Answering Essay Questions

Answers to essay questions on exams should:

1) ARGUE SOMETHING.

2) Have an introduction, a thesis, supports for the thesis, and a conclusion.

3) Show off what you have learned so far in the course (concepts and examples).

4) Define any concepts or time periods germane to the question.

5) Be filled with examples to illustrate your points. Examples should be linked back to the thesis to show the author what point you were trying to make with the example. It's not always as obvious as students believe!

Student Affairs has produced another tip sheet for essay questions. Check out: http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/uls/documents/Tipsforansweringessayquestions.pdf.

Photo is Dr. Tan showing digital pictures to kids in Rajliya, Rajasthan, India, December 2004

Updated: October 14, 2009

Author: tanp@uncw.edu

Back to Dr. Tan's homepage: http://people.uncw.edu/tanp/

Back to Dr. Tan's Course Resources page: http://people.uncw.edu/tanp/CourseResources.html.