Essay Focusing and Key Terms

Focusing Your Essay

• Pay close attention to what the prompt is asking, even during a timed essay exam, to avoid irrelevant details.

Key Terms

• Identify key terms in the essay prompt to determine the required approach.
• Determine if you need to analyze, describe, compare/contrast, or argue a position.
• Essay prompts can be nuanced and may require synthesizing arguments from specific sources or evaluating provided arguments.
• Jot down key terms to guide your response and ensure you address the prompt directly.

One-Sentence Response

• Develop a brief one-sentence response to the prompt, matching the required approach indicated by the key terms.
• For comparing views, summarize a major similarity or difference.
• For making an argument, set forth a persuasive position.
• If evaluating statements, weigh the merits of those statements.
• This statement can serve as the basis for your paper's thesis.
• Periodically glance back at your core response to ensure you are still supporting that statement.

Outline

• Sketch out an outline of your major points to stay organized.
• Whether timed or long-term, plotting out major points at the start of writing helps maintain structure.
• This allows you to concentrate on main points effectively within a well-organized structure.
• For example, structure the paper around three major points to argue that drugs should not be legalized in the U.S.:
  • Legalization would lead to increased drug use.
  • Legalization would lead to more young people becoming addicted early in life.
  • Legalization would lead to more crime due to an increase in the number of addicted drug users.
• Refer back to the one-sentence response and major outline points with each paragraph to ensure you stay on track.

Errors

• If you stray off-topic, it's important to correct it so you answer is as comprehensive as possible

Getting back on point

• If you wander off course, rein yourself back in to fully answer the prompt.
• On computer-based exams, revise already-written paragraphs.
• On handwritten exams, write on every other line to allow space for corrections.
• If you have sentences or paragraphs that do not directly support your response, you’ve gone off track.
• Edit out irrelevant information or add supporting details to reinforce the main point.
• If you haven't used the right approach, add persuasive statements to the paragraph.
• Make arguments explicit by adding sentences stating what you think should happen.