extended response essay test

Essay questions are a more complex version of constructed response assessments. With essay questions, there is one general question or proposition, and the student is asked to respond in writing. This type of assessment is very powerful -- it allows the students to express themselves and demonstrate their reasoning related to a topic. Essay questions often demand the use of higher level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Essay questions may appear to be easier to write than multiple choice and other question types, but writing effective essay questions requires a great deal of thought and planning. If an essay question is vague, it will be much more difficult for the students to answer and much more difficult for the instructor to score. Well-written essay questions have the following features:

Essay questions are used both as formative assessments (in classrooms) and summative assessments (on standardized tests). There are 2 major categories of essay questions -- (also referred to as or ) and .

Short response questions are more focused and constrained than extended response questions. For example, a short response might ask a student to "write an example," "list three reasons," or "compare and contrast two techniques." The short response items on the Florida assessment (FCAT) are designed to take about 5 minutes to complete and the student is allowed up to 8 lines for each answer. The short responses are scored using a 2-point scoring rubric. A complete and correct answer is worth 2 points. A partial answer is worth 1 point.

Extended Response

Extended responses can be much longer and complex then short responses, but students should be encouraged to remain focused and organized. On the FCAT, students have 14 lines for each answer to an extended response item, and they are advised to allow approximately 10-15 minutes to complete each item. The FCAT extended responses are scored using a 4-point scoring rubric. A complete and correct answer is worth 4 points. A partial answer is worth 1, 2, or 3 points.

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How to Pass the GED

Extended Response: Example 1

Basics The second section of Reasoning Through Language Arts evaluates your ability to integrate reading and writing by way of a 45-minute Extended Response. GED guidelines specify that you will be asked to write an essay about the best-supported position—the most persuasive side of an argument—presented in two passages with opposing points of view.  Accordingly, you will need to produce evidence supporting the most convincing position from either Passage I or Passage II.  Attention to specific details within the passages will help you find the necessary pieces of evidence.

GED.com has excellent resources to help prepare for the Extended Response as follows: • poster • videos • guidelines – english • guidelines – spanish • quick tips – english • quick tips – spanish • practice passages – english • practice passages – spanish

Here, at HowtoPasstheGED.com, a five-paragraph essay will be used as a framework for writing an Extended Response.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Outline Paragraph 1:  Introduction of your position with three supporting points. Paragraph 2:  Discussion of first point. Paragraph 3:  Discussion of second point. Paragraph 4:  Discussion of third point. Paragraph 5:  Summary and Conclusion of your position and its three supporting points.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Choose (Before You Write) • Read Passage I and Passage II. • Choose the best-supported position. • Select three points supporting this position.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Beginner Level (You’re Up and Running!) • Write the first sentence of each of the five paragraphs. • In paragraph 1, introduce your position and its three supporting points. • In paragraph 2, put down the first point. • In paragraph 3, put down the second point. • In paragraph 4, put down the third point. • In paragraph 5, restate your position and its three supporting points.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Intermediate Level (You’re Adding On!) • In paragraph 1, introduce your position and its three supporting points. • In paragraph 2, write at least three sentences about the first point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 3, write at least three sentences about the second point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 4, write at least three sentences about the third point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 5, restate your position and its three supporting points, including coming to a conclusion about them.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Advanced Level (Polish Your Essay If You Have Time) • In paragraph 1, introduce your position and its three supporting points. • In paragraph 2, write at least three sentences about the first point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 3, write at least three sentences about the second point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 4, write at least three sentences about the third point, including mentioning something from the other side. • In paragraph 5, restate your position and its three supporting points, including coming to a conclusion about them.

The example below goes over the process of writing a five-paragraph essay as an Extended Response to Passage I versus Passage II.

Passage I Working from Home is Beneficial

Some experts say there’s no going back now that both employers and workers have learned that telework can be effective.

“The pandemic has radically changed how we view telework or remote work,” said Timothy Golden, a professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Many individuals and companies have realized that we can work remotely effectively. And so, I think remote work is here to stay.”

“We are going to err on the side of letting more people work remotely for longer periods of time,” said Ravi Gajendran, chair of the Department of Global Leadership and Management in the College of Business at Florida International University.

“When that’s not working as well,” added Gajendran, “the pendulum will sort of swing slightly back towards the office. It’s not going to come back to what it was previously, but what we’re going to find is, as new employees join, as new teams form, and as people who have not worked together before are now working remotely, things are not going to be as smooth.”

But, said Golden, “We know that many employees have been highly productive during the pandemic and have been able to carry on their work in a fashion that was consistent with their productivity before the pandemic.”

According to Cathleen Swody, an organizational psychologist at Thrive Leadership, remote work has led to more authentic moments between co-workers who’ve ended up meeting a colleague’s pets or families online, as the pandemic provided a virtual window, and therefore greater insight, into a co-worker’s personal side than working at the office ever did.

“You’ve seen many large companies, and in different industries, make announcements about the future of their workforce in how it is likely to be hybrid. And some workers will be working remotely on a permanent basis, and others will be in a hybrid form,” pointed out Golden. “Companies that do this right and do this in the right way, will have a competitive advantage over those who do not.”

Increased telework could free employees from having to live close to where they work. That could also benefit employers who won’t have to be limited to the local talent pool. More jobs could go to places with lower costs of living and ultimately, overseas.

“It could go to Asia or Africa or South America,” said Gajendran.

With more employees working remotely from home, employers could reduce their costs further by cutting back on office space. – adapted from VOA (04/09/2021, 04/12/2021, 04/29/21)

Passage II Working from Home is Harmful

The benefits of working from home—including skipping a long commute and having a better work-life balance—have been well documented, but employees are literally paying for the privilege, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“People need to dedicate space to work from home,” said Christopher Stanton, an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School who co-authored the study. “For many folks who lived in small apartments or houses before the pandemic, working from home wasn’t a a realistic long-term solution unless they could upgrade to larger apartments or houses.”

The researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to reach their conclusions. They found that between 2013 and 2017, households with at least one teleworker spent on average more of their income on rent or a mortgage to pay for the extra room needed to work from home.

“A household that was spending about $1,000 a month on rent would be spending around $1,070 on rent. So, it’s about a 7% increase, on average, across the income distribution,” Stanton said.

The researchers estimate that about 10% of people who worked in an office before the pandemic could permanently transition to working from home full time. A recent Upwork survey suggests that 36 million Americans will be working remotely by 2025—an 87% increase over pre-pandemic levels, and these workers could potentially take on the additional costs.

The added expense is easier for high-income households to bear but puts an increased burden on workers who earn less money.

“You might have gotten an increase of 20-ish percent in housing expenses for lower-income households with remote workers compared to lower-income households without remote workers,” Stanton said. “That’s a pretty big chunk of expenditure for those households in the bottom half of the income distribution.”

Kristen Carpenter, chief psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ohio State University, added that at-home, remote work causes more work to be performed outside normal business hours, so it’s hard “to draw a boundary that prevents work from being ever-present,” including nights and weekends.

Cathleen Swody, an organizational psychologist at Thrive Leadership, also pointed out that when people work from home, “they kind of get stuck in this little place,” whereas going back to the office leads to more interpersonal interaction and innovation. – adapted from VOA (04/09/2021, 04/12/2021, 04/29/21)

Prompt Passage I finds working from home to be beneficial; Passage II finds working from home to be harmful. In your response, analyze the positions presented in Passage I and Passage II to determine which passage is best supported. Use relevant and specific evidence to back your choice. You have 45 minutes to plan, type, and edit your response.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Choose (Before You Write) • Read Passage I and Passage II. • Choose the best-supported position. In this example, Passage I is chosen as the best-supported position. • Select three points supporting this position. (1) Working from home is productive. (2) Working from home improves employee interaction. (3) Working from home saves money.

