AT> how can do you stop your mind going blank and phasing out when you o
AT> have 2 hrs to write an essay in a test situation and when you know t
AT> your whole college carrier is on the line?  
 
Hello Andy,
 
  Hmmm, you're entire college career is hanging in the balance of a 
single essay?  Pretty powerful stuff...all the more reason to be 
thoroughly versed in the subject matter of the essay.  Preparation is 
critical to success in many endeavors and especially so in academic 
testing situations.  I trust you have a general idea of the topic for 
the essay.  If you've been "doing your homework" you've been keeping up 
with reading and class notes on the subject.
 
  Test yourself by formulating "sample" questions they could ask you 
and see how well you can answer them.  Go back to your syllabus and 
review what your learning objectives were...can you satisfy them within 
your essay?  
 
  This is pretty generic info, but should point you in the right 
direction (which is one of the roles a mentor would play, since you 
used "mentor" as the subject of your request).  I won't answer the 
question on capitalization as that can be found in any good style guide 
(something every student should have closeby).
 
  In essence, examine what will be expected of you on the exam, look 
back over your preparation (did you learn, study the material, if you 
had problems did you discuss it with your profs or research it) and 
then practice writing some sample essays that you feel encompass the 
material you've been presented.
 
  Best wishes and happy holidays
 
Dale
--- TriDog 10.0
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