what is a limitation of essay test

The Disadvantages of an Essay Test

How to Get Faster at Taking Tests

Essay tests are dreaded in high schools and colleges across the U.S. It is a classroom assessment that gauges student knowledge by the lengthy answer of one or more questions. Essay tests have a few questions on which the entire test grade relies. Students who excel at written assessments welcome the essay test. Other students find more than one disadvantage of the test.

Eyes of the Beholder

Essay exams are graded by human eyes and intellect, leaving lots of room for human error. The instructor must be able to accurately interpret the words that the student chose. This is done while attempting to separate the student from the test form being graded. However, the instructors prejudices concerning a problematic student or a struggling one will ultimately intrude upon the grading process, especially since the essay grading heavily relies on the teacher’s interpretation of the student’s essay. Furthermore, interpretations aren’t always understood accurately.

Tunnel Vision Testing

The essay can’t help but test part of the lessons covered in the classroom. No matter how creative the questions may be, a handful is not enough to perform a survey of knowledge. As a result, the students get a kind of testing tunnel vision that threatens to dislodge the information gather in the weeks prior to the exam. Some instructors try to offset this by keeping the essay questions secret until test day. The students do have to study all of the material covered in class, but on a small part of it is reinforced on the test.

More Work for Teacher

Time is one of the most well known disadvantages of essay testing. Instructors must read every essay, grading the content and composition, while making a judgment on how thorough the answer is. This painstaking process creates hours of grading. The exact number depends on the grader. Students usually wait a few days or more to receive essay test scores. Meanwhile, multiple-choice tests are concrete. The tests are graded by hand using an answer key or using the famous Scantron system. The students complete special Scantron test answer sheets during the test. Instructors submit the test answers and then feed the answer sheets into a machine and graded electronically. The Scantron Corporation states that 30 to 40 answer sheets are graded per minute. Even multiple choice questions graded manually are returned within 24 hours of the test.

Testing Anxiety

The concept of an essay test places more pressure on the student prior to the test than other forms. The uncertainty of which material will be tested is another issue. It adds to the usual testing anxiety that students feel prior to test day. Another uncertainty is the ability to recall the correct material. Instructors try to mitigate the anxiety by issuing study guides and steering students away from the material that isn’t on the test. However, only so much can be done to minimize the anxiety without giving away the test questions.

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AP Class Grade vs. AP Exam Score

• University of North Carolina: For Your Consideration; Writing and Grading Essay Questions
• Scantron Corporation: Scantron Score
• University of Michigan: Best Practices for Designing and Grading Exams; Table 1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Commonly Used Types of Achievement Test Items

Jonita Davis is freelance writer and marketing consultant. Her work has appeared in various print and online publications, including "The LaPorte County Herald Argus" and Work.com. Davis also authored the book, "Michigan City Marinas," which covers the history of the Michigan City Port Authority. Davis holds a bachelor's degree in English from Purdue University.

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Essay Type Test: Advantages, Disadvantages, Limitations

• February 9, 2024

In this article, we are going to discuss Essay Type Test: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Limitations.

1. Study Habits

2. reduce guessing, 3. easy to construct, 4.degree of comprehensiveness, 5. logical thinking, 6. creativity, 7. enhance thinking ability:, 8. complex learning, 9. individual differences, limitations or disadvantages of essay type test:, 1. low objectivity, 2. cramming habit, 3. lack of relaibility, 4. selective study, 5. subjectivity of scoring, 6. burden of students, 7. scope of favouritism, 8. time-consuming, 9. low validity, defects of essay-type test from the point of view of the teacher, mathematical question, essay type test.

With the aid of systematization and the creation of a unique composition, students are forced to answer fully to a question or prompt on an essay test. An essay test is designed to evaluate students’ ability to write an argumentative, logical essay.

Advantages Of Essay Type Test

These exams encourage students to develop effective study habits. These exams encourage students to develop effective study habits.

The guesswork can be reduced to a large extent.

Such tests are easier to administer and construct.

This test is helpful to measure all degrees of comprehensiveness and accuracy.

These aid in students’ logical thinking, critical reasoning, and methodical presentation skills development.

Such tests provide an opportunity for the child to show his creativity, originality of thought, fertility of their imagination, etc.

These types of tests are considered to be best for measuring the ability to organize ideas effectively, the ability to criticize or justify a statement, the ability to interpret, etc.

It’s helpful to measure complex learning outcomes.

It’s helpful to determine individual differences.

Defects of the Essay-Type Test as Viewed by Students

The essay-type tests are less objective and so they lack validity.

Essay type of test increases the child’s cramming habit capacity. 

These tests lack the dependability of essay-type tests is low as compared to various multiple-choice questions or objective-type questions.

A student is constrained or bound to study a selective script of his course. He often guesses the questions which may probably have an element of chance from an exam point of view.

The subjectivity of scoring is the most drawback of an essay sort test, which implies that individual likes and loathes play a critical part in the checking.

It puts a lot of pressure on the students. It keeps the student busy and far away from nervous tension.

Partiality is another flaw with essay-sort assessments since instructors tend to award more credit to their top candidates.

It is time-consuming on the part of students and the speed of writing and good writing style consume enough time of students.

It has less content validity.

1-The primary and preeminent point of the educator is the shining victory of all his /her understudies for that reason he tries to cover the constrained and the foremost important contents of the syllabus first and his focus is the maximum number of students to get through the examination.

2. The instruction Programme of the instructor is entirely examination-oriented and the essential guideline for instructing his understudies is given the slightest thought.

3. The educator is compelled to empower his understudies to pack which isn’t a mental strategy for instructing.

4. Since the instructor is judged by the comes about of his understudies so everything gets to be subservient to the examination

5. To show good results sometimes the teacher devotes a good deal of his time to indulging in guesswork which affects his teaching.

In math practice tests, students are tested for different types of questions related to various equations and problem-solving. This also increases quantitative reasoning. This area includes questions on math topics like algebra, geometry, data analysis, and problem-solving.

• Significance Of Student’s Assessment In Teaching-Learning Process .
• Importance Of Technical Education In The Youth .
• Who Was Aristotle And His Philosophy Of Education? .

KnowledgeMag Team

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The ultimate essay test guide: achieve top grades with ease.

An essay test, a fundamental tool in academic assessment, measures a student's ability to express, argue, and structure their thoughts on a given subject through written words. This test format delves deeper into a student's critical thinking and writing skills unlike other conventional exam types.

What is an Essay Test?

An essay test is a type of assessment in which a student is prompted to respond to a question or a series of questions by writing an essay.

This form of test isn’t merely about checking a student’s recall or memorisation skills , but more about gauging their ability to comprehend a subject, synthesise information, and articulate their understanding effectively.

Types of Essay Tests

Essay tests can be broadly classified into two categories: Restricted Response and Extended Response .

• Restricted Response tests focus on limited aspects, requiring students to provide short, concise answers.
• Extended Response tests demand more comprehensive answers, allowing students to showcase their creativity and analytical skills.

Advantages and Limitations of an Essay Test

Essay tests offer numerous benefits but also have certain limitations. The advantages of an essay test are :

• They allow teachers to evaluate students’ abilities to organise, synthesise, and interpret information.
• They help in developing critical thinking and writing skills among students.
• They provide an opportunity for students to exhibit their knowledge and understanding of a subject in a broader context.

And the limitations of an essay test are :

• They are time-consuming to both take and grade.
• They are subject to scoring inconsistencies due to potential subjective bias.
• They may cause the students who struggle with written expression may face difficulties, and these tests may not accurately reflect the full spectrum of a student’s knowledge or understanding.

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Understanding the Structure of an Essay Test

Essay tests involve a defined structure to ensure organised, coherent, and comprehensive expression of thoughts. Adhering to a specific structure can enhance your ability to answer essay questions effectively .

The 7 Steps of an Essay

Writing an essay test typically involves seven steps :

• Understanding the question
• Brainstorming ideas
• Creating an outline
• Crafting a thesis statement
• Writing the essay body
• Formulating the conclusion
• Revising and editing for clarity and conciseness

The First Sentence in an Essay

The initial sentence of an essay, often termed a hook , plays a crucial role.

It aims to grab the reader’s attention and provoke interest in the essay topic. It should be engaging, and relevant, and set the tone for the rest of the essay .

The 5-Paragraph Essay Format

The 5-paragraph essay format is commonly used in essay tests, providing a clear and organised approach for students to articulate their ideas. In this format, the introduction and the conclusion include 1 paragraph, while the body of the essay includes 3 .

• Introduction : The introduction sets the stage, providing a brief overview of the topic and presenting the thesis statement – the central argument or point.
• Body : The body of the essay contains three paragraphs, each presenting a separate point that supports the thesis statement. Detailed explanations, evidence, and examples are included here to substantiate the points.
• Conclusion : The conclusion reiterates the thesis statement and summarises the main points. It provides a final perspective on the topic, drawing the essay to a close.

How to Prepare for an Essay Test?

Preparing for an essay test demands a structured approach to ensure thorough understanding and effective response. Here are some strategies to make this task more manageable:

#1 Familiarise Yourself with the Terminology Used

Knowledge of key terminologies is essential. Understand the meaning of directives such as “describe”, “compare”, “contrast”, or “analyse”. Each term guides you on what is expected in your essay and helps you to answer the question accurately.

To make it easier, you can take advantage of AI technologies. While preparing for your exam, use similar essay questions as prompts and see how AI understands and evaluates the questions. If you are unfamiliar with AI, you can check out The Best Chat GPT Prompts For Essay Writing .

#2 Review and Revise Past Essays

Take advantage of past essays or essay prompts to review and revise your writing . Analyse your strengths and areas for improvement, paying attention to grammar , structure , and clarity . This process helps you refine your writing skills and identify potential pitfalls to avoid in future tests.

#3 Practice Timed Writing

Simulate test conditions by practising timed writing . Set a specific time limit for each essay question and strive to complete it within that timeframe. This exercise builds your ability to think and write quickly , improving your efficiency during the actual test.

#4 Utilise Mnemonic Techniques

To aid in memorisation and recall of key concepts or arguments, employ mnemonic techniques . These memory aids, such as acronyms, visualisation, or association techniques, can help you retain important information and retrieve it during the test. Practice using mnemonics to reinforce your understanding of critical points.

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Strategies to Pass an Essay Test

Passing an essay test goes beyond understanding the topic; it also requires strategic planning and execution . Below are key strategies that can enhance your performance in an essay test.

• Read the exam paper thoroughly before diving into writing : read the entire exam paper thoroughly. Understand each question’s requirement and make a mental note of the points to be included in each response. This step will help in ensuring that no aspect of the question is overlooked.
• Answer in the First Sentence and Use the Language of the Question : Begin your essay by clearly stating your answer in the first sentence. Use the language of the question to show you are directly addressing the task. This approach ensures that your main argument is understood right from the start.
• Structure Your Essay : Adopt a logical essay structure , typically comprising an introduction, body, and conclusion. This helps in organising your thoughts, making your argument clearer, and enhancing the readability of your essay.
• Answer in Point Form When Running Out of Time : If time is running short, present your answer in point form. This approach allows you to cover more points quickly, ensuring you don’t leave any questions unanswered.
• Write as Legibly as Possible : Your writing should be clear and easy to read. Illegible handwriting could lead to misunderstandings and may negatively impact your grades.
• Number Your Answers : Ensure your answers are correctly numbered. This helps in aligning your responses with the respective questions, making it easier for the examiner to assess your work, and reducing chances of confusion or error
• Time Yourself on Each Question : Time management is crucial in an essay test. Allocate a specific amount of time to each question, taking into account the marks they carry. Ensure you leave ample time for revising and editing your responses. Practising this strategy can prevent last-minute rushes and result in a more polished essay.

About the Author Oğulcan Tezcan is a writer, translator, editor, and an accomplished engineer. Oğulcan is also a keen researcher and digital market analyst, with a particular interest in self-development, productivity, and human behaviour.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Essay Tests

How do you answer an essay question, when taking an essay test what is the first step, what type of test is an essay test, what is the first sentence in an essay, what are the six elements of an essay.

