How to attempt short and long answer questions

Patna: Cracking competitive and conventional examinations are about strategies. Knowledge, understanding and command over the subject area serve as the basic requirements for qualifying university examinations as well as various competitive examinations like UPSC, BPSC, UGC-NET, CSIR-NET, IBPS, CDS and others. However, it is only the strategy which decides whether an examinee is going to qualify for or to secure top ranks in such examinations. So, it is of utmost importance to adopt the most effective practical ways for writing examinations. Most of these examinations, especially in the final rounds, include descriptive question papers which demand clearly defined strategies for answering them.

The basic philosophy for attempting these questions demands an organic wholesomeness, precisely a comprehensive beginning (the introduction), a well-built and argumentative or descriptive middle (the body) and an end (the conclusion) indicating effective implications or applications, or a future vision. In cases of short and long answer type questions, lengths of answers vary as per the prescribed word limit, but in both of these cases, maintaining this organic wholesomeness must be followed.

Now I would like to discuss the key strategies for answering short answer type questions. This kind of question is asked to judge the ‘precision’ of the knowledge base of an examinee in a given subject area, including a clear-cut basic idea of the origins, causes, and implications or applications of that. The short answer type questions are meant to evaluate the expertise of an examinee on the existing knowledge base in a given area, like a mirror only reflects what stands in front of it but never puts an additional shade to that entity.

The objective of asking a short answer type question is to evaluate how precisely an examinee knows about the already canonized basic ideas of a subject-area. These are generally of the definitive type, the strategies for answering them may be summarised in the following pointers:

• Adhere strictly to the word limit. This creates a positive impression on the examiner and improves scoring potential. Exceeding the prescribed limit may even lead to disqualification in top-tier examinations, where competition is intense.
• Read between the lines of the question and identify the key directive. Focus on what is specifically being asked. For instance, in the question “Define a tragedy”, the emphasis is on the definition. Avoid unnecessary commentary and instead present a clear, standard definition — either in your own words or by citing a recognised author, if appropriate.
• Be precise and focused in your response. Address the core aspects of the query, such as the characteristics or features of a concept, theory or model, without digressing.
• Use relevant examples effectively. Well-chosen and concise examples can strengthen your answer and help secure better marks.

(The writer, Sovan Chakraborty, is an assistant professor of English at Patna Science College)