer the prompt. A good rule of thumb is to write out a sentence that contains the main idea or point of the question and then break it down into two or three parts. Each part should ask for more detail or analysis. For instance, a more detailed question than the one above could be, “What contributions did African Americans make to the Revolutionary War effort, and how did this influence the outcome of the war?”

In addition, be sure to avoid creating questions that have no real answer. Your questions should always be able to be answered with evidence and/or research. For example, avoid questions like “Do you think the Revolutionary War was good or bad?” as there is no clear answer or evidence to back up either side.

By taking the time to create specific questions for your essay, you are ensuring that you are asking the right questions and getting the most out of the research and thought process. Being specific will also help focus your research and answer the essay prompt more efficiently.

Overall, when writing questions for an essay, you must be sure to create specific questions that ask for detailed answers and provide evidence to back them up. Avoid general questions and questions that can’t be answered with evidence or research. With practice and careful consideration, you will be well on your way to creating specific and effective essay questions.

Tip 6: Avoid Vague Descriptions

When asking questions in an essay, it’s important to avoid making statements that are too vague. Vague descriptions can easily lead to confusion and may cause the reader to misinterpret the intention of the question.

By avoiding vague descriptions, you can ensure that your essay is clear and concise. This will also make it easier for readers to understand the message that you are trying to convey.

Vague descriptions generally contain words or phrases that have unclear meaning. These may include words such as “many”, “some” or “most”, as well as phrases like “it varies”. It’s important to avoid these types of words and phrases when asking a question in an essay .

In some cases, you may need to use a vague description. In these cases, it’s important to provide additional context so that the reader can interpret the intention of the question. You can do this by providing specific examples or additional details about the topic.

For example, if you wanted to ask how technology has changed our lives, you could provide an example of a specific type of technology and ask how it has impacted our lives. This would provide clarity on the exact question that you are asking and make it easier for the reader to understand.

Overall, avoiding vague descriptions is essential when asking questions in an essay. This will help ensure that your questions are clear, concise and easy to understand. Additionally, provide additional context and examples if you do need to use a vague description. This will make it easier for readers to interpret the message of the question and understand the point that you are trying to make.

Examples of Good Questions to Ask in an Essay

Asking the right question can make all the difference when writing an essay. A good question will do more than just state a fact—it will help you to explore an idea, argue a point, or provide insight. That’s why it’s important to understand what makes a good question.

When asking a question in an essay, it should be direct, pointed and relevant to the topic. Here are few examples of good questions to ask in an essay:

• What is the historical context of this issue?
• How does this argument fit into current debates on the topic?
• What are the implications of this argument for future research?
• What do other scholars have to say about this issue?

When using example-based questions, it’s important to make sure that the example is relevant to the subject and that the question being asked isn’t too broad or difficult to answer. Here are some examples of good example-based questions:

• How did John F. Kennedy’s speech on civil rights inform current policy debates?
• What impact did the invention of the printing press have on the spread of literacy?
• What role did the French Revolution play in the development of modern democracy?
• What are the implications of the Eurozone crisis for economic growth in Europe?

These types of questions encourage deeper exploration of a topic and can help you to develop a more nuanced argument. Remember to always focus on asking relevant questions that are directly related to the essay prompt.

Conclusion:

Writing an essay is a great way to answer questions, express your opinion, and tell a story. It’s important to make sure you ask the right questions in your essay. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself what you are trying to get out of this essay. Will it help you prove a point? Explain something? Move the reader’s understanding along? If you can answer these questions, you’ll be better prepared to pick the best questions for your essay.

Here are some key takeaway points to remember when asking questions in an essay:

• Read the prompt carefully and analyze keywords.
• Brainstorm ideas and develop multiple questions from one prompt.
• Seek feedback from peers and/or editors to refine your thoughts.
• Ask clarifying questions to help guide your question selection.
• Be specific when asking questions.
• Avoid vague descriptions.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to easily identify the right questions to ask in any essay. Asking the right questions will help you get clear answers and move the conversation forward. This will ultimately help you write a better essay that expresses your thoughts more effectively.

Making sure you reference the sources of information that you use in your essay is important for acknowledging the work of others and also for avoiding plagiarism. Including references in your essay can help to support your arguments, add credibility and make your writing more compelling.

When writing an essay, it is important to look for outside sources of information or data that backs up your argument, but always make sure to cite them properly. You should include a list of references at the end of your essay, providing details such as the authors’ names, the year the source was published, and the title of the source.

When formatting your reference list, check with your teacher or professor to find out if there is a preferred style, such as MLA or APA. The format may vary depending on the type of sources you used. For example, books require different information than online sources.

• For books: author name(s), title, edition number, publisher name, place of publication, date of publication.
• For articles: author name(s), title of article, name of magazine or journal, volume and issue number, page numbers, date of publication.
• For websites: author name(s) (if available), title of page/article, website name, web address, date of publication or last update.

It is good practice to cross-check your reference list with the in-text citations that you have used throughout your essay. Make sure the two match up. If you have any doubt about whether something should be referenced, it’s best to include it. It is also important to keep track of all information used in your research, so you can easily create a comprehensive list of references.

• Last Edit 01 MAY 2023

Nick Radlinsky

Nick Radlinsky is a devoted educator, marketing specialist, and management expert with more than 15 years of experience in the education sector. After obtaining his business degree in 2016, Nick embarked on a quest to achieve his PhD, driven by his commitment to enhancing education for students worldwide. His vast experience, starting in 2008, has established him as a reputable authority in the field.

Nick's article, featured in Routledge's " Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization ," highlights his sharp insights and unwavering dedication to advancing the educational landscape. Inspired by his personal motto, "Make education better," Nick's mission is to streamline students' lives and foster efficient learning. His inventive ideas and leadership have contributed to the transformation of numerous educational experiences, distinguishing him as a true innovator in his field.

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Home » University Of Texas At Austin » How Do I Answer An Essay Question?

How Do I Answer An Essay Question?

Table of Contents

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.

What are the steps in answering essay questions?

General Rules:

• Analyze the question by circling all the important words.
• Collect and sort your information.
• Develop your thesis.
• Write your introduction.
• In the body of your essay, write several paragraphs that present, prove, and support your thesis.
• Write your conclusion.
• Read over your essay.

How do you write a question in an essay?

The MLA Style Center

• If a direct question contained in a sentence is long or has internal punctuation, set the question off with a comma and begin it with a capital letter:
• A single question contained in a sentence can also be preceded by a colon as long as the word before the question is not a verb.