Passage I is the best-supported position because working from home is productive, improves employee interaction, and saves money.

Working from home is productive.

Working from home improves employee interaction.

Working from home saves money.

In summary, Passage I is the best-supported position because working from home is productive, improves employee interaction, and saves money.

Working from home is productive.  Passage I uses the pandemic to make the relevant observation that individuals and companies realized they could work remotely effectively.  Many employees have been highly productive this way and can stay this way.  Passage II admits in its very first sentence that the benefits of working from home have been well documented. 

Working from home improves employee interaction.  Passage I is persuasive when it notes that remote work has led to “more authentic moments” between co-workers.  However, workers still have the option of working at the office, as well as at home, in a hybrid form.  Thus, Passage II is incorrect when it claims remote workers get stuck in one place.

Working from home saves money.  Passage I makes a convincing argument for freedom.  It asserts that remote work frees employees from having to live close to office buildings.  It also frees employers from having to pay for as much office space.  Passage II says employees need to spend some money to outfit a home office, but this is less costly than commuting.

In summary, Passage I is the best-supported position because working from home is productive, improves employee interaction, and saves money.  In conclusion, there is no place like home.

Working from home is productive.  Passage I uses an authority—Timothy Golden, a professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—to make the following relevant observation: “The pandemic has radically changed how we view telework or remote work.  Many individuals and companies have realized that we can work remotely effectively.  We know that many employees have been highly productive during the pandemic and have been able to carry on their work in a fashion that was consistent with their productivity before the pandemic.  And so, I think remote work is here to stay.”  Passage II admits that at least some of what Golden said is true by stating in its very first sentence “the benefits of working from home—including skipping a long commute and having a better work-life balance—have been well documented.” 

Working from home improves employee interaction.  Passage I effectively uses another expert—Cathleen Swody, an organizational psychologist at Thrive Leadership—to state that remote work has led to “more authentic moments between co-workers who’ve ended up meeting a colleague’s pets or families online, as the pandemic provided a virtual window, and therefore greater insight, into a co-worker’s personal side than working at the office ever did.”  Although Passage II says people who work from home “kind of get stuck in this little place,” Golden affirms that workers aren’t really stuck, because some will be working in a hybrid form, meaning partly at home and partly in an office.

Working from home saves money.  Passage I makes a convincing argument for freedom.  Remote work saves money by freeing employees from having to live close to office buildings and freeing employers from having to pay for as much office space.  According to Christopher Stanton (Associate Professor at Harvard Business School) in Passage II, employees need to spend some money to outfit their apartments or houses with a home office, but this is a small price to pay compared to avoiding a costly daily commute.

In summary, Passage I is the best-supported position because working from home is productive, improves employee interaction, and saves money.  In particular, Passage I leads to the conclusion that working from home is beneficial in that it leaves nobody out: Both employers and employees stand to gain.

Remember, the RLA Extended Response is based on what YOU determine to be the best-supported position presented in either Passage I or Passage II. In order to demonstrate that YOU have room to maneuver, the example below goes over the process of writing a five-paragraph essay as an Extended Response to Passage I versus Passage II with a different choice.

Prior to the pandemic, about 5 million Americans worked remotely. But COVID-19 forced U.S. employers to allow telework on a massive scale, resulting in an estimated 75 million people working from home over the past year.

Five-Paragraph Essay – Choose (Before You Write) • Read Passage I and Passage II. • Choose the best-supported position. In this example, Passage II is chosen as the best-supported position. • Select three points supporting this position. (1) Working from home is unproductive. (2) Working from home hampers employee interaction. (3) Working from home costs money.

Passage II is the best-supported position because working from home is unproductive, hampers employee interaction, and costs money.

Working from home is unproductive.

Working from home hampers employee interaction.

Working from home costs money.

In summary, Passage II is the best-supported position because working from home is unproductive, hampers employee interaction, and costs money.

Working from home is unproductive.  Backed by facts, Passage II is able to make a strong statement when it says working in small setups at home ultimately ends up in fatigue and less productive employees.  In fact, fifty-four percent of home workers feel overworked and 39% are exhausted.  Passage I has no numbers to back up its claim that people can work remotely effectively.

Working from home hampers employee interaction.  Passage II cleverly notes that when people work from home, they get stuck.  Going back to the office leads to more interpersonal interaction and innovation.  Passage I even admits that working from home doesn’t always work well, meaning that people end up back in the office.

Working from home costs money.  Passage II convincingly has money in mind when it states that households with at least one teleworker have to spend some of their income to pay for the extra room needed to work from home.  Lower-income households need to spend even more of their income to set things up at home.  Passage I offers no solutions for employees paying out of pocket to work from home.

In summary, Passage II is the best-supported position because working from home is unproductive, hampers employee interaction, and costs money.  In conclusion, there are places other than home.

Working from home is unproductive.  Passage II comes out swinging with Christopher Stanton, an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, who asserts having nonergonomic setups in small places [at home] ultimately ends up “leading to fatigue and wear and tear and less productive employees in the long run.”  In fact, “fifty-four percent of people who’ve worked from home this past year feel overworked, and 39% say they’re downright exhausted.”  Although Timothy Golden (professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) claims in Passage I that “many individuals and companies have realized that we can work remotely effectively,” he has no real numbers to back him up.

Working from home hampers employee interaction.  Passage II cites another authority—Cathleen Swody, an organizational psychologist at Thrive Leadership—to point out that people who work from home “kind of get stuck in this little place.”  She goes on to convincingly argue that “going back to the office leads to more interpersonal interaction and innovation.”  In Passage I, Ravi Gajendran, chair of the Department of Global Leadership and Management in the College of Business at Florida International University, even admits that working from home doesn’t always work well, such that “the pendulum will sort of swing” back towards the office.

Working from home costs money.  Passage II hits home with data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which found that “between 2013 and 2017, households with at least one teleworker spent on average more of their income on rent or a mortgage to pay for the extra room needed to work from home.”  Stanton adds that “you might have gotten an increase of 20-ish percent in housing expenses for lower-income households with remote workers compared to lower-income households without remote workers, a pretty big chunk of expenditure for those households in the bottom half of the income distribution.”  Passage I offers no solutions for employees “literally paying for the privilege” of working from home.

In summary, Passage II is the best-supported position because working from home is unproductive, hampers employee interaction, and costs money.  In particular, Passage II leads to the conclusion that working from home can be so harmful that it never stops, becoming an “ever-present” task performed outside normal business hours without a boundary.

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• Extended Response

How to do an extended response exam

In an extended response question, you will be given a topic or a question and be given specific instructions on how to respond.

Knowing what the question is asking for, and knowing how to structure your response, is crucial to obtaining the best results.

Understand the question

Read the question carefully to find the key word or phrase in regard to what you need to do.

The most common key words and phrases are listed below with a brief explanation of what you need to do:

Extended Response Structure

Your Extended Response paragraph should follow the same paragraph structure as an analytical essay body paragraph. Parts of a good body paragraph :

1. Topic sentence : The very first sentence that clearly states what you are going to be arguing in the paragraph.

2. Explanation sentence: provides a detailed explanation of what your topic sentence means, or the main points that your sources will focus on. This usually means provided details about a historical person, location or event.

3. Evidence from your  sources : Incorporate a number of good pieces (usually 3-4) of evidence from sources that prove your point for this paragraph. A typical evidence sentence has the following structure:

[Source name] says that [direct/indirect quote] which shows that [explanation] (in-text reference).

