Assignment: Taking Essay Exams: Step 4- Prepare A Brief, Informal Outline Before Answering An Essay Question

Study Skills 101
2022-08-27T22:41:12Z

Due: Aug 1, 2022 by 11:59pm

After you have annotated your question, do a quick mind dump using the margin of the exam or a separate piece of scratch paper to jot down quickly, as they occur to you, the main points you want to discuss in each answer. Then decide in what order you want to present these points in your response. Put a 1 in front of the first item, two beside the second, and so on. You now have an informal outline to guide you as you answer your essay question.

If a question on the exam is similar to the questions you anticipated and outlined at home, quickly write down the catchphrase that calls back the outline's content. Below the slogan, write the keywords represented by each letter in the catchphrase. The keywords, in turn, will remind you of the concepts they represent. If you have adequately prepared, this step will take only a minute, and you will have the guidance you need to write a focused, supported, organized answer.

An Illustration of Step 4:

Carl immediately wrote down his catchphrase, "Tom Smother's cat ran outside the dressing room." He next jotted down the first letters in his slogan and then the keywords that went with each letter. He then filled in several vital details and was ready to write his essay answer.

Here is what Carl's brief outline looked like:

(Langan, 1978/1989, p. 240)

Please click on the link below and watch "How to Create A Clearly Structured Outline."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzfnDbZCRQ

Please click and respond to "Taking Essay Exams: Preparing A Brief Informal Outline Discussion."

You May Access The Discussion Here

You May Access The Associated Rubric Here

References:

Langan, J. (1989). Reading and study skills (pp. 239-240). Mcgraw-Hill. (Original work published 1978)

Scribbr. (2021). How to Create a Clearly Structured Essay Outline | Scribbr. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzfnDbZCRQ

After you have annotated your question, do a quick mind dump using the margin of the exam or a separate piece of scratch paper to jot down quickly, as they occur to you, the main points you want to discuss in each answer. Then decide in what order you want to present these points in your response. Put a 1 in front of the first item, two beside the second, and so on. You now have an informal outline to guide you as you answer your essay question.

If a question on the exam is similar to the questions you anticipated and outlined at home, quickly write down the catchphrase that calls back the outline's content. Below the slogan, write the keywords represented by each letter in the catchphrase. The keywords, in turn, will remind you of the concepts they represent. If you have adequately prepared, this step will take only a minute, and you will have the guidance you need to write a focused, supported, organized answer.

An Illustration of Step 4:

Carl immediately wrote down his catchphrase, "Tom Smother's cat ran outside the dressing room." He next jotted down the first letters in his slogan and then the keywords that went with each letter. He then filled in several vital details and was ready to write his essay answer.

Here is what Carl's brief outline looked like:

(Langan, 1978/1989, p. 240)

Please click on the link below and watch "How to Create A Clearly Structured Outline."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzfnDbZCRQ

Please click and respond to "Taking Essay Exams: Preparing A Brief Informal Outline Discussion."

You May Access The Discussion Here

You May Access The Associated Rubric Here

References:

Langan, J. (1989). Reading and study skills (pp. 239-240). Mcgraw-Hill. (Original work published 1978)

Scribbr. (2021). How to Create a Clearly Structured Essay Outline | Scribbr. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzfnDbZCRQ