What are the Appropriate Methods and Techniques to Answer Examination Questions? Discover Best Strategies - That Really Work!

Abstract:

Do you fully understand the instructions you're being given in the questions? The glossary of common exam terms is designed to help you better understand what's required when you see these words in an exam setting.

How do you write a perfect answer? Is there any importance to the way it is presented? Will writing everything you have learned fetch you full marks? With final exams just around the corner, there are a lot of thoughts right now confusing a student. One among those got to be about writing the perfect answer. With a lot of sections and different types of questions, answers should be written accordingly. Nobody is going to give you extra marks if you write a paragraph for a one-word answer. In fact, it creates the exact opposite impression.

Keywords: Multiple Choice, True or False, Short Answer, Essay Questions and Oral Questions 

Introduction:

Multiple choice, true or false, short answer and essay questions, whatever type, there are chances are sure to face them as students. You’ll come face-to-face with all of them during final assessments.

Glossary of Common Examination Terms

Advise (on) - Provide specific advice about something

(Critically) Analyse - Discuss the main ideas/components of an idea or theory, explaining why they are important and how they’re related

(Critically) Assess - Determine the value or importance of something; identify strengths and weaknesses and draw your own conclusion

Calculate - Work out and show your workings/calculations

Comment on - State your views and opinions on the topic clearly, backing up your points with evidence and examples

Compare - List similarities (and sometimes differences) in two or more examples, perhaps reaching a conclusion about which is preferable and justifying why

Compute - Reckon or calculate (a figure or amount)

Consider - Identify advantages and disadvantages or strengths and weaknesses in argument and justify your own position and conclusion

Contrast - List points of difference between examples; set in opposition in order to clearly show the differences 

Compare and Contrast - Identify different views on a topic/subject and show both similarities and differences

Define - State the precise meaning of a word or phrase as outlined in reliable sources; in some cases it might be necessary or desirable to examine different definitions and outline limitations

Describe - Give in detail the main features or characteristics of the topic

Determine - Work out and show your workings/calculations

Differentiate/Distinguish between - Look for differences between

Discuss - Explain, giving several different views on the issue; explore similarities and differences and draw conclusions on the possible implications as well as giving your own position on the issue

(Critically) Evaluate - Make an appraisal of the importance/usefulness/accuracy of something, stressing both advantages and limitations and back this up with relevant theories or evidence

Examine - Investigate a subject/topic in detail

Explain - Make clear or plain, giving details about how and why something is the way it is, perhaps using a step by step approach

Identify - Pinpoint a fact or a figure or an example or an argument or a theoretical position

Illustrate - Make your points clearer with the use of specific examples, figures, diagrams, graphs etc.

Interpret - Outline what something means in simple terms and give your judgement or comments in relation to the issue

Justify - Present convincing evidence and reasons to support your argument and answer the main objections likely to be made about them

List - Present concise, itemised information in bullet points or table form

Outline - Give an overview of a subject in an organised way, without going into too much detail

Prepare - Make ready for use or consideration

Present - Put forward for consideration; show or display

Provide - Put forward or set down

Set Out - Outline or put in a specific arrangement

Show - Justify each step, providing a convincing argument/explanation

State - Present in a brief, clear form without too much detail or examples

Support - Back up your argument/discussion with evidence and examples

Here are some tips to write the perfect answer that will get you full marks.

A. Common Strategies to Adopt for Answering Questions 

1.Go through all questions attentively 

The first thing that you must be doing when you get your question paper is to read the whole thing. Don’t worry about the time in doing so. Understand each question and find which ones you are thorough with and which ones you are not. Start with the one that you know clearly and leave the difficult ones for last. This method will boost your confidence.

2.Practice for Good handwriting

A good handwriting can do wonders. It is the first impression about your paper and it has to the best one. It is not really necessary to have beautiful handwriting. It is more than enough if your paper is neat with margins and proper spacing.