How do you answer an essay question with a quote?

One of the most common types of essay question is a direct quotation followed by a general task word or phrase like ‘Discuss’ or ‘To what extent do you agree?’ . When answering these questions, the most important thing is to work out your argument – what you think about the ideas in the quotation .

How do you answer a difficult essay question?

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.

How do you start answering a question?

Take a beat, watch your tone, and other techniques to deal with a challenging line of questioning.

• Make Sure You Understand The Question.
• Take Time To Respond.
• Answer Part Of The Question.
• Postpone Your Answer.
• Turn Around the Pronouns.
• Divert The Question.
• Give The Asker Some Control.
• Watch Your Tone.

How do you properly answer a question?

Keep your answer short . Respond specifically to the question and avoid tangents. Use facts to support your answer. Move on from the question quickly to redirect your attention.

What is an essay question?

Definition of essay question : an examination question that requires an answer in a sentence, paragraph, or short composition .

What are the example of an essay?

There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays. The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples.

How do I write an essay?

Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion . Revision: Check the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

What is an essay format?

A basic essay consists of three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion . Following this format will help you write and organize an essay. However, flexibility is important. While keeping this basic essay format in mind, let the topic and specific assignment guide the writing and organization.

How do you structure an answer?

If you get asked the question, “What are your strengths?” You need to say more than, “ I have strong analytical skills.” Use a 3-part structure in answers

• an opening – topic sentence (your main idea)
• a middle – body (supporting details)
• a closing – summary and a sign you’re ending the answer.

How long should an answer to an essay question be?

1 Answer. as long as it needs to be . There is no definitive length for an essay question. You need to come up with a topic that you feel is important enough to your audience and relevant enough to your course to make the effort worth it.

How can I improve my essay questions?

Constructing an Effective Essay Question

• Begin with the lesson objectives in mind.
• Decide if your goal requires a restricted or extended response.
• If you are including more than one essay, be cognizant of time constraints.
• Write the question in a novel or interesting manner to help motivate the student.

What’s the first thing you should do before writing your answer to an essay question?

Formulate a thesis that answers the question . There is not time for an elaborate introduction, but be sure to introduce the topic, your argument, and how you will support your thesis (do this in your first paragraph).

How do you write an answer in your own words?

How to write answers that will fetch you good marks

• Answer questions from previous years.
• Writing a blog.
• Sharpen your vocabulary.
• Develop the habit of writing notes yourself.
• Use your own content.
• Refer to multiple resources.
• Create answers out of notes.
• Revise your notes and answers.

How do you respond to questions you don’t want to answer?

Good ways to say anything but “No Comment” to questions you really don’t want to answer:

• “I’m sorry but I’m not able to speak to that subject”
• “Thanks for asking but I’m not able to answer that question”
• “I’m sorry but that information is proprietary”

How do you answer a question without answering it?

Ten strategies to avoid answering inappropriate questions

• Answer the original question with another question.
• Respond with sarcasm or a joke.
• Redirect the question to a topic that you do feel comfortable discussing.
• Use the shame game.
• Begin your answer by saying the word “No”

How do you politely answer?

Instead of yes, you can say:

• Yes I can/Yes, sure thing.
• Yes of course!/Of course I will.
• Yes I can. It’s this way.
• Sure. It’s 10am.
• Sure thing!
• I can certainly do that for you.
• Yes here you go!/Sure, here you go.

How do you start a essay example?

Take a look at these common ways to start an essay:

• Share a shocking or amusing fact.
• Ask a question.
• Dramatize a scene.
• Kick it off with a quote.
• State your thesis directly.
• Pick the right tone for your essay.
• When you’re stuck, work backwards.

How do you structure a good essay?

Every good essay has three basic parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion . This simple guide will show you how to perfect your essay structure by clearly introducing and concluding your argument, and laying out your paragraphs coherently in between.

By Travis Thornton

Travis Thornton is an education expert who has dedicated his life to helping students achieve their academic goals. He has worked as a teacher, tutor, and administrator in both public and private schools, and he currently serves as the dean of admissions at a prestigious university.

Travis believes that every student has the potential to succeed, and he tirelessly works to help them reach their full potential. He is a passionate advocate for education, and he believes that every student should have access to a quality education.

Travis is also a father of three young children, and he loves spending time with his family. He enjoys playing sports and watching movies together.

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FREE TRAINING: How I Secured 6-Figures in Scholarships & Graduated Debt-Free

The Scholarship System

Paying for college begins here

10 Common Scholarship Essay Questions and How to Answer Them

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Updated on July 15th, 2022

When your student applies for scholarships, writing the essay often feels like the most challenging part. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. By learning about common scholarship essay questions and how to answer them, your student can be prepared for most of the topics they’ll need to address.

Knowing how to answer common scholarship essay questions is only part of the battle. You also have to track down great scholarships to pay for college. If you and your student want to learn more about exciting scholarship opportunities,  sign up for our free college scholarship webinar ! Just head to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar and reserve your spot today .

If your student wants to get ahead of the curve and write winning scholarship essays , here’s a look at ten common scholarship essay questions and how to tackle them.

• 1.1 1. Tell Us About Yourself
• 1.2 2. How Will This Scholarship Make a Difference for You?
• 1.3 3. Can You Tell Us About a Time You Failed? What Did You Learn from That Experience?
• 1.4 4. Tell Us About a Contribution You’ve Made to Your Community
• 1.5 5. What Are Your Academic (or Professional) Goals?
• 1.6 6. Tell Us About a Time Where You Stepped Up as a Leader
• 1.7 7. Who Has Been Your Biggest Influence (or Inspiration)?
• 1.8 8. Why Do You Want to Go to College?
• 1.9 9. How Are You Planning on Financing Your College Education?
• 1.10 10. Why Do You Deserve This Scholarship?
• 2 Using Common Scholarship Essay Questions to Prepare

1. Tell Us About Yourself

This is possibly one of the trickiest college scholarship essays to write, not because it’s complicated, but because it’s so broad. Students have a lot of freedom with this prompt, so it’s easy to become overwhelmed about how to proceed.

Typically, students shouldn’t just give an overview of their life stories. Instead, they need to provide the committee with insights about their passions and drives, events that shaped their perspective, and relevant successes or achievements.

It’s also wise to be a bit future-focused, discussing not just where they’ve been but where they hope to go. Students can touch on valuable personality traits along the way, too, as that helps the reader gauge who they are as a person.