For example:

Smith says that "Romans were cruel soldiers", which shows that Roman legionaries had a reputation for excessive violence (1977, 186).

As you incorporate your quotes, ensure you provide analysis and evaluation of your sources. For examples for how to do this, proceed to this section of the History Skills website. 

4. Clincher : Make a clear statement about how all the evidence you provided helps prove what you had stated in your Topic Sentence.  

Example Extended Response

Example Extended Response Question:

How did the differences in Caesar’s and Pompey’s attitudes towards their defeated enemies effect how the Roman people reacted to the two leaders?

Example Extended Response Answer:

The difference between Caesar’s clemency and Pompey’s harsh punishments polarised the Roman populace, causing them to love one but hate the other. On one hand, Caesar spared the lives of the defeated Pompeian soldiers who had fought against him. His clemency was promoted throughout Italy, which increased popular opinion in Caesar’s favour. Caesar himself was reported have said to Cicero, a close political ally, that such a strategy was intended to “willingly win the support of all and gain a permanent victory…grow[ing] strong through pity and generosity” (Cicero, Atticus , VII.11). It must be noted that Cicero demonstrated a favourable opinion towards the future dictator at that point in time, so the senator may have produced this notion on behalf of Caesar. However, the indication is that the stratagem worked and Caesar gained substantial popularity in Italy as a result. In contrast to Caesar’s generosity, Pompey and the optimates were reputedly very harsh towards their enemies. They had announced that those who remained in Rome were to be regarded as enemies (Kamm, 2006, 106). This is confirmed by Goldsworthy, when he notes that after the victory at Dyrrachium, Pompey’s commanders were allowed to mock and execute imprisoned troops in front of Caesar’s army (2006, 421). The news of both Caesar’s and Pompey’s differing attitudes towards defeated enemies had a powerful effect on the Romans. The sharp contrast between the two policies of the two civil war generals impressed the Italians in Caesar’s favour and, as a result, Pompey lost most of his popular support on the peninsula.  

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Improving Your Test Questions

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For questions or information:

• Choosing between Objective and Subjective Test Items

Multiple-Choice Test Items

True-false test items, matching test items, completion test items, essay test items, problem solving test items, performance test items.

• Two Methods for Assessing Test Item Quality
• Assistance Offered by The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL)
• References for Further Reading

I. Choosing Between Objective and Subjective Test Items

There are two general categories of test items: (1) objective items which require students to select the correct response from several alternatives or to supply a word or short phrase to answer a question or complete a statement; and (2) subjective or essay items which permit the student to organize and present an original answer. Objective items include multiple-choice, true-false, matching and completion, while subjective items include short-answer essay, extended-response essay, problem solving and performance test items. For some instructional purposes one or the other item types may prove more efficient and appropriate. To begin out discussion of the relative merits of each type of test item, test your knowledge of these two item types by answering the following questions.

Quiz Answers

1 Sax, G., & Collet, L. S. (1968). An empirical comparison of the effects of recall and multiple-choice tests on student achievement. J ournal of Educational Measurement, 5 (2), 169–173. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1968.tb00622.x

Paterson, D. G. (1926). Do new and old type examinations measure different mental functions? School and Society, 24 , 246–248.

When to Use Essay or Objective Tests

Essay tests are especially appropriate when:

• the group to be tested is small and the test is not to be reused.
• you wish to encourage and reward the development of student skill in writing.
• you are more interested in exploring the student's attitudes than in measuring his/her achievement.
• you are more confident of your ability as a critical and fair reader than as an imaginative writer of good objective test items.

Objective tests are especially appropriate when:

• the group to be tested is large and the test may be reused.
• highly reliable test scores must be obtained as efficiently as possible.
• impartiality of evaluation, absolute fairness, and freedom from possible test scoring influences (e.g., fatigue, lack of anonymity) are essential.
• you are more confident of your ability to express objective test items clearly than of your ability to judge essay test answers correctly.
• there is more pressure for speedy reporting of scores than for speedy test preparation.

Either essay or objective tests can be used to:

• measure almost any important educational achievement a written test can measure.
• test understanding and ability to apply principles.
• test ability to think critically.
• test ability to solve problems.
• test ability to select relevant facts and principles and to integrate them toward the solution of complex problems. 

In addition to the preceding suggestions, it is important to realize that certain item types are  better suited  than others for measuring particular learning objectives. For example, learning objectives requiring the student  to demonstrate  or  to show , may be better measured by performance test items, whereas objectives requiring the student  to explain  or  to describe  may be better measured by essay test items. The matching of learning objective expectations with certain item types can help you select an appropriate kind of test item for your classroom exam as well as provide a higher degree of test validity (i.e., testing what is supposed to be tested). To further illustrate, several sample learning objectives and appropriate test items are provided on the following page.

After you have decided to use either an objective, essay or both objective and essay exam, the next step is to select the kind(s) of objective or essay item that you wish to include on the exam. To help you make such a choice, the different kinds of objective and essay items are presented in the following section. The various kinds of items are briefly described and compared to one another in terms of their advantages and limitations for use. Also presented is a set of general suggestions for the construction of each item variation. 

II. Suggestions for Using and Writing Test Items

The multiple-choice item consists of two parts: (a) the stem, which identifies the question or problem and (b) the response alternatives. Students are asked to select the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. For example:

Sample Multiple-Choice Item

*correct response

Advantages in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items can provide...

• versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability.
• highly reliable test scores.
• scoring efficiency and accuracy.
• objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
• a wide sampling of content or objectives.
• a reduced guessing factor when compared to true-false items.
• different response alternatives which can provide diagnostic feedback.

Limitations in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items...

• are difficult and time consuming to construct.
• lead an instructor to favor simple recall of facts.
• place a high degree of dependence on the student's reading ability and instructor's writing ability.

Suggestions For Writing Multiple-Choice Test Items

4. Include in the stem any word(s) that might otherwise be repeated in each alternative.

Undesirable:

