How long is an essay question
Example Prompts and StrategiesMost essay questions contain an action word that you can use to help you organize your response to that question. In general, there are six of these action words. Click the actions to jump to that section. Show
Please note: Sample answers are short - always give more detail in your answers! DefineAnswering definition questions:
Strategies to use in answering definition questions:
Illustrations of definition answersTypical definition questions would look like this: Question: Define acid precipitation. Strong answer: Acid precipitation is rain, snow or fog with a pH lower than the pH of un‐contaminated rain. Avoid answers like: Acid rain damages lakes and trees, and kills fish.
Question: Choose 2 terms from the following list and define them: Elements, Compounds, Chemical Bonds, Polarity, Solution Strong answer: Elements cannot be broken down to other substances by ordinary chemical means. A solution is a liquid consisting of a uniform mixture of two or more substances. Avoid answers like: There are 92 elements. A solution has both solvents and solutes.
Question: Define a citation‐sequence format in the Council of Science Editors (CSE) style. Strong answer: The citation‐sequence format is one of three in‐text CSE formats. It uses a superscript number or a number in parentheses after any mention of a source. The sources are numbered in the order they appear and each number refers to the same source every time it is used. Avoid answers like: T he citation‐sequence format is one of 3 formats used for in‐text citations.
Question: What is Kinesthesia? Strong answer: Kinesthesia is the sense that tells you where the parts of your body are with respect to each other. Avoid answers like: Kinesthesia helps guide eye‐hand coordination.
AnalyzeAnswering analysis questions: The analysis question asks you to break something down into its component parts and, in some instances, relate those parts to other parts or systems within the whole.
Strategies to use in answering analysis questions: 1. Sketch the relationship between the parts as a way of helping you write your answer without forgetting a component. 2. Take advantage of transitional phrases which will help you make the links between the component parts. Examples of transitional phrases are:
Illustrations of analysis answersTypical analysis questions and answers would look like this: Question: Analyze the five major types of hormones that regulate plant growth and development. Strong answer: The five major types of hormones that regulate plant growth and development are Auxins, Cytokinins, Gibberellins, Abscisic Acid, and Ethylene. First, Auxins stimulate stem ... and are found in ... as well as ... Second, Cytokinins affect ... and are found in roots and transported to other parts. Third, Gibberellins promote seed germination ... and are found in young leaves ... Fourth, Abscisc Avid inhibits growth, ... and are found in leaves, stems, ... and Fifth, Ethylene promotes fruit ripening, ... Each hormone has multiple effects, depending on its site of action, its concentration, and developmental stage of the plant. Generally, no single hormone acts alone. Instead, it is usually the behavior of several plant hormones and their relative concentrations that controls the growth and development of a plant. Avoid answers like: There are five hormones that sort‐of work together to promote plant growth.
Question: Discuss the three approaches psychologists have taken to understand human perception. Strong answer: Psychologists have taken three main approaches in their efforts to understand human perception. First, is the computational approach. These psychologists try to determine the computations that a machine would have to perform to solve perceptual problems in an effort to help explain how complex computations within the human nervous system might turn raw sensory stimulation into a representation of the world. The computational approach owes much to two earlier approaches: The constructive approach which . . . and the ecological approach which . . . Avoid answers like: There are a couple of approaches (constructive and ecological) that have led to the computational approach. All three do things differently in experiments with human and animal perception.
Cause & EffectAnswering cause & effect questions: Cause and effect questions usually are one of two types: Type 1: the question that gives you a “cause” and asks you to trace the probable “effects” of that cause Type 2: the question that gives you an “effect” and asks you to discuss or analyze the probable “cause(s)” of that effect.
Strategies to use in answering cause & effect questions:
Illustrations of cause & effect answersTypical cause & effect questions and answers would look like this: Question: In 100 words or less describe the effects of major movement between the North American and Pacific plates along the San Andreas Fault? Strong answer: The movement of the North American and Pacific crustal plates led to the formation of the mountain ranges on the western coast of North America. As the two plates continue to grind along their boundaries they are potential sources of earthquakes and volcanoes as demonstrated by California’s frequent earthquakes. Avoid answers like: When the plates move they cause earthquakes and cause all kind of destruction.
Question: Discuss the three approaches psychologists have taken to understand human perception. Strong answer: The three approaches to understanding human perception are the computational approach, the constructivist approach and the ecological approach. Psychologists who use the computational approach try to determine the computations a machine would have to perform to solve perceptional problems. By so doing, they believe these computations in machines will help to understand how humans and animals to turn sensory stimuli into a representation of the world. The computational approach uses much information from two earlier, but still influential, views of perception: the constructivist approach and the ecological approach. The constructivist approach emphasizes the theory that perception is strongly influenced by expectations and inferences built on past experiences, i.e. prior knowledge whereas the ecological approach emphasizes the information provided by the environment. Avoid answers like: There are a couple of approaches that look at perception that are old and one that is in use now.
