I  Introduction

This brief document addresses only the most basic considerations in writing essay exams.  It is not a substitute for having mastered a good book on critical thinking (e.g., Vincent R. Ruggiero, The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought),  a good reference work on writing (e.g., Diane E. Schmidt, Expository Writing in Political Science:  A Practical Guide), and a good grammar book (e.g., Corder and Ruszkiewicz, Handbook of Current English).

Essay questions test not only your command of a specific body of knowledge, but also your ability to think and write.  While all essay questions demand basic writing skills, essays vary in the amount and type of analysis they require.  All essays, however, require the student correctly identify the requested task, marshall the required elements of an essay, and then write a direct, well-organized response.

II Task and Subject Identification

The first thing that must be done is to carefully read the essay question noting the key words which identify the task (i.e., usually the verbs) and the subject matter (i.e., usually the nouns and any modifiers).

Any number of different tasks may be required in one essay.  While all instructors do not use the following definitions, what follows is a list of frequently used terms and the task to which they refer:
 

• Analyze         Identify elements and discuss the relationships
• Classify         Place cases into classes or categories
• Compare       Point out the likeness
• Contrast        Point out the differences
• Criticize        Discuss strengths and weaknesses
• Describe       Provide information on the key features
• Discuss         Describe and (analyze, explain, evaluate, etc.)
• Evaluate        Rate something on specific criteria
• Explain          Make clear, give reasons/causes for
• Illustrate        Give one or more examples of
• Interpret        Give an explanation or clarify the meaning of
• Justify            Defend, show to be desirable, right or correct
• Review          Examine on a broad scale
• Significance   Show why something is meaningful
• Summarize    Briefly go over the essentials


If there is any doubt in your mind ask your instructor what the requirement is for the particular essay in question.

A final note on tasks.  Look for clues about the degree of emphasis that should be given to each task.  For example, if directed to "Briefly describe and then explain in detail ..." clearly the instructor wants most of your effort directed at the explanatory portion and not the descriptive portion of the essay.

 Identify the nature and breadth of the subject matter by paying particular attention to the nouns and adjectives in the question.  You must respond directly, completely, and only to the specified subject matter.  By direct it is meant that your answer is straight forward and focused on the subject from the beginning.  Complete means all the specified elements (both task and subject) are included in the essay.  Finally, resist the temptation to show that you have command of all the knowledge in the universe on a related topic.  In an essay exam time is scarce and each minute spent writing on an extraneous topic lowers your score by one point.

All essays should have a beginning, middle, and end.  The introduction and the summary/conclusion, are the shorter components of the essay.  The introduction tells the reader what the subject and thesis are, the body contains the evidence supporting the thesis, and the conclusion summarizes the main points supporting the central thesis.

The exact form of the introduction will vary with the required task; however, the primary function of the introduction is to present the topic and state the central thesis or conclusion of the essay.  For example, the subject matter may be effectiveness of US presidents and the specific thesis is that President Carter was the least effective president of the 20th century.  The body of the essay then presents the analysis supporting the thesis.

Of the several elements (i.e., topic, significance, thesis, overview of contents) that should be in the introduction, the thesis statement is the most important.  The thesis contains the most fundamental point(s) being made in the essay.  Everything else in the essay either leads to for supports the conclusion(s)/generalization(s).

It is important to understand the nature of a thesis.  Since essay questions seldom ask for JUST facts, the thesis is usually "asserting" or "contending" something about the subject.  The contentions or assertions come from the fact that, in one way or another, essays questions require that you make decisions.  These may be choosing between policy options (e.g., isolationism or globalism) or political theories (e.g., realism vs internationalism), selecting which parts of the institution or process to include in the description, selecting criteria for classification or evaluation, applying classification or evaluation criteria, identifying the causes of something, choosing between two political values, etc., etc.  The point being that others can and have chosen differently.  Your thesis statement expresses the most fundamental choices or conclusions you have made about the assigned topic.

Need your thesis be original?  No.  But, for the vast majority of instructors a thoughtful, carefully crafted essay, which has an original element is far more interesting and impressive than those that only tread familiar ground.  However, many undergraduates feel more secure repeating the choices they read in the assigned texts and hear in lecture.  Students incorrectly think such a tactic leads to the highest score and the lowest chance of offending the instructor.    While this position is not without some merit, a complete essay that is also original will almost always receive the highest score.

