Exam Tip – Engage your audience
When journalists write they try to establish a connection with their audience. To them it’s common sense, they need to engage their audience to earn a living. What many people don’t realise is that this principle applies to all writing. It applies when writing a business plan, resume or even an exam script.
We always have an audience and most of the time our audience is distracted. Your exam script is one of many and will probably only be skim read. Just like journalists you need to engage your audience. You need to convince the marker to spend more than 30 seconds on your script even though they have 500 more to get through.
So how do you form a connection with an anonymous marker when under time pressure with questions to be answered and marks to be gained?
One way I do it is by using humorous metaphors, examples and anecdotes. Using an example to explain a concept is a classic exam question and also a perfect opportunity to engage the marker.
In my 6th form economics exam I was asked to use an example to answer a question on external benefits. This is the answer I gave as I remember it:
“The primary benefit of Steve buying a chocolate bar is to himself when he consumes the delicious chocolate but there may also be benefits to third parties that are not foreseen by Steve at the time of purchase.
For example, Steve could use the energy gained from that chocolate bar to save the life of a child drowning in a fast moving river. Certainly that child has benefited from the chocolate bar although this benefit could not have been foreseen by either Steve or the manufacturer.”
As an answer I thought it sucked but the marker wrote on my exam script that it was the best example he’d ever read. Did it get me a higher grade? There’s no way to tell, but possibly.
Exam scripts because they represent an extreme situation in which it is very difficult to establish such a connection but in no way does this principle only apply to exams. In fact it is much easier to engage readers in more flexible situations such as when writing a business plan, resume or assignment.”
Moral of the story: We can always benefit from forming a connection with our readers and should always try to do so.
