Demonstrate your ability and command of the subject by being able to identify and explain matters in response to the question.
Analyse
Close examination of the various factors, and perceptive observations are prerequisites for the analytical essay.
Assess
Arrive at an estimation about certain factors or elements, particularly in relation to their effectiveness or
consequences.
Clarify
Make certain matters easier to understand through a logical process of explanation.
Comment (upon critically)
Make informed comments about a particular issue, factor or event.
Compare (and contrast)
Examine in order to identify similarities and differences issues, factors or ideas.
Consider
Consider the merits of a particular topic to produce an answer which is thoughtful and insightful.
Contrast
Discuss elements of an issue or topic in order to illustrate their differences.
Criticise
Examine an issue critically, giving evidence to support your opinion.
Define
Test whether a particular (often controversial) term or concept has been understood. Define is usually linked to another instruction, for example, ‘briefly define what you mean by the term … and explain the significance of…’ .
Describe
Great care should be taken with this instruction if it occurs at advanced level, particularly if it is not linked to another instruction. By itself, it merely invites a recitation of facts; if this is the case, carefully consider the whole question.
Discuss
Examine the stated aspects of a subject (often two sides) and weigh their relative merits. This involves presenting evidence, arguments and to a certain extent personal opinion.
Distinguish
This is often used in the first part of a question or instruction to obtain a clearer picture of two or more issues.
Evaluate
This calls for an examination of the merits of a particular issue or position and, consequently, reaching a considered judgement.
Examine
Conduct a logical, detailed analysis of an issue or case, highlighting elements such as cause and effect.
Explain
Clarify or account for something by selecting details you feel are important.
How
This indicates that there is perhaps no one answer to the question. So key issues have to be identified,
arguments made, evidence offered and your final position made clear.
Justify
Make out a case for a particular point of view. The use of evidence and strong argument is essential.
Outline
Select only the essential parts.This is usually followed by a second instruction requiring more detail or an
evaluation.
State
Give the main features of a topic or case briefly, but clearly.
Summarise
Bring together the main points without going into detail or giving examples.
This is really helpful for everyone who needs help breaking down what the essay question is really asking.
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Words such as ‘explain’, ‘evaluate’ or ‘analyse’ – typical question words used in essay titles – provide a useful indication of how your essay should be structured
No matter their nature, question words are key and must always be adhered to. And yet, many students often overlook them and therefore answer their essay questions incorrectly. You may be a font of all knowledge in your subject area, but if you misinterpret the question words in your essay title, your essay writing could be completely irrelevant and score poorly.
For example, if you are asked to compare the French and British upper houses of parliament, you won’t get many points by simply highlighting the differences between the two parliamentary systems.
So, what should you do? We’ve divided the question words either by ‘critical’ or ‘descriptive’ depending on their nature, which should help you identify the type of response your essay requires.
These are the question words that are commonly asked:
Critical question words | Descriptive question words |
---|---|
Some question words require a critical answer and there are varying degrees of how critical your answers must be according to the requirements of the question. We’ve broken these down for you below:
Essay questions that ask you to ‘analyse’ a particular topic or argument expect a thorough deconstruction of the essay subject. In other words, this word requires you to break the essay topic down into its fundamental parts.
Once you have done this, it’s also important that you critically (more on this word later) examine each part. You need to use important debates and evidence to look in depth at the arguments for and against, as well as how the parts interconnect. What does the evidence suggest? Use it to adopt a stance in your essay, ensuring you don’t simply give a narration on the key debates in the literature. Make your position known and tie this to the literature.
When answering this essay question word, the key is to provide your opinion or verdict concerning the extent to which an argument or set of research findings is accurate. You may also be required to demonstrate the extent to which you agree with a particular argument or hypothesis.
It is essential to provide information on both sides of the debate using evidence from a wide range of academic sources. Then you must state your position basing your arguments on the evidence that informed you in arriving at your position.
With ‘justify’ question words, you need to explain the basis of your argument by presenting the evidence that informed your outlook. In such answers, you need to present your evidence in a convincing way, demonstrating good reasons for adopting your position.
