Preparing for Exams

Be sure to address early on in the essay the 2 W's: 

Right away, tell me when and where you are writing about. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Ws: who, what and why, should be the bulk of your essay. Answer each question like you are telling a story. Start at the beginning, explain each point, and keep on going until you reach the end. Be as specific as you can be. 

Answer the qustion fully: 

Be sure to answer the entire question. Only addressing part of the question, even if yo do a great job on that part, will lead to points being deducted. If you have been absent, you need to get the notes so that you have all the notes you need to answer the questions completely. 

Avoid general/vague language. 

Vague language says NOTHING. You need to give me specific examples throughout your essay. For example if you write that after Reconstruction, the US was a racist society, you need to give me SPECIFIC examples to illustrate your point: tell me about Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation laws, voting restrictions, etc.....You will lose a lot of points, unless you include specifics in your essay. 


Form Study Groups 

Meeting in groups is a great way of learning. I guarantee you that you know something that a fellow student doesn't and vice versa. You can help each other. Get together with 3-4 fellow students, everyone take one essay question and be responsible for teaching the group the question. 


Outlines 

For the first exam you can bring outlines. They must be in outline form. If there was a question about the early Puritans and Pilgrims, an outline might be like: 



Pilgrims---Plymouth in 1620 
---separatists 
---society for God 
--leave sin in England 
--failed in 1690 

Puritans to MAss in 1630 
---society for God 
---leave sin in England 
--allowed sinners to come, but must follow rules 
---covenant 
---organized 

No Sentences, paragraphs, etc.... You will pass in outlines, so if you have too much info on there, I will deduct points.