5. Use negatively stated stems sparingly. When used, underline and/or capitalize the negative word. Undesirable: Desirable: Item Alternatives 6. Make all alternatives plausible and attractive to the less knowledgeable or skillful student. Undesirable Desirable 7. Make the alternatives grammatically parallel with each other, and consistent with the stem. Undesirable: 8. Make the alternatives mutually exclusive. Undesirable: The daily minimum required amount of milk that a 10 year old child should drink is 9. When possible, present alternatives in some logical order (e.g., chronological, most to least, alphabetical). Undesirable Desirable 10. Be sure there is only one correct or best response to the item. Undesirable: 11. Make alternatives approximately equal in length. Undesirable: 12. Avoid irrelevant clues such as grammatical structure, well known verbal associations or connections between stem and answer. Undesirable: (grammatical clue) of water behind the dam. 13. Use at least four alternatives for each item to lower the probability of getting the item correct by guessing. 14. Randomly distribute the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d and e as the correct response. 15. Use the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives should occasionally be used as the correct response. A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound). An example of each type of true-false item follows: Sample True-False Item: Simple The acquisition of morality is a developmental process. True False Sample True-False Item: Complex Sample true-false item: compound. The acquisition of morality is a developmental process. True False     Advantages In Using True-False Items True-False items can provide... the widest sampling of content or objectives per unit of testing time. an objective measurement of student achievement or ability. Limitations In Using True-False Items True-false items... incorporate an extremely high guessing factor. For simple true-false items, each student has a 50/50 chance of correctly answering the item without any knowledge of the item's content. can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false. do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types. can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types. can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge. Suggestions For Writing True-False Test Items 1.  Base true-false items upon statements that are absolutely true or false, without qualifications or exceptions. Undesirable: Desirable: 2.  Express the item statement as simply and as clearly as possible. Undesirable: Desirable: 3.  Express a single idea in each test item. Undesirable: Desirable: 4.  Include enough background information and qualifications so that the ability to respond correctly to the item does not depend on some special, uncommon knowledge. Undesirable: Desirable: 5.  Avoid lifting statements from the text, lecture or other materials so that memory alone will not permit a correct answer. Undesirable: Desirable: 6.  Avoid using negatively stated item statements. Undesirable: Desirable: 7.  Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary. Undesirable: Desirable: 8.  Avoid the use of specific determiners which would permit a test-wise but unprepared examinee to respond correctly. Specific determiners refer to sweeping terms like "all," "always," "none," "never," "impossible," "inevitable," etc. Statements including such terms are likely to be false. On the other hand, statements using qualifying determiners such as "usually," "sometimes," "often," etc., are likely to be true. When statements do require the use of specific determiners, make sure they appear in both true and false items. Undesirable: required to rule on the constitutionality of a law. (T) easier to score than an essay test. (T) Desirable: 180°. (T) other molecule of that compound. (T) used for the metering of electrical energy used in a home. (F) 9.  False items tend to discriminate more highly than true items. Therefore, use more false items than true items (but no more than 15% additional false items). In general, matching items consist of a column of stimuli presented on the left side of the exam page and a column of responses placed on the right side of the page. Students are required to match the response associated with a given stimulus. For example: Sample Matching Test Item Advantages In Using Matching Items Matching items... require short periods of reading and response time, allowing you to cover more content. provide objective measurement of student achievement or ability. provide highly reliable test scores. provide scoring efficiency and accuracy. Limitations in Using Matching Items have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information. are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses. Suggestions for Writing Matching Test Items 1.  Include directions which clearly state the basis for matching the stimuli with the responses. Explain whether or not a response can be used more than once and indicate where to write the answer. Undesirable: Desirable: 2.  Use only homogeneous material in matching items. Undesirable: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. a. b. c. d. O e. f. Desirable: 1. 2. 3. 4.  a. SO b. c. d. O e. HCl 3.  Arrange the list of responses in some systematic order if possible (e.g., chronological, alphabetical). Undesirable Desirable 1. 2. 3. 4. a. b. c. d. e. a. b. c. d. e. 4.  Avoid grammatical or other clues to the correct response. Undesirable: 1. 2. 3. 4. Desirable: 5.  Keep matching items brief, limiting the list of stimuli to under 10. 6.  Include more responses than stimuli to help prevent answering through the process of elimination. 7.  When possible, reduce the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list. The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example, Sample Completion Item According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems, the _________, the ________ and the ________. Advantages in Using Completion Items Completion items... can provide a wide sampling of content. can efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability. can minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items. can usually provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability. Limitations of Using Completion Items are difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated. are more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false items. are more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered correct if the item was not properly prepared. Suggestions for Writing Completion Test Items 1.  Omit only significant words from the statement. Undesirable: called a nucleus. Desirable: . 2.  Do not omit so many words from the statement that the intended meaning is lost. Undesirable:                                               Desirable:                               3.  Avoid grammatical or other clues to the correct response. Undesirable: decimal system. Desirable: 4.  Be sure there is only one correct response. Undesirable: . Desirable: . 5.  Make the blanks of equal length. Undesirable: and   (Juno)  . Desirable: and     (Juno)     . 6.  When possible, delete words at the end of the statement after the student has been presented a clearly defined problem. Undesirable: . Desirable: is     (122.5)     . 7.  Avoid lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources. 8.  Limit the required response to a single word or phrase. The essay test is probably the most popular of all types of teacher-made tests. In general, a classroom essay test consists of a small number of questions to which the student is expected to demonstrate his/her ability to (a) recall factual knowledge, (b) organize this knowledge and (c) present the knowledge in a logical, integrated answer to the question. An essay test item can be classified as either an extended-response essay item or a short-answer essay item. The latter calls for a more restricted or limited answer in terms of form or scope. An example of each type of essay item follows. Sample Extended-Response Essay Item Explain the difference between the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. Include in your answer (a) brief descriptions of both theories, (b) supporters of both theories and (c) research methods used to study each of the two theories. (10 pts.  20 minutes) Sample Short-Answer Essay Item Identify research methods used to study the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. (5 pts.  10 minutes) Advantages In Using Essay Items Essay items... are easier and less time consuming to construct than are most other item types. provide a means for testing student's ability to compose an answer and present it in a logical manner. can efficiently measure higher order cognitive objectives (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation). Limitations In Using Essay Items cannot measure a large amount of content or objectives. generally provide low test and test scorer reliability. require an extensive amount of instructor's time to read and grade. generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader). Suggestions for Writing Essay Test Items 1.  Prepare essay items that elicit the type of behavior you want to measure. Learning Objective: The student will be able to explain how the normal curve serves as a statistical model. Undesirable: Describe a normal curve in terms of: symmetry, modality, kurtosis and skewness. Desirable: Briefly explain how the normal curve serves as a statistical model for estimation and hypothesis testing. 2.  Phrase each item so that the student's task is clearly indicated. Undesirable: Discuss the economic factors which led to the stock market crash of 1929. Desirable: Identify the three major economic conditions which led to the stock market crash of 1929. Discuss briefly each condition in correct chronological sequence and in one paragraph indicate how the three factors were inter-related. 3.  Indicate for each item a point value or weight and an estimated time limit for answering. Undesirable: Compare the writings of Bret Harte and Mark Twain in terms of settings, depth of characterization, and dialogue styles of their main characters. Desirable: Compare the writings of Bret Harte and Mark Twain in terms of settings, depth of characterization, and dialogue styles of their main characters. (10 points 20 minutes) 4.  Ask questions that will elicit responses on which experts could agree that one answer is better than another. 5.  Avoid giving the student a choice among optional items as this greatly reduces the reliability of the test. 6.  