Compare & ContrastAnswering compare & contrast questions: Compare and contrast usually are phrased in one of three ways:
Strategies to use in answering compare & contrast questions:
Illustrations of compare & contrast answersTypical compare & contrast questions and answers would look like this: Question: Which musical genre would you prefer to listen to: Jazz or Reggae? Why? Strong answer: I would prefer to listen to Jazz because of the heavy reliance of Jazz on brass and piano versus the use of drums in Reggae. In addition, I prefer the slower rhythms of Jazz versus the quicker, more animated rhythms of Reggae. Avoid answers like: I don’t like either one. I only listen to rock.
Question: Compare and contrast voter trends in the United States since the 1950’s. Strong answer: Voter turnout since 1952 has steadily declined in the United States with turnout in non‐southern states declining from over 70% to less than 60% while voter turnout increased in southern states from less than 40% to over 50%. A number of socioeconomic factors which impacted the rate of turnout in the 1950’s (race, gender, age) have been found to have very little impact on voter turnout in the 2000’s. Nonetheless, level of education appears to have a continued impact on voter turnout. This is demonstrated by data from a 2004 study which showed that level of education is directly related to 5 different forms of political participation. For instance, those individuals with a college degree voting at a rate of 93% as compared to 54% of those individuals with a grade school diploma. Even with these changes, there remains a10% drop in voter turnout in the U. S. which researchers have yet to explain. Avoid answers like: Voter turnout has declined since the 1950’s and is lower than all of the European elections.
Process Analysis / Describe / ListAnswering process questions: Process questions are designed to test the depth of your knowledge about a subject and your ability to analyze how the various components (i.e. processes) of a system contributed to create the whole. As such, process questions are almost always chronological or linear and involve multiple, sequential steps. Process questions will most often look like:
Strategies to use in answering process questions:
Illustrations of process answers:Typical process questions and answers would look like this: Question: List the levels in a hierarchical classification and concomitant binomial of the domestic cat. Strong answer: From specific to more general, the classification of the domestic cat includes Species (Felix Catus), Genus (Felix), Family (Felidae), Order (Carnivora), Class (Mammalia), Phylum (Chordata), Kingdom (Animalia), and Domain (Eukarya). Avoid answers like: The domestic housecat is a mammal and carnivore.
Question: Define the three basic memory processes and the Process Types which support them. Strong answer: The three basic memory processes are Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Encoding involves using Acoustic, Visual, or Semantic Codes to help store an item in memory. The storage process involves maintaining the item in memory using episodic, procedural or semantic types of long‐term memory. The retrieval involves recovering the item from memory using recall or recognition. Avoid answers like: The three processes of memory are encoding, storage and retrieval.
Supported Opinion (Defend or Refute)Answering supported opinion questions: The supported opinion essay is the most demanding essay question your professor will ask. Not only do you have to know the material, you have to have analyzed it and taken an opinion about the material that you can support with facts and figures (i.e. documented). This type of question is not one you can cram for the night before the class. Rather it requires consistent long‐term study and internalization of the content. Typical supported opinion questions can look like:
Strategies to use in answering supported answer questions:
Illustrations of supported opinion answersTypical supported opinion questions and answers would look like this: Question: Despite criticism to the contrary, television and video games aids in the socializing process of our children. Defend or refute. Strong answer: I believe television and/or video games are detrimental to the socialization of children for the following reasons: Lack of parental monitoring, exposure to repeated violence, inactivity leading to obesity and poor large muscle development and strength, and lack of socialization with peers. (The remainder of the essay would provide the documentation of each point.) Avoid answers like: I believe television and/or video games are detrimental to the socialization of children for several reasons such as lots of seat time, sleeping late, and loosing track of time.
How long should an exam essay question be?"Essay question"- An essay question on an exam should be at least a full page in length, but longer is probably better. If you're using a blue book, the essay should be at least two pages long. "Write a short paper"- A short paper is normally three to five pages long.
How many paragraphs is an essay question?An essay needs at least 3 paragraphs due to its structure. As any professional essay writer or teacher will tell you, an essay is a formal and “expository” piece of writing. In other words, it's designed to thoroughly explain a topic in some depth.
How long is a short essay question?A regular essay will be 3 pages at least. If we use those two examples as extremes, we can confidently say that a short essay will be somewhere in the middle—roughly 2 pages, give or take. There are roughly 300 words per every double-spaced page of Times New Roman 12 point font print.
How many words is a short essay question?Each short essay should be a short essay of approximately 500 words, about 2 typewritten double-spaced pages in length. You must write in full sentences and use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 2. Your essay should answer the assigned question, drawing on the relevant reading assignment.
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