2. How Will This Scholarship Make a Difference for You?

Generally, students have a few options for addressing this question. First, they could showcase how the scholarship helps them overcome a relevant financial hardship. This can include being able to afford tuition, get needed equipment or supplies, or access a program at a college that may otherwise be out of reach.

Second, they could concentrate on how the scholarship will help them achieve their academic or professional goals. For example, your student might want to discuss how the award would allow them to pursue their preferred field.

Students should focus on how the scholarship eliminates roadblocks, though the exact type of obstacle can vary. Additionally, they should discuss what they’ll be able to achieve if they receive the award, both in the short- and long-term.

3. Can You Tell Us About a Time You Failed? What Did You Learn from That Experience?

For many students, even figuring out how to start a scholarship essay introduction for this topic is hard, let alone writing the whole thing. It’s difficult discussing a failure with others, so many students hold back if they are given this prompt.

However, honesty is the best policy. Additionally, even when talking about a failure, it’s possible to keep the essay positive.

Students should start by outlining the scenario and giving an overview of how the failure occurred. The misstep can be academic, personal, or professional, as long as it’s clear that something went wrong along the way.

After the overview, it’s all about a quick pivot. Students should explain the lessons they learned and what they would do differently if faced with a similar situation again. That helps them demonstrate their self-awareness and growth, along with their ability to persevere.

4. Tell Us About a Contribution You’ve Made to Your Community

This scholarship essay prompt is incredibly common for volunteering scholarships or awards focused on service. Students need to share insights about their community service-oriented activities, as well as the positive impact created by their participation.

Additionally, it’s smart for students to spend some time explaining how the experience impacted them. They may also want to touch on any plans they have to continue to remain active in their community, as that can help them stand out.

5. What Are Your Academic (or Professional) Goals?

With this common scholarship essay question, students need to clearly outline what they want to achieve, either academically or professionally, depending on exactly what they are asked. Usually, it’s best to start off with the basics. Students should explain what they want to study or the career path they hope to have.

However, they shouldn’t stop there. It’s also wise to dig a bit deeper, diving into precisely what motivated them to head in this direction. Some students do this by sharing their epiphany moment, while others talk about how it’s the culmination of a life-long passion. As long as it paints a great picture, any approach is potentially a winner.

6. Tell Us About a Time Where You Stepped Up as a Leader

Leadership is a hot topic for college scholarship essays. Many committees ask questions like this one to see what applicants bring to the table. Usually, your student needs to provide a clear example of when they took on a leadership role.

There are a lot of options for approaching this. Heading up a school project counts, as well as captaining a sports team. Coordinating volunteer efforts may work, along with a wide variety of work-related activities.

Again, exactly what your student chooses is less important than how they describe it. It’s all about sharing a story, ensuring the reader can get a good gauge on what happened and how your student’s involvement made a difference.

7. Who Has Been Your Biggest Influence (or Inspiration)?

Many scholarship essay questions want students to talk about their heroes. While it may seem odd to ask students to discuss someone other than themselves, it’s actually a great way to learn more about an applicant’s passions.

As they describe why the person influenced or inspired them, they incidentally talk about how they are motivated, their priorities, and their values. It also allows the reader to learn more about what shaped your student’s goals and aspirations, which can be quite enlightening.

Ideally, students want to be story-oriented. While they can certainly discuss the person’s traits and background, the focus should largely be on moments that inspired or influenced their way of thinking. That makes the essay more meaningful.

8. Why Do You Want to Go to College?

For some students, this question is surprisingly tough. Many students saw college as a must from a relatively young age, essentially viewing it as anything as optional. However, students do have choices about how they move forward after high school.

Scholarship committees want to know that heading to college isn’t an afterthought or something a student is doing solely because they were pressured in that direction. Ideally, students should discuss personal motivations or goals that made college the right choice for them. That way, their passion can shine through.

9. How Are You Planning on Financing Your College Education?

If a scholarship is focused on financial need, your student may face questions about how they intend to fund their education. This can be a difficult topic, particularly for students who may not be able to afford school without outside support, such as scholarships or grants. It’s hard to talk about financial hardship, but this question makes it necessary.

Students should actually start their essay by giving the committee insight into their situation, particularly regarding personal or household circumstances that make affording college difficult. After the overview, students should outline all of their efforts to secure enough funding. That can include everything from applying to scholarships, exploring work-study, getting a part-time job, or anything else.

Often, scholarship committees appreciate it when students are taking every chance to find ways to pay for college. It lets them know that the student is passionate enough to go the extra mile and demonstrates that they aren’t afraid of challenges if it means achieving their goals. So, students should touch on everything they are doing to make their college dream possible.

10. Why Do You Deserve This Scholarship?

Writing an essay about why they deserve a scholarship can be hard for any student. However, it’s a topic they need to be ready to discuss. This is one of the most common scholarship essay questions around.

Previously, The Scholarship System took a deep dive into how to write an essay on “Why I deserve this scholarship,” making that a great resource for any student who wants to prepare. As an overview, it’s about showcasing their perspective without coming across as arrogant and discussing achievements (academic or otherwise) that highlight why they are a standout applicant.

Using Common Scholarship Essay Questions to Prepare

Simply knowing what the common scholarship essay questions are usually isn’t enough. Instead, students should take extra steps to prepare to write their essays.

First, it’s wise to spend a little time brainstorming about the topics. That way, students can develop several ideas that they may want to explore and see if one approach resonates more than another.

Second, checking out some scholarship essay examples that won money is an excellent idea. This helps students learn more about what scholarship committees connect with, as well as more about how to tackle certain topics.

Finally, it’s wise to learn more about essay writing techniques. Along with reviewing how to write scholarship essays , it doesn’t hurt to research college personal statements , as those can be very similar to scholarship (and college application) essays. Similarly, checking out scholarship essay formats is a smart move. It will help your student figure out how to start a scholarship essay introduction, how to end a scholarship essay, and everything in between.

By doing that additional research, they’ll have as much information as possible. And, in the end, that could increase the odds that their essay will be a winner.

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Are You Asking the Right Questions?

A conversation with IMD Business School’s Arnaud Chevallier on simple changes to improve your decision-making.

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Few leaders have been trained to ask great questions. That might explain why they tend to be good at certain kinds of questions, and less effective at other kinds. Unfortunately, that hurts their ability to pursue strategic priorities. Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor at IMD Business School, explains how leaders can break out of that rut and systematically ask five kinds of questions: investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive, and subjective. He shares real-life examples of how asking the right sort of question at a key time can unlock value and propel your organization. With his IMD colleagues Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux, Chevallier wrote the HBR article “ The Art of Asking Smarter Questions .”

