Lab Assignment for ENGL 0307
Lab Purpose:
When I finish this, I should be able
to:
Practicing for the System Common Final
 Introduce the ENGL 0307 Common Writing Assessment
and timed essay components.
 Give students practice taking a timed essay
 Give students preparation tools and strategies for the
timed essay
I will know what to expect and what to do in the ENGL 0307
Common Writing Final.
Introduction to This Lab
This lab is different that others you have seen. You will be preparing for and then taking an essay exam.
The first section is telling you exactly what the readers of your ENGL 0307 common final essay will
expect. If you know what they will expect, you will obviously do better on the essay itself. You should
read through this material carefully, even more than once. Take the lab handout home with you and
study it. Make notes all over this. There are study clues and hints and more hints, so take them
seriously and you will do well on the timed essay.
This lab is also unique because it gives you a certain amount of time for each section. Part I and Part II
are time estimates. This means if you go over or under that is okay. But Part III is a strict time limit. This
means you will need to time yourself exactly. As usual, follow the directions in each section.
This lab will take approximately 90 minutes or an hour and a half—more than the usually allotted
time.
Part I: Introduction to Taking a Timed Essay Exam
This section should take approximately 10 minutes.
Read through the following taking notes of the most important points to you. Read carefully and then
take the handout home with you to study before the ENGL 0307 essay exam.
***
I have always hated timed essays. I didn’t do well on them mostly because—as I look back now—I
didn’t know the “rules.”
Think about the timed essay as a separate genre, or kind, of essay. Writing an essay “exam” is different
than the writing we usually do for class and other purposes. Normally we have TIME to really rethink
what we write. Not in a timed situation. Normally, we seek to find complex answers to complex
questions, we have time to work through our understandings and even change and add to those, and
we have time to do multiple revisions and edits. Essay exams are not normal; instead, they require
special understandings that, if I had known about when I took them, might have allowed me less
confusion.
 First, forget the term “exam”
Professionals everywhere warn about “test anxiety.” Test anxiety—just as the name implies—is
feeling anxious and unsure before, during, and after any type of timed test. How to prevent it?
o Be prepared (by reading sheets like these, for example )
o Think and be positive. You will be anxious if you think you will do badly.
o Build on your strengths. You already know what your strengths are in writing—yes, you
have them! Your goal is to use your strengths to outweigh your weaknesses.
o Know what you need to spend the most time on. Use what you know about your
weaknesses to determine where you need to focus the most attention.
 For example, if you know you need to focus most on grammar and editing
strategies, plan to leave more time for that.
 If you know that you have difficulty focusing on a main point, spend time making
sure that the examples you use point to the issue and answer it.
 If coming up with ideas is hardest, you will want to save more time for
brainstorming.
 Keep it simple!
o Unlike normal essays that go through a process of drafting and revision, in a timed essay
you are not looking to come up with incredible points. Instead you are looking to come
up with a good, solid main point, with detailed and clear support. I cannot stress this
enough. This is your ultimate goal.
o Specifically in this timed essay, you will need to either agree or disagree with some
proposed “side” and come up with support for your answers. As in every essay you
write, your support comes from details: examples, anecdotes, personal experiences,
observations you’ve made, etc. And support is offering why you think the way you do,
right!
 Go through the writing process . . . in a mini-version
Break the time allowed into parts and spend time with each part based on your strengths and
weaknesses. We will do this in Part II below.
o Consider the question
o Brainstorm
o Write
o Review
o Add and cut
o Edit
 Here is a brief definition of what you do in any essay. An essay does the following:
o Explores some issue, question, or conflict. In a timed essay, the issue is often defined for
you, and you just have to clarify that issue through some example or with an
introduction.
o Has a main point. It says one thing.
o It supports what it says, your main point, with details.
o It offers some understanding at the end (conclusion), showing the relevance of your
main point for a reader.
o It has a title that shows the focus of the essay.
 When you review, say “An ISSUE”
Here’s an acronym for you; see if it helps you remember your goals in an essay.
o
Answer the question.

o
Issue: Define it.

o
Every essay says one thing, right! You know this. For this essay, you will say you
agree or you disagree to this issue that is being presented in the question. This
will be your main point. Remember, in a timed essay, test readers are not
looking for complex answers. In reality, the issue you are answering is probably
much more complex than just agree or disagree. If you can, you can show this in
this essay, as long as you bring us back to your main point. Look at the definition
of essay above. Stick with that and you’re good.
Support that thing: Use examples to show why you think the way you do.

o
Every essay starts off with an issue, conflict, or question that gives the essay a
reason for being. In this case, the issue you will be answering is defined in the
question, or essay prompt. But don’t just write out the question! A real essay
doesn’t do that! Use an example, or lead us into the issue somehow with some
experience, observation, or anecdote (brief story). There are many ways to
define an issue. After you’ve introduced the issue, you can ask the question you
will be answering, or offer your main point, and that will help you keep focused
on the issue you are answering.
Say one thing: Clarify your point.

o
Answering the question assures you points. If you don’t answer the question,
you get NO points—a zero. This is bad. This is the most important part!
Use examples to show why you think the way you do (I repeat this for a reason).
This is the definition of support. Use personal examples, observations, and your
own understandings. Elaborate those understandings so that a reader can see
why you think the way you do even if they don’t think the way that you do. Read
this again. Support is key.
Use paragraphs: Break up your essay into manageable pieces.