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• Essay Exams

Essay exams provide opportunities to evaluate students’ reasoning skills such as the ability to compare and contrast concepts, justify a position on a topic, interpret cases from the perspective of different theories or models, evaluate a claim or assertion with evidence, design an experiment, and other higher level cognitive skills. They can reveal if students understand the theory behind course material or how different concepts and theories relate to each other. 

+ Advantages and Challenges of essay exams

Advantages:

• Can be used to measure higher order cognitive skills
• Takes relatively less time to write questions
• Difficult for respondents to get correct answers by guessing

Challenges:

• Can be time consuming to administer and to score
• Can be challenging to identify measurable, reliable criteria for assessing student responses
• Limited range of content can be sampled during any one testing period
• Timed exams in general add stress unrelated to a student's mastery of the material

+ Creating an essay exam

• Limit the use of essay questions to learning aims that require learners to share their thinking processes, connect and analyze information, and communicate their understanding for a specific purpose. 
• Write each item so that students clearly understand the specific task and what deliverables are required for a complete answer (e.g. diagram, amount of evidence, number of examples).
• Indicate the relative amount of time and effort students should spend on each essay item, for example “2 – 3 sentences should suffice for this question”.
• Consider using several narrowly focused items rather than one broad item.
• Consider offering students choice among essay questions, while ensuring that all learning aims are assessed.

When designing essay exams, consider the reasoning skills you want to assess in your students. The following table lists different skills to measure with example prompts to guide assessment questions. 

+ Preparing students for an essay exam

Adapted from Piontek, 2008

Prior to the essay exam

• Administer a formative assessment that asks students to do a brief write on a question similar to one you will use on an exam and provide them with feedback on their responses.
• Provide students with examples of essay responses that do and do not meet your criteria and standards. 
• Provide students with the learning aims they will be responsible for mastering to help them focus their preparation appropriately.
• Have students apply the scoring rubric to sample essay responses and provide them with feedback on their work.

Resource video : 2-minute video description of a formative assessment that helps prepare students for an essay exam. 

+ Administering an essay exam

• Provide adequate time for students to take the assessment. A strategy some instructors use is to time themselves answering the exam questions completely and then multiply that time by 3-4.
• Endeavor to create a distraction-free environment.
• Review the suggestions for informal accommodations for multilingual learners , which may be helpful in setting up an essay exam for all learners.

+ Grading an essay exam

To ensure essays are graded fairly and without bias:

• Outline what constitutes an acceptable answer (criteria for knowledge and skills).
• Select an appropriate scoring method based on the criteria.
• Clarify the role of writing mechanics and other factors independent of the learning aims being measured.
• Share with students ahead of time.
• Use a systematic process for scoring each essay item.  For instance, score all responses to a single question in one setting.
• Anonymize student work (if possible) to ensure fairer and more objective feedback. For example students could use their student ID number in place of their name.

+ References & Resources

• For more information on setting criteria, preparing students, and grading essay exams read:  Boye, A. (2019) Writing Better Essay Exams , IDEA paper #76.
• For more detailed descriptions of how to develop and score essay exams read: Piontek, M.E. (2008). Best Practices for Designing and Grading Exams, CRLT Occasional Paper # 24.

Web resources

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Essay Exams

What this handout is about.

At some time in your undergraduate career, you’re going to have to write an essay exam. This thought can inspire a fair amount of fear: we struggle enough with essays when they aren’t timed events based on unknown questions. The goal of this handout is to give you some easy and effective strategies that will help you take control of the situation and do your best.

Why do instructors give essay exams?

Essay exams are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you’ve practiced in the course. Instructors want to see whether:

• You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
• You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
• You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
• You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
• You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
• You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
• You can think critically and analytically about a subject

What essay questions require

Exam questions can reach pretty far into the course materials, so you cannot hope to do well on them if you do not keep up with the readings and assignments from the beginning of the course. The most successful essay exam takers are prepared for anything reasonable, and they probably have some intelligent guesses about the content of the exam before they take it. How can you be a prepared exam taker? Try some of the following suggestions during the semester:

• Do the reading as the syllabus dictates; keeping up with the reading while the related concepts are being discussed in class saves you double the effort later.
• Go to lectures (and put away your phone, the newspaper, and that crossword puzzle!).
• Take careful notes that you’ll understand months later. If this is not your strong suit or the conventions for a particular discipline are different from what you are used to, ask your TA or the Learning Center for advice.
• Participate in your discussion sections; this will help you absorb the material better so you don’t have to study as hard.
• Organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester. Others will catch things you might miss even when paying attention. This is not cheating. As long as what you write on the essay is your own work, formulating ideas and sharing notes is okay. In fact, it is a big part of the learning process.
• As an exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. This will help you forecast the questions that will be on the exam, and prepare for them.

These suggestions will save you lots of time and misery later. Remember that you can’t cram weeks of information into a single day or night of study. So why put yourself in that position?

Now let’s focus on studying for the exam. You’ll notice the following suggestions are all based on organizing your study materials into manageable chunks of related material. If you have a plan of attack, you’ll feel more confident and your answers will be more clear. Here are some tips: 

• Don’t just memorize aimlessly; clarify the important issues of the course and use these issues to focus your understanding of specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to organize and prioritize the information into a thematic pattern. Look at what you’ve studied and find a way to put things into related groups. Find the fundamental ideas that have been emphasized throughout the course and organize your notes into broad categories. Think about how different categories relate to each other.
• Find out what you don’t know, but need to know, by making up test questions and trying to answer them. Studying in groups helps as well.

Taking the exam

Read the exam carefully.

• If you are given the entire exam at once and can determine your approach on your own, read the entire exam before you get started.
• Look at how many points each part earns you, and find hints for how long your answers should be.
• Figure out how much time you have and how best to use it. Write down the actual clock time that you expect to take in each section, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending all your time on only one section. One strategy is to divide the available time according to percentage worth of the question. You don’t want to spend half of your time on something that is only worth one tenth of the total points.
• As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter. Instead, read through all of the options. Jot down really brief ideas for each question before deciding.
• Remember that the easiest-looking question is not always as easy as it looks. Focus your attention on questions for which you can explain your answer most thoroughly, rather than settle on questions where you know the answer but can’t say why.

Analyze the questions

• Decide what you are being asked to do. If you skim the question to find the main “topic” and then rush to grasp any related ideas you can recall, you may become flustered, lose concentration, and even go blank. Try looking closely at what the question is directing you to do, and try to understand the sort of writing that will be required.
• Focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.
• Look at the active verbs in the assignment—they tell you what you should be doing. We’ve included some of these below, with some suggestions on what they might mean. (For help with this sort of detective work, see the Writing Center handout titled Reading Assignments.)

Information words, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject. Information words may include:

• define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning.
• explain why/how—give reasons why or examples of how something happened.
• illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject.
• summarize—briefly cover the important ideas you learned about the subject.
• trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form.
• research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you’ve found.

Relation words ask you to demonstrate how things are connected. Relation words may include:

• compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different).
• contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar.
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation.
• cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen.
• relate—show or describe the connections between things.

Interpretation words ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Don’t see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation. Interpretation words may include:

• prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth.
• evaluate, respond, assess—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons (you may want to compare your subject to something else).
• support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe).
• synthesize—put two or more things together that haven’t been put together before; don’t just summarize one and then the other, and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together (as opposed to compare and contrast—see above).
• analyze—look closely at the components of something to figure out how it works, what it might mean, or why it is important.
• argue—take a side and defend it (with proof) against the other side.

Plan your answers

Think about your time again. How much planning time you should take depends on how much time you have for each question and how many points each question is worth. Here are some general guidelines: 

• For short-answer definitions and identifications, just take a few seconds. Skip over any you don’t recognize fairly quickly, and come back to them when another question jogs your memory.
• For answers that require a paragraph or two, jot down several important ideas or specific examples that help to focus your thoughts.
• For longer answers, you will need to develop a much more definite strategy of organization. You only have time for one draft, so allow a reasonable amount of time—as much as a quarter of the time you’ve allotted for the question—for making notes, determining a thesis, and developing an outline.
• For questions with several parts (different requests or directions, a sequence of questions), make a list of the parts so that you do not miss or minimize one part. One way to be sure you answer them all is to number them in the question and in your outline.
• You may have to try two or three outlines or clusters before you hit on a workable plan. But be realistic—you want a plan you can develop within the limited time allotted for your answer. Your outline will have to be selective—not everything you know, but what you know that you can state clearly and keep to the point in the time available.

Again, focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.

Writing your answers

As with planning, your strategy for writing depends on the length of your answer:

• For short identifications and definitions, it is usually best to start with a general identifying statement and then move on to describe specific applications or explanations. Two sentences will almost always suffice, but make sure they are complete sentences. Find out whether the instructor wants definition alone, or definition and significance. Why is the identification term or object important?
• For longer answers, begin by stating your forecasting statement or thesis clearly and explicitly. Strive for focus, simplicity, and clarity. In stating your point and developing your answers, you may want to use important course vocabulary words from the question. For example, if the question is, “How does wisteria function as a representation of memory in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom?” you may want to use the words wisteria, representation, memory, and Faulkner) in your thesis statement and answer. Use these important words or concepts throughout the answer.
• If you have devised a promising outline for your answer, then you will be able to forecast your overall plan and its subpoints in your opening sentence. Forecasting impresses readers and has the very practical advantage of making your answer easier to read. Also, if you don’t finish writing, it tells your reader what you would have said if you had finished (and may get you partial points).
• You might want to use briefer paragraphs than you ordinarily do and signal clear relations between paragraphs with transition phrases or sentences.
• As you move ahead with the writing, you may think of new subpoints or ideas to include in the essay. Stop briefly to make a note of these on your original outline. If they are most appropriately inserted in a section you’ve already written, write them neatly in the margin, at the top of the page, or on the last page, with arrows or marks to alert the reader to where they fit in your answer. Be as neat and clear as possible.
• Don’t pad your answer with irrelevancies and repetitions just to fill up space. Within the time available, write a comprehensive, specific answer.
• Watch the clock carefully to ensure that you do not spend too much time on one answer. You must be realistic about the time constraints of an essay exam. If you write one dazzling answer on an exam with three equally-weighted required questions, you earn only 33 points—not enough to pass at most colleges. This may seem unfair, but keep in mind that instructors plan exams to be reasonably comprehensive. They want you to write about the course materials in two or three or more ways, not just one way. Hint: if you finish a half-hour essay in 10 minutes, you may need to develop some of your ideas more fully.
• If you run out of time when you are writing an answer, jot down the remaining main ideas from your outline, just to show that you know the material and with more time could have continued your exposition.
• Double-space to leave room for additions, and strike through errors or changes with one straight line (avoid erasing or scribbling over). Keep things as clean as possible. You never know what will earn you partial credit.
• Write legibly and proofread. Remember that your instructor will likely be reading a large pile of exams. The more difficult they are to read, the more exasperated the instructor might become. Your instructor also cannot give you credit for what they cannot understand. A few minutes of careful proofreading can improve your grade.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind in writing essay exams is that you have a limited amount of time and space in which to get across the knowledge you have acquired and your ability to use it. Essay exams are not the place to be subtle or vague. It’s okay to have an obvious structure, even the five-paragraph essay format you may have been taught in high school. Introduce your main idea, have several paragraphs of support—each with a single point defended by specific examples, and conclude with a restatement of your main point and its significance.

Some physiological tips

Just think—we expect athletes to practice constantly and use everything in their abilities and situations in order to achieve success. Yet, somehow many students are convinced that one day’s worth of studying, no sleep, and some well-placed compliments (“Gee, Dr. So-and-so, I really enjoyed your last lecture”) are good preparation for a test. Essay exams are like any other testing situation in life: you’ll do best if you are prepared for what is expected of you, have practiced doing it before, and have arrived in the best shape to do it. You may not want to believe this, but it’s true: a good night’s sleep and a relaxed mind and body can do as much or more for you as any last-minute cram session. Colleges abound with tales of woe about students who slept through exams because they stayed up all night, wrote an essay on the wrong topic, forgot everything they studied, or freaked out in the exam and hyperventilated. If you are rested, breathing normally, and have brought along some healthy, energy-boosting snacks that you can eat or drink quietly, you are in a much better position to do a good job on the test. You aren’t going to write a good essay on something you figured out at 4 a.m. that morning. If you prepare yourself well throughout the semester, you don’t risk your whole grade on an overloaded, undernourished brain.