It is generally recommended for classroom examinations to administer several short-answer items rather than only one or two extended-response items. Suggestions for Scoring Essay Items ANALYTICAL SCORING: Each answer is compared to an ideal answer and points are assigned for the inclusion of necessary elements. Grades are based on the number of accumulated points either absolutely (i.e., A=10 or more points, B=6-9 pts., etc.) or relatively (A=top 15% scores, B=next 30% of scores, etc.) GLOBAL QUALITY: Each answer is read and assigned a score (e.g., grade, total points) based either on the total quality of the response or on the total quality of the response relative to other student answers. Examples Essay Item and Grading Models "Americans are a mixed-up people with no sense of ethical values. Everyone knows that baseball is far less necessary than food and steel, yet they pay ball players a lot more than farmers and steelworkers." WHY? Use 3-4 sentences to indicate how an economist would explain the above situation. Analytical Scoring Global Quality Assign scores or grades on the overall quality of the written response as compared to an ideal answer. Or, compare the overall quality of a response to other student responses by sorting the papers into three stacks: Read and sort each stack again divide into three more stacks In total, nine discriminations can be used to assign test grades in this manner. The number of stacks or discriminations can vary to meet your needs. Try not to allow factors which are irrelevant to the learning outcomes being measured affect your grading (i.e., handwriting, spelling, neatness). Read and grade all class answers to one item before going on to the next item. Read and grade the answers without looking at the students' names to avoid possible preferential treatment. Occasionally shuffle papers during the reading of answers to help avoid any systematic order effects (i.e., Sally's "B" work always followed Jim's "A" work thus it looked more like "C" work). When possible, ask another instructor to read and grade your students' responses. Another form of a subjective test item is the problem solving or computational exam question. Such items present the student with a problem situation or task and require a demonstration of work procedures and a correct solution, or just a correct solution. This kind of test item is classified as a subjective type of item due to the procedures used to score item responses. Instructors can assign full or partial credit to either correct or incorrect solutions depending on the quality and kind of work procedures presented. An example of a problem solving test item follows. Example Problem Solving Test Item It was calculated that 75 men could complete a strip on a new highway in 70 days. When work was scheduled to commence, it was found necessary to send 25 men on another road project. How many days longer will it take to complete the strip? Show your work for full or partial credit. Advantages In Using Problem Solving Items Problem solving items... minimize guessing by requiring the students to provide an original response rather than to select from several alternatives. are easier to construct than are multiple-choice or matching items. can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability to apply skills or knowledge in the solution of problems. can measure an extensive amount of content or objectives. Limitations in Using Problem Solving Items require an extensive amount of instructor time to read and grade. generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader when partial credit is given). Suggestions For Writing Problem Solving Test Items 1.  Clearly identify and explain the problem. Undesirable: Desirable: 2.  Provide directions which clearly inform the student of the type of response called for. Undesirable: Desirable: 3.  State in the directions whether or not the student must show his/her work procedures for full or partial credit. Undesirable: Desirable: 4.  Clearly separate item parts and indicate their point values. A man leaves his home and drives to a convention at an average rate of 50 miles per hour. Upon arrival, he finds a telegram advising him to return at once. He catches a plane that takes him back at an average rate of 300 miles per hour. Undesirable: Desirable: 5.  Use figures, conditions and situations which create a realistic problem. Undesirable: Desirable: 6.  Ask questions that elicit responses on which experts could agree that one solution and one or more work procedures are better than others. 7.  Work through each problem before classroom administration to double-check accuracy. A performance test item is designed to assess the ability of a student to perform correctly in a simulated situation (i.e., a situation in which the student will be ultimately expected to apply his/her learning). The concept of simulation is central in performance testing; a performance test will simulate to some degree a real life situation to accomplish the assessment. In theory, a performance test could be constructed for any skill and real life situation. In practice, most performance tests have been developed for the assessment of vocational, managerial, administrative, leadership, communication, interpersonal and physical education skills in various simulated situations. An illustrative example of a performance test item is provided below. Sample Performance Test Item Assume that some of the instructional objectives of an urban planning course include the development of the student's ability to effectively use the principles covered in the course in various "real life" situations common for an urban planning professional. A performance test item could measure this development by presenting the student with a specific situation which represents a "real life" situation. For example, An urban planning board makes a last minute request for the professional to act as consultant and critique a written proposal which is to be considered in a board meeting that very evening. The professional arrives before the meeting and has one hour to analyze the written proposal and prepare his critique. The critique presentation is then made verbally during the board meeting; reactions of members of the board or the audience include requests for explanation of specific points or informed attacks on the positions taken by the professional. The performance test designed to simulate this situation would require that the student to be tested role play the professional's part, while students or faculty act the other roles in the situation. Various aspects of the "professional's" performance would then be observed and rated by several judges with the necessary background. The ratings could then be used both to provide the student with a diagnosis of his/her strengths and weaknesses and to contribute to an overall summary evaluation of the student's abilities. Advantages In Using Performance Test Items Performance test items... can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability of the students to apply skills or knowledge in real life situations. usually provide a degree of test validity not possible with standard paper and pencil test items. are useful for measuring learning objectives in the psychomotor domain. Limitations In Using Performance Test Items are difficult and time consuming to construct. are primarily used for testing students individually and not for testing groups. Consequently, they are relatively costly, time consuming, and inconvenient forms of testing. generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the observer/grader). Suggestions For Writing Performance Test Items Prepare items that elicit the type of behavior you want to measure. Clearly identify and explain the simulated situation to the student. Make the simulated situation as "life-like" as possible. Provide directions which clearly inform the students of the type of response called for. When appropriate, clearly state time and activity limitations in the directions. Adequately train the observer(s)/scorer(s) to ensure that they are fair in scoring the appropriate behaviors. III. TWO METHODS FOR ASSESSING TEST ITEM QUALITY This section presents two methods for collecting feedback on the quality of your test items. The two methods include using self-review checklists and student evaluation of test item quality. You can use the information gathered from either method to identify strengths and weaknesses in your item writing.  Checklist for Evaluating Test Items EVALUATE YOUR TEST ITEMS BY CHECKING THE SUGGESTIONS WHICH YOU FEEL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED.   ____  When possible, stated the stem as a direct question rather than as an incomplete statement. ____  Presented a definite, explicit and singular question or problem in the stem. ____  Eliminated excessive verbiage or irrelevant information from the stem. ____  Included in the stem any word(s) that might have otherwise been repeated in each alternative. ____  Used negatively stated stems sparingly. When used, underlined and/or capitalized the negative word(s). ____  Made all alternatives plausible and attractive to the less knowledgeable or skillful student. ____  Made the alternatives grammatically parallel with each other, and consistent with the stem. ____  Made the alternatives mutually exclusive. ____  When possible, presented alternatives in some logical order (e.g., chronologically, most to least). ____  Made sure there was only one correct or best response per item. ____  Made alternatives approximately equal in length. ____  Avoided irrelevant clues such as grammatical structure, well known verbal associations or connections between stem and answer. ____  Used at least four alternatives for each item. ____  Randomly distributed the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d, and e as the correct response. ____  Used the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives were occasionally the correct response. ____  Based true-false items upon statements that are absolutely true or false, without qualifications or exceptions. ____  Expressed the item statement as simply and as clearly as possible. ____  Expressed a single idea in each test item. ____  Included enough background information and qualifications so that the ability to respond correctly did not depend on some special, uncommon knowledge. ____  Avoided lifting statements from the text, lecture, or other materials. ____  Avoided using negatively stated item statements. ____  Avoided the use of unfamiliar language. ____  Avoided the use of specific determiners such as "all," "always," "none," "never," etc., and qualifying determiners