PREPARING FOR ESSAY TESTS 161 answer. How close is your question to the real question? You may want to review Chapter 7, “Knowing What You Know”; and Chapter 8,“Knowing When You Don’t Know.” CORRECTING YOUR WRITING All writers find that they think a lot faster than they write. This means there are often words missing, or extra words, or word endings on the paper that the writer did not plan to put there. As you know, nobody can write as fast as they think! So once you’ve written down your answer to an essay question, you should go back over it to correct it. It’s usually OK (and expected!) to mark up the exam book, showing where you want a sentence or paragraph to go, crossing out words you don’t want, and the like. Use Your Learning Style to Polish Your Writing In the revising and editing phase of your essay test, you can still use your strongest learning style. • If you learn best by hearing: Read what you’ve written softly to yourself. Read slowly and carefully. Listen to your own voice. Pretend you’re the exam grader. Is what you’re hearing the mean- ing you meant to convey? • If you learn best by seeing: Carefully and slowly read what you’ve written, looking carefully for spelling, grammar, and content errors. • If you learn best by order: Grammar probably comes to you more easily than spelling. Check your spelling by reading softly to yourself; take it word by word so you don’t miss any subtle mistakes. • If you learn best by using images: You’re on order alert. First check that the descriptions you’ve written follow a clear order, before you check grammar and spelling. As you read softly to yourself, compare what you see with what you hear. 1. 2. 3. HOW TO STUDY 162 • If you learn best by doing or moving: Check your grammar by softly tapping your foot to the rhythm of what you wrote, feeling for when the beat doesn’t match what’s familiar. This is another way of associating what you see with what you hear. Check your spelling by following along in writing with a pencil eraser and reading softly to yourself. Also look out for missing words—you might have been writing fast, in an attempt to keep up with your thinking! Remember—your own learning style is a combination! You might also have discovered other ways of writing and correcting that work for you. For example, let’s make up a sentence someone could have written on an imaginary test question about steam-engine regulations. Maybe you were thinking, and thought you wrote, “Those rules don’t apply any- more.” But, since the writing was trying to keep up with the thinking, what you wrote was something like, “Those rules aply anymore.” By read- ing out loud carefully and slowly, you could hear the missing don’t and see the missing p in apply. Whenever you say to yourself, “That doesn’t sound right,” or “That doesn’t look right,” go back and check. Check for any- thing on the paper that is different from what you are saying. You want to make sure what you’re reading is the same as what you were thinking! IN SHORT On an essay test, you’re answering specific questions. First, you need to understand what’s being asked of you. Then, you need to come up with specific answers. You focus on the meaning, on the idea, of what you want to say so the reader knows what you think and feel. After you’re satisfied with what your writing is saying, you then check that what you’ve written looks and sounds the way you want it to. Since it’s a test, you’ll first answer the questions you know for sure, and save the more challenging ones for later. This will save you time and energy! PREPARING FOR ESSAY TESTS 163 Practice Tips Practice writing “on call,” without having much time to prepare. Write several questions you could imagine being asked on an essay exam. Cut each one into a strip, putting all the strips in a jar. Make a note of the time. Pull a strip out of the jar and answer the question written on it, using some of the suggestions in this chapter. Remember to: • Use your learning style to help you come up with an answer. • Answer it fully. • Check that the images and order make sense. • Check your grammar and spelling. Note the time again. How long did it take you to finish your answer? Are you likely to have more or less time on the real test? On another day, repeat this exercise, choosing a new question and also timing your answer. Now’s the time to retake the TEST YOUR STUDY SMARTS SURVEY, if you’ve read all of this book through this page. If you’ve been reading according to what interests you, or what you feel you need, WAIT until you have completed the entire book before retaking the survey. If you answered the questions on the first survey carefully and honestly, you’ll get a clearer picture of what you know about how you learn—and what you now do about it—by waiting until you have finished the book. It’s comparing your answers to the same questions, before and after reading the book, that shows you the progress you’ve made! (What’s tricky is that if you answered the questions quickly, with- out much thought the first time, and now, the second time, you answer them carefully, you may not have an accurate register.) HOW TO STUDY 164 TEST YOUR STUDY SMARTS SURVEY Circle the number that reflects how you feel, or the likeliness of what you do o r don’t do. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers. (Remember, it’s important to think carefully and to respond accurately for the survey to work!) As the numbers go up, it means the feeling, or likeliness, increases. Number 1 means “dread”—you feel awful. Number 2 means you’re not dreading it, but you feel pretty uncomfortable. Number 3 means you feel a little uncomfortable. Number 4 is neutral—you don’t care one way or the other. Number 5 means you feel a little comfortable, but not very much. Number 6 means you feel pretty comfortable. Number 7 means “delight”—you feel terrific, couldn’t feel better. For each question, think about being in a learning or studying situation, such as being in a class. I f you spoke another language before English, do this section first. If English is your first language, skip this section. Think about your feelings towards your first language, your “mother tongue.” How do you feel about reading? 1234567 How do you feel about listening? 1234567 How do you feel about writing? 1234567 How do you feel about speaking? 1234567 _________________________________________________________ I n this section, think about how you feel using English. How do you feel about reading? 1234567 How do you feel about listening? 1234567 How do you feel about writing? 1234567 How do you feel about speaking? 1234567 How do you feel about math? 1234567 How do you feel about algebra? 1234567 PREPARING FOR ESSAY TESTS 165 _________________________________________________________ F o r this se ction, circle the answer that you feel applies to you now. Are you comfortable working with others? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you take notes (in writing or on cassette tape) while you read or listen? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you ask yourself questions as you read or listen? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you ask yourself questions as you write or calculate? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you make pictures in your head as you read or listen? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you make pictures in your head as you write or calculate? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you re-read what you’ve written? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Do you read what you’ve written out loud? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Now’s the time to FIND OUT THE DIFFERENCE between how you studied before reading this book and how you’re studying (and feeling about studying) now. Go back to page xiii, at the end of the Introduction, and compare your answers. What do you think? . the beat doesn’t match what’s familiar. This is another way of associating what you see with what you hear. Check your spelling by following along in writing with a pencil eraser and reading. go back and check. Check for any- thing on the paper that is different from what you are saying. You want to make sure what you’re reading is the same as what you were thinking! IN SHORT On an. TESTS 163 Practice Tips Practice writing “on call,” without having much time to prepare. Write several questions you could imagine being asked on an essay exam. Cut each one into a strip, putting all