If for some reason you get yourself into this situation, take a minute every once in a while during the test to breathe deeply, stretch, and clear your brain. You need to be especially aware of the likelihood of errors, so check your essays thoroughly before you hand them in to make sure they answer the right questions and don’t have big oversights or mistakes (like saying “Hitler” when you really mean “Churchill”).

If you tend to go blank during exams, try studying in the same classroom in which the test will be given. Some research suggests that people attach ideas to their surroundings, so it might jog your memory to see the same things you were looking at while you studied.

Try good luck charms. Bring in something you associate with success or the support of your loved ones, and use it as a psychological boost.

Take all of the time you’ve been allotted. Reread, rework, and rethink your answers if you have extra time at the end, rather than giving up and handing the exam in the minute you’ve written your last sentence. Use every advantage you are given.

Remember that instructors do not want to see you trip up—they want to see you do well. With this in mind, try to relax and just do the best you can. The more you panic, the more mistakes you are liable to make. Put the test in perspective: will you die from a poor performance? Will you lose all of your friends? Will your entire future be destroyed? Remember: it’s just a test.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. 2016. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing , 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Fowler, Ramsay H., and Jane E. Aaron. 2016. The Little, Brown Handbook , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Gefvert, Constance J. 1988. The Confident Writer: A Norton Handbook , 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Kirszner, Laurie G. 1988. Writing: A College Rhetoric , 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Woodman, Leonara, and Thomas P. Adler. 1988. The Writer’s Choices , 2nd ed. Northbrook, Illinois: Scott Foresman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Essay test: types, advantages and limitations | statistics.

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After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Essay Test 2. Types of Essay Test 3. Advantages 4. Limitations 5. Suggestions.

Introduction to Essay Test:

The essay tests are still commonly used tools of evaluation, despite the increasingly wider applicability of the short answer and objective type questions.

There are certain outcomes of learning (e.g., organising, summarising, integrating ideas and expressing in one’s own way) which cannot be satisfactorily measured through objective type tests. The importance of essay tests lies in the measurement of such instructional outcomes.

An essay test may give full freedom to the students to write any number of pages. The required response may vary in length. An essay type question requires the pupil to plan his own answer and to explain it in his own words. The pupil exercises considerable freedom to select, organise and present his ideas. Essay type tests provide a better indication of pupil’s real achievement in learning. The answers provide a clue to nature and quality of the pupil’s thought process.

That is, we can assess how the pupil presents his ideas (whether his manner of presentation is coherent, logical and systematic) and how he concludes. In other words, the answer of the pupil reveals the structure, dynamics and functioning of pupil’s mental life.

The essay questions are generally thought to be the traditional type of questions which demand lengthy answers. They are not amenable to objective scoring as they give scope for halo-effect, inter-examiner variability and intra-examiner variability in scoring.

Types of Essay Test:

There can be many types of essay tests:

Some of these are given below with examples from different subjects:

1. Selective Recall.

e.g. What was the religious policy of Akbar?

2. Evaluative Recall.

e.g. Why did the First War of Independence in 1857 fail?

3. Comparison of two things—on a single designated basis.

e.g. Compare the contributions made by Dalton and Bohr to Atomic theory.

4. Comparison of two things—in general.

e.g. Compare Early Vedic Age with the Later Vedic Age.

5. Decision—for or against.

e.g. Which type of examination do you think is more reliable? Oral or Written. Why?

6. Causes or effects.

e.g. Discuss the effects of environmental pollution on our lives.

7. Explanation of the use or exact meaning of some phrase in a passage or a sentence.

e.g., Joint Stock Company is an artificial person. Explain ‘artificial person’ bringing out the concepts of Joint Stock Company.

8. Summary of some unit of the text or of some article.

9. Analysis

e.g. What was the role played by Mahatma Gandhi in India’s freedom struggle?

10. Statement of relationship.

e.g. Why is knowledge of Botany helpful in studying agriculture?

11. Illustration or examples (your own) of principles in science, language, etc.

e.g. Illustrate the correct use of subject-verb position in an interrogative sentence.

12. Classification.

e.g. Classify the following into Physical change and Chemical change with explanation. Water changes to vapour; Sulphuric Acid and Sodium Hydroxide react to produce Sodium Sulphate and Water; Rusting of Iron; Melting of Ice.

13. Application of rules or principles in given situations.

e.g. If you sat halfway between the middle and one end of a sea-saw, would a person sitting on the other end have to be heavier or lighter than you in order to make the sea-saw balance in the middle. Why?

14. Discussion.

e.g. Partnership is a relationship between persons who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all. Discuss the essentials of partnership on the basis of this partnership.

15. Criticism—as to the adequacy, correctness, or relevance—of a printed statement or a classmate’s answer to a question on the lesson.

e.g. What is the wrong with the following statement?

The Prime Minister is the sovereign Head of State in India.

16. Outline.

e.g. Outline the steps required in computing the compound interest if the principal amount, rate of interest and time period are given as P, R and T respectively.

17. Reorganization of facts.

e.g. The student is asked to interview some persons and find out their opinion on the role of UN in world peace. In the light of data thus collected he/she can reorganise what is given in the text book.

18. Formulation of questions-problems and questions raised.

e.g. After reading a lesson the pupils are asked to raise related problems- questions.

19. New methods of procedure

e.g. Can you solve this mathematical problem by using another method?

Advantages of the Essay Tests:

1. It is relatively easier to prepare and administer a six-question extended- response essay test than to prepare and administer a comparable 60-item multiple-choice test items.

2. It is the only means that can assess an examinee’s ability to organise and present his ideas in a logical and coherent fashion.

3. It can be successfully employed for practically all the school subjects.

4. Some of the objectives such as ability to organise idea effectively, ability to criticise or justify a statement, ability to interpret, etc., can be best measured by this type of test.

5. Logical thinking and critical reasoning, systematic presentation, etc. can be best developed by this type of test.

6. It helps to induce good study habits such as making outlines and summaries, organising the arguments for and against, etc.

7. The students can show their initiative, the originality of their thought and the fertility of their imagination as they are permitted freedom of response.

8. The responses of the students need not be completely right or wrong. All degrees of comprehensiveness and accuracy are possible.

9. It largely eliminates guessing.

10. They are valuable in testing the functional knowledge and power of expression of the pupil.

Limitations of Essay Tests:

1. One of the serious limitations of the essay tests is that these tests do not give scope for larger sampling of the content. You cannot sample the course content so well with six lengthy essay questions as you can with 60 multiple-choice test items.

2. Such tests encourage selective reading and emphasise cramming.

3. Moreover, scoring may be affected by spelling, good handwriting, coloured ink, neatness, grammar, length of the answer, etc.

4. The long-answer type questions are less valid and less reliable, and as such they have little predictive value.

5. It requires an excessive time on the part of students to write; while assessing, reading essays is very time-consuming and laborious.

6. It can be assessed only by a teacher or competent professionals.

7. Improper and ambiguous wording handicaps both the students and valuers.

8. Mood of the examiner affects the scoring of answer scripts.

9. There is halo effect-biased judgement by previous impressions.

10. The scores may be affected by his personal bias or partiality for a particular point of view, his way of understanding the question, his weightage to different aspect of the answer, favouritism and nepotism, etc.

Thus, the potential disadvantages of essay type questions are :

(i) Poor predictive validity,

(ii) Limited content sampling,

(iii) Scores unreliability, and

(iv) Scoring constraints.

Suggestions for Improving Essay Tests:

The teacher can sometimes, through essay tests, gain improved insight into a student’s abilities, difficulties and ways of thinking and thus have a basis for guiding his/her learning.

(A) White Framing Questions:

1. Give adequate time and thought to the preparation of essay questions, so that they can be re-examined, revised and edited before they are used. This would increase the validity of the test.

2. The item should be so written that it will elicit the type of behaviour the teacher wants to measure. If one is interested in measuring understanding, he should not ask a question that will elicit an opinion; e.g.,

“What do you think of Buddhism in comparison to Jainism?”

3. Use words which themselves give directions e.g. define, illustrate, outline, select, classify, summarise, etc., instead of discuss, comment, explain, etc.

4. Give specific directions to students to elicit the desired response.

5. Indicate clearly the value of the question and the time suggested for answering it.

6. Do not provide optional questions in an essay test because—

(i) It is difficult to construct questions of equal difficulty;

(ii) Students do not have the ability to select those questions which they will answer best;

(iii) A good student may be penalised because he is challenged by the more difficult and complex questions.

7. Prepare and use a relatively large number of questions requiring short answers rather than just a few questions involving long answers.

8. Do not start essay questions with such words as list, who, what, whether. If we begin the questions with such words, they are likely to be short-answer question and not essay questions, as we have defined the term.

9. Adapt the length of the response and complexity of the question and answer to the maturity level of the students.

10. The wording of the questions should be clear and unambiguous.

11. It should be a power test rather than a speed test. Allow a liberal time limit so that the essay test does not become a test of speed in writing.

12. Supply the necessary training to the students in writing essay tests.

13. Questions should be graded from simple to complex so that all the testees can answer atleast a few questions.

14. Essay questions should provide value points and marking schemes.

(B) While Scoring Questions:

1. Prepare a marking scheme, suggesting the best possible answer and the weightage given to the various points of this model answer. Decide in advance which factors will be considered in evaluating an essay response.

2. While assessing the essay response, one must:

a. Use appropriate methods to minimise bias;

b. Pay attention only to the significant and relevant aspects of the answer;

c. Be careful not to let personal idiosyncrasies affect assessment;

d. Apply a uniform standard to all the papers.

3. The examinee’s identity should be concealed from the scorer. By this we can avoid the “halo effect” or “biasness” which may affect the scoring.

4. Check your marking scheme against actual responses.

5. Once the assessment has begun, the standard should not be changed, nor should it vary from paper to paper or reader to reader. Be consistent in your assessment.

6. Grade only one question at a time for all papers. This will help you in minimising the halo effect in becoming thoroughly familiar with just one set of scoring criteria and in concentrating completely on them.

7. The mechanics of expression (legibility, spelling, punctuation, grammar) should be judged separately from what the student writes, i.e. the subject matter content.

8. If possible, have two independent readings of the test and use the average as the final score.

Related Articles:

• Merits and Demerits of Objective Type Test
• Types of Recall Type Test: Simple and Completion | Objective Test

Educational Statistics , Evaluation Tools , Essay Test

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TIP Sheet HOW TO TAKE ESSAY TESTS

There are basically two types of exams:

Objective - requires answers of a word or short phrase, or the selection of an answer from several available choices that are provided on the test . Essay - requires answers to be written out at some length. The student functions as the source of information.

An essay exam requires you to see the significance and meaning of what you know. It tests your knowledge and understanding of the subject and your skill in reading and writing. To be successful on an essay exam, you must:

• Prove immediately that you know the material.
• Make your meaning unmistakably clear.
• Employ a reasonable organization and show sufficient thought development.
• Make every word count.
• Be specific.
• Use your own voice and style.

When you are writing an essay as part of an exam, all this must be done within what amounts to a first draft written in a very limited amount of time. As with all writing, if you think of your essay as being produced in three stages, you can tackle the test in an organized fashion. The three stages are pre-writing, writing, and revision. Suggestions for each of these stages follow.

The last section addresses preparation for essay exams. PRE-WRITING

Your first impulse in a writing exam is probably to read the question and start writing immediately, especially when you see those seconds ticking away on the clock. RESIST THAT IMPULSE! You can't successfully address the subject until you know precisely what you're required to do, you understand and have thought about the subject, and you are organized in how you approach the specific points you wish to make in your answer. 1.  Understanding what to do:

• When you get your copy of the exam, read through to make sure you understand what is expected of you. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY!
• Underline or circle key words that direct the approach your answer should take. Some of the most common key words are:

Agree/Disagree : State your position and support it with facts Comment or Evaluate: State your position and support it with facts, discussing the issue and its merits. Analyze : Break down into all the parts or divisions looking at the relationships between them. Compare/Contrast : Show differences and similarities. Describe/Discuss : Examine in detail. Explain : Tell why something is as it is. Illustrate : Give examples and relate them to the statement in question. Prove/Defend : Demonstrate why something is true. Interpret : Explain the significance or meaning of something. List/State : Make a list of points or facts. Summarize : Hit the high points.

