How to Answer a Short-answer or Essay Question

Click here for some reasons why it is important to be able to write an essay.

General Rules

1. Use formal written English.

2. Write in sentence and paragraph form unless told to do otherwise. This includes giving your essay an introduction that states the question. This also means that if you are writing an essay that identifies a list, you write out the word "first", "second", "third", instead of just numbering the sentences.

3. When writing an essay, write out a rough draft on scratch paper to get an idea of what you are going to write and how you are going to write it. This is especially helpful with longer essays or those worth a lot of points. In addition, rough drafts can be done in outline form since they aren't turned in.

4. Read the question carefully. The body of the question will tell you what to write, as well as how to organize and write it. For instance, if the question says to compare and contrast two things, you must explain both how they are similar AND how they are different. If the question says to define and list something, make sure that you define the word AND list whatever is being asked for. Key words to look for in these types of questions include:

Describe - Give a written analysis.

Explain - Put a topic or process in your own words. This term is often used interchangeably with the word describe.

Define - Give the correct meaning of a word in the context that it is being used. For example, the word syndrome literally means, "running with." The medical definition of refers to a disease with several symptoms occurring together.

List - Discuss the individual components of a process or topic. Lists are often meant to be in a particular order so make sure that order is also correct
.
Summarize - Take the main topics or results and re-write them in a brief form.

Compare - Examine the similarities that two or more things have.

Contrast - Examine the differences that two or more things have.

5. Follow a thought all the way through to its completion. Don't leave an idea or process hanging partway through your answer.

6. Spell everything correctly.

7. Drawings and concept maps sometimes help visualize a structure or a concept but they must not be used instead of a written answer.

8. Read through the short answer / essay questions before you begin the test and budget time for each question. Although there will not usually be more than 1 or 2 essay questions (unless it is a makeup exam), it isn't a good idea to save a 15 point essay for the last 5 minutes of the test.

9. Questions worth 15 points should be longer and include more information than those worth 5 points.

10. Silently read your essay back to yourself when you are done to make sure that what you wrote makes sense and completely answers the question. Examples of various questions and appropriate responses.

Appropriate answers to essay questions.

Define Homeostasis for 2 points.

Homeostasis is the maintenance of a specific condition such as pH or temperature in the body.

Define the term, negative feedback system. Once completed, list and explain the parts of an actual negative feedback system in the body for 5 points.

A negative feedback system is a mechanism that attempts to return the body to homeostasis by initiating a response that opposes the original stimulus. For example, if the temperature of the body increases, temperature receptors in the skin sense the increased temperature and send that information to the control center of the body, the brain. The control center then sends a signal to the effectors of this feedback system, the sweat glands. As the sweat glands release water, the body is cooled and temperature returns to normal levels.

Compare and contrast osmosis and diffusion for 5 points.

Diffusion is the movement of something from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration. Osmosis is the movement of water from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane. Diffusion and osmosis are similar since they both involve the movement of something from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. They are different because osmosis only involves water while diffusion can include many different types of liquids and gasses. In addition, osmosis requires the presence of a semi-permeable membrane while diffusion has no such requirement.

List the steps of endochondral ossification and briefly explain each step for 15 points.

The first step in endochondral ossification is the formation of the cartilage model. The cartilage model is hyaline cartilage laid down in the shape of a mature bone, even though it is significantly smaller than the adult bone. The second step is growh of the cartilage model. Growth in length takes place as chondroblasts in the matrix go through mitosis in a process called interstitial growth. Growth in thickenss occurs as new chondroblasts are produced by the perichondrium. The third step is formation of the primary ossification center. As blood vessels penetrate the perichondrium, a thin layer of compact bone is laid down along the outside of the model, forming the periosteal bone collar. The nutrients brought with the increased blood supply allow osteoblasts to lay down bone matrix in the middle of the diaphysis, forming the primary ossification center. Ossification moves outwards from the primary ossification center toward the epiphyses, with osteoclasts removing bone matrix to form the medullary cavity. The fourth step is formation of the secondary ossification center. Blood vessels penetrate the epiphyses, allowing ossification to start in the middle of the epiphysis and work outwards in both directions. The final step in endochondral ossification is formation of the epiphyseal growth plate and the articular cartilage. The epiphysis is not completely ossified at the time of birth. A thin layer of hyaline cartilage in the epiphysis continues to grow, allowing for the growth of the long bone to occur until adulthood. In addition, a thin layer of cartilage remains on the superficial surface of the epiphysis, forming the articular cartilage used to help in the movement of joints.
Examples of actual student answers.