If you believe that you are a poor test taker, this is not a situation to which you should stay resigned. Everyone can improve there knowledge, notetaking, test taking skills, and preparation techniques which together can dramatically improve your test scores. Talk to your teacher about these things as soon as you can. Regarding essay tests, the University of Texas has divised a good way of preparing (which I've edited a bit). See below.

Preparing for Essay Tests:

1. Long - term preparation
   • Read the course description and syllabus. Write down the course goals and topics and any repeated themes. Write down any assumptions and biases that may be either stated or implied. As you read assignments and listen to lectures and discussions, ask yourself how the ideas presented relate to these themes.
   • Learn as much as you can about the content and grading criteria of upcoming tests from your professor. For example, how important is style and grammar?
   
   
2. Short - term preparation
   • A week or two before the test, look over your notes and the chapter headings of your readings, and from this generate a list of major topics for the material covered. Note any relationships among the topics - these are often good material for essay questions. In a history course, for example, you might find that two political movements are similar. Your instructor could easily ask you to compare and contrast these movements on an essay test. It sometimes helps to picture such relationships by creating a chart of the related elements as in this example:

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   General Issues:	Cause: Problems of 18th Century France	Effect: Revolution
   Social	Class Structure Bourgeosie powerless	Bourgeoisie creates National Assembly Mob Rule in Paris - Bastille Day
   Political	Poor Monarchs Poor Ministers Absolutist but asked for help	Estates General Called New Constitution formed
   Economic	Unfair Taxation Peasants in debt, poor crops Nation in debt	Estates General Called to get more money Continued Inequity leads to calls for more equality
   Intellectual	Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau call for change Spread by Salons	Declaration of Rights on Man calls for liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. Lots of educated, literate lawyers to lead the revolution

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   • For each major topic, create a summary sheet of all the relevant factual data that relates to that topic. Review actively: integrate notes, text, and supplementary information into diagrams, charts, outlines, tables, or simply written paragraph summaries of the information. Use your own words: make these summary sheets personally meaningful. Show them to your professor to make sure you're on the right track.
   • Use these relationship charts and summary sheets to generate a list of possible essay questions. Outline answers to as many of these questions as time permits.
   
   

Taking Essay Tests:

1. Before you write -
   • Budget your time according to the point value of each question, allowing time for proofreading and any unexpected emergencies (such as taking longer than you expected on a question or going blank for a while).
   • Read all essay questions before you start to write. As you read the questions, underline key words (e.g., compare, explain, justify, define and make sure you understand what you are being asked.
   • Begin with the question that seems easiest to you. This procedure reduces anxiety and facilitates clear thinking.
   • Simplify the relationship implied by the question. For example, if you were given the question, The French Revolution was a direct response to the problems highlighted by the Enlightenment. Discuss.", you might narrow your response to a more specific cause- effect relationship such as, "What were the problems highlighted by key Enlightenment thinkers that caused a response that we label the French Revolution?" This focuses your attention on causes as a basis for recall and discussion..
   • Before actually writing, jot a rough outline on your test answer sheet: list quickly, as they come to you, as many ideas and facts as you can remember by recalling your relationship charts and summary sheets. Number your points in the order in which you want to present them, discriminating main issues and supporting details and examples.
   • As you are writing on one question, if you think of ideas and examples that you can apply to other questions, jot them down on the side of the test answer sheet so you won't forget them.
   
   
2. While you write -
   • Come up with a definite, clear sentence that directly answers the question. State your thesis in the last line of your first paragraph (some teachers like it at the start--make sure to consult your teacher).
   • Leave space for additions to your answer by writing on every other line and on only one side of each page.
   • Follow your outline: provide specific examples, substantiating facts, and relevant details.
   • Use the technical vocabulary of the course.
   • Write legibly.
   • When you reach the end of your allotted time period for a given question, move on to the next item; partially answering all questions is better than fully answering some but not others. The instructor can't give you any credit for a question you haven't attempted.
   • If you find yourself out of time on a question but with more to say, quickly write on your test answer sheet an outline of what you would write if you had time; perhaps your grader will give you partial credit for it.
   • If you don't know much about a question, relax and brainstorm for a few moments about the topic. Recall pages from your texts, particular lectures, class discussions to trigger your memory about ideas relevant to the question. Write these ideas down as coherently as you can.
   • If your mind goes blank, relax: take some slow deep breaths and, just for a moment, think about something pleasant that's unrelated to the test. Then, let your mind recall through association or redirect your attention to a different question.
   
   
3. After you write -
   • Re-read your answers and make any additions that are necessary for clarity and completeness.
   • Check your response for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.