CURT NICKISCH: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review, I’m Curt Nickisch.

The complexity and uncertainty around business today demands a different skill in leaders, namely the ability to ask illuminating questions.

Jensen Huang, the CEO of chip maker NVIDIA has said that over time, his job has become less about giving answers to problems, and more about asking questions; that he wants his team to join that exploration with him. And it’s probably not a coincidence that his company operates at the heart of the artificial intelligence revolution. After all, now that you have the ability to basically talk to a database, it really does come down to the questions you ask of it. By the way, we talked to him on IdeaCast on episode 940, check that out.

But today’s guest says few business professionals are trained in the skill of asking questions. They don’t know the different types of strategic questions, and even when they do hang question marks, they often have blind spots.

Here to explain is Arnaud Chevallier, a professor at IMD Business School, with his colleagues Frederic Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux he wrote the HBR article, The Art of Asking Smarter Questions. Welcome, Arnaud.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Thanks for having me, Curt.

CURT NICKISCH: Why is asking questions, this basic conversational skill, so hard for people?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Well, I think we’ve all heard it, asking more questions helps people make better decisions. But there’s a dark side. Because whenever you’re asking one question, you’re not asking another type of question. And so if you’re under time pressure, you might be probing one side of a problem or decision but not other sides. And if you look at managers compared to other professions, lawyers, physicians, psychologists, they’re trained to ask better questions. Managers, seems like we are supposed to learn on the job.

CURT NICKISCH: And many do learn it and perhaps learn a certain kind of question that seems to work for them for some time. You point out a lot of people don’t understand that there are different types of questions that you can be asking, and they just by their nature tend to ask a certain type of question but avoid other ones just because it doesn’t come naturally to them.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Yeah. That’s what we find speaking with managers and leaders across organizations. I think when you start professionally, you develop your own mix of questions. Maybe you pick up a couple questions that you think are insightful from your boss perhaps. You get to learn and hone that mix and it gets you here but it’s unclear when you get promoted to your next job that what got you here will get you there.

We are trained, we are told, “Ask open-ended questions, ask follow up questions.”

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah, ask why. Ask the five why’s.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: The five why’s, absolutely. But what else? You get to the, “Sure, good idea. I should ask why. What else should I ask?” And usually the guidance falls flat. We’ve been speaking with hundreds of executives, trying to understand which questions they ask. We’ve been speaking with very senior people trying to understand what works for them. And out of that we came together with a taxonomy of questions that we believe are useful in making better decisions, in solving complex problems.

CURT NICKISCH: This taxonomy basically divides strategic questions into five types, investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive and subjective. It’s probably smart for us to go through them one by one.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Let’s, because that’s a mouthful, right? Let’s project ourselves into big decisions that you have to make maybe as a manager or maybe as just a person. Perhaps you’re thinking about buying a new house, maybe moving the family. Maybe you’re thinking about acquiring a new firm. Whenever we’re faced with those complex decisions, pretty quickly we want to identify, “Okay, what is it that we want to achieve?”

But we realize we don’t have enough information to achieve it. We need to get into investigative mode by asking ourselves, what’s known? What’s known about the problem? For instance, the five why’s. Or what’s known about the solutions, the potential solutions by asking how may we do this? How may we do that? The first type of question is investigative, helps you probe in depth into the problem or into the solution.

CURT NICKISCH: Some of the questions that can be asked here are what happened? What is and isn’t working? What are the causes of the problem? Those are all examples of investigative questions. Are these questions that are typically asked at the beginning of a process, or can they be used anywhere in problem solving?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Yes. What we’re finding out is it works better actually if we go back and forth. There’s no real segmentation because investigative gets you to a point: you drill deeper into the problem or into the solutions, but going deep is not the only way. You may want to speculate as well. The second type of question is speculative questions, epitomized by what if? Speculative questions are here to help you foster innovation by challenging the implicit and the explicit assumptions for the problem.

CURT NICKISCH: What if is really good. Examples of this are also what other scenarios might exist? Could we do this differently? That’s a way of just asking a simple question, but trying to open up a brand new avenue of thinking or problem solving.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Exactly. And by doing this, you’re really expanding the space in which you operate. Investigative, you go deep. And speculative, you go wide, and you’re stretching a little bit the universe of possibilities.

CURT NICKISCH: Now, productive is the next type. Tell us about that.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Yeah. Investigative, you go deep. Speculative, you go wide. If you’re a professor, that’s all you have to do. You can spend years and years on your problem but if you actually have a real job, chances are you’re asked to have some results, right? So productive is the now what questions. You’re adjusting the pace of the effort, deciding whether you know enough to move forward right away or perhaps deciding that you need to slow down a little bit before you make those decisions, to give you a chance to get even more insight into your problem.

CURT NICKISCH: Examples here that you list in your article are things like, do we have the resources to move ahead? Do we know enough to proceed? Are we ready to decide? Very tactical and the sorts of questions that bring everybody back to the realization of what needs to happen.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: That’s right. How are we doing across compared to project plan and should we accelerate or should we slow down?

CURT NICKISCH: I can definitely see certain types of managers would be really good at this. There are roles sometimes that are very operational or process oriented, and you almost have a traffic police officer managing a process, yeah. Interpretive was the next type.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Investigative, what’s known. Speculative, what if? Productive, now what? All these gets me some information about my decision, about my problem. But information is one thing, but it’s not quite wisdom. The fourth type, the interpretative questions, the “so what” helps us convert that information into insight.

CURT NICKISCH: Examples here are questions like how does this fit with that goal? What are we trying to achieve – that really gets at so what? What did we learn from this new information? This seems very helpful at a transition point where you’ve … I don’t know, you’ve gotten customer data back or you have new information to process.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: I love how you phrased it because this is also what we’re discovering, the “so what” helps you transition from one type of question to another. So the five why’s, why aren’t we having better revenues? Because our clients are not buying enough of our products. Okay, so what? Maybe then that will help me transition from being investigative, asking why, to perhaps being speculative, thinking about how else we could get our clients to buy our products. It enables you to transition from one type to another.

CURT NICKISCH: Now, the last type of strategic question that you identify in your taxonomy is subjective, which was really interesting to me because it wasn’t one of the sorts of questions I expected to jump out in a strategy framework. Tell us a little bit more about subjective questions.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Maybe it’s helpful to explain how we got to the first four types. We were very happy when we got there, we figured it was really clicking and then we had the catchy way of thinking about it. It’s four types but there are really three main ones, like the three Musketeers, that sort of thing. We thought we were done and then we started interviewing top leaders, people in charge of billion-dollar operations. And there was something else, and maybe this is best exemplified by this wonderful little cartoon by Jack Ziegler in the New Yorker a few years ago, where you see a little fish happily swimming around minding its own business, not realizing that right behind it there’s a huge fish about to eat it alive. And the small one is called agenda, and the big one is called hidden agenda. The last type of questions, subjective questions, are just realizing that we’re dealing with people. People have emotions, they have political agendas, and if we don’t embrace this we might just miss entirely what the problem is actually all about.

CURT NICKISCH: Examples of these questions are how do you really feel about this decision? Have we consulted the right people? Those are all things that do get at those emotions and just the real impact of business decisions.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Right on. I remember specifically we were interviewing the CEO of a major airplane manufacturer. And brilliant fellow, mid 40s, everything … Former engineer, I think. We were expecting him to be very investigative. Nothing against engineers, I’m one myself. But turns out that he was saying after every big meeting he would sit down and reflect on was there a difference between what was said, what was heard, and what was meant? To him, what really mattered was that human component in the meeting.

CURT NICKISCH: Now that we have these five types, let’s go through some of the advice that you have in your article. Number one, is you really want people to understand what questions they tend to ask or what their own interrogatory typology is. Talk more about that.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: I think it’s fair to say that we all develop our question mix, the questions that have served us well, that we believe will serve us well in the future. I remember for example, interviewing the COO of a major car company. And he’s telling us how on Monday morning he meets his team and he’s asking them, “How was your weekend?”

But he also made it very clear that when he’s asking how was your weekend, he doesn’t want to hear about little Timmy’s baseball game, he wants to know whether we shipped on time, if there’s any issues with the manufacturers. In other words, he is in full productive mode. And that makes a lot of sense. Again, he’s a COO. His job is to get things moving. But we can also imagine that he’s doing such a good job at the COO level that he might be offered the CEO position. And here, if he’s using the same mix that is predominantly into productive, he might not see other areas, he might develop some blind spots.

CURT NICKISCH: And so number one, you can learn to mix it up yourself by understanding your type, basically keeping track of the questions that you ask and making a concerted effort to ask different kinds of questions so that you expand your repertoire. That’s one way to get started.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Maybe another way is also to take the LQM test, the leaders question mix test that we are putting together on the IMD website. It takes five minutes and you’re given two batches of questions, and you tell us which one you prefer. And as a result, we help you identify what your preferred mix is. And back to your point, Curt, my preferred mix is one thing but I shouldn’t be … I need to realize as well that there are other questions, including some that I’m not familiar or comfortable with, and that what matters is not so much my preference, as much as what is needed for the specific decision or specific problem I’m facing.

CURT NICKISCH: So if you’ve assessed your current question style, you start to adjust your repertoire, it’s still a lot to keep track of. When you’re in conversations, it’s easy to remember afterwards, why didn’t I ask that question? While you’re in it, especially if it’s a heated exchange or a very pithy conversation, it’s hard to just do this in real time on the fly, really well.

So what advice do you have for somebody to practically keep track, and expand their repertoire, but also make sure that they’re not missing anything and that they still don’t have blind spots even after they try to expand the zone in that way?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: I think you’re describing situations that we see often with executives. And one way of doing this is by taking the LQM, the leader question mix assessment, you also get a list of questions. And you can take that list with you, especially if there are some types of questions you realize you don’t ask very naturally. You can also pick a couple of those ahead of the meeting, making a mental or written note to ask those questions over there and see what happens with those.

CURT NICKISCH: Does this work at all levels of the organization or are we really talking about leaders asking strategic questions?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: We’ve applied it at all levels, absolutely, and in fact what we’ve found is in teams it works even better, realizing first that we have different mixes and then identifying, so what? Being interpretive: what are we going to do with the fact that you and I, Curt, have different mixes? If I’m terrible at one type, for instance speculative, maybe I need to rely on my teammates who are better there. Or at the very least, learn to recognize the value of speculative questions, at least in some settings, not shutting down the door the moment I hear a speculative question.

CURT NICKISCH: And one point you make in the article too is that you can find people on your team to help compensate for you if you know that you have certain weaknesses. Let’s talk a little bit about the difficulty of asking questions though in business settings, because when you ask a question, in some ways you’re putting people on the spot. What advice do you have for managers and leaders asking questions in these settings where you can ask penetrating and provocative questions but not make them feel so hard edged?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Yeah. I think, again, you’re putting your finger on it because if you’re the authority figure and you ask, “Why did you do this?” Chances are the person on the receiving end of that is going to feel threatened. There is what we ask and there is how we ask it and how we phrase it. And what we found with those leaders who are particularly good with these subjective kinds of questions is they’re very conscious of the way they ask things. For instance, you might not ask why did you do this, but perhaps what happened?

CURT NICKISCH: Can you give us some examples of where these questions or changing your mix, asking different types of questions, yeah, being more deliberate in your question asking, how that can lead to better business results?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Well, my favorite of course is a Swiss cliche. IMD professors will tell you, of course we’ll bring it back to the Swiss army knife. And your mix really is a Swiss army knife. You should be able not to have just one blade but you have different mixes of questions and you use the mix that best fits whichever situations you’re in.

Take the example of an airline captain who’s about to land at Geneva airport. If I’m in the back of the plane, I do not want the captain to start thinking speculative questions. “Hey, what if I turn this knob here? What if I try to land the plane in a different way?” No, no, no, no. Her job at that time is to land the plane, be productive. You take the time you to decide, no more, no less, and you just get it done. But that same captain maybe a few minutes before might have to deal with an issue, maybe a passenger who had drunk too much alcohol and started to act up, and maybe she needed to on the spot think creatively and perhaps using seat belts to restrain the passenger.

And perhaps even earlier in the day when she first met the first officer who was going to assist her on the flight, she needed to create quickly an environment where they could work well together. She maybe needed to be very subjective in her question mix. We can see how the same person on the same job might have to fundamentally alter her mix just to be effective at all three decision points.

