Essays—Well Worth the Effort

Abstract

hy do questions requiring essay responses make students so apprehensive? Because they are used to taking multiple-choice tests. By the time they enter college, stu dents have had up to twelve years training in this type of examination; it is what they expect in classes. Multiple-choice tests are easier to take (usually involving only simple recognition and recall), per mit a certain amount of guessing, and require basic study skills. But multiple-choice exams, in my opinion, are the least appropriate evalua tion tools for aiding student learning, at any grade level. They do little to help teachers teach for understanding (Perkins 1993). I agree with the position of the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) Association of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, as expressed in the May 1991 issue of Writ ing and Learning, that writing is central to all disciplines because an active lan guage element is crucial for any signifi cant learning. Why then, according to WAC, do most college classes not only neglect the language-based elements of learning, but actively avoid them? Perhaps the reason is that teachers, as well as students, do not