In-Class Essays

A little background

Years ago, the in-class handwritten exam was standard in almost every college course. Across Ashland University, we are returning to that sort of assignment, and many other colleges are doing the same, to assess what students can do without ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or any other machine doing the writing. What do you know? That’s the question we are working on.

Here is my advice for doing well on these tests.

Before the test

• It’s always OK to ask beforehand what sort of test it will be. If you are asked to discuss course content (lectures, reading, and so forth), spend some time reviewing your notes.
• Bring your own pen and paper. Bring extras—pencil points break and pens run out of ink. If your instructor has special requirements (blue book, for example), be sure to bring the right stuff.
• A good night’s sleep will help a lot.
• You probably do not want to tank up on coffee. Some teachers do not allow you to leave for the restroom, and in any case, ten minutes spent using the toilet is ten minutes deducted from your writing time.
• Show up five or ten minutes before the scheduled start time. You need to sit down, get comfortable, organize your writing material, and take a long, deep breath—all before the official start

If you cannot take the test with the rest

Some students must travel with the team, and some have an Academic Accommodation Letter which says they can take tests in a more undisturbed environment. If you are in either situation, contact Julie Donatini at the Student Accessibility Center to set up an appointment to write the test there. You should do this at least a week in advance. Last-minute walk-ins don’t work.

The Big Event

Every one of these tests asks you to do something very specific. If you don’t know what it is or you don’t understand the instructions, it is always fair to ask clarifying questions.

Time is your enemy. Sit where you can see a clock. (Some teachers, including me, will not allow you to keep checking the time on your phone. In our writing sessions, I will project the current time on the front board.)

Don’t bother the others. Humming, pencil-tapping, foot-jiggling, etc., really distract most people. Don’t do them.

Make a plan

Don’t immediately start scribbling furiously. Take a deep breath, get a piece of scrap paper, and figure out what you are going to do. It wouldn’t hurt to write it as a schedule.

1. Think. Look at the assignment, take a breath, and ask yourself, “What am I going to do with this?” Write down a couple of words to remind yourself.
2. Gather. Quickly list the main items you want to include. This is for your own use, so it doesn’t have to be neat and pretty, but a workable list is very helpful. You don’t want to use up all your time on your first point if you have two other important things to say.
3. Draft. This, of course, should be the majority of your time. Do try to be legible, but don’t plan on rewriting the whole thing. You do not have the time. We teachers are used to difficult handwriting.
4. Revise. If you were writing a polished, formal essay, this would be a big chunk of your time, but you do not have that luxury today. For an in-class essay, you are just trying to catch foolish mistakes. Cross-outs and arrows to insertions are OK. It’s also OK to include a desperate, last-second message like “I ran out of time, but I also wanted to write about …”

One last note

It is perfectly OK to use every minute of the writing session, but it is also OK to leave early.

• If you want to leave early, please do it quietly, without disturbing others.
• Try not to panic if others leave before you are ready. Maybe they are just very fast writers. Maybe they did not have much to say. Just relax and keep going with your own work.