This is a meme, which I found in internet, which expresses the mentality of students while writing long questions in exam. Answering questions that demands analytical answers or writing essays in school is considered as a cumbersome task in school and even in colleges. And when students try to write or fill few pages, examiners either skim over texts and give marks randomly or just measure the length of the answer. But there are some tricks to get attention from the examiners and get better results.


 First line or lead line

You might have heard an old adage, 'first impression is last impression'. Same goes for essay type answers. Willingly or unwillingly, examiner will always read the first line of your answer, and if it is too striking, there is high chance that your answer is evaluated better. Don't you believe? Just imagine if I didn't placed the meme in the starting, will you read this article? Or did  it changed your excitement or impression of this post? If the simple meme can change your perception towards this article, why doesn't your starting impress your examiner? 


What should be in first line?

It is really difficult to say. It may be a proverb, saying or whatever.  Or even a summary of entire text. But it should start the discussion of the essay. For example, think about this question.

"Discuss the role of computer in future. "

And gloss over these two possible leads,

"Computer will take over every field in future "


And 

" imagine, when you reach your office but see a gigantic robot sitting in your couch "


Now decide, which lead you are going to try? Obviously second one, because it is exciting and arouse some subjective emotions too. Later on, you can discuss about the pros and cons of the widespread dominance of computers. 

So, it will be wise to choose the lead line, which can ignite the discussion. In other words, entire discussion should be based on the single line on the starting. It will bind your reader. It is high chance that your examiner may through your writing and give better marks.


But how to find suitable lead in short time?

It is really difficult to find a suitable leading line in short time, but generally there is more than two hours for entire examination. So, it is better to read the question at the beginning of test. It is highly probable that you may get an idea of leading line in the middle of examination. 


What about body part?

A person had to write a story of thousand pages. So he wrote story like this

There was a king. He had a horse. One day king went for hunting. The horse was happy, so started to canter and canter and ......

And he filled 1000 pages. But does the story has any meaning? 

While writing analytical answers or long answer, the purpose should not be to fill only pages. If you just fill the pages, it will be similar to the story I've mentioned above. Instead the purpose must be the analysis of the topic from different angle. For example, if we are answering the question of computer technology in future it will be better to discuss from different aspects such as physical, social, psychological or even biological. If the question is about crimes such as rape, cultural, educational, social or legal aspects can be analyzed. 

Better, try to discuss on lead line 

You have just ignited the mind of reader from the lead line. But if you deviate from it in body part, your article will not be effective. So try to discuss your lead line throughout the topic, because reader is expecting more and more discuss on it.

 Facts or data 

It is the most essential part of an essay. Suppose you are talking about child labor and you write 

'Illiteracy is a cause of child labor '

But your friend writes 

' In Nepal, 35 percent people are illiterate, which is more than its neighbors, which is responsible for social problems such as child labor'

Again think yourself , which statement is better.

Facts or recent data makes any statement more commanding and strengthens the theme of article. So, whenever possible, try to include facts.


Write for yourself 

Unless you enjoy your writing, nobody will enjoy it. Just you imagine you write three or four pages with too much difficulties, but you yourself do not enjoy, how the examiner will enjoy it? So, don't write for the sake of formality only. 


But how to extend the length?

Ive already told, you don't need to unnecessarily extend the length or write in haphazard way. Just write about different aspects. Even if you get five different idea or aspects, you can write about thirty to fifty words for each aspects, which will extend the articles to almost 300 words. For example, just think about this article. If I was concerned only about length, I barely could write effectively. But I've discussed different ideas, which itself making this article longer. When you are clear about the topic and have ideas, you wont have to extend the article. Instead, you will have problems on making it shorter.

Don't be  too positive or negative on discussion 

Unless the article is about positive or negative aspects if something, or your subjective experience, don't be biased. Instead try to include both positive as well as negative aspects. Or in other words, try to balance your writing throughout the writing.

Conclusion 

Conclusion generally must be shorter. And it should clarify the lead line or starting line of essay. It is not recommended to express subjective feelings or emotions in body part unless question itself demands but in conclusion part, writer can express opinion or personal feelings. Also, conclusion part may be biased toward some opinion or aspects.