By this point in the semester, your tests are probably starting to pile up like dirty laundry. Just when you think you're in the clear and have a few days to relax and focus on homework, you remember that your foreign language teacher added a 50-point "quiz"—which, as far as we're concerned, is a full-on test.
We decided to probe the pros and cons of the two main test types: multiple choice and essay. We pulled an all-nighter comparing these exam options. Here's our crib sheet:
Preparation
Preparing for a multiple choice test is generally pretty easy. All you have to do is recognize the information when you see it.
An essay exam requires that you harness a thorough, working knowledge of the subject, such that you can respond on the spot to any prompt with an interesting and coherent presentation of your ideas. Unless, of course your teacher gives you the essay topic the night before the test, in which case you can compose your essay at home, commit it to memory, and spit it back out the next day. Simple.
Speed
You can complete a multiple choice test in a matter of minutes—whether you know the answers or not. The rest of the period can be used either to nap or to do that math homework you forgot about.
Even if you know what you're talking about, an essay exam takes time. You have to make sure that your thoughts are all in order. And handwriting counts! If your teacher can't read your essay, it doesn't matter how amazing it is.
Smudging
If your multiple choice test is administered using a fill-in-the-bubble sheet, you will need to use a pencil. Pencils increase the likelihood of smudging...which can confuse the electronic-grading-robot.
If you're lucky, your teacher will let you write your essay exam in pen, giving your test a clean, polished look. If your teacher insists on pencil-written exams, make sure you don't wipe your face with the back of your hand.
Hand-Eye Coordination
If you accidentally skip a bubble on a multiple choice test, all your subsequent answers will be off. Hopefully, you will notice your mistake before handing in the test. If not, we're sorry in advance for that "D" that you were sure was going to be an "A" because you knew the material so well after weeks of preparation. (Stupid bubble-sheet!)
If you accidentally skip a line on your essay exam, your teacher will just think you wanted a little extra space for your large, loopy letters. So if you get a "D," you've pretty much earned it.
Creativity
An essay exam lets you express your creativity through language, crafting sentences that convey meaning and beauty all at once.
With a multiple choice test, the only way you can do express yourself is by sacrificing your score to create interesting patterns on the scantron sheet.
BS
If you don't know the answer on a multiple choice test, you've got a 1 in 4 chance of guessing the right one.
If you don't know the answer on an essay exam, you can still come up with a convincing response that makes it sound like you know what you're talking about. Finally! Here's your chance to use all those SAT vocab words.
Giving Up
If you don't want to take your multiple choice test, you can just pick "C" for every answer. Odds are you'll get at least 25% of the test right, and you can make up the difference with extra credit.
Giving in on your way through an essay exam is a little tougher. Either you repeat the same phrase over and over on your paper—which is likely to earn you a trip to the school counselor—or you sheepishly hand in a blank page and slink away.
Celebration
When you bring home a good grade on an essay exam, your parents can bask in the glory of your success by reading and re-reading your essay at the dinner table, heaping praise onto your impeccable prose.
Your parents will be just as proud of your multiple choice triumph, but the experience isn't the same. It's just not as exciting to recite your multiple choice answers out loud. "A, A, C, B, D...Oh wow, I wouldn't have expected a D next."
So which would you prefer? If you could choose, would you pick an essay or a multiple choice test?
Related Post: How to Fake Your Way Through an Essay
By: Katie_Rolnick
Topics: School
Tags: vs., essays, exams, tests
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