Overview

Unit 28: Essay Tests and Standardized Tests

Overview

When you are writing essays, preparation is crucial. You should begin studying for in-class essay tests well ahead of time. Start by reviewing your textbook, class notes, handouts, and homework assignments. Think about what questions might appear on the exam, and then practice answering those questions. When you take an essay test, you need to compress the writing process and allot your time wisely. Read the directions and essay questions carefully, looking for key words. Key words such as compare, summarize, or trace will indicate what type of information your answer should contain. Next, organize your main ideas and important supporting details into an outline on scratch paper. When drafting your essay, refer back to your outline to stay on topic. Always proofread your work before you turn in your test.

Also, employ the writing process when writing college application essays. Stay on the given topic and completely answer the essay questions. Colleges receive many applications, so try to stand out from the crowd by writing an interesting and original essay that reflects who you are. To complete your college application, gather any required information, thoroughly describe your academic and nonacademic achievements, and have a parent or teacher critique your application for content, grammar, and accuracy.

Many colleges require high school students to take the SAT and the ACT standardized tests and achieve a certain score before being admitted. Before you take any of these exams, verify that the colleges to which you're applying accept the results of the tests you're taking. Then, gather information about it and mail any appropriate forms or fees. Take practice exams well in advance: don't cram for the test.

When you take practice exams, you will become familiar with the types of test items found on each standardized test. Antonyms and analogies are common multiple-choice vocabulary test items. Antonym test items require you to look at a word and then choose one that is most nearly opposite in meaning. Analogy test items require you to identify the relationship between two words and then find a parallel relationship in another word pair from a list. Sentence-completion test items require you to recognize the relationships among parts of a sentence in order to choose the word or words that make the sentence correct, both grammatically and logically. In the reading-comprehension section of a standardized test, you will answer questions about passages of varying length and difficulty. Usage test items and sentence-correction test items are common examples of English-composition test items. Usage test items require you to recognize sentence parts that are grammatically incorrect or unclear. Sentence-correction test items require you not only to find the error in an underlined sentence part, but also to decide on the best revision to correct the error.