2.  Understanding the subject

• When you are confident that you understand the instructions, direct your attention to the topic.
• Collect your ideas.
• Formulate a thesis. Make sure it is a strong, concise statement that specifically addresses the question.
• Think of as many specific details and facts as you can that support the thesis.

3.  Getting organized

• Jot your ideas down on paper, in very brief format.
• Evaluate your ideas in light of the question. Ask yourself repeatedly: "Does this apply to the question I'm supposed to answer?" Select only those ideas most relevant to your purpose.
• Number your ideas in order of appropriate sequence (first step to last step, most important to least important, etc.)

1.  Remember your thesis. Now stick to it, referring back to it periodically throughout your essay. This gives your essay unity and coherence, and helps insure that you are not digressing. 2.  Write in an orderly fashion. If you suddenly think of a new point, jot it down in a margin or on scratch paper until you find an appropriate place for it. Don't just put it into the middle of what you were writing. 3. Avoid:

• Repeating, in other words, what you have already said.
• Digressing into material that does not answer the question.
• Language that is too broad or general. Be specific.
• Bluffing. This far too common practice of using elegant but empty language to conceal ignorance or lack of effort rarely works, and often irritates the reader(s).
• Write as legibly as you can. If you want, write on every other line so you have room to add later. When you want to cross something off, simply draw a straight line through it. This is much better than scribbling out an entire passage.
• If you run out of time, simply write "Ran out of time" at the close of the essay. This is much better than adding a hurriedly tacked on, and possibly incoherent, conclusion.

Essay examinations are difficult because of the time pressures, yet you should always try to leave a few minutes at the end to proofread your essay. 1.  Ask yourself, before you hand in the essay:

• Did I provide the information requested? That is, did I "explain" or "define" as the directions asked?
• Is the answer simply, clearly, and logically organized?
• Do I stick to my thesis statement? Is there unnecessary information in here?
• Did I proofread to check content and/or mechanical errors?

2.  Proofreading:

• Gives you a chance to catch and correct errors in content.
• Gives you a chance to correct your mechanical errors.
• Allows you to add material that may have occurred to you after writing the essay.

3.  You should proofread for:

• Complete sentences (watch for fragments, comma-splices, and run-ons).
• Words omitted, or one word used when you meant another.
• Logical transitions between sentences and paragraphs.
• Unnecessary repetition of words or ideas.
• Spelling errors.

3.  Essay type tests depend a great deal on your basic writing skills - organization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If your answer is not clearly written, your instructor won't be able to find it! Here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind as you take an essay test:

• Read the directions carefully! Read every part of the directions!
• Give yourself time to answer each question. Quickly look over the entire exam and budget your time per question accordingly.
• Above all, stay calm. You are being asked to show competence, not perfection.
• If you are not too sure about one question, leave it and go back.
• When given a choice, answer the questions you know best.
• State your points and support ideas clearly - don't make the instructor have to look for them.
• Go back to check and proofread all of your answers.

PREPARING FOR ESSAY EXAMS

WRITING A SUCCESSFUL ESSAY EXAM BEGINS ON DAY ONE 1.  Study regularly as you go along.

• Take careful lecture notes.
• Read all material when assigned.
• Become familiar with vocabulary.
• Keep a study list of all main ideas.

2.  Final preparation

• Review lecture notes and reading material.
• Find a classmate or friend willing to talk over key ideas and implications.
• Try to anticipate questions . This is very important!  Use your lecture notes to zero in on points that the instructor emphasized.
• Think through the material and write up the best possible essay questions you can.
• Then answer those questions.
• Pinpoint key points that you would like to make when answering each question.
• Put your answer into outline form or write it out completely.
• For each potential test question, use mnemonics or other memory techniques to move the information to your long-term memory for the exam.
• Create a list of the clue words for each point you wish to make.
• Create a mnemonic device to memorize those points.

3.  Come to the exam confident that you have something specific to say on all possible topics. KEY WORDS COMMONLY FOUND ON ESSAY EXAMS

Compare: Look for qualities or characteristics that resemble each other. Emphasize similarities among them, but in some cases also mention differences.

Contrast: Stress the dissimilarities, differences, or unlikenesses of things, qualities, events, or problems.

Criticize: Express your judgement about the merit or truth of the factors or views mentioned. Give the results of your analysis of these factors, discussing their limitations and good points.

Define: Give concise, clear, and authoritative meanings. Don't give details, but make sure to give the limits of the definitions. Show how the thing you are defining differs from things in other classes.

Describe: Recount, characterize, sketch, or relate in sequence or story form.

Diagram: Give a drawing, chart, plan, or graphic answer. Usually you should label a diagram. In some cases, add a brief explanation or description.

Discuss: Examine, analyze carefully, and give reasons pro and con. Be complete, and give details.

Enumerate: Write in list or outline form, giving points concisely one by one.

Evaluate: Carefully appraise the problem, citing both advantages and limitations. Emphasize the appraisal of authorities and, to lesser degree, your personal evaluation.

Explain: Clarify, interpret, and spell out the material you present. Give reasons for differences of opinion or of results, and try to analyze causes.

Illustrate: Use a figure, picture, diagram, or concrete example to explain or clarify a problem.

Interpret: Translate, give examples of, solve, or comment on, a subject, usually giving your judgment about it.

Justify: Prove or give reasons for decisions or conclusions, taking pains to be convincing.

List: As in "enumerate," write an itemized series of concise statements.

Outline: Organize a description under main points and subordinate points, omitting minor details and stressing the arrangement or classification of things.

Prove: Establish that something is true by citing factual evidence or giving clear logical reasons.

Relate: Show how things are related to, or connected with, each other or how one causes another, or is like another.

Review: Examine a subject critically, analyzing and commenting on the important statements to be made about it.

Sketch: means "break down into its component parts."

State: Present the main points in brief, clear sequence, usually omitting details, illustrations, or examples.

Summarize: Give the main points or facts in condensed form, like the summary of a chapter, omitting details and illustrations.

Trace: In narrative form describe progress, development, or historical events from some point of origin.

Identify or characterize: means "distinguish this term, or this person from all others that are similar." Both are clear injunctions to be as specific as possible.

Illustrate or exemplify: means "giving examples," showing thereby, rather than by definition, that you understand the concept. TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES

To achieve unity and coherence, writers use transitional words and phrases. Transitional expressions clarify the relationships between clauses, sentences, and paragraphs, helping guide the readers along. The following is a partial list of transitional expressions.

To Add or Show Sequence: again, also, and, and then, besides, equally important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too

To Compare: also, in the same way, likewise, similarly

To Contrast: although, and yet, but, but at the same time, despite, even so, even though, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, regardless, sill, though, whereas, yet

To Give Examples or Intensify: after all, an illustration of, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, it is true, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate, truly

To Indicate Place: above, adjacent to, below, elsewhere, farther on, here, near, nearby, on the other side, opposite to, there, to the east, to the left

To Indicate Time: after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at length, at that time, before, earlier, formerly, immediately, in the meantime, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now, presently, shortly, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, until now, when

To Repeat Summarize or Conclude: all in all, altogether, as has been said, in brief, in conclusion in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole,that is, therefore, to put it differently, to summarize

To Show Cause or Effect: accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, since, then, therefore, thereupon, this, to this end, with this object.

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17.6: What are the benefits of essay tests?

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• Page ID 87692

• Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
• Old Dominion University

Learning Objectives

• Understand the benefits of essay questions for both Students and Teachers
• Identify when essays are useful

Introduction

Essays, along with multiple choice, are a very common method of assessment. Essays offer a means completely different than that of multiple choice. When thinking of a means of assessment, the essay along with multiple choice are the two that most come to mind (Schouller).The essay lends itself to specific subjects; for example, a math test would not have an essay question. The essay is more common in the arts, humanities and the social sciences(Scouller). On occasion an essay can be used used in both physical and natural sciences as well(Scouller). As a future history teacher, I will find that essays will be an essential part of my teaching structure.

The Benefits for Students

By utilizing essays as a mean of assessments, teachers are able to better survey what the student has learned. Multiple choice questions, by their very design, can be worked around. The student can guess, and has decent chance of getting the question right, even if they did not know the answer. This blind guessing does not benefit the student at all. In addition, some multiple choices can deceive the student(Moore). Short answers, and their big brother the essay, work in an entirely different way. Essays remove this factor. in a addition, rather than simply recognize the subject matter, the student must recall the material covered. This challenges the student more, and by forcing the student to remember the information needed, causes the student to retain it better. This in turn reinforces understanding(Moore). Scouller adds to this observation, determining that essay assessment "encourages students' development of higher order intellectual skills and the employment of deeper learning approaches; and secondly, allows students to demonstrate their development."

"Essay questions provide more opportunity to communicate ideas. Whereas multiple choice limits the options, an essay allows the student express ideas that would otherwise not be communicated." (Moore)

The Benefits for Teachers

The matter of preparation must also be considered when comparing multiple choice and essays. For multiple choice questions, the instructor must choose several questions that cover the material covered. After doing so, then the teacher has to come up with multiple possible answers. This is much more difficult than one might assume. With the essay question, the teacher will still need to be creative. However, the teacher only has to come up with a topic, and what the student is expected to cover. This saves the teacher time. When grading, the teacher knows what he or she is looking for in the paper, so the time spent reading is not necessarily more. The teacher also benefits from a better understanding of what they are teaching. The process of selecting a good essay question requires some critical thought of its own, which reflects onto the teacher(Moore).

Multiple Choice. True or False. Short Answer. Essay. All are forms of assessment. All have their pros and cons. For some, they are better suited for particular subjects. Others, not so much. Some students may even find essays to be easier. It is vital to understand when it is best to utilize the essay. Obviously for teachers of younger students, essays are not as useful. However, as the age of the student increase, the importance of the essay follows suit. That essays are utilized in essential exams such as the SAT, SOLs and in our case the PRAXIS demonstrates how important essays are. However, what it ultimately comes down to is what the teacher feels what will best assess what has been covered.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1)What Subject would most benefit from essays?

B: Mathematics for the Liberal Arts

C: Survey of American Literature

2)What is an advantage of essay assessment for the student?

A) They allow for better expression

B) There is little probability for randomness

C) The time taken is less overall

D) A & B

3)What is NOT a benefit of essay assessment for the teacher

A)They help the instructor better understand the subject

B)They remove some the work required for multiple choice

C)The time spent on preparation is less

D) There is no noticeable benefit.

4)Issac is a teacher making up a test. The test will have multiple sections: Short answer, multiple choice, and an essay. What subject does Issac MOST LIKELY teach?

References Cited

1)Moore, S.(2008) Interview with Scott Moore, Professor at Old Dominion University

2)Scouller, K. (1998). The influence of assessment method on students' learning approaches: multiple Choice question examination versus assignment essay. Higher Education 35(4), pp. 453–472

• Educational Assessment

Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Types of Test Questions

• October 23, 2018
• Maryellen Weimer, PhD

It’s good to regularly review the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used test questions and the test banks that now frequently provide them.

