An in-class essay is a timed essay written during class to test understanding of course material and writing skills. Proper preparation and time management are essential given the limited time frame of 1-2 hours compared to regular essays. Students should prepare by studying material in advance, getting sufficient rest, and using relaxation techniques. During the essay, students should understand the prompt, outline their response, write their essay in sections, and briefly proofread before submitting. Organization, a clear thesis statement, and incorporating relevant quotes and concepts can help students succeed on in-class essays.

1. In-Class Essays

2. What is an in-class essay?
An essay written in class, often referred to as an
essay exam.
The conditions for in-class essays vary.
Some teachers will give you the prompt beforehand
and give you time to prepare, while others won’t.
The purpose of an in-class essay is usually to test
your understanding of a certain subject and/or essay
writing skills.

3. A Note on Perfection:
Relieve some of your stress by realizing that your
teacher does not expect your essay to be perfect.

4. In a regular essay you may have 10 days to prepare
(prewrite, draft, revise, and edit) before turning in
your final draft. This is 240 hours of preparation
time.
However, for an class essay, you often have
between 1 to 2 hours to write and edit the essay.
Therefore, time management is essential.

5. The in-class essay writing process:
Prepare.
Understand the prompt and material.
Prewrite.
Write.
Proofread & briefly edit.
Turn in!

6. Preparing the night before:
Note: Don’t leave your preparation until the last
minute. Give yourself time to prepare.
If you know what the essay will be based on, make
sure that you comfortably know the material.
Refresh your mind by studying the material.
Sleep well.
Have pleasant dreams!

7. Preparing the day of the in-class essay:
Eat a nutritious breakfast.
Make time to quickly freshen up on your material
before class.
Be on time to class.
You’ve been told all of these tips
many times before, but they actually
do work!

8. Relaxation Techniques:
Breathing control relaxes tension; breathe easily and
deeply.
Think positively.
Listen to calming music (The Mozart Effect).
Drink warm tea (coffee has shown to release stress
hormones).

9. This is a
wristwatch
Get one.
Rule #1
Bring a watch with you when you take the exam or make sure a clock will be in the
exam room. That way, you will know how much time you have left to finish writing.

10. Time management during the essay.
Make sure to leave enough time for all the steps in
the in-class essay writing process.
For example, a 60 min essay should look like:
Outlining/Prewriting – 10 minutes.
Writing the essay – 45 minutes.
Proofreading – 5 minutes.

11. Understanding your prompt.
Oftentimes, teachers are asking for multiple
responses in one prompt. Make sure to address every
area (ex. “Describe and analyze the plot and setting
of…”—one must describe AND analyze both the plot
and setting).
Identify key terms (refer to handout).

12. Common Essay Prompt Terms
THESE ARE TERMS THAT YOU WILL OFTEN SEE IN
WRITING PROMPTS. LOOK AT THE EXPLANATIONS TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.

13. • Analyze- to separate something into parts and then discuss those
parts and their meanings.
•Classify- to arrange into groups on the basis of shared
characteristics.
•Compare and contrast- to show similarities and their differences.
•Criticize- to judge and discuss the merits and faults of your
subject.
•Define- to explain or identify the nature or essential qualities of
your subject.
•Discuss- to consider or examine by argument, comment or
debate, or to explore solutions.
•Evaluate- to appraise the worth of an idea, comment, etc. and
justify your conclusion.

14. Explain- to make clear or intelligible something that needs to be understood or
interpreted.
Illustrate- to use specific examples or analogies to clarify or explain something.
Interpret- to define information through an explanation based on personal opinion.
Justify- showing or proving that something is valid or correct.
Prove- to present evidence that cannot be refuted logically or with other evidence.
Relate- to show the connections between two or more things.
Review- to reexamine, summarize, or reprise something.
Summarize- to briefly repeat the major points of something.
Support- to argue in favor of something.

15. Analyze a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a
creative work that has had an influence on you, and
explain that influence.
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you
have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its
impact on you.
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Compare and contrast
the advantages and
disadvantages of online courses with those of
traditional classes.
Voting is an important issue in our society, yet many
students do not take the time to vote. Discuss why
you believe voting is or is not important for students.
Include the reasons why you think there is a low
voter turnout among college students. In addition,
what do you think are some important issues for
college students? Illustrate your ideas by using
examples from your own experiences/personal life.
This prompt
has four parts

16. Tips for certain types of essays:
Short Essays: Long Essays:
Usually ask to briefly
define or
compare/contrast a topic.
Teachers are looking to
see if you know the term
well enough to define its
meaning.
Be very concise and direct
in your answer.
Typically ask a student a
question (or questions)
using course theories,
facts, and material.
Often require an analysis.

17. Organization/Outlining Techniques.
What is your thesis? Your supporting points? Etc.
Use outlines and frequent note taking to organize
your information.
For example, if you’re given a prompt that is asking
you to compare and contrast two characters, create
graphs listing the similarities and contrasting
attributes of each character.
Outlining and notetaking can use any and/or all of
the prewriting techniques. Find which methods work
best for you!

18. Thesis Statement:
Developing a good thesis statement is a good place to
begin writing your essay.
Your thesis statement consists of your subject,
opinion, and perhaps some supporting points.
Examples:
Prompt: Compare and contrast the reasons why the North and South
fought the Civil War.
While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against
tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of
slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

19. Incorporating Quotes:
If your essay is literature-based, your teacher will
want you to integrate quotes into your essay.
Annotate your material prior to the in-class essay so
that you will have important quotes already.
Since you don’t know exactly what you will be
writing the day of the exam, pick quotes that are
close to the theme or quotes you feel are vital for the
characters/storyline.

20. Proofreading:
Resist the urge to completely rewrite your essay!
Make sure to leave a little time at the end of your in-class
essay to look over your work—a masterpiece
with punctuation errors or missing words looks like
less of a masterpiece.

21. Winning Essay Techniques
Use keywords (from the prompt and from your material).
That is, actually incorporate word-for-word the same
language in the writing prompt into your thesis statement
or introduction. This will help to keep you on track with the
writing assignment and ensure that your instructor sees
you followed the prompt.
If you prewrite, turn in your prewriting with the essay.
Relate concepts back to class material (ex. If you learned
about setting in class, mention the setting).
Students who can provide their own analysis typically get
better grades than those who just repeat the class material.