How to answer exam questions
In order to decide how to answer an essay question, you need to
identify what the question requires in terms of content and genre. This guide outlines some methods
to help you analyse essay questions.
Analysing a Question
Assignment questions can be broken down into parts so that you
can better understand what you are being asked to do.
It is important to identify key words and phrases in the
topic.
Key Words
Key words tell you the approach you should take when answering
an essay question. There are three types of key words:
Task Words
These tell you what you have to do; the action you need to perform.
Content Words
These tell you what the topic area is and what you should write about.
Limiting Words
These limit and focus the essay, making it workable.
Understanding the meaning of words, especially task words, helps
you to know exactly what is being asked of you. It takes you half way towards narrowing down your material and selecting your answer. Task words direct you and tell you how to go about answering a question.
Using Key Words
Look for the keywords in your essay question and underline them.
Spend time working out what they mean. Use the glossary of task words included in this guide to help you.
An example essay question
Computers have had a significant impact on education in the 20th
century. Discuss the changes they have made.
Task word:
Discuss
Task words indicate what you are being asked to do. Task words
are usually verbs (action words or processes).
In this question, the task word is discuss. If you look up the definition in the glossary of
task words used in essay questions below, you will see that to discuss
(in an essay) means to ‘examine and assess by means of an argument’.
Content word(s):
education,
computers
Content words set and define the essay topic area. Content words
help you to focus your research and reading on the correct area, in this case on computers in
education.
Limiting words:
changes,
significant impact, 20th century
Limiting words define the topic area further, indicating aspects
of the topic you should focus on. For example, in this question, you should not write broadly about computers in education, but focus on analysing the changes computers have made to
education.
Glossary of Task Words
Understanding the meaning of words, especially task words, helps you to know exactly what is being asked of you. It takes you half way towards narrowing down your material and selecting your answer. Task words direct you and tell you how to go about answering a question. Here is a list of such words and others that you are most likely to come across frequently in your course.
Words What they (might) mean
Account for
Explain, clarify, give reasons for. (Quite different from ‘Give an account of’ which is more like ‘describe in detail’).
Analyse
Break an issue down into its component parts, discuss them and show how they interrelate.
Assess
Consider the value or importance of something, paying due attention to positive, negative and disputable aspects, and citing the judgements of any known authorities as well as your own.
Argue
Make a case, based on appropriate evidence for and/or against some given point of
view.
Comment on
Too vague to be sure, but safe to assume it means something more than ‘describe’ or
‘summarise’ and more likely implies ‘analyse’ or ‘assess’.
Compare
Identify the characteristics or qualities two or more things have in common (but probably pointing out
their differences as well.
Contrast
Point out the differences between two things (but probably point
out their similarities as well).
Criticise
Spell out your judgement as to the value or truth of something,
indicating the criteria on which you base your judgement and citing specific instances of how the
criteria apply in this case.
Define
Make a statement as to the meaning or interpretation of something, giving sufficient detail so as to
allow it to be distinguished from similar things.
Describe
Spell out the main aspects of an idea or topic or the sequence in
which a series of things happened.
Discuss
Investigate or examine by argument. Examine key points and possible interpretations, sift and
debate, giving reasons for and against. Draw a conclusion.
Evaluate
Make an appraisal or the worth of something, in the light of its apparent truth;
include your personal opinion. Like ‘assess’.
Examine
Present in depth and investigate the implications.
Explain
Tell how things work or how they came to be the way they are, including perhaps some
need to ‘describe’ and to ‘analyse’ (see above).
Identify
Pick out what you regard as the key features of something, perhaps making clear the
criteria you use.
Illustrate
Similar to ‘explain’ (see above), but probably asking for the
quoting of specific examples or statistics or possibly the drawing of maps, graphs, sketches, etc.
Interpret
Clarify something or ‘explain’ (see above), perhaps indicating how the thing relates to some other
thing or perspective.
Justify
Express valid reasons for accepting a particular interpretation or conclusion, probably including the
need to ‘argue’ (see above) a case.
Outline
Indicate the main features of a topic or sequence of events,
possibly setting them within a clear structure or framework to show how they interrelate.
Prove
Demonstrate the truth of something by offering irrefutable evidence and/or logical sequence of
statements leading from evidence to conclusion.
Relate
Either ‘explain’ (see above) how things happened or are connected in a cause-and-effect sense, or
may imply ‘compare’ and ‘contrast’ (see above).
Review
Survey a topic, with the emphasis on ‘assess’ rather than ‘describe’ (see above).
State
Express the main points of an idea or topic, perhaps in the
manner of ‘describe’ or ‘enumerate’ (see above).
Summarise
‘State’ (see above) the main features of an argument, omitting all superfluous detail and side-issues.
Trace
Identify the connection between one thing and another either in a developmental sense over a period
of time, or else in a cause-and-effect sense. May imply both ‘describe’ and
‘explain’ (see above).