Multiple-choice questions

• Quick and easy to score, by hand or electronically
• Can be written so that they test a wide range of higher-order thinking skills
• Can cover lots of content areas on a single exam and still be answered in a class period

Disadvantages

• Often test literacy skills: “if the student reads the question carefully, the answer is easy to recognize even if the student knows little about the subject” (p. 194)
• Provide unprepared students the opportunity to guess, and with guesses that are right, they get credit for things they don’t know
• Expose students to misinformation that can influence subsequent thinking about the content
• Take time and skill to construct (especially good questions)

True-false questions

• Quick and easy to score
• Considered to be “one of the most unreliable forms of assessment” (p. 195)
• Often written so that most of the statement is true save one small, often trivial bit of information that then makes the whole statement untrue
• Encourage guessing, and reward for correct guesses

Short-answer questions

• Quick and easy to grade
• Quick and easy to write
• Encourage students to memorize terms and details, so that their understanding of the content remains superficial

Essay questions

• Offer students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in a variety of ways
• Can be used to develop student writing skills, particularly the ability to formulate arguments supported with reasoning and evidence
• Require extensive time to grade
• Encourage use of subjective criteria when assessing answers
• If used in class, necessitate quick composition without time for planning or revision, which can result in poor-quality writing

Questions provided by test banks

• Save instructors the time and energy involved in writing test questions
• Use the terms and methods that are used in the book
• Rarely involve analysis, synthesis, application, or evaluation (cross-discipline research documents that approximately 85 percent of the questions in test banks test recall)
• Limit the scope of the exam to text content; if used extensively, may lead students to conclude that the material covered in class is unimportant and irrelevant

We tend to think that these are the only test question options, but there are some interesting variations. The article that promoted this review proposes one: Start with a question, and revise it until it can be answered with one word or a short phrase. Do not list any answer options for that single question, but attach to the exam an alphabetized list of answers. Students select answers from that list. Some of the answers provided may be used more than once, some may not be used, and there are more answers listed than questions. It’s a ratcheted-up version of matching. The approach makes the test more challenging and decreases the chance of getting an answer correct by guessing.

Remember, students do need to be introduced to any new or altered question format before they encounter it on an exam.

Editor’s note: The list of advantages and disadvantages comes in part from the article referenced here. It also cites research evidence relevant to some of these advantages and disadvantages.

Reference: McAllister, D., and Guidice, R.M. (2012). This is only a test: A machine-graded improvement to the multiple-choice and true-false examination. Teaching in Higher Education, 17 (2), 193-207.

Reprinted from The Teaching Professor, 28.3 (2014): 8. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.

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• Writing Tips

Academic Writing Tips: What Are Study Limitations?

4-minute read

• 7th December 2020

An important part of writing up research is to consider whether your study has any limitations. But what are study limitations? And why are they important? In this post, we explain what you need to know.

What Are Study Limitations?

The term “study limitations” refers to anything that may affect the reliability or generalizability of the results in a study or experiment.

This could relate to the design of the research (e.g., your methods or research approach). Or it could be an issue with how the study was carried out (e.g., running out of time and resources before the study is over).

In either case, it’s important to note limitations when writing up your study. Typically, this will be as part of the discussion and analysis . However, different schools may have different guidelines on this, so make sure to check your style guide for advice on where to discuss study limitations.

Why Write About Study Limitations?

It may seem counterintuitive to include limitations when writing up your research, especially if something went wrong. But there are several good reasons to mention study limitations, including:

• It shows you understand that every study will have at least some limitations and that you’re able to critically analyze your own work.
• You can discuss how the limitations affect your analysis, or how you would address the problems you encountered if you did the study again.
• It may offer opportunities for further research .
• It ensures transparency, making your results more useful for others.

In addition, most of the time your professor will spot any problems with your study regardless of whether you mention them. Thus, it’s much better to embrace limitations and make them part of your analysis.

But what exactly counts as a limitation? Typically, they come in two broad types: methodological limitations and researcher limitations.

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Methodological Limitations

Methodological limitations are to do with the way a study was designed and carried out. Some examples include:

• A small or unrepresentative sample may mean one unusual result skews your conclusions. It also limits the degree to which you can generalize your results to a wider or more varied population.
• Flaws in data collection may mean data is incorrect or incomplete. For example, if you rely on self-reporting in a study, you may later find out that one participant was misleading you, making the results unreliable.
• A lack of prior research in the area you are studying, which might make it difficult for you to predict outcomes and draw meaningful conclusions.
• Your chosen research approach may be limited. For instance, if you only work with quantitative data , you may overlook something a qualitative approach would have worked better for.

There are other methodological limitations you may encounter depending on what you’re studying. But, in all cases, it is important to think about your methods and how they may affect your results.

Researcher Limitations

These are factors to do with the attitudes, capabilities, and situation of the researcher. Examples of this type of limitation include:

• Time or budget constraints may limit the extent of the research that can be carried out, or force you to abandon a study before it is complete.
• Limited access to the necessary equipment, documents, or people may mean you had to limit the scope of your study accordingly.
• A lack of linguistic fluency could limit your access to data. For instance, if previous studies in your subject area are mostly in Chinese and you only know English, you may not be able to read key research.
• Cultural and other biases may shape your methodological choices and your interpretation of the data, which may mean you miss other factors .

As above, the key here is thinking about how these limitations may affect your results. If you do this, you can then factor any limitations into your analysis and discussion when writing up your study.

Expert Academic Proofreading

In conclusion, remember that study limitations occur in all research. This isn’t something to worry about or try and hide. However, you should:

• Think about potential limitations when designing your study. This will help you to make informed decisions about your research approach, objectives, and methodology.
• Acknowledge limitations when you write up your research. You can then take them into consideration when you’re analyzing your results.

To ensure your academic writing is clear and consistent, moreover, why not make use of our expert proofreaders ? Sign up for a free trial today.

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How to Present the Limitations of the Study Examples

What are the limitations of a study?

The limitations of a study are the elements of methodology or study design that impact the interpretation of your research results. The limitations essentially detail any flaws or shortcomings in your study. Study limitations can exist due to constraints on research design, methodology, materials, etc., and these factors may impact the findings of your study. However, researchers are often reluctant to discuss the limitations of their study in their papers, feeling that bringing up limitations may undermine its research value in the eyes of readers and reviewers.

In spite of the impact it might have (and perhaps because of it) you should clearly acknowledge any limitations in your research paper in order to show readers—whether journal editors, other researchers, or the general public—that you are aware of these limitations and to explain how they affect the conclusions that can be drawn from the research.

In this article, we provide some guidelines for writing about research limitations, show examples of some frequently seen study limitations, and recommend techniques for presenting this information. And after you have finished drafting and have received manuscript editing for your work, you still might want to follow this up with academic editing before submitting your work to your target journal.

Why do I need to include limitations of research in my paper?

Although limitations address the potential weaknesses of a study, writing about them toward the end of your paper actually strengthens your study by identifying any problems before other researchers or reviewers find them.

Furthermore, pointing out study limitations shows that you’ve considered the impact of research weakness thoroughly and have an in-depth understanding of your research topic. Since all studies face limitations, being honest and detailing these limitations will impress researchers and reviewers more than ignoring them.

Where should I put the limitations of the study in my paper?

Some limitations might be evident to researchers before the start of the study, while others might become clear while you are conducting the research. Whether these limitations are anticipated or not, and whether they are due to research design or to methodology, they should be clearly identified and discussed in the discussion section —the final section of your paper. Most journals now require you to include a discussion of potential limitations of your work, and many journals now ask you to place this “limitations section” at the very end of your article. 

Some journals ask you to also discuss the strengths of your work in this section, and some allow you to freely choose where to include that information in your discussion section—make sure to always check the author instructions of your target journal before you finalize a manuscript and submit it for peer review .

Limitations of the Study Examples

There are several reasons why limitations of research might exist. The two main categories of limitations are those that result from the methodology and those that result from issues with the researcher(s).

Common Methodological Limitations of Studies

Limitations of research due to methodological problems can be addressed by clearly and directly identifying the potential problem and suggesting ways in which this could have been addressed—and SHOULD be addressed in future studies. The following are some major potential methodological issues that can impact the conclusions researchers can draw from the research.

Issues with research samples and selection

Sampling errors occur when a probability sampling method is used to select a sample, but that sample does not reflect the general population or appropriate population concerned. This results in limitations of your study known as “sample bias” or “selection bias.”

For example, if you conducted a survey to obtain your research results, your samples (participants) were asked to respond to the survey questions. However, you might have had limited ability to gain access to the appropriate type or geographic scope of participants. In this case, the people who responded to your survey questions may not truly be a random sample.

Insufficient sample size for statistical measurements

When conducting a study, it is important to have a sufficient sample size in order to draw valid conclusions. The larger the sample, the more precise your results will be. If your sample size is too small, it will be difficult to identify significant relationships in the data.

Normally, statistical tests require a larger sample size to ensure that the sample is considered representative of a population and that the statistical result can be generalized to a larger population. It is a good idea to understand how to choose an appropriate sample size before you conduct your research by using scientific calculation tools—in fact, many journals now require such estimation to be included in every manuscript that is sent out for review.

Lack of previous research studies on the topic

Citing and referencing prior research studies constitutes the basis of the literature review for your thesis or study, and these prior studies provide the theoretical foundations for the research question you are investigating. However, depending on the scope of your research topic, prior research studies that are relevant to your thesis might be limited.

When there is very little or no prior research on a specific topic, you may need to develop an entirely new research typology. In this case, discovering a limitation can be considered an important opportunity to identify literature gaps and to present the need for further development in the area of study.

Methods/instruments/techniques used to collect the data

After you complete your analysis of the research findings (in the discussion section), you might realize that the manner in which you have collected the data or the ways in which you have measured variables has limited your ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the results.

For example, you might realize that you should have addressed your survey questions from another viable perspective, or that you were not able to include an important question in the survey. In these cases, you should acknowledge the deficiency or deficiencies by stating a need for future researchers to revise their specific methods for collecting data that includes these missing elements.

Common Limitations of the Researcher(s)

Study limitations that arise from situations relating to the researcher or researchers (whether the direct fault of the individuals or not) should also be addressed and dealt with, and remedies to decrease these limitations—both hypothetically in your study, and practically in future studies—should be proposed.

Limited access to data

If your research involved surveying certain people or organizations, you might have faced the problem of having limited access to these respondents. Due to this limited access, you might need to redesign or restructure your research in a different way. In this case, explain the reasons for limited access and be sure that your finding is still reliable and valid despite this limitation.

Time constraints

Just as students have deadlines to turn in their class papers, academic researchers might also have to meet deadlines for submitting a manuscript to a journal or face other time constraints related to their research (e.g., participants are only available during a certain period; funding runs out; collaborators move to a new institution). The time available to study a research problem and to measure change over time might be constrained by such practical issues. If time constraints negatively impacted your study in any way, acknowledge this impact by mentioning a need for a future study (e.g., a longitudinal study) to answer this research problem.

Conflicts arising from cultural bias and other personal issues

Researchers might hold biased views due to their cultural backgrounds or perspectives of certain phenomena, and this can affect a study’s legitimacy. Also, it is possible that researchers will have biases toward data and results that only support their hypotheses or arguments. In order to avoid these problems, the author(s) of a study should examine whether the way the research problem was stated and the data-gathering process was carried out appropriately.

Steps for Organizing Your Study Limitations Section

When you discuss the limitations of your study, don’t simply list and describe your limitations—explain how these limitations have influenced your research findings. There might be multiple limitations in your study, but you only need to point out and explain those that directly relate to and impact how you address your research questions.

We suggest that you divide your limitations section into three steps: (1) identify the study limitations; (2) explain how they impact your study in detail; and (3) propose a direction for future studies and present alternatives. By following this sequence when discussing your study’s limitations, you will be able to clearly demonstrate your study’s weakness without undermining the quality and integrity of your research.

Step 1. Identify the limitation(s) of the study

• This part should comprise around 10%-20% of your discussion of study limitations.

The first step is to identify the particular limitation(s) that affected your study. There are many possible limitations of research that can affect your study, but you don’t need to write a long review of all possible study limitations. A 200-500 word critique is an appropriate length for a research limitations section. In the beginning of this section, identify what limitations your study has faced and how important these limitations are.

You only need to identify limitations that had the greatest potential impact on: (1) the quality of your findings, and (2) your ability to answer your research question.

Step 2. Explain these study limitations in detail

• This part should comprise around 60-70% of your discussion of limitations.

After identifying your research limitations, it’s time to explain the nature of the limitations and how they potentially impacted your study. For example, when you conduct quantitative research, a lack of probability sampling is an important issue that you should mention. On the other hand, when you conduct qualitative research, the inability to generalize the research findings could be an issue that deserves mention.

Explain the role these limitations played on the results and implications of the research and justify the choice you made in using this “limiting” methodology or other action in your research. Also, make sure that these limitations didn’t undermine the quality of your dissertation .