CURT NICKISCH: You also have a lot of good examples in the article of companies that … Or leaders that didn’t ask a certain type of question, and that led to a huge problem.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Mmhmm. Being French, we can make fun of the SNCF who built …

CURT NICKISCH: This is the French rail company.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: That’s right. They ordered 15 billions worth of trains and design spec’d them on the assumption that all platforms were some standard size, only to realize that all the platforms, all 1300 of them were actually larger, needed to be respec’d. And I think in hindsight, it’s always easy to make fun and to look at deficiencies in the decision process.

However, we probably can safely assume that engineers on the problem did their utmost to get it done. Really, five question types as a way perhaps of having a checklist, of reducing the chances of having blind spots in our decision process, but realizing that those blind spots can happen even to the best organizations out there, and realizing then that if we’re not mindful about the questions we ask, we might just every now and then fail to check an important question category.

CURT NICKISCH: One question that you suggest asking is, “are we all okay with this?” Which is a powerful question. It also presupposes that you’ve got the psychological safety on the team for everybody to be able to speak up. So, questioning and asking the right questions at the right time still demands an awareness of the culture that you’re asking it in, and how these questions are going to come across, and whether you’ve created the climate for people to be able to give you the powerful answers that you’re asking for.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: This is a very good point. And we’ve worked with organizations where there was very little psychological safety, where admitting that anything might be less and perfect might be a big, big issue. And in those settings it’s much more challenging but there are ways of still eliciting the wisdom of the group.

One such way for instance, is to use pre-mortems and to project the organization, say, “Okay, let’s go with this decision. Let’s assume that we are picking option one and we are now three years from today and we realize it’s a total fiasco. It crashed down. What happened?” And that can help people who would probably not ask questions frontally, to put on the table some less than perfect aspects of the decision they’re seeing.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah, that’s very clever. What could go wrong? What did go wrong with this fiasco? It’s almost like this article is giving advice for how to speak, how to talk. Asking a question, it’s a conversational device. And it might seem too basic to people, why is this important and why is this especially important now?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Well, questions are ways to make better decisions. We’ve all heard it, asking better questions is a way forward. We probably all develop our own mix of questions, those questions that we like, but there might be three issues associated with that. First, how do you know that your mix is a good mix? Second, when you’re asking a question, especially under time pressure, you’re not asking another type of question. There’s a cost of opportunity of asking a specific question. And are you sure that you’re using the best question for the job? And third, maybe you mix got you here but if that means that you’re doing such a good job here, you’re getting promoted, then tomorrow’s universe for you is not the same as yesterday. How do you adapt your question mix to help you be successful in the future?

CURT NICKISCH: And is there anything different about today’s business climate or the oncoming opportunity with artificial intelligence, that amplifies the ability to ask questions?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: I think you’re spot-on. GenAI, especially since late 2022, enables you to be a sparring partner or to have a sparring partner in having back and forth. You can indeed have a conversation with the database now, and you can’t have that conversation by proposing answers. You need to be asking questions. Clearly asking more insightful questions might unlock some value you couldn’t otherwise.

CURT NICKISCH: So for a speculative question, what does that look like in a real business setting?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: You hear mid managers who are often risk-averse, and then you speak with their boss and the boss is always asking for taking more risk. And you can rationalize it from both sides. Because the boss has a portfolio of a project and if some of those fail, no big deal. But if I’m the manager in charge of a project and I have it fail, then pretty quickly I start thinking that people associate me with failure. And so asking what if, having that conversation between the top team and the manager saying, “What if we didn’t care about failure? What if we were looking for – each of us managers, some of us having some failure? What if we relaxed this constraint or that constraint?” – can help us realize and realign what would be individual objectives with organizational ones.

CURT NICKISCH: Do you remember any good stories from the executives that you talked to where asking some of these subjective, what’s unsaid questions really opened up new opportunities or changed things?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Yeah. And this one really gets to the human dimension. If you ask me next Monday morning how I’m doing, and I reply, fine, fine can be a number of things. Fine can be my dog died yesterday. Or fine, can be life is beautiful. What we found with some of the execs who were really good at going to the essence of it is probing in a caring way to understand the meaning behind the words, what’s kept unsaid, and remembering that you have short post people and you have long post people, some people will say fine as just an introductory but if you give them a little bit more time, they might actually expand and through that unlock a set of information you wouldn’t have had access to.

CURT NICKISCH: Arnaud, I have to ask, you’ve done all this research, I’m curious if you have a favorite question that you never asked before that you’ve come out of this process with that you use in your work and your job.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: Putting me on the spot, huh.

CURT NICKISCH: A little bit.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: I really fell in love with that difference between what was said, what was heard, and what was meant. I really think this is something I need to be better at and reading the weak signals and understanding what’s behind the words. But whenever I take the test, and I’ve taken it several times, what comes out is I am terrible at productive questions. So maybe, just maybe I need to pay more attention to the pace of my decision making.

CURT NICKISCH: For a manager who’s not a leader yet, hasn’t developed their repertoire per se, what advice would you give to them? What can they do tomorrow to start asking more strategic and stronger questions?

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: My advice to someone who feels they don’t have yet a mix is, first of all, you probably already have a mix. There’s probably a couple of questions that you’ve seen or heard and they feel very insightful. But maybe you want to do as I do, is I keep track. All the questions I hear on your podcast and elsewhere that I haven’t heard before, I keep a long list and then I categorize them under the five buckets and I have my favorite ones.

CURT NICKISCH: Arnaud, thanks so much for coming on the show and sharing this research with us.

ARNAUD CHEVALLIER: My pleasure, thanks for having me.

CURT NICKISCH: That’s Arnaud Chevallier, a professor at IMD Business School and a co-author of the HBR article, the Art of Asking Smarter Questions.

And we have nearly 1000 episodes plus more podcasts to help you manage your team, your organization and your career. Find them at HBR.org/podcasts or search HBR and Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Thanks to our team, senior producer Mary Dooe, associate producer Hannah Bates, audio product manager Ian Fox, and senior production specialist Rob Eckhardt. Thank you for listening to the HBR IdeaCast . We’ll be back with a new episode on Tuesday, I’m Curt Nickisch.

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Should the Middle Seat Passenger Get Both Armrests on a Plane? A Travel Expert Answers the Controversial Question

The debate was recently reignited by a passenger who claimed their flight attendant had specific “armrest rules” in a post shared on Reddit

Natalia Senanayake is an Editorial Assistant, Lifestyle at PEOPLE. She covers all things travel and home, from celebrities' luxury mansions to breaking travel news.

An airline passenger reignited a classic travel debate after they claimed a flight attendant was enforcing “armrest rules” during their recent trip. 

