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Essay Type Questions & Their Improvements & Short Answer Questions

This document discusses different types of essay and short answer questions used to assess student learning. It provides definitions and comparisons of long essays, short essays, and short answer questions. Long essays assess higher-order thinking skills but have limitations in validity and reliability. Short answer questions have advantages in assessing a broader domain more objectively and efficiently. Well-constructed structured essay questions can help overcome some disadvantages of traditional essays.

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Muhammad Fakhrul Najmi Jaafar
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1K views6 pages

Essay Type Questions & Their Improvements & Short Answer Questions

This document discusses different types of essay and short answer questions used to assess student learning. It provides definitions and comparisons of long essays, short essays, and short answer questions. Long essays assess higher-order thinking skills but have limitations in validity and reliability. Short answer questions have advantages in assessing a broader domain more objectively and efficiently. Well-constructed structured essay questions can help overcome some disadvantages of traditional essays.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Fakhrul Najmi Jaafar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS & THEIR IMPROVEMENTS

& SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS


Dr.Madhuri S Kurdi
Professor
Department of Anaesthesiology
Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences
Hubli, Karnataka

INTRODUCTION:

 Essay & short answer questions are one of the most commonly used methods for
assessing student learning. The written examination in most medical examinations
consists of long &/ short essays.
 Essays & short answer questions are a type of constructed response.

Constructed response:

Definition:

It is composed by the examinee; usually in the form of one or more sentences, of a


nature that no single response or pattern of responses can be listed as correct, & the
accuracy & quality of which can be judged subjectively only by one skilled or informed in the
subject

Types of constructed response formats:

1. Long answer/ extended response essay.


2. Short answer/ restricted response essay/question.

Essays- An essay is a piece of writing that methodically analyses and evaluates a topic or
issue.

Types Of Essays-1)Open-ended essays


-2)Closed ended essays
Open ended essays- The students’ response is unrestricted here.
eg- Discuss the various theories of human development that have been talked about this
semester. Among other things, be sure to compare and contrast the basic assumptions of
the theories, the method used to study development, and the criticisms of each. You are free
to take as much time as you need. Write as many pages as you like, and organize your
answer as you see fit.

Closed Ended essays- The students’ response is restricted.


Eg-Compare and contrast two of the basic theories of human development that have been
discussed this semester. Include a brief summary of each theory, the method used to study
development, and the criticisms of each perspective. Limit your response to five written
pages, and do not write for longer than 2 hours.

What is being assessed by essay papers?


-The students’ recall of knowledge,comprehension of information , complex cognitive skills
like analysis, synthesis , evaluation and the students’ power of expression, ability to organise
thoughts and communicate them in writing.
Essay Questions test the following-
1. Factual knowledge – knowledge gained from reading textbooks, journals & from
clinical practice.
2. Communication – good communication of knowledge requires proficiency in the
use of basic English & legible handwriting.
3. The student’s ability to answer the question.
4. Time management.
What are Short Answer Questions?(SAQs)-They are open ended questions which require
students to create an answer. Though similar to essay questions, the length of the answer is
limited to a specified number of rows in the textbox. The number of rows is meant as a
guideline when entering an answer. It does not impose an absolute limit on answer length.
Example: 1) mHz measures the --------------------of the computer.
2) List the different types of plastic surgery procedures.
What is assessed by Short Answer Questions?- SAQs are commonly used in examinations
to assess the students’ basic knowledge and understanding of a topic(lower cognitive
levels).

Comparison of long essay question with short answer question:


Long answer/ extended response essay Short answer question

1. Tests deeper sampling of narrow 1. Tests broader sampling of


domain. domain.
2. Assesses the cognitive domain. Tests 2. Tests lower domains of learning.
knowledge objectives at the higher It assess only factual knowledge,
levels. It assesses complex cognitive recall knowledge & the ability to
skills including analysis, synthesis & assess, analyze, plan, implement
evaluation. It assesses the ability to & evaluate.
research a topic, creatively provide
organize, integrate, evaluate ideas,
construct an arrangement & present
it in coherent English, in addition to
the student’s factual knowledge &
recall knowledge.
3. There is freedom of response to the 3. Boundaries are set on the answer
question. required & on its organisation.
4. The response contains more than 4. Students may be required to
one sentence. write a word, phrase / sentence
to complete a statement.

Advantages of Long answer/ extended response essays :

1. They are the only means we have to assess the student’s ability to compose an
answer & present it in prose.
2. They can indirectly measure attitudes, values & opinions.
3. Essays encourage students to develop more desirable study habits because they
encourage the production of written language & the expression of thought.
4. They are relatively easy to construct & do not take much time to set. Hence they
have practicability as an advantage to them.
5. They avoid cueing & use higher order cognitive processes.
6. They provide a measure of complex learning outcomes which cannot be measured
by other tests. They are ideal for assessing how well students can summarize,
hypothesize, find relations & apply known procedures to new situations.
7. They assess higher order/ critical thinking skills.
8. They evaluate & assess a student’s ability to think & reason with the knowledge of
their subject.

