Presentation Skills: How to get More Marks in Every Paper?
7 minutes read
What Presentation skills you need to get good marks?
Various presentation skills are employed in the paper. Not all of them are used in each question. Instead, the choice of the skill depends upon your judgment. Before going further, I would like to clarify that some things are understood, such as having a legible and adequately spaced hand-writing, correct grammatical structure, and relevant material to put in your answers.
𝟏. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞:
The first thing you should do is make an outline. I have already stressed upon it in my various posts. Outlining helps you get organised. Moreover, it will also hint to the checker that you have not digressed from the topic.
Outlining is done not only in an essay but in almost all compulsory and optional subjects excluding Précis & Composition and General Science and Ability.
Like every outline, it will have an introduction and a conclusion part. In between these two would be the answer to various aspects of the question and critical analysis. So, it would be somewhere around 7 to 8 headings. Some of the headings might have a few sub-headings as well, which you do not need to write sub-headings in the outline.
After giving a short outline of your answer, not more than 7 or 8 headings, draw a line and start your introduction just below the line with the word “Introduction” in it.
𝟐. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
Before writing the answer, make sure that you give accurate headings and sub-headings.
Now, here is the trick. Instead of writing fancy headings, I would suggest you go with the wording of the question. It will help the checker track your answers accurately.
The Headings and sub-headings should be written in the black pen, and the text under the headings and sub-headings should be in blue. Avoid using multiple fancy coloured pens and markers. Just use the two-colour scheme.
Also, note that you have to follow only one type of bulleting. If you have used only numeric listing such as 1, 2, 3, then the whole of the question would be in the same format. If it is i, ii, iii, it will be the same in the whole paper.
𝟑. 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬:
If I were allowed to tell you the only skill to get a few more marks, I would always tell you to draw diagrams.
Diagrams help in three ways.
A. These diagrams illustrate the answer.
B. They make it more appealing for the checker
C. They fill up the space of the paper and hence make your answer look long.
Although the third benefit is not that important, it still leaves a good impression over the checker.
Therefore, always draw the diagrams.
I remember there was a question in Everyday Science on Tidal Waves. I did not know how to add a diagram in it, but I did know that I had. So, I just took the pencil, made up a few big and rough waves, put the shining sun over the tides, and labeled it as Figure: Tidal Waves.
Similarly, you can use the pie charts as well. Pie Charts are like a big circle in which you show the percentage portions of something.
For example, if there was a question of the water cycle, you could easily make a pie chart showing how much water is in oceans, lakes, ponds, and groundwater.
Then there are graphs. Graphs generally show the increase or decrease in something.
Let us say you were speaking about the population of Pakistan. In addition to writing that Pakistan’s population in 1998 was around 13 crore, and as per the 2017 census, it is 20 crore, you should also draw a graph with an upwards trend in population growth. Put the years on the x-axis and population in crores on the y-axis and draw a line accordingly.
Similarly, the trend of economic growth in Pakistan can also be shown like this.
In the same way, you can also use various other types of charts. You can draw hierarchy tables to show the division of anything. Take balanced diet as an example. You can show its various components through hierarchy tables.
Note: Do not give diagrams, maps, and charts in your essay paper.
𝟒. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬
When you feel that you do not have any idea about what type of diagram needs to be drawn, type the name of the topic and go to the Google Images tab on the google website. It will show you thousands of related pictures. Pick the one that suits your needs. Doing this for a few days will enhance your ability to draw diagrams on your own.
𝟓. 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Use quotations with caution. Many people have the habit of writing fake quotations. If you get caught, the checker might fail you for trying to deceive her.
Whenever you want to embellish your answer with a quote, try to write it at the end of the paragraph instead of giving it in the first few lines.
For example, you are writing the definition of Public Administration. First, explain it in a few lines, and then say that “As Woodrow Willson also puts it.” This approach would show that Woodrow Wilson agrees with you. But if you first give his quotation and then explain it, it would seem like an extrapolation of his thoughts, not yours.
Quotation marks should be in black, the text in blue. The name of the person to whom the quote is attributed to should also be written in black.
𝟔. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
References are also like the quotations, but not necessarily quotations. For example, a reference can be like “According to WHO report on Human Trafficking published in 2018”, “as per Article 14-A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan” etc.
But whenever you give the reference, it should be particular. Just saying that, “According to a WHO report” would not suffice. Give the title and year of publication to lend credence to your reference.
𝟕. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲
I have already stated that you should use only two pens: the blue for the text, and the black one for the headings, subheadings, quotation marks, names of authors, and titles of the reports.
It is also pertinent to mention here that to draw the diagrams, pie-charts, and other illustrations, do not use pens. Always draw these things with the black coloured graphite pencil. But make sure that you try it before coming to the exam hall. If the pencil is light, then change it with the dark.
Dark pencil accentuates the characteristics of the figures and also catches the eye of the reader.
𝟖. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
If you wrote something wrong or misspelled the word, instead of removing it with the ‘whito’ or over-writing, I would advise you to strikethrough the w̶r̶o̶d̶ word and start writing on the level of the line immediately.
Over-writing and ink-spots will render your work messy. Therefore, keep it as neat and clean as is humanly possible.
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