3.Write your answer Structured way

Before you actually write an answer, structure the answer in your mind. An essay question will need a different structuring when compared to short answer questions. However, the introduction should make your point clear. For an essay, the last paragraph should be the concluding part. Elaboration, comparisons, examples, etc. can come in the middle.

4.Be simple in use of words and sentences, but remember your grammar must be ok. 

Use simple language for all your answers, except when you are writing your language paper which demands advanced vocabulary and literary skills. There is no point if the invigilator can’t understand your answer.

5. Answer concisely; Don’t write everything you know

It is absolutely a waste of time if you write everything you know about a topic, even when it is an essay. It is important to directly come to the point. For essays, the introduction should contain the proper definition or a brief on the topic. 

6.Review your answers after answering 

After you have finished your answer, go through it once and check if you have missed a point. Grammatical and spelling mistakes should also be corrected upon review.

7.Choose questions cleverly 

For questions that have a choice, take a minute to clearly understand the choices. Try to structure answers for both questions and then pick the one which feels more comfortable. Remember, a hasty decision here could cost you a lot of marks.

8.Attempt all the questions, as instructed in the question paper 

Attempting all the questions is necessary even if you don’t really know the answer. The question might be wrong or out of the syllabus or your vague answer could possibly be the right one. You won’t lose anything answering it.

B. Type of Questions Specific Answering Strategies to Adopt 

To help you get across exactly how to tackle each different type of question, we’ve put together a quick step-by-step guide.

Go through these steps categorically according to questions pattern.

1. Multiple choice questions

Step 1: 

Read instructions carefully and understand what they’re asking you to do.

Step 2: 

Work out how long to spend on each multiple choice question and try to stick to the time limit you decide for each.

Step 3:

Underline/highlight key words or phrases in the question. This will allow you to better understand exactly what’s being asked of you.

Step4

Read all of the options before answering. Options in multiple choice questions are often designed to make the choice difficult, so make sure to read all of the options before answering.

Step 5:

Take special note of the question’s wording. Keep in mind absolutes, like “always” and “guaranteed,” as well as negatives, like “never” or “not” as these can sometimes allow you to eliminate certain options.

Step 6:

Take note of subjective terms such as “choose the best answer”, and negative terms, such as “choose the statement that is not correct.”

Step 7:

Use a process of elimination. If you have difficulty determining the correct answer, try eliminating the options you know are incorrect and focusing on what remains.

Step 8:

Don’t get stuck – come back to it later. If you still can’t answer the question, don’t waste time going around in circles, skip it and come back to it later. You might remember the answer in the meantime!

2. True or false questions

Step 1:

Approach each statement as if it were true. For a sentence to be true, every part must be “true.”

Step2 :

Pay attention for “qualifiers”. Look out for words like “sometimes, seldom, few, always, every, often, frequently, never, generally, or ordinarily.”

Don’t let “negatives” confuse you. 

Step 3:

Negatives, such as “no, not, cannot”, can be confusing within the context of a true/false sentence or statement. 

Step 4:

If a true/false sentence contains a negative, drop the negative word and then read what remains.

3. Short answer questions

Step1:

Know how much time you have to answer the question. 

Step2:

Figure out how long you can spend on each and stick to it.

Step 3:

Read the question carefully to understand it fully. Short answer questions often ask you to provide a definition for one of the terms or concepts covered in your subject, or present a short argument in response to a question. 

Step4:

Analyse the task and understand exactly what it’s asking you to do. Identify the direction or instruction words, as these help you determine what the examiner expects from your answer.

Step 5:

Plan. Short answer questions usually require paragraph-length answers. It’s best to plan your response before writing it, thinking through your main argument and the evidence or examples you will use to back it up. You should structure your response the same way you would structure a body paragraph of an essay.

Step 6:

Write your response following the structure of an essay. Write in full sentences using appropriate academic language conventions (avoid contractions, colloquialisms, informal language, first-person pronouns, and so on). 

Step 7:

Take care to use technical and subject-specific terms correctly. 

Step 8:

Write in clear, full paragraphs. Remember, it’s the quality of your response, not the length of your response, which will get you the marks!

