dragonbook

46 5. Back up your topic sentences with specific details. If your topic sentence is, “Washington was America’s most outstanding president,” be sure you can give a list of Washington’s achievements. It is, by the way, an enormously bad habit of many people today to make judgments (both positive and negative) without any real evidence. There is a prevailing sentiment that all opinions are equally valid, and that facts are irrelevant. This attitude can get you into an enormous trouble on an exam. There are indeed quite often different opinions on academic issues, but, whatever side you take on a question, be sure to back it up with facts! 6. Never put all your information in one long paragraph. Relatively short paragraphs (approximately the length of #5 above) are usually the best way to a good grade. 7. Remember that professors do not always read your essays as carefully as they might. Even when they do read carefully, they have often “graded” your essay by the time they’ve finished the opening few paragraphs. This means that the opening words of your essay are particularly important. Some students finesse this issue by copying the exam question at the start of their essays. I don’t know if this influences professors or not, but copying a question does have the advantage of forcing a student to focus carefully on the question. It also helps overcome the “writer’s block” that most of us have when staring at a blank page. 8. Be considerate of your professor. Write in ink, not pencil (pencil is very hard on the eyes). Blue ink is usually best, though black works. Don’t use red or green. Don’t write in the margins. 9. Having a sense of humor often helps. If you make a professor smile while grading your essay, you’ll often get a better grade—a rightfully so. Being able to see the humor in a situation often reflects a higher level of understanding than just matter- of-fact recitation of details. 10. Use appropriate academic diction. You don’t have to sound like a stuffy professor, but you should usually avoid slang and almost always avoid profanity. PART III—MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMS If your professor gives multiple-choice exams, you’ll have to adopt a different study strategy than the above. Essay exams require you to know the right answer to a question, while multiple-choice exams only ask that you recognize the right answer. In general, professors who give essay exams want you to learn (and learn well) some overall, big ideas. Professors who give multiple-choice exams want mastery of specific facts.