The passenger said the flight attendant told everyone on the plane to use one armrest only , either to the right or left of them depending on where they were sitting, in a post shared to Reddit earlier this month. 

“To my surprise, he was very emphatic that no person gets two armrests,” user littleike0 wrote on the forum. They claimed that the crew member’s reasoning for the rule was to “keep the armrest on the aisle clear for carts and people walking down the plane.” 

“He emphatically stated that no armrest drama would be tolerated,” the user continued. “Feeling sorry for all the folks in middle seats on this flight, [I] mentioned to my seat mate she was welcome to use both armrests.”

The original poster (OP) ended their retelling by asking their fellow Redditors if they’ve ever heard of these “rules” before. The comments section was quickly flooded with users’ opinionated responses.

“That's a ‘no’ for me. I'm an aisle seater, and that aisle armrest is mine,” one person wrote. “The middle seat gets his/her two, I get mine on the aisle.”

Another added, “I only ride aisle, cause I'm a short stocky wide dude...armrest is mine so I can lean that way, and not on the middle…”

One user asked, “Why do we need rules like this? 🙄 If I’m on the aisle and get bumped it’s my bad.”

Others emphasized that the middle seat passenger should always get both armrests as they have the least amount of space.

“I always assumed the middle seat got both armrests because, let’s be honest, the middle seat SUCKS. I always felt like it was the least I could do for their troubles.”

However, some thought that the flight attendant’s alleged rule did serve a valuable purpose. 

“I actually agree with that. It’s always so annoying brushing past people who are leaning out into the aisle.”

PEOPLE spoke to travel advisor Nicole Campoy Jackson of Fora Travel to get to the bottom of the airplane etiquette issue. 

“My rule of thumb is: always be considerate of the person in the middle seat,” Jackson says. “If you're in a three-across seating setup on a plane, the window passenger gets the window and window-side armrest; the aisle passenger gets the aisle armrest; and the middle passenger gets to decide how they'd like to use the two in the middle.”

She emphasizes that the middle seat is “claustrophobic enough” and those passengers shouldn’t have to be “relegated to one armrest.”

However, there are situations where sharing the middle armrest may be the best option, according to Jackson.

“If you're a taller person and have a hard time getting comfortable without the use of a bit of that armrest, then there's no harm in sharing. Give the right of way to the middle passenger, but also get comfortable.” 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Jackson says that while she understands where the flight attendant is coming from with their rules, there is no reason to avoid the aisle seat armrest for the entire flight.

“I assume that bumping into passengers left and right down the aisle would get annoying for everyone involved. But there are many hours on a plane during which the cart is not being pushed. So, must you avoid that aisle armrest the entire time? Of course not. If you're awake and can scoot in a bit to avoid getting bumped? Then, do!”

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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

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New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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2024 NFL Draft: Veteran trades, surprise top-10 selections and answers to other burning questions

Projecting risers and fallers in the 2024 nfl draft.

In less than a week, fans will know the answers to the draft questions that have been asked over the past few months. To help pass the time, CBSSports.com NFL Draft analysts Ryan Wilson, Chris Trapasso and I look into our Crystal Ball in an effort to project trades, risers and fallers, and more.

Here are each of our answers to a variety of burning questions: 

1. With Caleb Williams a foregone conclusion to go to the Bears , who should be taken No. 2 overall?

Ryan Wilson : QB Jayden Daniels, LSU. "No player did more for their draft stock over the last eight months than Daniels, who, like another former LSU transfer in Joe Burrow , went from Day 3 prospect to Top 5 selection. In terms of comps, Daniels is a lot like Lamar Jackson coming out of Louisville -- but a better passer. And his dual-threat abilities can demoralize a defense because even if you play the perfect coverage, Daniels can still rip off a 50-yard run. There are no sure things in the draft but it's hard not to get excited by what Daniels accomplished at LSU the last two seasons."

Chris Trapasso : QB Drake Maye, North Carolina. "Simply based on prospect evaluation, I would pick Drake Maye, but understanding the fit with Kliff Kingsbury, Jayden Daniels should probably be the selection for the Commanders ."

Josh Edwards : QB Drake Maye, North Carolina. "In my opinion, it should be Maye. However, there has been a lot of buzz suggesting that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels may be the pick. I will continue to believe it is misdirection for now."

2. Who is the safest prospect in the draft?

Wilson : WR Marvin Harrison Jr.. "I vacillated between Joe Alt and Marvin Harrison Jr. here before ultimately deciding to go with Harrison Jr., who you could argue was NFL-ready a year ago. No, he didn't take part in the pre-draft festivities that stretch from January to April, but he also didn't need to. His tape did all the talking and he's shown the ability to take over games. Was he less effective last season, after Ohio State lost C.J. Stroud to the NFL ? Absolutely, but that also reinforces the importance of landing in the right system. I think if Harrison Jr. lands in Arizona, that offense could take the next step."

Trapasso : OT Olu Fashanu, Penn State. "He's young with back-to-back stellar seasons in pass protection at Penn State with a prototypical frame and plus athleticism. I haven't been able to peg why he's seemingly going to be the third or fourth offensive tackle off the board in this class."

Edwards : WR Marvin Harrison Jr.. "Harrison may not be the flashiest receiver prospect but he has a very high floor, especially considering his NFL pedigree."

3. Who is the prospect with the biggest red flag?

Wilson : WR Jermaine Burton. "I continue to hear that Alabama's Jermaine Burton could drop due to off-field concerns. He had a strong second half for Alabama in 2023 and was Jalen Milroe's favorite downfield target, consistently separating on vertical routes. In terms of on-field abilities, I love him on Day 2, but he may have to wait until Saturday to hear his name called."

Trapasso : WR Keon Coleman, Florida State. "Big. Yes. Highlight-reel catches on film? Sure. But despite those two features at the top of his resume, this is a 4.61 wideout who struggles to get open at any level of the field and was not very effective in combat-catch scenarios last season."

Edwards : DT T'Vondre Sweat, Texas. "Nose tackles are already at a disadvantage because they are in a more specialized role. Teams were reportedly aware of Sweat's partying past and he assured them that was in his past. The narrative was not aided by his recent DWI arrest."

4. What surprise team will target a QB?

Wilson : Bengals . "Don't be surprised if the Bengals target a QB during the draft. Obviously not in the first round -- Joe Burrow remains one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but they have 10 picks, including six on Day 3. They could package some of those picks to move up and grab a young passer they could groom because Jake Browning is on a one-year deal. I like Spencer Rattler and Michael Pratt as developmental QBs with starter upside -- let's see if the Bengals feel the same."

