College Essay Exam Tips

Manage test anxiety and ace your midterms and final essay exams

© Naomi Rockler-Gladen

Jan 7, 2007

The classroom is dead silent. Desks are cleared to make room for that dreaded blue book. Slowly the professor starts passing out the essay exam. "Fifty minutes," she says. "Good luck, students." Ugh! Most college students hate essay tests and suffer from at least a little test anxiety.

Relax. With a little practice, essay questions on midterms and finals are less difficult than you think. In my experience, students almost always do better on essay questions than on other test questions, especially the multiple choice! Here are some tips:

WHEN PREPARING FOR THE EXAM

• Know the material well. Time limits will be way less stressful if you can write about the material quickly.
• Practice! This may be the number one thing that will help you. If the professor gives you possible questions ahead of time, write out answers to these questions while you're studying. If you don't get the questions ahead of time, ask your professor for a sample question from a previous test, or look at someone's exam who took the class before.
• Know how the material fits together. Memorization probably isn't enough. Be able to describe the main point of the class, the main point of each lecture, and how it all fits together.

DURING THE EXAM

• Read the questions carefully, and ask your professor for clarification if you don't understand. This may sound obvious, but many students do poorly on essay exams because they don't follow directions.
• Before you start the essay, quickly write a well-organized outline. Make sure everything in the essay question is answered in your outline.
• Lose the filler! Answer what the question asks, and nothing else. No need to write a detailed introduction, because that wastes time.
• Lose the BS! Professors know when you're making stuff up. If you don't know, it's much better to admit that in your essay and then answer the question as closely as you can. The professor will respect that and may give you partial credit.
• Don't worry about handwriting. This isn't fourth grade. Yes, your exam has to be legible. But that's all.
• Don't worry too much about spelling and grammar. Professors know that it's difficult to complete a timed essay exam and will not be fussy about these things.
• If you come across a "compare and contrast" question, be sure to explain how the things in question are alike and the things in question are different. I find that students often don't do this well.
• Keep track of the time.

HOW TO HANDLE AN EXAM CRISIS

• If your mind goes blank, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Start scribbling down anything that comes to mind about the essay question, and the material will come back to you.
• If you're running out of time and don't have time to finish the question, answer the remainder of the question in outline form. Your professor may give you partial or even full credit.
• What if there's a choice of three essay questions and you don't know the answer to any of them? Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Start scribbling down information about the questions, and you'll find that you know something about them.
• What if you just plain didn't study and are about to bomb the test.? Sucks, doesn't it? Do the best you can , and earn as many points as possible. Then study your tail off for the next exam. Worrying won't help though, so stay calm.

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• How to form an effective study group
• Exam week snacks
• Study break music

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