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September 14, 2007

On essay questions

Categories: EDUC 110

Thanks to everyone for turning in your sample essay questions. There is some good stuff there; it demonstrates you are thinking about the material. In this post I will discuss what makes a good essay question, what those questions require from students, and give some suggestions for how to answer essay questions.

1. Good essay questions:
Good essay questions are designed to test "higher order thinking skills". These skills go beyond memorization of material. They are the skills you use when you evaluate alternatives, state preferences and reasons for those preferences, and give examples of concepts.

Since good essay questions ask for more than just a restatement of material covered in class, these are NOT particularly good essay questions (all of these are taken from student cards):
-- List and describe the four goals of schooling.
-- List and describe the versions of school choice. What are the issues/problems with these versions?
-- What are the similarities and differences between the conservative and reconstructive purposes of education?
All of the above simply ask you to remember stuff we talked about in class. Multiple choice questions do that just fine.

These are examples of good essay questions:
-- Is teaching a profession? Why or why not?
-- Given the four purposes of schooling, which one do you see as taking precedence in schools today? What evidence is there for this emphasis? Do you agree with this emphasis? Why or why not?
-- Parker contrasts the concepts of "idiot" and "citizen". Do schools do a good job of producing citizens instead of idiots? How could schools change to better meet Parker's goals?

2. Good essay questions require the student to use what they have read and/or discussed in class as evidence to support a position. Notice how all of the above good questions do require you to remember some of what we have talked about in class. But you don't just spit it back out; you use it to construct an argument or position about the material. In that construction, you go above and beyond what was discussed in class, applying the material in a new way. The third question, for example, would require you to know what Parker means by "idiot" and "citizen". It also asks you to consider his ideas about how schools can produce citizens. From those things, which come straight from Parker, you construct your argument about whether or not schools do a good job of producing citizens and how they could improve to meet that goal.

3. The key in answering an essay question is the same as writing a good essay -- have a strong thesis that gives the essay direction, then use your knowledge to provide evidence that supports your thesis. Before you plunge into answering the essay, take a minute to make some notes in the margins that will help you write it. Go ahead and write out your thesis as well, even before you actually begin answering the essay question (although in an essay question it's generally fine to begin the answer with your thesis. With the question about Parker above, you would make some notes about what idiot and citizen mean for Parker, some notes about how Parker thinks schools can produce citizens, then some notes about how you think schools should change to better fit Parker's goals. You could then come up with a thesis like "Given Parker's definition of "idiot" and "citizen", current schools do not do a good job of promoting the deliberation required to be a citizen. Having smaller classes and fewer standardized tests would help schools to meet Parker's goals." Then, in the essay, you will briefly define those two key terms, discuss why deliberation is important for a citizen, talk about how schools don't promote deliberation, then present your two ways in which schools could change and how they would promote deliberation. It sounds like a lot, but you could do it in 15-20 sentences. Remember that your time is limited, so get to the point. Also remember that I know your time is limited, so I am not expecting tons of exposition. Figure out they key things you need to talk about to express your argument, then concentrate on those.

I hope this is helpful! Good luck studying.

Posted by Nakia at September 14, 2007 11:58 AM