such as "usually," "sometimes," "often," etc. ____  Used more false items than true items (but not more than 15% additional false items). ____  Included directions which clearly stated the basis for matching the stimuli with the response. ____  Explained whether or not a response could be used more than once and indicated where to write the answer. ____  Used only homogeneous material. ____  When possible, arranged the list of responses in some systematic order (e.g., chronologically, alphabetically). ____  Avoided grammatical or other clues to the correct response. ____  Kept items brief (limited the list of stimuli to under 10). ____  Included more responses than stimuli. ____  When possible, reduced the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list. ____  Omitted only significant words from the statement. ____  Did not omit so many words from the statement that the intended meaning was lost. ____  Avoided grammatical or other clues to the correct response. ____  Included only one correct response per item. ____  Made the blanks of equal length. ____  When possible, deleted the words at the end of the statement after the student was presented with a clearly defined problem. ____  Avoided lifting statements directly from the text, lecture, or other sources. ____  Limited the required response to a single word or phrase. ____  Prepared items that elicited the type of behavior you wanted to measure. ____  Phrased each item so that the student's task was clearly indicated. ____  Indicated for each item a point value or weight and an estimated time limit for answering. ____  Asked questions that elicited responses on which experts could agree that one answer is better than others. ____  Avoided giving the student a choice among optional items. ____  Administered several short-answer items rather than 1 or 2 extended-response items. Grading Essay Test Items ____  Selected an appropriate grading model. ____  Tried not to allow factors which were irrelevant to the learning outcomes being measured to affect your grading (e.g., handwriting, spelling, neatness). ____  Read and graded all class answers to one item before going on to the next item. ____  Read and graded the answers without looking at the student's name to avoid possible preferential treatment. ____  Occasionally shuffled papers during the reading of answers. ____  When possible, asked another instructor to read and grade your students' responses. ____  Clearly identified and explained the problem to the student. ____  Provided directions which clearly informed the student of the type of response called for. ____  Stated in the directions whether or not the student must show work procedures for full or partial credit. ____  Clearly separated item parts and indicated their point values. ____  Used figures, conditions and situations which created a realistic problem. ____  Asked questions that elicited responses on which experts could agree that one solution and one or more work procedures are better than others. ____  Worked through each problem before classroom administration. ____  Prepared items that elicit the type of behavior you wanted to measure. ____  Clearly identified and explained the simulated situation to the student. ____  Made the simulated situation as "life-like" as possible. ____  Provided directions which clearly inform the students of the type of response called for. ____  When appropriate, clearly stated time and activity limitations in the directions. ____  Adequately trained the observer(s)/scorer(s) to ensure that they were fair in scoring the appropriate behaviors. STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEST ITEM QUALITY  Using ices questionnaire items to assess your test item quality . The following set of ICES (Instructor and Course Evaluation System) questionnaire items can be used to assess the quality of your test items. The items are presented with their original ICES catalogue number. You are encouraged to include one or more of the items on the ICES evaluation form in order to collect student opinion of your item writing quality. 102--How would you rate the instructor's examination questions? 116--Did the exams challenge you to do original thinking? Excellent Poor Yes, very challenging No, not challenging 103--How well did examination questions reflect content and emphasis of the course? 118--Were there "trick" or trite questions on tests? Well related Poorly related Lots of them Few if any 114--The exams reflected important points in the reading assignments. 122--How difficult were the examinations? Strongly agree Strongly disagree Too difficult Too easy 119--Were exam questions worded clearly? 123--I found I could score reasonably well on exams by just cramming. Yes, very clear No, very unclear Strongly agree Strongly disagree 115--Were the instructor's test questions thought provoking? 121--How was the length of exams for the time allotted. Definitely yes Definitely no Too long Too short 125--Were exams adequately discussed upon return? 109--Were exams, papers, reports returned with errors explained or personal comments? Yes, adequately No, not enough Almost always Almost never IV. ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING (CITL) The information on this page is intended for self-instruction. However, CITL staff members will consult with faculty who wish to analyze and improve their test item writing. The staff can also consult with faculty about other instructional problems. Instructors wishing to acquire CITL assistance can contact [email protected] .  V. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING Ebel, R. L. (1965). Measuring educational achievement . Prentice-Hall. Ebel, R. L. (1972). Essentials of educational measurement . Prentice-Hall. Gronlund, N. E. (1976). Measurement and evaluation in teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Mehrens W. A. & Lehmann I. J. (1973). Measurement and evaluation in education and psychology . Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nelson, C. H. (1970). Measurement and evaluation in the classroom . Macmillan. Payne, D. A. (1974).  The assessment of learning: Cognitive and affective . D.C. Heath & Co. Scannell, D. P., & Tracy D. B. (1975). Testing and measurement in the classroom . Houghton Mifflin. Thorndike, R. L. (1971). Educational measurement (2nd ed.). American Council on Education. Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning 249 Armory Building 505 East Armory Avenue Champaign, IL 61820 217 333-1462 Email: [email protected] Office of the Provost How to Successfully Write Constructed-Response Essays Writing class looks very different today than it did when I started teaching. In many states, students are writing fewer narratives (stories) and more essays. For example, in Florida, students are expected to write text-based essays starting in fourth grade. This shift to fact-based writing is one of the most significant changes I have seen in education since I started teaching in the 1990s. In this post, I am not discussing how to write the essay itself, which I discussed in previous posts. Instead, I want to discuss how you can help your students prepare themselves for writing an extended constructed response during standardized testing. Understanding The Writing Terms I will be honest; there are so many different names for fact-based writing that I had to look them up and double-check how they were similar or different. Honestly, essay seems to be used rather generally to refer to a long piece of writing that involves the writer about a topic. They also are referred to as extended response questions on tests.  People often call writing an “essay,” even if it is a specific type of writing. In general, essays are usually assessed on writing ability, although they may also be graded on content. Open-Response Writing Open-response writing is an essay that requires writers to cite text evidence to support their opinion or thesis. In my research, the terms evidence-based writing, text-based writing, and constructed response writing all seem to be used as synonyms of open-response writing. It can be confusing because there are also constructed-response and open-response questions .  I prefer evidence-based or text-based writing because they describe what the writer has to do in the essay. However, constructed-response seemed to be more common (at least in my Google searches.)​ Writing A Constructed-Response Essay Teachers can help students do well on evidence-based essays by helping them learn to manage their time and teaching them to make sure they get at least partial credit on their essays.  Here are 11 tips for teaching your students about text-based essays on standardized tests:  1. Read the prompt/question carefully If you misread the question, you could write the most fantastic essay ever – and still fail. Making sure you understand the question being asked is the #1 most important thing students need to do during standardized testing.  Teachers can drill this fact during their writing class. They can have students circle or highlight the keywords in the prompt. Students could also rewrite the question in their own words. 2. Pace Your Work Standardized tests give students a specific amount of time. Students need to use that time wisely to complete their work before the end of the session. Teach students how to divide their time at the beginning of the work session. I recommend having students write down the start times for each activity on their planning paper. Having it written down gives students a visual reminder. For example, if the writing session is 90 minutes, students should spend about 30 minutes reading the texts, then 5 – 10 minutes understanding the prompt. As their time is nearly half over, they need to divide the remaining time for planning, writing, and editing. Honestly, if they don’t make it to editing, it will be fine – but planning alone won’t get a good score.   I recommend teachers do one or two practice essays in the months before testing. That is enough for students to get a feel for how long they have to finish. You don’t want to stress students out by over-doing testing scenarios – they are already over-tested as it is.​ Read the texts carefully. As the essay is based on the texts, students who misunderstand the passages will probably not do well on the essay. Teachers need to emphasize that racing or skimming texts will not save students time in the long run – because they won’t have evidence in mind to answer the prompt. I also recommend teaching students to write the main idea of each paragraph in the margins. These notes give students a quick visual to help them locate information when they are planning their essays. 