Trapasso : Seahawks . "For as much as Geno Smith has proven to be a capable starter, there's a new coaching regime in Seattle and Smith is entering what could be his final year in a Seahawks uniform."

Edwards : Rams . " Matthew Stafford is a 36-year-old quarterback who has missed 10 games over the past two years. He is still playing at a high level but Los Angeles does not have a viable long-term solution at the position. I could see them using their first first-round selection since 2016 if the right quarterback were available."

5. Who is one top prospect you expect to slide the farthest?

Wilson : CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri. "Ennis Rakestraw Jr. gives me Devon Witherspoon vibes with the way he approaches the cornerback position but he's slightly undersized and didn't time as well as Witherspoon, and those two factors could see him slip out of Round 1 and into Round 2. We saw Joey Porter Jr . suffer a similar fate a year ago (unlike Rakestraw, he's long) and he was one of the best rookie cornerbacks in 2023. Put another way: if Rakestraw does, in fact, last beyond the first round, whichever team lands him will be getting a big-time player."

Trapasso : OT Olu Fashanu, Penn State. "Sticking with my guy here. Just feels like he's gotten essentially zero buzz despite being an elite talent."

Edwards : WR Keon Coleman, Florida State. "Furthest is relative, but Coleman was viewed as a first-round lock at one time. He is still a gifted player with intriguing NFL potential but, where does he fit in the overall pecking order at the position? If he is a leapfrogged by three at his position, then it could be the difference in half a round."

6. Which player has the chance to be a surprise top-10 pick?

Wilson : EDGE Laiatu Latu, UCLA. "I hear that Laitu Latu has been cleared medically and that the former UCLA pass rusher is likely a top 13 pick. It'll be tough to crack the top 10 -- not because he's not worth it -- but because there will be a run on offensive players at the top of the draft. That said, Latu is the most technically sound pass rusher in this class and teams love his motor and his demeanor."

Trapasso : DT Byron Murphy II, Texas. "Dynamic upfield rushers on the inside are hard to come by, and that's precisely what Murphy is. He starred over the last two seasons at Texas and tested through the roof at the combine."

Edwards : DT Byron Murphy II, Texas. "The opportunity for a defensive player to get in the top 10 overall runs through the Bears or Falcons unless there is a trade. It would not be a surprise if Dallas Turner went that early, so Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell or Murphy would be the only potential 'surprises.'"

7. Which prospect could make the biggest leap into Round 1?

Wilson : EDGE Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan. "I've been talking about Marshawn Kneeland since the Senior Bowl, and the Western Michigan edge rusher has been impressive during the pre-draft process. He consistently wins with power and can line up just about anywhere. He'll need to continue to develop his pass-rush moves but at 6-3, 267, he looks the part. And more importantly, NFL teams are convinced that his best football is ahead of him."

Trapasso : LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M. "Most of the off-ball linebacker buzz is centered around Payton Wilson from NC State, and rightfully so. But Cooper is much younger, doesn't come with vast injury history, and is an explosive second-level defender too."

Edwards : EDGE Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan. "I've been saying this for weeks before it was trendy. There are a handful of teams in the second half of the first round that could address the position, including the Buccaneers , Lions and Cardinals ."

8. Which prospect could fall out of the first round?

Wilson : CB Nate Wiggins, Clemson. "Nate Wiggins could be a victim of circumstance. He's as close to a shutdown corner as you're going to get in today's NFL. And while he's long, his slight build may concern some teams, especially after Emmanuel Forbes , the Commanders first-round pick a year ago who played at 166 in college, struggled through his rookie campaign."

Trapasso : WR Ladd McConkey, Georgia. "And it'd be because of the injuries concerns, which we rarely hear much about during or even after the first round. McConkey's film is first-round caliber but he has a small frame and was banged up in 2023."

Edwards : C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon. "The hype surrounding Powers-Johnson exceeded reality. I think there is a good chance he will still get into the first round but I wanted to pick a player who is not already viewed as being on the fringe. I believe my picks each of the past two years were Nolan Smith (No. 30 overall) and Nakobe Dean (No. 83 overall); both ironically drafted by the Eagles ."

9. Which team do you expect to make the most surprising pick that shakes up the draft?

Wilson : Seahawks. "The Seahawks are always good for mixing things up and while it would be surprising, I don't know if it would be a complete shock if they took a quarterback in the first round. Would they consider, say, Michael Penix Jr., if he was on the board at No. 16? They've been noncommittal on Geno Smith and while, yes, they traded for Sam Howell , if they love Penix Jr., they could certainly double down on the position."

Trapasso : Broncos . "I cannot fathom Sean Payton and especially GM George Paton, the latter of whom is squarely on the hot seat, standing idly by as other teams pick quarterbacks and/or move up the board to get one."

Edwards : Cardinals. "While Seattle is usually my pick for this category, the Cardinals have two chances to meet the criteria. The Seahawks have never been concerned with general consensus and trying to win in the court of public approval. Arizona just has a lot of needs and could go in a number of directions."

10. Which current NFL player is most likely to get traded during draft weekend?

Wilson : WR Brandon Aiyuk , 49ers . "Brandon Aiyuk is the obvious choice. The Steelers have a need at wide receiver but they also have needs along the offensive line and in the secondary, and I don't know if it makes sense for them to part ways with a high draft pick and have to pay Aiyuk the deal he very much deserves. But there are other teams that are in the market for a WR, including the Jets , Saints and Bills , for starters."

Trapasso : WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers. "I know his agent is denying anything on the trade front with his star receiver client. But everything can change in a flash in the NFL. If the 49ers either pick a receiver in the first round or land one afterward, look out for an Aiyuk trade. I don't think they would want to pay a receiver upwards of $30 million per season, despite how darn good Aiyuk has become."

Edwards : WR Courtland Sutton , Broncos. "It has felt as though Sean Payton has been looking to trade Jerry Jeudy and Sutton since he arrived. Jeudy is now gone. Sutton could follow. Stefon Diggs and Haason Reddick had been the most obvious candidates but they have already relocated. Tee Higgins essentially admitted in a press conference that he has resigned to the idea that he will be playing on the franchise tag for the Bengals this season."

The 2024  NFL Draft  will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly  updated draft order ,  mock drafts  and a regularly available  look at the eligible prospects . 

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