CCE Manual VI - VIII - CBSE

Continuous and Comprehensive EvaluationManual for TeachersConstructing Essay Type Questions:Essay type questions usually begin with such terms as ‘discuss’, ‘explain’,‘evaluate’, ‘define’, ‘compare’, ‘contrast’, ‘describe’, etc. Essay typequestions are good when the group to be tested is small and limitedtime is available for test preparation. It is also quite suitable to testwritten expression.Some sample essay type questions are:(a) Why do sandy soils not hold enough water? (Question Form)(b) Explain any of the four sense organs and draw their diagrams(Statement Type)Compare both the questions:• Give reasons why Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential electionin the USA• The most important reason why Roosevelt won the 1932presidential election was Hoover’s unpopularity. Do you agree?Explain your answerYou will notice that:• The first encourages rote-learning and does not call upon theskills of independent thoughts, analysis and evaluation required.The second assumes vital importance for all and not simply thegifted few(ii) Short Answer Questions:Essay type questions suffer from lack of objectivity and reliability whileobjective type questions cannot be used for testing certain aspects ofgrowth like the ability to express, summarise and organize the ideas in aprecise manner. Short answer questions are a good via-media betweenthe two extremes. If understood and framed properly, they have theadvantages of both the objective type and essay type questions.71