In terms of form of the thesis instructors often suggest that key words from the question be repeated in the thesis statement.  For example, if instructed to identify and defend the three major cause of the downfall of the USSR, the thesis statement might be written "The three most important reason for the down fall of the USSR are, in descending order of importance, ..."

Other than the thesis statement what else should be in the introduction?  First, the thesis statement if often preceded by a brief description of the topic (e.g., A sentence about the lack of a single international politics paradigm and the number of existing alternative theories might precede your thesis that neo-institutionalism represents the best available theory of international politics).  Second, the significance of the topic is often noted in the introduction.  Third, give some overview of the organization or content of the essay, but never summarize all the points that will be made in the body of the essay to defend the thesis.  The major supporting points will be summarized in the conclusion.

Finally, keep the introduction short.  The situation, significance and thesis should not be longer than a single blue book page and may often be done in a half page.

The real work of the essay takes place in the body.  This is where the evidence and analysis upon which the thesis rests is systematically elaborated.  You methodically discuss each reason for the thesis, or parts thereof, and provide evidence to support each.   For example, if your thesis is that neoinstitutionalism is the best theory of international politics, you should offer evidence supporting your evaluation of each alternative theory on each criterion you employ.

What types of evidence can you use to support your position? Books on expository writing typically mention examples, authorities, facts/statistics, but logic and values are also important.

(1) Evidence: Facts and Statistics

Facts are considered the strongest form of evidence for they  are presented as verifiable information which is not debatable. However, the simple truth is that while some facts are hard and not debatable (e.g., the US Congress consists of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives), other facts can be questioned on one or more criteria.  For example, the US census produces a value for the median family income in the US which is reasonably accurate, but not exact---the census takers can only estimate the underground economy and they missed part of the population.  Since we do not know how close to the census figure is to the true value, it would be inappropriate to attach great significance to a 25 dollar change in the median family income from one year to the next.

Statistics are a weaker form of evidence for their accuracy can always be questioned.  Technically, statistics are characteristics (e.g., median income, presidential approval level) of a sample (e.g., 1,500 randomly selected adults) which we use to estimate the same characteristics (e.g., median income, presidential approval level) of the population (e.g., all US residents over the age of 18).  Statistics are only as good as the representativeness of the sample.  You never know if a non probability sample (e.g., those individuals who call in on a radio or newspaper poll) is representative.  With a probability sample (i.e., random selection of subjects) the larger the sample the more likely it accurately represents the population from which it was drawn---but there is always a chance it is not representative.

An important point with both facts and statistics is not to confuse either with conclusions or inferences drawn about them.  Any conclusion or inference is a contention  which is subject to debate.  For example, the downfall of communism in Europe is a fact.  That it was caused by the Reagan policy of escalating the arms race is a contention.

  (2) Evidence: Authorities

Citing authorities on the subject is a weaker form of evidence which varies in strength.  On the one hand, the expert's statement may be reflecting a large body of facts and statistics on the topic or the specific empirical results of a sound research project.  As such the expert's statement is a strong form of evidence.  On the other hand, the expert's comment may be just an educated guess or his/her opinion.  Furthermore, on some topics there is considerable controversy among the experts over what the truth is (e.g., the global warming controversy).  In such cases, citing experts from just one side would not be wise---especially if your professor is one of the experts on the other side of the controversy.

  (3) Evidence: Examples

 Because examples are frequently little more than a single case, they alone cannot confirm a hypothesis or assertion, but they still are of value.  First, examples are very useful for illustrating a point.  Examples put substantive meat on the bones of the generalization.  Second, an example gives the hypothesis increased plausibility by providing at least one case where the relationship specified in the hypothesis may exist.

You must remember, however, that all examples are not equal.  If your example is something extremely rare, it will actually detract from both the significance and plausibility attributed to your hypothesis.  For example, using Persian Gulf war as evidence for your argument that the US should increase the number of tanks it can field would carry little credibility as most experts consider the Persian Gulf war unique and thus not representative of the typical future uses of US military forces.

