General, theoretical ideas for expository and narrative article writing, for exams.

 
     Here, the aim is not to compete with the many “exam prep” textbooks, as they do a better job.  The aim here is to share some ideas.  Broadly speaking, there are two types of writing that college students encounter: (a) real-life writing, and (b) exam writing.  “Real-life writing” allows you to express yourself (sometimes on your terms, and sometimes not on your terms), against the mirror of what life gives you.  In “exam writing”, you are following a much more artificial structure, that is imposed on you; you are expressing yourself, through someone’s else’s mold, on their terms.  Therefore, the two styles of writing are different.  (Somewhere in between these two types of writing is the third type, “homework writing”, which we will not discuss here.)  In exam writing, there is no time to “make art” and be very creative : you must write well “on demand”, and under time pressure. 
 
     Exam articles usually follow a familiar structure.  If you know the structure, you will be more effective in passing.  As with the earlier articles, you should follow the “Introduction - Body - Conclusion” pattern; however, they are much shorter and simpler.  You should arrange the length of your article, and the length and number of paragraphs, according to the models shown from the earlier exam sheets.  Follow the format that the exam asks for : do not deviate from it!  Some people ask, “Should you use your own style of writing, or should you learn to emulate the style shown in the example books?”  This is a question you need to decide.  However, I think that the “exam scorers” look more favorably upon those who follow the rules.  After all, this is an exam.