4. Decide On The Topic Okay, students DO NOT like to plan. (This is a struggle in my house, too.) Planning is key. Planning makes writing the essay a million times easier.  At this point, it is the mantra I tell my children: “You must plan your writing before you can start.” Before writing ANYTHING, students should determine what their opinion or thesis is and have three general ways they can support it. As soon as they have figured out those, they should write them down. 5. Partial Credit Is Better Than Nothing We all have students that just get stuck and sit there. In part, students do this because they are afraid to fail. Teachers need to remind students during practice that any essay – even an incomplete one – will earn a score. Any score is better than no score.  The goal is not for students to turn in a partial essay, but to move students past their fear of failure. 6. Make an Outline Every student should learn how to outline. I strongly believe that outlines make writing so much easier, and even students who think they don’t like writing do better when they learn to plan what they will say in each paragraph. Even if teachers don’t specifically use the outline format, they can show students how to organize their thoughts in “buckets” or “clouds.” Students should know what their general evidence topics are and add at least 2-3 things they will say about that evidence to their plan. Teachers should also show students how to add the text evidence directly to the outline, which saves a lot of time when they are writing the essay. Students won’t need to search for their evidence because it will already be on their plan. 7. Does Your Essay Stand Alone? So many times, students write their essays like the reader has read the texts or the prompt. Teachers need to drill the idea that the reader should understand the essays without anything else to receive a good score. After students have an outline, they should review it and ask themselves if they have included enough information for the reader to follow their argument.  Is their opinion/thesis clearly stated? Is the evidence easy to understand? Did they explain how the evidence supports their thesis? Did the summarize their points in the conclusion? Reviewing their plan before beginning the essay can save students a lot of time. 8. Introduction I know a lot of students (and myself) just get stuck on how to start. Writers waste a lot of time trying to think of the perfect opening. Emphasize to your students that they should just start. A simple introduction is better than not finishing while they think of a clever hook. Their introduction should clearly state the topic or problem and their opinion or thesis. Students should also quickly overview what their evidence or reasoning is for their thesis.  If students have extra time at the end, they can go back and try to improve the introduction. However, it is essential for them to not waste a lot of time on it before their essay is written. 9. Get'er Done Use the outline to write the essay. Students should do the best they can on grammar and mechanics as they write, but they can always edit if they have time. Having an outline will help them write the essay a lot faster. If students learn to put their text evidence on the outline, it helps them to remember to add it, and it saves time during this step because they aren’t searching for support to fit their “evidence.” (Another reason to find that text-based evidence during planning – students make sure there is evidence before moving on.) 10. Conclusion Restate the thesis/opinion and summarize the evidence used. Again, it is more important to finish then be fancy. With whatever time students have left, they should reread what they write for clarity. The ideas in the essay must be clear to the reader, so students should focus on that first. Editing for grammar and mechanics should be done in a second reading. How Many Of These Tips Should I Teach At A Time? Teachers should select 1-2 of these tips at a time and make them a mini-lesson. Students won’t remember more than that. Remember, breaking essays into manageable steps is the best way to help students master essay writing. Free Resource For Students! I created a resource for teachers to give to students that will help them review best practices for writing an evidence-based essay. You can get this resource by signing up for my newsletter. Just click here or the image below. How to Use TEACH to Write Text-Based Essays (ECR) Using integrated learning in the classroom. English exam prep: Extended responses Danielle Barakat Community Manager at Atomi Here’s the thing, whether you like it or not every single one of you HSC students will have to write an essay or 40 in the next year. English is compulsory for everyone which means you all have to be able to put together at least a semi-decent essay or extended response. Essay writing can be tricky enough without the pressure of an exam, but add in that time pressure and sometimes our brain can go into meltdown mode… If you check out our Preparing for an in-class essay post, we go through how to construct and prep your essay for an in-class assessment. It's generally pretty similar to what you'd do for your exam so I am not going to go through that again. What i'm going to focus on now is how to go about writing it in an actual exam situation (i.e. Trials or the HSC). So let’s jump right in: During the exam 1. 👏 read 👏 every 👏 word 👏 of 👏 the 👏 question 👏 properly 👏. This point seems so obvious but is so often forgotten in an exam. It’s so simple. Just make sure you read every word of the essay question carefully. Make sure you’re following the instructions and paying attention to the little things that might actually be the big things. For example, do they want a speech or essay? Do they want at leas t one related text or no more than one related text? Don’t skip this step and you’ll be off to a good start! 2. Draft a quick essay plan Whether you think so or not, there’s always time to quickly plan out your essay in an exam. Do this. Every. Single. Time. It’s worth it, trust me. The fear and adrenaline of an exam might want to take over your brain at this stage and you might be urged to start writing as quickly as possible so you can just get your essay out of your head and onto the paper before you forget it. But stop. Take a few minutes and plan it out a bit first, You want to basically write down your thesis and the structure/order of your body paragraphs. If you want a bit more detail on exactly how to plan properly, check this out . 3. Time management, it ain’t no joke! When it comes to managing your time in an exam you need to be wary of two things: the time you need to write your essay and the time you need to finish the entire exam. Now you’re probably sitting there going hang on, aren’t these the same thing? And the answer is no. You have to leave yourself enough time in the entire exam to write a good quality essay. We think 45 minutes is ideal. So my tip here would be to try and optimise your time in the first two sections of the paper, especially in the creative writing section. Now we have tried and tested this, and it seems that you can actually bang out a really great creative in 30 mins instead of 40, which gives you some extra time for the essay section. Now when it comes to having enough time to actually write your essay, these couple of weeks of studying will give you an indication of the time limits and your progress. For example, you should know that your intro and first 2 paragraphs take about 20 minutes to write. So if you’re 20 mins in and you’ve only written your intro and 1 body paragraph, you know that you need to pick up the pace a little bit. If you realise you can’t do it in the time, then head back to your plan and start thinking about sections you can cut down. But this is the last resort. If you manage your time properly, you should be able to write the essay that you want in 40-45 minutes. 4. Write out your evidence so you don’t forget it This tip isn’t for everyone, but I know a lot of people will find this tip really handy. Every essay needs evidence and I am sure you’re all cramming your brains with quotes, dates or stats so it’s worth having a strategy in place to make sure you remember to include it all and don’t leave out anything important. So what I would do as soon as I could start writing in an exam is quickly jot down the keywords of some of the quotes that I knew I definitely wanted to include in my response. So if I had a total mind blank I would be able to just go back and jog my memory rather than sitting there wasting time trying to wrack my brain to remember it. 5. Structure is important This point also has a lot to do with planning (clearly you can see some of my OCD shining through in this post) but it’s super important when it comes to extended responses that you consider the structure of your answers. Make a structure during your planning and stick to it. That’s super important. Keep your paragraphs structured too, whether it’s PEEL, T-V-E or some other acronym that your paragraphs are set out to, stick to this so you can ensure you’re making clear, concise points and have enough time to get everything in before those 2 hours are up. 6. Take a minute Mind blanks are really common for everyone in exams so don’t freak out and think you’re the only one who suddenly can’t remember anything when they open up that exam paper. This is a pretty stressful feeling and can sometimes be very overwhelming, but remember everything is in there, it’s just the stress and adrenaline that’s blocking your mind. So take a minute and breathe. Stop writing and let the anxiety exit your body before you end up writing a whole paragraph just to realise it’s a whole bunch of nothing. Waffling effects the clarity of your essay, and remember the marking criteria? It’s about having a logical, concise response. Give yourself a few seconds to try and think of your argument again and in most cases, it does start to come back to you. If you really can’t remember the point you were trying to make, either move on and come back later or just cut your losses, conclude that point and move on. Sometimes it’s the only way. 7. Keywords and source material Not every essay question in an exam gives you stimulus or source material (like a quote) that you need to include in your response, but for the ones that do it’s crucial that you don’t just ignore these. Make sure you read the material and actually try and understand the relevance of the material in regards to the question they’re asking you. Here are a few examples: If they ask you to discuss, this means you need to pinpoint the issues raised by that statement and provide examples and analysis for and/or against each of those issues. If they ask you to explain you need to relate the cause and effect and make the relationship between things evident, by examples. You also need to provide why and how these things are related. If they ask: to what extent, t his one is a little bit more in depth. Here you will have to make a judgement call about what they’re asking. So for example, if the question is ‘To what extent is this view represented…’ then you need to make a judgement about how much the themes and ideas in your texts support the given statement. This doesn’t always have to be black and white, you can argue both sides just as long as at the end you make a conclusion and have enough evidence to back up everything you’re saying. How you use the source material in an exam is really going to depend on the NESA key term that’s used in the question. These can all be found here . So make sure you know what these words mean and how to use them to incorporate the stimulus given. And we’re done! Just remember that writing essays in exams really comes down to being as prepared as possible and having a really good strategy in place. This is why practising now is going to get you ahead of the game. Manage your time, plan out your response and properly answer the question and you’ll be on the path to smashing it. Happy essay writing... 