We use paragraphs to help the reader absorb the information we give. Think
about how we eat. We don’t eat the whole steak in one bite! We eat it in pieces.
So likewise, don’t have one big paragraph as an essay. An essay is not one big
paragraph! An essay is composed of as many paragraphs as you need to make
your point. You will have at least one paragraph defining the issue and what you
think about this issue. You will have several paragraphs supporting why you think
the way you do (and reminding us what you think). And you will have at least
one paragraph showing the reader why your understanding is important to
consider. All of your paragraphs will keep the reader focused on your main point.
o
End: What can I conclude?

Think about why we have an ending. Think of a movie as an example. An ending
isn’t so much saying “this is the end.” An ending relates something important. It
is the last thing a reader sees and hears. It is the last thing a reader feels. So why
not say something good? Why not show why this issue is significant, or why your
understanding is an important one to consider? Leave your reader with
something to chew on and your essay will have a lasting effect. Unfortunately,
we have little time to do this, so you will do the best you can to leave the reader
with some insight (one that still jives with your main point, of course).
 Issues unique to THIS timed essay:
o You have 55 minutes total. You will plan out these minutes in the activities in Part II
below so that you are prepared the day of the essay. You will not know the essay topic
before-hand.
o You will be typing out your essay on a computer. But this computer has the grammar
and spell check blocked so you can’t use them.
 Grammar and sentence structure: You will need to edit your essay without the
help of grammar and spell check. It is important that you have complete and as
correct sentences as possible. Think about the errors you usually make in
advance of this test. Write them out and practice fixing them. See your teacher.
See a tutor in the ELC.
 Spelling: Spelling is not a big issue here. The readers will generally forgive
misspellings as long as they can understand what you are saying and everything
is clear. Watch out for homonyms however—words that sound the same as
other words (like “their” and “there”). You are expected to know what words
belong in what context.
o Readers of your essay know that you have very little time to complete the essay—
something that takes time to really get good. That is, we know that all writing goes
through a longer and more thorough revision process. Thus, you will be graded on this
essay as if it is a draft. The exception here is that you will need to edit this draft so that
you fix your errors. A good solid draft has the components outlined in the check-marked
section above.
o Edit. Yes, I’m repeating this. You need to show your readers that you can handle ENGL
1301, and to do this, you must show that you can use clear and correct sentences. We
all make mistakes. So leave time to go through your essay and fix errors. If you know
what your common errors are (there is a lab on this), you will know what to look for in
your own essay. Know your common errors in advance. Get help where you need it from
your teacher or tutors in the ELC.
Part II: Preparing for the Timed Essay
This section should take approximately 15 minutes:
Go through the following questions and, as usual, answer them in full and complete sentences.
1) Write out each of the following bullet points in Word. For each of the following processes, write
out what you usually do, what you think you do well, and what you need to do better. When
you are done considering your strengths and weaknesses in each of the following areas,
consider which of the following processes you are stronger in. Which areas do you know you
will need to take more time with?
o Consider the question
o Brainstorm
o Write
o Review
o Add and cut
o Edit
2) Based on the strengths and weaknesses you’ve offered above, decide how much time you will
need for each of the following processes during your timed essay, and stick to the schedule.
You have a total of 55 minutes only.
o Consider the question
o Brainstorm
o Write
o Review
o Add and cut
o Edit
3) Look through any essays your instructor has returned to you and investigate the comments
your instructor makes. Write out a few of these comments that seem most pertinent to the
strengths and weaknesses you know you have as a writer. Write for 5-10 minutes identifying
your strengths and your problem areas when producing a final draft; this should include all of
the areas of an essay identified in Part I above (main point, organization, support, detail, clarity,
editing, etc.). Then, get into detail and talk about a few of these points specifically. Consider
how you can use your strengths to outweigh your weaknesses when writing this timed essay.
4) Now, we will work with a timed “essay” of our own. Go to Part III.
Part III: Practice Taking the Timed Essay
This section will take 55 minutes. Time yourself exactly—go to http://www.online-stopwatch.com/
and set the “Count Down” for 55 minutes. Press “Start” and get to writing!
Write an essay that agrees or disagrees with the following statement:
"Many public schools across the United States are implementing mandated uniforms for students. School
district officials believe the wearing of a uniform by students, and in some cases, even by the staff, will help to
alleviate some of the problems schools are facing today. Do you believe a public school district should
mandate the clothing that its students wear to school? Please support your response."
Part IV: Reflection
This section will take approximately 15 minutes.
1) What experiences have you had with timed essays in the past and what have you learned from
them?
2) What did you learn from this lab about taking timed essays? What did you know, but you
needed refreshing on? Look through Part I and identify a few points you want to make sure you
remember for the ENGL 0307 Common Final timed essay.
3) How are the strategies for taking timed essays different from essays you have time to
complete?
4) How did your timing plan in Part II work when you actually took the practice timed essay (Part
III)? What areas did you need more and less time? What will you adjust when you take the
ENGL 0307 Common Writing Final?