Disadvantages of long answer/ extended response essays:

1. They have limited validity. This is because of:


 large size of the response leading to limitation in the number of test items
that can be assessed.
 Undersampling/ oversampling of the content domain.
Hence they may not provide a good assessment.
2. They have poor reliability- if a test is given on more than one occasion, the inherent
plasticity of scope, content & style of the essay makes it unlikely that the students
will perform exactly the same way as on the previous occasion. Hence they may not
provide a good assessment.
3. Essays are not an objective measure of learning outcomes. This is because of
variability in assessment by different examiners. The unlimited scope of the essay
leaves considerable room for subjective judgement. Superfluous factors such as bad
handwriting & poor spellings/grammar may make an otherwise good answer.
On the other hand, a student may bluff his way to better marks through smart
writing.
4. The essay questions are often framed in a non-descript phrase giving no idea to the
student about the scope of the answer expected.
5. More time is required for scoring, grading & answering.
6. Provide scope for guess work by students.
7. They involve high cost. So,they should be used sparsely.

Measures to overcome the disadvantages of essays:


1. Use a detailed test blue print & test specifications. This can prevent undersampling
or biased sampling.
2. Evaluation by independent experts regarding the cognitive levels can improve
validity.
3. Evaluation bias due to inherent subjectivity can be reduced by using two or more
evaluators who are well trained & by the use of model answer.
4. Use of structured or modified essay questions limits the content & thus the item is
made more objective.
5. Use of formal model answer – These can show the students the standards you
expect from them & also help you in awarding marks.

How to construct essay questions?


1. Clearly define the intended learning outcome to be assessed by the item.
2. Clearly define the task.
Delimit the scope of the task.
Clearly develop the problem/problem situation
3. State the criteria for grading.
4. Write a model answer.
5. Make problem based structured essay questions(SEQs) with check lists. The wording
of the question should limit the scope of the content & direct the student to a
precise & specific response. This will improve reliability of the test
Checklist should provide key points & allocated marks. Checklist maintains
objectivity & reduces subjectivity in the marking of essays.
6. Try to accommodate a larger number (say 5 or 6) of short SEQs in a paper rather
than 1 or 2 detailed questions. This can improve validity of the assessment.

Guidelines to follow while constructing a structured essay question(SEQ):


- Be specific about the learning outcome being assessed.
-Break the topic into precise divisions, giving problem based orientation as far as
possible.
-Use simple unambiguous language.
-Provide adequate information in the text. Explain the context.
-Define the task clearly. The student should know precisely what is expected of
him/her.
-Specify allocated marks & time for each part.

Advantages of Short Answer Questions

 They are relatively fast to mark and can be marked by different assessors, as long as
the questions are set in such a way that all alternative answers can be considered by
the assessors.
 They are also relatively easy to set compared to many assessment methods.
 They can be used as part of a formative and summative assessment, as the structure
of short answer questions are very similar to examination questions, students are
more familiar with the practice and feel less anxious.
 Unlike MCQs, there is no guessing on answers; students must supply an answer.

Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions

 Short Answer Questions (SAQ) are only suitable for questions that can be answered
with short responses. It is very important that the assessor is very clear on the type
of answers expected when setting the questions, because SAQ is an open-ended
question, students are free to answer any way they choose, short-answer questions
can lead to difficulties in grading if the question is not worded carefully.
 They are typically used for assessing knowledge only, students may often memorize
short answer questions with rote learning. If assessors wish to use short answer
questions to assess deeper learning, careful attention (and many practices) on
appropriate questions are required.
 Accuracy of assessment may be influenced by handwriting/spelling skills.
 There can be time management issues when answering short answer questions.

How to design a good Short Answer Question?

1. Design short answer items which are appropriate assessment of the learning
objective
2. Make sure the content of the short answer question measures knowledge
appropriate to the desired learning goal.
3. Express the questions with clear wordings and language which are appropriate to the
student population.
4. Ensure there is only one clearly correct answer in each question.
5. Ensure that the item clearly specifies how the question should be answered (e.g.
Student should answer it briefly and concisely using a single word or short phrase? Is
the question given a specific number of blanks for students to answer?)
6. Consider whether the positioning of the item blank promotes efficient scoring.
7. Write the instructions clearly so as to specify the desired knowledge and specificity
of response.
8. Set the questions explicitly and precisely.
9. Direct questions are better than those which require completing the sentences.
10. For numerical answers, let the students know if they will receive marks for showing
partial work (process based) or only the results (product based), also indicated the
importance of the units.
11. Let the students know what your marking style is like, is bullet point format
acceptable, or does it have to be an essay format?
12. Prepare a structured marking sheet; allocate marks or part-marks for acceptable
answer(s).
13. Be prepared to accept other equally acceptable answers, some of which you may not
have predicted.

Conclusion:

Essay type questions have a distinct place in the assessment of cognitive skills. They are
primarily used to assess learning outcomes of a higher level such as problem solving
ability, which cannot be tested by other methods.

Open ended essays have severe limitations.

Structured essay questions are better. They have good reliability & can be adapted to
improve validity.

Structured essay questions used along with checklist can ensue a high objectivity.

Short answer questions can be used for formative/summative assessment.

References-

1)Steven M Downing, Phd, Rachel Yudkowsky.”Assessment in health professions


education”; Routledge 2009.

2)Reiner M C, Bothell TW, Sudweeks RR. Preparing effective essay questions. A self
directed workbook for eucators;Christian M 2002, New Forum Press.

3) Chan C.(2009) Assessment: Short Answer Questions, Assessment Resources@HKU,


University of Hong Kong [http://ar.cetl.hku.hk]

4) Various Journal and internet sources.

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