😬 Published on February 22, 2019 Recommended reads Navigating subject selection for Year 11 5 Exam tips for Biology 5 Tips for studying Maths in any year What's atomi. Engaging, curriculum-specific videos and interactive lessons backed by research, so you can study smarter, not harder. With tens of thousands of practice questions and revision sessions, you won’t just think you’re ready. You’ll know you are! Study skills strategies and tips, AI-powered revision recommendations and progress insights help you stay on track. Short, curriculum-specific videos and interactive content that’s easy to understand and backed by the latest research. Active recall quizzes, topic-based tests and exam practice enable students to build their skills and get immediate feedback. Our AI understands each student's progress and makes intelligent recommendations based on their strengths and weaknesses. 441 IMAGES How to Answer Extended-Response or Essay Questions How to Write an Extended Response in High School How to Easily Beat the GED Extended Response Essay for RLA Extended Response Template How to Easily Beat the GED Extended Response Essay for RLA How to Write an Extended Response in High School VIDEO What is Extended Essay? (Conclusion) Essay Test 2 Discussion OCS 2023 Live Class Extended Response, Episode I Essay Test No 01 Explanation By Dr Vivekananda Sir Essay Test! #shorts #learningenglish #essay #forsecondandthirdgraders Preparation Tips and Tricks to Crack Essay Test COMMENTS GED Essay Writing Guide Follow this strategy when writing your GED Essay: Step 1 Read and Analyze the Stimulus Passages (5 Minutes). Start by reading both of the passages. Make sure you understand the issue and the position that each passage is taking. Try to ignore your own personal feelings on the topic as you read. GED Extended Response Essay Prompts & Examples GED writing practice tests and Tips to succeed in writing your essay with only 45 minutes to complete. Practice tests to improve your GED score. Start now! A Quick Guide to Writing an Extended Response to the GED Language Arts Test. This test will check how well you create arguments and use evidence. Also, it would also test your clarity and command of Standard English language. Extended Response Use these free videos, guidelines and examples to prepare and practice for the essay section of the Language Arts test. ... Overview of the GED Extended Response Format (1:28) How to Pass the GED Extended Response (3:14) How to Determine Which Position is Best Supported (2:49) How to Write a Well-Supported Argument (4:21) PDF Sample Extended Response Passages and Prompts for Classroom Practice Sample Extended Response Passages and Prompts for Classroom Practice - RLA Help your students get ready for the extended responses on the GED® test - Reasoning Through Language Arts test by practicing with these sample prompts and source materials in the classroom. Fully answering an ER prompt often requires 4 to 7 paragraphs of 3 to 7 sentences Extended Constructed Response Prompts Once you've selected your pair of high-interest texts, you're ready to write the essay prompt. STEP 2: Write an Aligned, Extended-Response Prompt. To write an aligned, extended-response prompt, start by reading an example extended-response prompt from a released state test. Here is a sample prompt from a 7th grade Smarter Balanced assessment: How an Extended Response Item Can Enhance Learning By Melissa Kelly. Extended response items require essential critical thinking skills. An essay, in a sense, is a riddle that students can solve using prior knowledge, making connections, and drawing conclusions. This is an invaluable skill for any student to have. Those who can master it have a better chance of being successful academically. 5 Steps for Great Extended Responses STEP 2: Write an Aligned, Extended-Response Prompt. To write an aligned, extended-response prompt, start by reading an example extended-response prompt from a released state test. Here is a sample ... Classroom Assessment B. Essay Questions (Short and Extended Response) Essay questions are a more complex version of constructed response assessments. With essay questions, there is one general question or proposition, and the student is asked to respond in writing. This type of assessment is very powerful -- it allows the students to express themselves and ... PDF Writing Better Essay Exams IDEA Paper #76 March 2019 response formats —more specifically, on best practices for extended-response essay-test item design, implementation, and evaluation. A Few Definitions Before examining the creation and implementation of essay exams, it is worthwhile to clarify some important terms. There are two broad types of "essay" exam items (Clay, 2001; Nilson, 2017). Guide to Writing the Extended Response 1. Given passages relating to same topic 2. Authors of each passage will have different opinion on the topic 3. You will be the "judge" as to which passage (which author) presents the strongest evidence for their argument 4. Your extended response will be your written reasoning (giving examples from the texts) as to why you believe which ... Extended Response: Example 1 Here, at HowtoPasstheGED.com, a five-paragraph essay will be used as a framework for writing an Extended Response. Five-Paragraph Essay - Outline. Paragraph 1: Introduction of your position with three supporting points. Paragraph 2: Discussion of first point. Paragraph 3: Discussion of second point. PDF The Writing Process Constructing an Extended Response Essay The first paragraph of an extended response Hook - grabs the reader's attention and helps the reader focus on the task. It may be a question, a statement, a definition, a quotation, or a description. Link - connects the hook and the thesis to the topic of the extended response. It How to Easily Beat the GED Language Arts Extended Response Essay in #GED #GEDtest #GEDRLA How do you ace the GED Language arts extended response portion aka the GED essay? Hi, I'm Parker from Test Prep Champions, I've worked ... How to do an extended response exam Extended Response Structure. Your Extended Response paragraph should follow the same paragraph structure as an analytical essay body paragraph. Parts of a good body paragraph: 1. Topic sentence: The very first sentence that clearly states what you are going to be arguing in the paragraph. 2. Overheads for Unit 7--Chapter 10 (Essay Questions) Overheads for Unit 7--Chapter 10 (Essay Questions) They represent a continuum in how much freedom of response is allowed, ranging from restricted-response essays on one end to extended-response essays on the other. Represent a continuum in complexity and breadth of learning outcomes assessed, with interpretive exercises on the left end ... Improving Your Test Questions An essay test item can be classified as either an extended-response essay item or a short-answer essay item. The latter calls for a more restricted or limited answer in terms of form or scope. An example of each type of essay item follows. Sample Extended-Response Essay Item Guide to Writing the Extended Response 1. Given passages relating to same topic 2. Authors of each passage will have different opinion on the topic 3. You will be the "judge" as to which passage (which author) presents the strongest evidence for their argument 4. Your extended response will be your written reasoning (giving examples from the texts) as to why you believe which ... How to Successfully Write Constructed-Response Essays 1. Read the prompt/question carefully. If you misread the question, you could write the most fantastic essay ever - and still fail. Making sure you understand the question being asked is the #1 most important thing students need to do during standardized testing. Teachers can drill this fact during their writing class. PDF Sample Passages to Practice Your Own GED Test Extended Response This task should take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Remember: Writing a complete extended response often requires 4 to 7 paragraphs of 3 to 7 sentences each - that can quickly add up to 300 to 500 words of writing! A response that is significantly shorter could put you in danger of scoring a 0 just for not showing enough of your ... Essay Items Assessment This document discusses essay tests and provides guidance on constructing and evaluating essay test items. It defines essay tests as requiring students to compose lengthy responses of several paragraphs to analyze, synthesize or evaluate information. Both extended and restricted response essays are described, with the former allowing more freedom in responses and the latter restricting content ... English exam prep: Extended responses English exam prep: Extended responses. Here's the thing, whether you like it or not every single one of you HSC students will have to write an essay or 40 in the next year. English is compulsory for everyone which means you all have to be able to put together at least a semi-decent essay or extended response. Essay writing can be tricky ... GED® Test: RLA Extended Response Basics This video covers the basic information about the GED® test extended response question and includes useful tips that will help test-takers earn points for th... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis