When a test is announced, be sure to find out what kind of exam it will be: essay, short answer, multiple choice, etc. Determine what topics will be covered and aht portios of the reading material and lectures deal with the topics. If you have not done all of the necessary reading, do so immediately and record the important facts and interpretations. If you have missed any lectures, obtain a copy of the notes from someone who [takes good and reliable notes]. Now gather together all of the materials to be covered in the exam. Reread the parts of the texts that you underline (or otherwise noted) as being important. Reread all the relevant lecture notes, paying special attention to any points emphasized by the instructor. Sometimes it helps to do your rereading aloud.
     If the test is to be an essay exam, compose sample questions based upon the important topics and themes contained in the readings and lectures. (Many textbooks contain sample exam questions or topics for discussion at the end of each chapter.) If you do not know how to answer any portion of the sample question, go over your study materials again and look for the information needed. If you are preparing for an objective exam ñ that is, one requiring short answers ñ you must pay special attention to the important facts (persons, places, events, changes) in your study materials. You must be precise in order to get credit for your answer. Make a list of the outstanding people, events, and historical developments and be sure that you can adequately identify them and explain their importance. (Again, your text may help you by providing sample short-answer questions.)
      Take the time you need to prepare adequately. If tests make you nervous, the best medicine is to go into the exam confident that you know the material. Keep on studying until you have mastered your sample questions and until the material covered makes sense to you.

Taking Essay Exams

Even if you have prepared properly for an essay exam, your problems are not over. You must stay calm enough to remember what you studied, you must understand the questions, you must answer them directly and fully, and you must not run out of time. None of this is easy, but here are a few pointers to follow until you gain the experience to overcome these problems.

1. When you are given the exam, donít panic. Read the entire exam slowly, including all of the instructions. Gauge the amount of time you will need to answer each question. Then choose the question you know most about to answer first.
2. Donít write the first thing that comes to your mind. Read the question slowly, and be sure you understand it.
3. Determine how you will answer the question and the central points you wish to make.
4. Write these central points or even a full outline in the margin [or cover] of the exam booklet, and as you compose each sentence of your answer, make sure that it relates to one of these points.
5. Your answer must follow the question. Be as specific or general, as concrete or reflective as the question suggests. Never allow your answer to wander away from the focus of the question. If the question asks you to "describe" or "trace" or "compare" or "explain," be sure that that is what you do.
6. Donít repeat yourself. Each sentence should add new material or advance a line of argument.
7. Where necessary, refer to the facts that support the points you are making. You must also give evidence that you have thought about the question in broad terms. The mere relation of a series of facts will rarely earn you a high grade.
8. Toward the end of your answer, you may wish to include your own opinion. This is fine, even desirable, but be sure that your answer as a whole supports this opinion.
9. Always reread and correct an answer after it is finished. The pressure of an exam can often cause you to write sentences that are not clear.
10. Write legibly, or your grader will be in no mood to give you the benefit of any doubts.
11. Donít write cute or plaintive notes on the exam. They seldom raise a grade and may prejudice the grader against you.

Question: Discuss the origins of the Chinese Civil War of 1945-49. How did the differing political programs of the two contenders affect the outcome of that conflict?

Good Answer:
      The origins of the 1945-1949 Civil War can be traced back to the rise of Chinese nationalism in the late nineteenth century. Out of the confusion of the Warlord period that followed the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty in 1911, two powerful nationalist movements arose ñ one reformist and the other revolutionary. The reformist movement was the Kuomintang (KMT), founded by Sun Yat-sen. It was based on a mixture of republican, Christian, and moderate socialist ideals and inspired by opposition to foreign domination. The revolutionary movement was that of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), founded in 1921, whose goal was a communist society but whose immediate program was to organize the working class to protect its interests and to work for the removal of foreign "imperialist" control.
     Although these two movements shared certain immediate goals (suppression of the Warlords and resistance to foreign influence), they eventually fell out over such questions as land reform, relations with the Soviet Union, the role of the working class, and the internal structure of the KMT. (The CCP operated within the framework of the more powerful KMT during the 1920ís.)
     By the 1930ís, when Chiang Kai-shek succeeded Sun, the CCP was forced out of the KMT. By that time the CCP had turned to a program of peasant revolution inspired by Mao Tse-tung. A four-year military struggle (1930-1934) between the two movements for control of the peasantry of Kiangsi Province ended in the defeat but not the destruction of the CCP.
     The Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) and Central China (1936-38) helped salvage the fortunes of the CCP. By carrying out an active guerrilla resistance against the Japanese, in contrast to the more passive role of the KMT (which was saving its army for a future battle with the Communists), the CCP gained the leading position in the nationalist cause.
     In the post-World War II period, the CCPís land reform program won strong peasant support, whereas the landlord-backed KMT was faced with runaway corruption and inflation, which eroded its middle-class following. The military struggle between 1945 and 1949 led to the defeat of the demoralized KMT army and the coming to power of the CCP.

Poor Answer
     The Kuomintang had a stronger army than the Communists, but the Communists won the civil war and took over the country. Their political program, Communism, was liked by the peasants because they didnít own any land and paid high taxes.
     China was based on the Confucian system, which was very rigid and led to the Manchu dynasty being overthrown. The Chinese didnít like being dominated by foreigners, and Sun Yat-sen founded the Kuomintang to unite China. He believed in the Three Peoples Principles. At first he cooperated with the Chinese Communists, but later Chiang Kai-shek tried to destroy Communism because he was against it. Communism was not in favor of the wealthy people.
    The Communists wanted a revolution of the peasants and gave them land. They also killed the landlords. Chiang Kai-shek worried more about the Communists than about the Japanese invasion. The Japanese looked to conquer China and make it part of their empire. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to fight the Communists first.
    After World War II the Chinese Communists attacked Manchuria and took over a lot of weapons The fought the KMT army. The KMT army lost the battles, and Chiang Kai-shek was chased to Taiwan, where he made a new government. The Communists set up their own country, and their capital was Peking. That way the Communists won the Chinese Civil War.

Letís see the differences between the poor and the well-written essays in regard to each of the four requirements for a well-written answer.

1. Adequate knowledge of the subject. The poor answer fails to indicate adequate knowledge in several ways. It is too brief, omitting many important facts. It describes the political programs of the two contending parties in the most vague terms. It refers to the CCP only as the Chinese Communists, leaving the impression that they were a loose grouping of like-minded individuals rather than a strong, well-disciplined political organization. It does not even mention the name of the most famous leader of the CCP ñ Mao Tse-tung. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the KMT, is mentioned, but there is no mention of his political program or beliefs, other than that he was opposed to communism. Another serious defect is the lack of chronology. The answer jumps back and forth between earlier and later periods, and no dates are given for major events.
    The well-written answer illustrates a good knowledge of the subject matter. The origins, philosophies, leaders, and relationship of the two contending parties are clearly described. This answer brings in related issues such as nationalism, Warlords, guerrilla warfare against Japan, corruption, and inflation, thus indicating a broader knowledge of the historical context in which the Chinese Civil War developed. The chronology is very clear, with events proceeding in proper time sequence and with all major events identified by date.

2. Clear thinking about the points to be covered. The poor answer is not organized. Note that the paragraphs do not make separate points and that each succeeding paragraph does not further develop the theme of the essay Paragraph one is a conclusion rather than an introduction. The second paragraph goes back to the founding of the KMT, but instead of discussing the origins of the hostility between it and the CCP, it merely states that hostility came into existence. The third paragraph begins by introducing the CCP (though not by name). However, it does not expand on the CCPís programs and points of conflict with the KMT, but instead abruptly changes the focus of events and the time frame by introducing the Japanese invasion of China, which the last sentence of the paragraph only vaguely relates to the question. The last paragraph, instead of drawing conclusions about the causes of the Communist victory in the Civil War, merely states that it occurred.
    The well-written answer, on the other hand, uses each paragraph to make a separate important point, and each succeeding paragraph further develops the theme of the essay. Paragraph one sets out the political programs of the two groups and the historical context in which the movements originated. The second paragraph explains the beginning of the conflict in the 1920ís. Paragraph three discusses that conflict in relation to the Chinese peasantry during the early 1930s. The fourth paragraph discusses the development of the conflict in relation to the Japanese invasion of the late 1930s. The final paragraph summarizes the effects of the conflicts and of postwar developments on the outcome of the Civil War.

3. Well structured sentences. Many sentences in the poor answer are badly constructed either because they are awkward or because what they say adds noting to the answer. Some of the awkward phrases are "the Communists won the Civil War and took over the country"; "communism was liked by the peasants"í "China was based on the Confucian system"; "Communism was not in favor of the wealthy people"; [...] These phrases cause the sentences to be unclear, and they keep the student from getting his or her point across. The other major defect in sentence structure is repetitious or irrelevant sentences and phrases. These are "Chiang Kai-shek tried to destroy communism because he was against it"; "they fought the KMT army"; "the way the Communists won the Chinese Civil War." The sentences of the well-written answer, on the other hand, are clear, and each adds new material to the essay.

4. Complete understanding of the question. The poor answer does not deal with the central issue of the question ñ the political programs of the KMT and the CCP. It notes that the KMT was founded on the Three Peoples Principles, but it does not explain what these were. Of the CCP, it says that there was a belief in communism (which is obvious) and peasant revolution (which is vague). These are the only references to political programs in the entire answer! It is obvious that the writer of this answer failed to understand that the central focus of the question was on political philosophy.
    The well-written answer is directed to the central issue of political programs and begins on that very point. The remainder of the answer makes clear the relationship of political programs to the origins and course of the Chinese Civil War as called for in the first sentence of the question.