FMS MRes Writing Development Centre nclwdc Writing Development Centre Explore the possibilities Your experience of exams Hands up if youve done Multichoice exams Shortanswer exams ID: 647796
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Writing Examination EssaysFMS MRes
Writing Development Centre
@
ncl_wdc
Writing Development Centre
Explore the possibilitiesSlide2
Your experience of examsHands up if you’ve done….
Multi-choice examsShort-answer examsEssay exams
Other form of exam I’ve not thought of….Coursework essaysSlide3
Your questions?
On a post-it note, write down your question about writing
essays for
exams
?Slide4
Session Outline
What essay exams really test
The implications for revisionExam techniqueTime managementQuestion analysisQuick planning and structureWriting and editingSlide5
Knowledge
Understanding
Application
Analysis
Evaluation
Synthesis
ideas
connections
extensions
What are essay exams testing? Bloom’s taxonomy (revised)Slide6
Revising for higher skills:typical examiners reports
“The
forcing of prepared answers on ill-fitting questions substituted too often for fresh and thoughtful adaptation
.”
“Some candidates still regurgitate prepared
answers regardless of the issue they are asked to address and this was reflected in lower marks.” “Essay-dumping
, and question-twisting to the point of breakage, were in
evidence.”Slide7
What exams really test
Essay exams are…
A test of whether you can think on your feet and apply your working knowledge to solve new problems whilst under time pressure. Deeper understanding and critical thinking on the day are as important as memoryAsking you to make an answer, not
memorise and repeat the answerNot right/wrong - there are wrong answers, but there is
often more than one right answer (or way to reach it). We’re also interested in how you get there.
Exams are not …A test of everything in the curriculum, just your working knowledgeAsking you to tell us everything you know about a topic, but to use your knowledge to solve a specific problemSlide8
The difference between an exam and a coursework answer
8
8Slide9
Marking CriteriaSlide10
Basic Question Analysis The Subject
Make sure you’ve read the question accurately!“Candidates are encouraged to read the questions with
care: several erroneously, if ingeniously, wrote about ‘casual explanation’ rather than ‘causal
explanation”.Identify the following:
The instruction or question word*The topic wordThe focus of the topic Any restrictions or inclusions Slide11
More Advanced Question Analysis: What learning are you asked to demonstrate?
Each question tests different types of learning to varying degrees.
Analyse the questions. To what extent do they each test each level of learning?For each question, allocate a percentage to each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Slide12
Different types of question
The traditional essay questionOPEN: Why is a non-synthetic (biological) scaffold the most appropriate solution to a tissue engineering problem?
CLOSED: Do you agree that a non-synthetic (biological) scaffold is the most appropriate solution to a tissue engineering problem?The traditional essay instruction
‘Discuss the technical and medical barriers to employing stem cells in tissue engineering’. The scaffolded
instructionDiscuss the preparation of synthetic tissue engineering scaffolds using templating
and non-templating approaches (50%). Describe, using examples, when using a non-synthetic (biological) scaffold might be a more appropriate solution to a tissue engineering problem (50%)Slide13
Planning: Structure
Question
Answer
What sort of answer is implied in the question?
(if it’s not a question, rephrase it as one)
What kind of structure(s) will best bridge the two?Slide14
Planning: StructureSpeed planning strategies:
If it’s not a multi-part question, how many parts are implied in the question? What type of structure is implied?
How might you sketch a plan at speed?Bullet pointsMindmapDiagramaticQ&ASlide15
Compare and Contrast (a)Slide16
Compare and Contrast (b)Slide17
Develop a solutionSlide18
Cause or processSlide19
Key issues, ways or reasonsSlide20
Reasons for and against, to what extentSlide21
Planning Structure: Q&A
“Discuss how a longitudinal study may be used to investigate risk factors for cardiovascular disease. What factors, including biomarkers of exposure and outcome, might you want to consider in such a study design and why?”
(please note: the following plan may be complete nonsense as we’re not content experts – indicative of the technique only!)Slide22
What do we mean here by cardiovascular disease?What types of study might be used and what are their shortcomings-Why is a longitudinal study worth considering in particular?
What would be the first thing a longitudinal study could do?How would you do it?
Any negative points?What would be the second thing a longitudinal study could do?How would you do it?Any negative points?What would be the third thing a longitudinal study could do?
How would you do it?Any negative points?What are the (main) risk factors for cardiovascular disease?What are the most important exposure biomarkers to include? Why?What are the most important outcome biomarkers to include? Why?
What are other biomarkers to take into account? Why?Slide23
Planning: contentYou don’t need to write a detailed plan, but it might be helpful to spend a few moments quickly noting down the information which you think is relevant:
What
wider context do you need to show you understand? What knowledge, information or data do you have?What do you
need to know, what would be nice to know? What is not relevant as it doesn’t help you reach your answer? Slide24
Paragraph structure: bringing it back to the question
Self assessment can also develop skills which make a student more attractive to prospective employers. Employers value students with skills in self assessment because these types of skills are relevant to a wide range of employment contexts. They want graduates who can accurately assess their own competencies in performing tasks. Students who can do this are well placed to take on responsibilities and adapt readily to roles in work places. The value in developing these types of assessment can be seen to go beyond meeting immediate educational needs.
Students who have developed an autonomous approach to learning are well set up for life-long learning which will continue throughout and beyond their working lives.
Topic sentence: Introduction of the paragraph’s main
idea.
Could be an observation to be interpreted, or an argument to be evidenced.
Main body in which the initial assertion is developed and explained
Conclusion to be drawn from the above points
Signpost wordSlide25
“it is not possible to state the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease as a single figure….”
Question prompts – writing critically for the reader
So what?
What’s that got to do with…?
Why that one?
What do you mean?
How does that work?
Why do you think so?
Why is that important?
Why?Slide26
Writing up and checking your answersWe don’t expect perfection in an exam!
Legibility, clarity and relevance are more important than style and strict accuracyYou might want to write on every other line or leave a margin for making edits
If you run out of time, jot down notes and bullet points – you may get some marks for thisBuild in time to check your answers at the end:Have you answered all the questions you need to?
Does your answer actually answer the question?Do you want to add, change or cross anything out?Slide27
The Calculation
How much time do you have in total?How many questions do you have to do? (all of them or a choice?)How many marks are they worth?*
Subtract 10 mins at the beginning for reading the paper and planning your approach (incl for this calculation)Subtract time at the end for reading through and checking all your answers, and to accommodate slippageDivide the remaining time by the number of questions (*adjusting for marking weight)
(Factor in experience from doing past papers about how much you can expect to write in that time and allow for slippage)Split the time per question into three – reading and planning, writing, checking. Don’t panic if you need to abandon a question and move on / come back to itSlide28
Implications for RevisionSlide29
The Revision Process
select
break down
Learn
revisit
test
Practise
apply
synthesise
Organise
reworkSlide30
How can you work out what should be in your store cupboard?
Module handbooks
etc: course aims and objectivesLecture notes:
listen for hints about what is core knowledge and what is there for illustration onlyComparing across – what would be useful across many topics?
Past papers: what would you need to know to answer the questions, and what depth would be reasonable for an exam answer
Future papers: what kinds of questions can you imagine setting based on your course/module content?Slide31
Revising for higher skills: Past Papers
Practice using
your knowledge and understanding with past papersWhat can you write in the time?What knowledge would you have needed?Practice planning at speed
What sorts of questions are set?http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/resources/exam-papers/Slide32
If you were the examiner…Choose a topic from one of your modules
What working knowledge would you want to assess?What problem-solving skills would you want to assess?
Devise a question suitable for testing a candidate’s working knowledge and higher skills in exam conditionsSlide33
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