Step 3. Propose a direction for future studies and present alternatives (optional)

• This part should comprise around 10-20% of your discussion of limitations.

After acknowledging the limitations of the research, you need to discuss some possible ways to overcome these limitations in future studies. One way to do this is to present alternative methodologies and ways to avoid issues with, or “fill in the gaps of” the limitations of this study you have presented.  Discuss both the pros and cons of these alternatives and clearly explain why researchers should choose these approaches.

Make sure you are current on approaches used by prior studies and the impacts they have had on their findings. Cite review articles or scientific bodies that have recommended these approaches and why. This might be evidence in support of the approach you chose, or it might be the reason you consider your choices to be included as limitations. This process can act as a justification for your approach and a defense of your decision to take it while acknowledging the feasibility of other approaches.

P hrases and Tips for Introducing Your Study Limitations in the Discussion Section

The following phrases are frequently used to introduce the limitations of the study:

• “There may be some possible limitations in this study.”
• “The findings of this study have to be seen in light of some limitations.”
•  “The first is the…The second limitation concerns the…”
•  “The empirical results reported herein should be considered in the light of some limitations.”
• “This research, however, is subject to several limitations.”
• “The primary limitation to the generalization of these results is…”
• “Nonetheless, these results must be interpreted with caution and a number of limitations should be borne in mind.”
• “As with the majority of studies, the design of the current study is subject to limitations.”
• “There are two major limitations in this study that could be addressed in future research. First, the study focused on …. Second ….”

For more articles on research writing and the journal submissions and publication process, visit Wordvice’s Academic Resources page.

And be sure to receive professional English editing and proofreading services , including paper editing services , for your journal manuscript before submitting it to journal editors.

Wordvice Resources

Proofreading & Editing Guide

Writing the Results Section for a Research Paper

How to Write a Literature Review

Research Writing Tips: How to Draft a Powerful Discussion Section

How to Captivate Journal Readers with a Strong Introduction

Tips That Will Make Your Abstract a Success!

APA In-Text Citation Guide for Research Writing

Additional Resources

• Diving Deeper into Limitations and Delimitations (PhD student)
• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Limitations of the Study (USC Library)
• Research Limitations (Research Methodology)
• How to Present Limitations and Alternatives (UMASS)

Article References

Pearson-Stuttard, J., Kypridemos, C., Collins, B., Mozaffarian, D., Huang, Y., Bandosz, P.,…Micha, R. (2018). Estimating the health and economic effects of the proposed US Food and Drug Administration voluntary sodium reformulation: Microsimulation cost-effectiveness analysis. PLOS. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002551

Xu, W.L, Pedersen, N.L., Keller, L., Kalpouzos, G., Wang, H.X., Graff, C,. Fratiglioni, L. (2015). HHEX_23 AA Genotype Exacerbates Effect of Diabetes on Dementia and Alzheimer Disease: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study. PLOS. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001853

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Home » Limitations in Research – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Limitations in Research – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Limitations in Research

Limitations in research refer to the factors that may affect the results, conclusions , and generalizability of a study. These limitations can arise from various sources, such as the design of the study, the sampling methods used, the measurement tools employed, and the limitations of the data analysis techniques.

Types of Limitations in Research

Types of Limitations in Research are as follows:

Sample Size Limitations

This refers to the size of the group of people or subjects that are being studied. If the sample size is too small, then the results may not be representative of the population being studied. This can lead to a lack of generalizability of the results.

Time Limitations

Time limitations can be a constraint on the research process . This could mean that the study is unable to be conducted for a long enough period of time to observe the long-term effects of an intervention, or to collect enough data to draw accurate conclusions.

Selection Bias

This refers to a type of bias that can occur when the selection of participants in a study is not random. This can lead to a biased sample that is not representative of the population being studied.

Confounding Variables

Confounding variables are factors that can influence the outcome of a study, but are not being measured or controlled for. These can lead to inaccurate conclusions or a lack of clarity in the results.

Measurement Error

This refers to inaccuracies in the measurement of variables, such as using a faulty instrument or scale. This can lead to inaccurate results or a lack of validity in the study.

Ethical Limitations

Ethical limitations refer to the ethical constraints placed on research studies. For example, certain studies may not be allowed to be conducted due to ethical concerns, such as studies that involve harm to participants.

Examples of Limitations in Research

Some Examples of Limitations in Research are as follows:

Research Title: “The Effectiveness of Machine Learning Algorithms in Predicting Customer Behavior”

Limitations:

• The study only considered a limited number of machine learning algorithms and did not explore the effectiveness of other algorithms.
• The study used a specific dataset, which may not be representative of all customer behaviors or demographics.
• The study did not consider the potential ethical implications of using machine learning algorithms in predicting customer behavior.

Research Title: “The Impact of Online Learning on Student Performance in Computer Science Courses”

• The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected the results due to the unique circumstances of remote learning.
• The study only included students from a single university, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other institutions.
• The study did not consider the impact of individual differences, such as prior knowledge or motivation, on student performance in online learning environments.

Research Title: “The Effect of Gamification on User Engagement in Mobile Health Applications”

• The study only tested a specific gamification strategy and did not explore the effectiveness of other gamification techniques.
• The study relied on self-reported measures of user engagement, which may be subject to social desirability bias or measurement errors.
• The study only included a specific demographic group (e.g., young adults) and may not be generalizable to other populations with different preferences or needs.

How to Write Limitations in Research

When writing about the limitations of a research study, it is important to be honest and clear about the potential weaknesses of your work. Here are some tips for writing about limitations in research:

• Identify the limitations: Start by identifying the potential limitations of your research. These may include sample size, selection bias, measurement error, or other issues that could affect the validity and reliability of your findings.
• Be honest and objective: When describing the limitations of your research, be honest and objective. Do not try to minimize or downplay the limitations, but also do not exaggerate them. Be clear and concise in your description of the limitations.
• Provide context: It is important to provide context for the limitations of your research. For example, if your sample size was small, explain why this was the case and how it may have affected your results. Providing context can help readers understand the limitations in a broader context.
• Discuss implications : Discuss the implications of the limitations for your research findings. For example, if there was a selection bias in your sample, explain how this may have affected the generalizability of your findings. This can help readers understand the limitations in terms of their impact on the overall validity of your research.
• Provide suggestions for future research : Finally, provide suggestions for future research that can address the limitations of your study. This can help readers understand how your research fits into the broader field and can provide a roadmap for future studies.

Purpose of Limitations in Research

There are several purposes of limitations in research. Here are some of the most important ones:

• To acknowledge the boundaries of the study : Limitations help to define the scope of the research project and set realistic expectations for the findings. They can help to clarify what the study is not intended to address.
• To identify potential sources of bias: Limitations can help researchers identify potential sources of bias in their research design, data collection, or analysis. This can help to improve the validity and reliability of the findings.
• To provide opportunities for future research: Limitations can highlight areas for future research and suggest avenues for further exploration. This can help to advance knowledge in a particular field.
• To demonstrate transparency and accountability: By acknowledging the limitations of their research, researchers can demonstrate transparency and accountability to their readers, peers, and funders. This can help to build trust and credibility in the research community.
• To encourage critical thinking: Limitations can encourage readers to critically evaluate the study’s findings and consider alternative explanations or interpretations. This can help to promote a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the topic under investigation.

When to Write Limitations in Research

Limitations should be included in research when they help to provide a more complete understanding of the study’s results and implications. A limitation is any factor that could potentially impact the accuracy, reliability, or generalizability of the study’s findings.

It is important to identify and discuss limitations in research because doing so helps to ensure that the results are interpreted appropriately and that any conclusions drawn are supported by the available evidence. Limitations can also suggest areas for future research, highlight potential biases or confounding factors that may have affected the results, and provide context for the study’s findings.

Generally, limitations should be discussed in the conclusion section of a research paper or thesis, although they may also be mentioned in other sections, such as the introduction or methods. The specific limitations that are discussed will depend on the nature of the study, the research question being investigated, and the data that was collected.

Examples of limitations that might be discussed in research include sample size limitations, data collection methods, the validity and reliability of measures used, and potential biases or confounding factors that could have affected the results. It is important to note that limitations should not be used as a justification for poor research design or methodology, but rather as a way to enhance the understanding and interpretation of the study’s findings.

Importance of Limitations in Research

Here are some reasons why limitations are important in research:

• Enhances the credibility of research: Limitations highlight the potential weaknesses and threats to validity, which helps readers to understand the scope and boundaries of the study. This improves the credibility of research by acknowledging its limitations and providing a clear picture of what can and cannot be concluded from the study.
• Facilitates replication: By highlighting the limitations, researchers can provide detailed information about the study’s methodology, data collection, and analysis. This information helps other researchers to replicate the study and test the validity of the findings, which enhances the reliability of research.
• Guides future research : Limitations provide insights into areas for future research by identifying gaps or areas that require further investigation. This can help researchers to design more comprehensive and effective studies that build on existing knowledge.
• Provides a balanced view: Limitations help to provide a balanced view of the research by highlighting both strengths and weaknesses. This ensures that readers have a clear understanding of the study’s limitations and can make informed decisions about the generalizability and applicability of the findings.

Advantages of Limitations in Research

Here are some potential advantages of limitations in research:

• Focus : Limitations can help researchers focus their study on a specific area or population, which can make the research more relevant and useful.
• Realism : Limitations can make a study more realistic by reflecting the practical constraints and challenges of conducting research in the real world.
• Innovation : Limitations can spur researchers to be more innovative and creative in their research design and methodology, as they search for ways to work around the limitations.
• Rigor : Limitations can actually increase the rigor and credibility of a study, as researchers are forced to carefully consider the potential sources of bias and error, and address them to the best of their abilities.
• Generalizability : Limitations can actually improve the generalizability of a study by ensuring that it is not overly focused on a specific sample or situation, and that the results can be applied more broadly.

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What is Essay Type Test

Back to: Measurement and Evaluation in Education B.ed Notes, M.A Notes, IGNOU Notes and Graduation Notes

The word essay has been derived from a French word ‘essayer’ which means ‘to try or to attempt’.

Definition of Essay Type Test

“Essay test is a test that requires the student to structure a rather long written response up to several paragraphs.” i.e. “the essay test refers to any written test that requires the examinee to write a sentence, a paragraph or longer passages.”

Characteristics of essay type test

• The length of the needed responses vary with regard to marks and time. For example, in bed papers, there are 10 mark, mark, and 3 mark questions, thus the length of the answers changes appropriately. For 10 marks, it must be finished within 15-20 minutes for each 3 marks; 5 minutes is the maximum, therefore the length of replies varies with regard to time.
• It necessitates a subjective judgement: judgement refers to making a decision or judging, but subjective refers to not being fair enough, i.e., it varies from person to person, for example, criteria for drafting a statement of specification. We are asked to provide each requirement along with examples. Some may write simply criteria, while others may provide examples; therefore, marks or grades are assigned based on the degree of quality, accuracy, and completeness of the responses.
• Most common and commonly used: The essay has become an important aspect of formal education. Structured essay format is taught to secondary students in order to improve their writing skills. Many of the same types of essays are used in magazine or newspaper articles as in academic writings. Employment essays outlining our experience in specific occupational domains are also required while applying for some positions, particularly government ones. As a result, it is the most well-known and commonly utilised.

Essay is of two types:

Restricted answer questions:.

These questions typically limit both the substance and the response. The breadth of the issue to be discussed usually limits the substance, and constraints on the method of answer are frequently mentioned in the question. Another technique to limit replies in essay assessments is to ask questions about specific topics. To that end, introductory information similar to that utilised in interpretative exercises might be offered. The sole difference between these items and objective interpretive exercises is that essay questions are utilised instead of multiple choice or true or false answers. Because the restricted answer question is more organised, it is best suited for assessing learning outcomes that need the interpretation and application of data in a specific area.

For eg: State any five definitions of Socioilogy?

Write a life sketch of Hitler in 200 words?

Extended response questions:

Students are not restricted in terms of the topics they will address or the style of structure they will utilise. Teachers should provide students as much leeway as possible in determining the nature and breadth of their inquiries, and he should respond to these sorts of questions in a timely and relevant manner. The student may choose the points he believes are most significant, pertinent, and relevant to his views and order and organise the answers in whatever way he sees fit. As a result, they are also known as free response questions.

