Drafting Essay Exams
Preparation
This recipe guides you in designing an essay exam that allows students to demonstrate their deep understanding, critical thinking, and ability to articulate their knowledge of course material. Use this recipe to create essay questions that align with your course learning objectives and encourage students to engage thoughtfully with the content.
Ingredients
- Here are some things you might use when using ChatGPT to create discussion prompts:
- Course-level learning objectives (CLOs)
- Specific module(s) or unit(s) the essay exam will cover
- Number of essay questions or topics
- Length or word count expectations for each essay response
Optional Ingredients:
- Rubric or criteria for grading the essays
- Suggested time for completion
- Specific prompts or guiding questions to focus students’ responses
- Examples of strong, well-structured essay responses
AI Recipe – Try this prompt in ChatGPT:
Please create an essay exam for a [insert course level, e.g., undergraduate] course on [insert module or unit topic]. The exam should include [insert number] essay questions. Each question should encourage students to critically analyze, synthesize, and apply the concepts covered in the module. Ensure that the essay questions align with the following course learning objectives: [insert specific course learning objectives in quotes]. Specify any length or word count expectations for each response.
Cleanup
After generating the essay exam, ensure the following:
- The essay questions are open-ended, allowing for in-depth analysis and critical thinking.
- The questions align with the course learning objectives and require students to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.
- The word count or length expectations are clear and appropriate for the course level.
- Consider asking ChatGPT to provide a grading rubric or sample answers to help ensure consistency and fairness in grading.
This recipe will help you create an essay exam that assesses students’ understanding of the course material, their ability to think critically, and their ability to express their ideas clearly and effectively.
Example AI Prompt
Create an essay exam for an undergraduate course on “Ethics in Business.” Include 3 essay questions that ask students to analyze ethical dilemmas in business practices, evaluate the role of corporate social responsibility, and apply ethical theories to real-world case studies. Align the questions with the following course learning objectives: “Evaluate the ethical implications of business decisions” and “Apply ethical theories to analyze business practices.” Specify that each essay should be approximately 750-1000 words.