  (4) Logic

Logic, or rules for reasoning, usually is not listed as a form of evidence, but logic plays an crucial role in the defense of your thesis.  This lack of attention is in part due to the fact that writers simply assume you are aware of the basic rules of reasoning and that you follow them.  It is simply assumed the you, among other things:

• Know how to engage in deductive reasoning (i.e., use a system of rules to move within a series of statements or apply the content of a single statement/generalization/hypothesis to a specific empirical situation).

• Know how to reason inductively from concrete observations to generalization (e.g., identifying the common element or relationship in a number of individual events).

• Avoid over generalization -- generalizing from one case to an entire population (e.g., suggesting the American indifference to professional soccer exemplifies world opinion).

• Avoid premature acceptance of a hypothesis -- accepting a hypothesis from only fragmented anecdotal evidence as opposed to systematic empirical evidence.

• Know the difference between "necessary" and "sufficient" causal conditions.

• Avoid the post hoc fallacy--assuming X caused Y simply because X occurred before Y.

• Avoid the ecological fallacy--assuming what is true for unit of analysis is also true for another unit of analysis.

Beyond abiding by the rules of reasoning, your essay will be stronger if it rests upon some thought.  More specifically the strengths you can highlight and weaknesses you need to shore up will be identified when you examine both assumptions and consequences of the thesis and supporting contentions.  Think of this as examining both the parents and the children of the thesis.  What are the assumptions upon which the thesis or conclusion rests?  Do they appear to be empirically and logically sound?  What are the consequences of the thesis?  While you may not do it in writing, you should evaluate your thesis the way a critic will.

  (5) Values

Values have a much more limited role in essays.  Other than when directly focusing on values, they come into play as criteria to use in evaluating something.  Evaluating something's congruence with one or more values produces conclusions about its desirability.  For example in evaluating alternative policy options you could predict outcomes and then indicate which outcome is most congruent with community values.  Alternatively, value congruence can even be used as a basis for making predictions about such things as effectiveness or probability of occurrence.  For example, showing that a particular political organization or procedure is inconsistent with a nation's political values is a sound basis for predicting that if tried,  such a political organization will not gain legitimacy and will probably fail.

   (6) Counter Arguments

You are also expected, if not required, to discuss counter arguments and contending evidence.   You should respond to the strongest or most popular counter arguments and ignore the fringe statements.  When you respond to off-the-wall positions, you sacrifice precious time and run the risk of being accused of avoiding the real issues.

When the counter arguments are sound, it is often best to simply admit the weakness in your position or analysis.  When the counter arguments can be questioned or refuted, do so with the same techniques used to support your thesis.

What if the assigned task is to evaluate the pro and con arguments on some issue or problem and then take a position?  First, while some writing books will say hold off on stating your position until the end, make it part of the thesis.  Second, systematically evaluate the logical and empirical validity of each point and counter point.  Then after finishing, if you have found merit in both some of the pros and some of the cons,  some criterion must be used for choosing one position over the other.  Make sure you tell how you decided between the positions (e.g., one criterion was more important than others, the were a greater number of sound reasons on one side, etc.).

  (7) A Note on Body Organization

One tactic guaranteed to earn you a lower grade is to produce a single massive paragraph representing the body of the essay.  Just as the overall essay is organized into distinct parts, so to is the body of the essay.  The body should be well organized.  Put each idea in a single paragraph, structure each paragraph properly (i.e., begin with a topic or subject sentence and then explanatory sentences), and connect the paragraphs with transition words and phrases.

The concluding paragraph restates the thesis and summarizes the main supporting points.  Do not include new information or arguments at this point.  However, you can offer suggestions for what should be done or put the entire essay in perspective.  For example, if the essay has focused on explaining past trends, you might close by posing the question of what future trends might be.

How do you accomplish all of the above suggestions in the 1/2 half hour you have to write an essay?  You don't!  The only way to be properly prepared for an essay exam is to anticipate the essay questions and than in advance outline an answer for each possible question.  For example, if you have spent three weeks in class discussing the alternative explanations for the decline of political parties,  you should anticipate questions requiring description of the problem and then critical evaluation of the contending explanations.

The most important time in the exam is the first five minutes.  Do not immediately begin to write the essay.  Spend time evaluating the required tasks and then outline your response before beginning to write.

Also remember to allocate your time properly.  What percentage of the total exam does each essay represent?  Allocate your time accordingly.  A low grade is almost as certain as death and taxes if you spend 45 minutes on the first essay and only 5 minutes on the second essay.