The instructor can then assess the student’s ability to organise, integrate, understand, and express themselves in their own words. It also allows you to remark on or investigate students’ development, the quality of their thinking, the depth of their learning, problem-solving abilities, and any issues they may be experiencing. These abilities interact with each other as well as the information and comprehension required by the situation. Thus, this form of inquiry contributes the most at the levels of synthesis and evaluation of writing skills.

• E.g.: 1. Describe at length the defects of the present day examination system in the state of Maharashtra. Suggest ways and means of improving the examination system.
• 2. Describe the character of hamlet.
• 3. Global warming is the next step to disaster.
• Extended Response of free type response type: in this form of inquiry, the replies demand that the student is not limited to the amount to which he has discussed the concerns raised or the question asked.
• Plan and organise his ideas in order to provide a response.
• Put his views through by expressing oneself freely, exactly, and clearly utilising his own words and writings.
• Discuss the questions in depth, providing various facets of his understanding on the matter or issue mentioned.

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What Is the Enneagram Personality Test?

Design by Health

The Enneagram—a term that refers to a nine-point symbol in Greek—is a self-discovery tool and personality test. Used for more than 100 years, the Enneagram method also highlights areas of personal growth and can help someone improve their overall well-being.  Although it can be useful, the theory behind it is not well tested and evidence for all of the distinct subscales is mixed.

Understanding your Enneagram type, and the types of others, can help you recognize and understand your behaviors, perceptions, learning styles, and motivations—as well as those of other people. You can even get a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.

Here is what you need to know about the Enneagram, including how it’s used, where to find a test, and how to apply it to your everyday life.

The Enneagram Types

According to experts who study the Enneagram, each person has a primary type that they exhibit much of the time that may have been influenced by their childhood experiences or the type of parenting or caretaking they received. Understanding the key characteristics and motivations of your type—as well as the types of others—can be beneficial in improving your relationships, communications, and interactions.

Using the Enneagram can also improve your awareness of your shortcomings so that you can address those potential issues and improve your quality of life and your relationships with others.

Here is a brief overview of each type including where they may face challenges.

Type One, The Reformer

Also known as the Moralizer or Perfectionist, this Enneagram type is goal-oriented, ethical, and idealistic. They need clear direction and good communication from others to be successful and tend to be dependable, have high morals, and are discerning.

Reformers can be perfectionists and highly critical of others. Some believe that people who are ones grew up in a home where they were not allowed to make many mistakes.

Type Two, The Helper

Sometimes called the Giver or the Mentor, this Enneagram type is generous, sincere, and wants the approval of others. They also are unselfish, optimistic, and adapt to situations easily.

When faced with challenges, a Helper may be possessive and can use flattery as a defense mechanism. Most likely, this person was raised in home where being helpful was important.

Type Three, The Achiever

This Enneagram type—sometimes referred to as the Performer or the Producer—tends to be a leader who is both charming and poised. They also tend to be goal-oriented, authentic, efficient, and hardworking. When faced with challenges, they will persevere.

On the flip side, Achievers can become a workaholic, have a poor quality of personal life, and worry about how they are perceived by others. It's likely that their parents or caregivers valued the perceptions of others.

Type Four, The Individualist

Also known as the Dreamer or the Romantic, this Enneagram type is artistic, innovative, and passionate about life. They also tend to be creative, self-aware, and inspired, but they also can struggle with envy, vulnerability, and moodiness.

Some experts believe the environment Individualists grew up in may have frowned on overt (outward expression of) happiness.

Type Five, The Investigator

Sometimes called the Observer or the Thinker, this Enneagram type is insightful, perceptive, and curious. They also tend to be visionaries who have the unique ability to see things in novel ways. But sometimes they can become isolated, seek safety through distance, and be intense.

During childhood, it's possible that parents or caregivers of Investigators emphasized autonomy.

Type Six, The Loyalist

This Enneagram type—sometimes known as the Guardian or the Team Player—is most known for reliability and trustworthiness. They also are seen as courageous, stable, and self-reliant.

Sixes can also have a rebellious streak, get defensive, act cautiously, and be overly suspicious. Most experts believe they tended to question authority during their upbringing.

Type Seven, The Enthusiast

Also known as the Visionary or even a Dreamer, this Enneagram type is fun-loving and spontaneous. They also are usually filled with joy and appreciation and are often satisfied with life.

Growing up, Enthusiasts likely learned to depend on themselves for happiness and may struggle with commitment and being overextended in adulthood.

Type Eight, The Challenger

Sometimes called the Protector or the Boss, this Enneagram type tends to be assertive, resourceful, and powerful. They are also highly likely to take a stand or defend others.

Eights also are seen as strong and authoritative. They were likely taught to never be vulnerable.

Type Nine, The Peacemaker

This Enneagram type—sometimes called the Mediator or Peacekeeper—tends to be trusting, stable, and inclusive. They can embrace multiple types of people and are skilled at bringing people together. However, to promote peace, they may simplify problems, procrastinate, and struggle to make decisions.

As children, Peacemakers may have been in an environment with a lot of conflict and struggled to cope with it.

How To Take the Test

To discover your Enneagram type, you will need to take a test either online or from a book. There are no standardized versions of the Enneagram test, so some tests tend to be more reliable than others.

One popular version of the test is the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, or RHETI. Developed in 1999 by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, this questionnaire contains questions with two options for the answer. Each option is related to one of the nine personality types and test takers are encouraged to select the option that best reflects their personality characteristics.

If you want to take a version of the RHETI test , you can find the test for a one-time fee of $20 on the Enneagram Institute website. This test provides your scores for all nine of the Enneagram types with more detailed information about your top three types. They also offer suggestions for personal growth as well as relationship information on compatibility and personality dynamics.

For those who prefer books, one popular option is The Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide . Written by David Daniels, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford Medical School and a pioneer in the Enneagram, this book offers another reliable Enneagram test. You also can take Dr. Daniels' test online for $10 on the Narrative Enneagram site.

If you want a free version of the test , you can try the test on Truity's website. This test has been clinically reviewed by a doctor of psychology and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. This test is formatted differently than Enneagram tests, so results may be less accurate.

Tips for Taking the Test

When taking an Enneagram test, choose your answers based on how you generally respond in most situations. Make sure your answers are an honest assessment of what you truly think, feel, and do—not how you wish you were. Remember: there are no perfect Enneagram types and there are no right and wrong answers.

Understanding Your Enneagram Type

After taking an Enneagram test, it's important to read through the results. Pay close attention to your strengths, as well as areas where you may benefit from improvement. After all, the goal of the Enneagram is to provide insight into who you are and where you need to grow.

Used appropriately, the Enneagram can increase self-awareness and help free you from the limitations of your personality type. Not only does it provide information about habits or chronic tendencies you may possess, but it also highlights emotions, feelings, and roadblocks you may face. Every person has some level of each of the nine Enneagram types. Therefore, you can develop or hone other aspects of your personality as well.

Understanding your Enneagram type also requires getting familiar with your wing type, the triads, and the stress points. Here is a general overview of these other key facets.

• Wing type: Located on either side of your Enneagram type (of the Enneagram circle), these wings add variation to your personality type. You have one dominant personality type and one secondary wing type that blends into your personality. In other words, an Enneagram Type 3 might have a Wing 2 that explains why they have helpful tendencies in addition to being driven.
• Stress points: When looking at the Enneagram circle, you will notice lines from your particular Enneagram type to another type. For instance, with the Enneagram Type 3, these lines go to Type 9 and Type 6. One of these points represents where the Type 3 personality goes when they are stressed, and the other points represents where they go when they're moving towards health and growth.
• Triads: According to Enneagram experts, the types also share a center of intelligence, which means they have a common orientation to the world. These triads include the body types (1, 8, 9), the heart types (2, 3, 4), and the head types (5, 6, 7). The body types are the anger triad: they typically seek control. The heart triad is the image triad: they usually seek approval. The head triad is the fear triad: they usually seek security.

However, as previously stated, there is little research evidence for these facets of the Enneagram type. More research is needed to provide support for their usefulness.

How To Use the Enneagram in Daily Life

Most Enneagram tests provide you with a comprehensive guide to your Enneagram type and the associated strengths, limitations, and core beliefs that often accompany this type. This report can serve as a roadmap or guideline on how to not only capitalize on your strengths, but also how you can address your limitations or struggles. Knowing and acting on this information can improve your psychological health and well-being.

Plus, research has shown that your relationships and work-related tasks may benefit. You might use the Enneagram to become more effective at work. It can also help build your self-confidence and enhance communication skills. There is even some evidence that it can promote greater self-understanding and even reduce anxiety .

The Enneagram can also be useful in helping you better understand the other people in your life—like your partner, team members, classmates, or co-workers. By knowing their Enneagram type, you will understand what motivates them and where they may have challenges. It also can be useful in improving your communication with them, too.

Limitations of the Enneagram Personality Test

The Enneagram is a popular personality test that is used both in the workforce and in academic circles, but most experts agree that it lacks rigorous scientific research on its uses and application. For instance, it has not been extensively researched in the same way that other personality models—like the Big Five—have been studied.

Even proponents of the Enneagram acknowledge that experts have focused more on how the test can help people rather than rigorously testing the model itself.

Another concern is that the Enneagram may not be as reliable because it requires a subjective interpretation of the questions and results. People might develop an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of their personality, or they will answer the questions based on how they want to be perceived rather than how they truly are.

However, proponents of the Enneagram indicate that some research shows that the test's personality types were in line with the Big Five's demonstration of personality traits, though note that more research is needed.

A Quick Review

The Enneagram is a self-discovery tool that provides insight into a person's personality. In addition to highlighting their strengths and core beliefs or motivations, it also illustrates their limitations or weaknesses, too. This information is then used to help the person grow and improve. People can also use the Enneagram to better understand others—including partners, co-workers, and family members.

Though the Enneagram lacks the scientific rigor of other personality models, it is a popular and useful tool for self-improvement.

Blose TM, Yeates AC, Som M, Murray KA, Vassar M, Stroup J. The Enneagram and its application in medical education .  Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings . 2023;36(1):54-58. doi:10.1080/08998280.2022.2132591

Komasi S, Zakiei A, Ghasemi SR, et al. Is enneagram personality system able to predict perceived risk of heart disease and readiness to lifestyle modification? Ann Card Anaesth . 2019 Oct-Dec;22(4):394-399. doi:10.4103/aca.ACA_115_18

Roh H, Park KH, Ko HJ, et al. Understanding medical students’ empathy based on Enneagram personality types .  Korean J Med Educ . 2019;31(1):73-82. doi:10.3946/kjme.2019.120

The Narrative Enneagram. Type comparisons .

Daniels D, Saracino T, Fraley M, Christian J, Pardo S. Advancing ego development in adulthood through study of the enneagram system of personality .  J Adult Dev . 2018;25(4):229-241. doi:10.1007/s10804-018-9289-x

Fitzsimons CJ, Killen J. How science can help to solve the Enneagram’s credibility problem .  The Enneagram Journal.  2013;6:5–24.

Hook JN, Hall TW, Davis DE, Van Tongeren DR, Conner M. The Enneagram: A systematic review of the literature and directions for future research .  J Clin Psychol . 2021;77(4):865-883. doi:10.1002/jclp.23097

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Guest Essay

We Regulate a Tiny Fraction of the 12,000 ‘Forever Chemicals.’ There’s a Better Way.

By Kathleen Blackburn

Dr. Blackburn teaches creative nonfiction writing at the University of Chicago.

When I was 12 years old, I sat inside a raucous tent revival in West Texas, gripping my seat in fear that a traveling evangelist would accuse me of killing my father.

A healthy former Air Force pilot who’d averaged an eight-minute mile in the New York City Marathon, my father had just been diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer and been given a short time to live. Nothing about his predicament made sense to our family at the time. He was 38, a nonsmoker and nondrinker, with no history of cancer in his family.

