JOHN MCDONALD HOWE

How to Write an Examination Essay

         A history examination is "history" in both senses of the word: 1) it conveys a knowledge of the known human past; and 2) it critically documents that knowledge by arguments supported by evidence and allusions to primary sources. Memorizing a textbook will not guarantee a good essay. Careful preparation and thought are required.

Studying for an Essay Examination:

        Begin by reading your class notes and the texts' major chapter headings. What are the major themes? How do these relate? Or, more bluntly, what essays will the teacher ask? Write three or four logical essay questions on the top of separate sheets of scratch paper, one question to a sheet. Jot down the best answering thesis you can, and perhaps some logical supporting arguments. Then when you review the highlights and notes that you have made on the assigned readings, write down on the relevant note pages the ideas, facts, and examples that relate to the possible essays. After you have finished your test review, revise the outline for each question. Study these sheets prior to the test. If you are skilled and/or lucky, you may have guessed and outlined an examination essay in advance. At least you will have practiced essay organization, and gathered evidence that will probably be helpful in documenting related essay questions.
        Some teachers provide students in advance some possible essay questions.  Obviously this simplifies the process described above, but the basic preparation--creating note sheets for each essay, constructing a thesis that would answer it, and then assembling evidence to support the thesis by reviewing your class readings--remains the same.

The Pause before Writing:

        Think before you write. Some students write a brief outline of the arguments that support their theses. This takes time, but it avoids time lost due to repetitions and false starts.

Thesis:

        Every essay should have a main point, a thesis. It needs to be stated up front, because this particular overview, interpretation, or synthesis dictates the arguments and evidence that you will present. Normally an opening paragraph states the thesis, defines its terms and limits, and indicates how the essay will develop. Be specific. It is never satisfactory to have an opening paragraph that says only that "There are many reasons why Rome fell." Your opening paragraph should define what you mean by "Rome," what you mean by its "fall," and should list those reasons you believe are significant and will develop in subsequent paragraphs.

Supporting Arguments:

        Document your thesis with supporting arguments or examples. These usually require separate paragraphs, often arranged so that the argument is presented in an opening topic sentence, followed by documentation. Skip some lines between the supporting paragraphs, because then, if you remember some additional information, it can be easily inserted into the body of your essay.

Evidence:

        Arguments should be supported by evidence. Historians are particularly impressed when allusions are made to primary sources, such as those documents from The Medieval Sourcebook that you downloaded from the web, because critical historiography ultimately refers back to the best evidence whenever possible. How do you know if  you have documented your arguments sufficiently? One way is to count the proper nouns, that is, the names of particular persons, places, and things which in English are written with initial capital letters. An essay with almost no proper nouns is too abstract and fluffy. Another way is to count words such as "for example," "such as," "including," and so forth. If you use a number of these phrases, then your abstract arguments will be anchored in concrete reality.

Time:

        Pace yourself carefully in all examinations. Yet if you should run short of time in an essay examination, and cannot finish your essay, it is better to conclude with an outline of the points you would have made, rather than to leave major points of your case unstated.