Step 9:

Read over your answer afterwards to check for mistakes, as well as the clarity of your writing, spelling and punctuation.

4. Essay questions

Step 1:

Analyse the task. 

Step 2:

First, identify the direction or instruction words, as these help you determine what the examiner expects from your answer. 

Step 3:

Select the essay topic’s direction word.

Step 4:

Read. Read the question carefully to understand it fully. If you have a choice of essay topic, reflect on each option to decide which you feel most comfortable answering.

Identify topic words and underline/highlight them– that is, what the essay question or statement is about.

Step 5:

Use your time effectively. Figure out how much time you have to complete your response. This will influence the length of your essay, as well as how much you cover. For example, if the essay was worth 75% of the exam’s grade, and the exam was of two hours’ duration, you would aim to spend about 1 hour and 30 minutes on the essay.

Step 6:

Brainstorm. Think back to the material covered in your lectures, tutorials and readings, then brainstorm responses to the essay topic for a few minutes. 

Step 7:

Once you have some ideas down, choose which ones to focus on in your essay. They should be highly relevant to the essay topic and you should be able to support them with appropriate evidence or examples. 

Step 8:

Also determine the position or argument that will form the basis of your essay.

Step 9:

Write an essay plan. The most important feature of a high quality essay answer is a logical argument supported by high quality evidence. Therefore, you need to spend a few minutes planning your response. 

Step 10

Jot down your overall argument and several (usually 3-4) key points. Note what supporting evidence or examples you will use to support each of your points.

Step 11:

Structure. Outline your essay structure before you begin writing. An essay in an exam follows the same structure as an essay assignment. Work from the standard essay structure – 

Introduction, 

Body Paragraphs, 

Conclusion 

– Outlining what you will discuss in each paragraph.

Step 12:

Write. Now, with plan to work from and a clear position to argue, start writing! As with any academic essay, you are expected to write in full sentences using appropriate academic language conventions (avoid contractions, slang, informal language, and so on). 

Step 13:

Use technical and subject-specific terms to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding. Body paragraphs should begin with a clear topic sentence, contain evidence and examples to support this statement, and be linked back to the overall argument of the essay.

Step 14:

Proof your work. Save a few minutes at the end of your exam to read over the essay and check for mistakes.

Problem solving questions

Usually these types of questions target formulae, steps in a process, or rules.

5. Problem solving questions

Step 1: 

Make sure you write down relevant formulas, equations, and rules. 

Step 2:

Important: For numerical problems involving computation, make sure you include the appropriate mathematical units in your final answer (e.g. ml, m/sec).

Step 3:

Clearly show the steps you have taken in working out the answers. 

Step 4:

If necessary, write notes to explain your answers.

Step 5: 

Do the easier answers first, and return to the difficult ones later.

6. Oral Exams

Oral examinations allow students to respond directly to the instructor’s questions and/or to present prepared statements. 

These exams are especially popular in language courses that demand ‘speaking’ but they can be used to assess understanding in almost any course by following the guidelines for the composition of short answer questions. 

Some of the principle advantages to oral exams are that they provide nearly immediate feedback and so allow the student to learn as they are tested. 

There are two main drawbacks to oral exams: the amount of time required and the problem of record-keeping. Oral exams typically take at least ten to fifteen minutes per student, even for a midterm exam. As a result, they are rarely used for large classes. 

Furthermore, unlike written exams, oral exams don’t automatically generate a written record. 

To ensure that students have access to written feedback, it is recommended that instructors take notes during oral exams using a rubric and/or checklist and provide a photocopy of the notes to the students.

In many departments, oral exams are rare. Students may have difficulty adapting to this new style of assessment. In this situation, consider making the oral exam optional. 

While it can take more time to prepare two tests, having both options allows students to choose the one which suits them and their learning style best.

Final Advice 

If you are in need of a little confidence boost, right now, Do email me.

Trust me, I will help you with more details and examples.

So, by now you know how to write a perfect answer. 

Keep these points in mind and write accordingly. 

All the very best for your exams.

Good luck!