My parents were conservative evangelicals deeply skeptical of the medical industry, and his diagnosis kicked their beliefs into high gear. When doctors couldn’t answer our questions — Why did Dad have cancer? What could we do? — we sought out faith healers who did. Traveling evangelists and local preachers claimed that the cancer was, in fact, a satanic attack. This gave us a way out: We simply had to muster enough faith to believe a miracle was possible and God would heal him.

What no one in my family knew at the time was that for most of his life my father had been exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS, which have been linked to increased risk of certain cancers . His fallow muscle, jaundiced skin and weight loss were very likely because of the decades-long accumulation of carcinogenic chemicals in the drinking water at the military sites where he had lived and worked since his childhood.

The environmental violence exacted by PFAS, like the effects of radiation and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, can be difficult to prove. Only a few studies have examined the relationship between PFAS exposure and colorectal cancer (though the Yale School of Public Health has estimated that around 80 percent of cases are linked to environmental exposure). But on April 10 the Environmental Protection Agency announced the first federal mandate to limit the level of six PFAS in tap water. Going forward, water systems where they are detected will be required to remove them. Michael Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, called the announcement “life-changing,” and for me it was — it validated what I’d long suspected, that exposure to these chemicals can be devastating.

But if six PFAS sounds like a small number, that’s because it is. At this point, more than 12,000 formulations of PFAS exist and only a fifth of Americans’ PFAS exposure comes from drinking water. That means additional PFAS that have not been targeted for regulation persist in our water, soil and consumer products, leaving many Americans vulnerable to exposure. To reduce the risk they pose, we need far more comprehensive mandates that test, monitor and limit the entire class of PFAS chemicals.

In the 1930s and ’40s, manufacturing companies like DuPont and 3M began developing these substances for use as repellent in nonstick items including Teflon pans, Scotchgard and firefighting foams. But the chemical bonds that make them so useful as a repellent also make PFAS nearly indestructible; it’s why they have been labeled “forever chemicals.” They don’t break down once they enter the environment, and instead they accumulate in water, soil and our bodies.

Firefighting foams have been a major source of PFAS contamination since their development in the 1960s. In collaboration with the U.S. Navy, 3M produced foams that the Defense Department sprayed in routine fire drills and emergencies around the country. The chemicals eventually leached into groundwater at military sites like the ones where my father lived and water sources surrounding them. In 2000, 3M began phasing out its use of perfluorooctanyl sulfonate, a component of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, citing health concerns. Still, it was not until 2023 that the Department of Defense was banned from purchasing foams containing PFAS.

The E.P.A.’s move this month to regulate PFAS is a significant next step, but even in places where the groundwater is not highly contaminated, we will all still be exposed to unregulated PFAS without further government action. The chemicals are used in a staggering number of consumer products, including carpet, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn, yoga pants, bags and toiletries like dental floss, shampoo and cosmetics. They are still key ingredients in some firefighting foams; many fire departments still use these foams in emergencies like chemical plant fires. And in Texas, thousands of pounds of PFAS are being shot into the ground to lubricate drill bits for fracking.

We already know that high levels of exposure to PFAS have been linked to disastrous health impacts like birth defects, liver damage and many kinds of cancer. Yet the rate at which PFAS are being released into the environment far outpaces toxicologists’ ability to study their consequences for human health. Some 31 percent of groundwater samples in places with no known source of PFAS have shown contamination levels that exceed E.P.A. limits. And in some locations with established sources, like military and industrial sites, the levels of PFAS are far higher than the standard set by the new rule.

We now need a federal ban on firefighting foams containing PFAS and regulations that are enforceable by law to limit not just specific compounds in our water, but the whole class of highly pervasive chemicals. Mandates should identify the historical sources of pollution to hold industries accountable and avoid further straining the communities exposed to PFAS with the additional cost of their cleanup. On Friday, the E.P.A. helpfully put two PFAS compounds under its Superfund authority, shifting accountability for cleanup from taxpayers to polluters.

I am now 39, the age my father was when he died from cancer in 1998. Nearly 20 years passed before I discovered that the Defense Department is responsible for a significant portion of the PFAS pollution in the United States and that dangerously high levels of PFAS have been confirmed or are suspected of contaminating the drinking water at military sites from Guam to Universal City, Texas, including where my father had lived as a child and worked as an Air Force officer. My father was no longer an officer when he was diagnosed, but the reality of PFAS exposure shows that we carry the traces of each place we’ve lived even after we’ve left.

This month’s federal announcement cannot resurrect the dead. Still, it gives context to tragedies that made no sense at the time and sent my family into a desperate search for a miracle that never came.

I would never wish such a revelation on my 2-year-old son’s generation. I would not have them blindly searching for answers that first manifest, as so often quests through oblivion do, in blaming oneself. This is exactly what companies like 3M and DuPont hope will continue happening — that those of us who were first exposed will still bear the burden of proof.

We should not have to risk repeated exposure to these substances, with the most powerful bonds in organic chemistry, caused by the willful negligence of industry each time we place our faith in a glass of water. Let’s not wait for more long-term effects on our health before we act.

Kathleen Blackburn teaches creative nonfiction writing at the University of Chicago. She is the author of “Loose of Earth.”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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I'm a filmmaker testing OpenAI's Sora. Here are its best features and biggest limitations — and the prompts I use.

• OpenAI shook Hollywood with its reveal of Sora, a tool that can convert text into high-quality video.
• Paul Trillo, a filmmaker testing Sora, detailed his experience and its abilities and limitations.
• He said Sora could make movie-making more efficient but is far from replacing writers and actors.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Paul Trillo, an LA-based artist and filmmaker whose experimentation with OpenAI's Sora has produced videos like "Abstract" and "The Golden Record." The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been testing Sora since the end of February. I was interested in trying to find ideas and visuals that would've been more difficult or stranger to explore in traditional ways. So I'm doing a music video that has this dream logic where it takes place over multiple decades, and we're blending environments together. It's an idea I had about 10 years ago but never could make because it was just too ambitious.

Every prompt in Sora goes through multiple iterations. A lot of the stuff I've been doing is trying to get both guided or dynamic specific camera movements as well as aesthetic. So I see if I can create the subject that I'm asking for, and it doesn't really understand everything. Sometimes it'll jumble ideas together and kind of mutate what you're asking.

Then I have a cocktail of words that I use to make sure that it feels less like a video game and something more filmic. But even certain words will end up making things feel more like a video game. And so you're combating certain words with counter words to try to see if you can nail the aesthetic you want. I throw out "35 millimeter," I throw out "anamorphic lens," "depth of field lens vignette," "Fuji film," "stock analog." If you don't put anything in, it'll kind of default to this very digital-looking output.

One prompt for "The Golden Record" started: "moody analog film shot we zoom in motion blur volatile rocky meteorite landscape of raw earth with golden record soaring through the dark depths of space, floating surreal rocks, and smoke filling the air. the scene is chaotic and primal, with the destructive power of nature unleashed." (Scroll to the end to read the full prompt.)

Everything has to have their seal of approval before it's public. They have all these safeguards — no nudity or violence, likeness, anything that's obviously copyrighted. Some of it is a little bit too protective. It is even confusing for us alpha testers what flags are being raised. But you can still do a lot with it. What this does is it allows me to just try ideas with no stakes involved. It's incredibly liberating.

I've gotten a lot of people from the ad world asking, "Hey, how do I get into Sora?" That's probably the most boring use case for this amazing technology to be used in a commercial as a replacement for something that could be done otherwise.

Sora is far from being ready for Hollywood

From a production value and quality standpoint, we're still ways away from this being used in films . They have the best compute, but they still don't have enough to really service tons of users. There's still a huge element of this being like a slot machine where you ask for something, and it jumbles ideas together, and it doesn't have a real physics engine to it. It's just sort of a mirror reflection of what it's seeing. There's a long way to go to create character consistency. Maybe 10 years from now, it could really make a difference in someone's life that didn't have any resources. But people are going to find the experience of using this not as thrilling as the experience of being on set with real people. What makes filmmaking a unique field is the collaborative aspect of it that just can't really be created in an isolated experience, talking to a machine.

Sora could reduce the cost of filmmaking

I am excited about the more experimental use cases of it, but there certainly is the component of saving money. Films are incredibly expensive. They're also incredibly wasteful and inefficient . So I don't think it's a bad thing to try to make the process more efficient. That's maybe the side that people are missing coming out of the strikes . The studios have been pretty blatant about they're going to greenlight less projects now because they have to put more writers in the writers' room. They have to pay more on residuals. If this can create channels for things to be made that wouldn't have otherwise been greenlit and that we can actually start producing more, I don't really see that as a bad thing.

Related stories

I think post-production is definitely more in for a shake-up. A lot of indie films just don't have the luxury of having anything for post-production. If this can even the playing field for indie films to dream a little bit bigger, and shoot a little bit higher, ultimately that's a good thing.

Sora has the lead now, but eventually there's going to be an open-source version of this that's not going to be made by OpenAI. It's likely Stable Diffusion will at some point catch up. I could see it replacing aspects of specifically B-roll and insert shots, or pickup shots, or anything stock footage. As a director, you want to spend as much time working with the actors. You don't want to spend your time on these insert shots that are not as critical to the story. Also, stock footage is incredibly limiting and aesthetically doesn't always match.

Sora is still a research project in alpha

OpenAI does not have a timeline for it. It is a little confusing who the market is for this. I hope they don't dumb it down because the tool is more complex than I think people realize, but it needs to be wrangled, and I think it would be a disservice to just make this some sort of one-off content creation factory machine. I hope this goes in the direction of the more sophisticated route. There may be more money in Hollywood, but there's going to be a lot more they're going to need to do in order to service that really high-end.

I am trying to toe the line between playing with magical technology that could only happen because of these tech companies and reassuring filmmakers that this is actually a great time to be a filmmaker because of the ability to envision your ideas that we've never been able to do before. That's why I'm talking with all these companies: To make sure that they know who they're making these tools for. I do worry about the overuse of AI and what it's going to do for us skill-wise, and creatively, and culture-wise that we could dull ourselves. And I think that's the most boring use of AI.

Here's the full prompt for "The Golden Record" (paragraph breaks added):

moody analog film shot we zoom in motion blur volatile rocky meteorite landscape of raw earth with golden record soaring through the dark depths of space, floating surreal rocks, and smoke filling the air. the scene is chaotic and primal, with the destructive power of nature unleashed.

the scene is captured from a fast zooming perspective, as if the viewer is flying through the air and observing the scene from above. soft natural sunlight, the shot is blurry and distorted, with a 35mm fuji film grain stock. analog. Motion blur and filmic texture, moody organic light from the sun in space, NASA, anamorphic lens, vintage tone, film grain texture.

analog film shot we zoom in motion blur the scene transitions from the rocky landscape to a hurdling golden record flying through the air in a rocky void his body begins to melt. the viewer can see a blur of motion as the melting man rushes past, the scene is captured from a fast zooming perspective, analog film shot we zoom in motion blur the viewer emerges from the hurdle golden record and enters a field of floating rocks. the scene is filled with surreal floating and flying rocks.

the golden record falls into place and flips and rotates through the darkness of space, the scene transitions from the field of floating rocks into the open hand made of gold shards belonging to a liquid nebulus transluscent iridescent jellyfish alien god with tendrils spreading through space, the gold melts into a circular, the golden circular record flips and flies and rotates through the air, the viewer can see the golden record open up, as if they are zooming through the crystal hand and observing the scene from below.

the scene transitions through a sweeping vastness of space of the golden record flips and flies around dynamically we pan around following the action as a translucent jellyfish alien figure interacts with the golden record, flooded with iridescent rivers with a golden record soaring through the an explosion of dust and rocket smoke. the viewer can see the city from a high angle, as if they are flying over the streets and observing the scene from above.

we fly into a low angle of the iridescent river, the shot is blurry and distorted, with a 35mm film grain effect. Motion blur and filmic texture. the scene transitions and emerges out onto the side of a golden record that flies up into the air, bioorganic organs liquid nebulus transluscent iridescent jellyfish alien god with tendrils spreading through space, melting golden record made of iridescent golden record flies into outerspace, into the distance. the shot is clear and crisp

Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, has a global deal to allow OpenAI to train its models on its media brands' reporting.

Watch: Generative AI may "democratize" creativity, says EY's head of brand

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