Also, you may want to consider arguments that are contrary to your position before stating a conclusion to your arguments. This will help present a balanced argument and demonstrate wide knowledge of the literature. Here, a critical approach becomes crucial. You need to explain why other possible arguments are unsatisfactory as well as why your own particular argument is preferable.
To ‘critically evaluate’, you must provide your opinion or verdict on whether an argument, or set of research findings, is accurate. This should be done in as critical a manner as possible. Provide your opinion on the extent to which a statement or research finding is true. A critical evaluation of a subject will warrant an assertive essay response that details the extent to which you agree with a set of findings, a theory, or an argument.
The key to tackling these question words is providing ample evidence to support your claims. Ensure that your analysis is balanced by shedding light on, and presenting a critique of, alternative perspectives. It is also important that you present extensive evidence taken from a varying range of sources.
State your conclusion clearly and state the reasons for this conclusion, drawing on factors and evidence that informed your perspective. Also try to justify your position in order to present a convincing argument to the reader.
An answer to a ‘review’ question word should demonstrate critical examination of a subject or argument. This is done by recapping or summarising the major themes or points in question, and critically discussing them while giving your opinion.
Put another way, ‘review’ questions entail offering your opinion on the validity of the essay question. For example, you may be asked to review the literature on electoral reform in Great Britain. You'll need to give an overview of the literature. and any major arguments or issues that arose from it. You then need to comment logically and analytically on this material. What do you agree or disagree with? What have other scholars said about the subject? Are there any views that contrast with yours? What evidence are you using to support your assessment? Don’t forget to state your position clearly.
Review answers should not be purely descriptive; they must demonstrate a high level of analytical skill. The aim is not simply to regurgitate the works of other scholars, but rather to critically analyse these works.
In the case of ‘assess’ question words, you are expected to consider or make an informed judgement about the value, strengths or weakness of an argument, claim or topic. ‘Assess’ questions place particular emphasis on weighing all views concerning the essay subject, as opposed to your opinion only.
However, when assessing a particular argument or topic, it is important that your thoughts on its significance are made clear. This must be supported by evidence, and secondary sources in the literature are a great start. Essentially, you need to convince the reader about the strength of your argument, using research to back up your assessment of the topic is essential. Highlight any limitations to your argument and remember to mention any counterarguments to your position.
‘Discuss’ question words typically require an in-depth answer that takes into account all aspects of the debate concerning a research topic or argument. You must demonstrate reasoning skills with this type of question, by using evidence to make a case for or against a research topic/argument.
Give a detailed examination of the topic by including knowledge of the various perspectives put forward by other scholars in relation to it. What are your thoughts on the subject based on the general debates in the literature? Remember to clearly state your position based on all the evidence you present.
A close examination of a research topic or argument requires that you establish the key facts and important issues concerning the topic or argument by looking at them in close detail. This means that you must adopt a very critical approach with 'examine' question words.
You should also try to provide some context on why the issues and facts that you have closely examined are important. Have these issues and facts been examined differently by other scholars? If so, make a note of this. How did they differ in their approach and what are the factors that account for these alternative approaches?
‘Examine’ questions are less exploratory and discursive than some other types of question. They focus instead on asking you to critically examine particular pieces of evidence or facts to inform your analysis.
In essence, this asks how far you agree with a proposition put forward in the question. This requires a very in-depth assessment of the topic, and especially of the evidence used to present your argument.
Such questions require that you display the extent of your knowledge on a given subject and that you also adopt an analytical style in stating your position. This means that you must consider both sides of the argument, by present contrasting pieces of evidence. But ultimately, you must show why a particular set of evidence, or piece of information, is more valid for supporting your answer.
In some instances, question words require mostly a descriptive response as is the case with the words below:
Here, you must outline the precise meaning of the subject of the question. If the definition you provide is a contested one then make sure you mention this. How do other scholars define the subject? Why is its meaning contested and why have you chosen to use one meaning instead of the other if this is the case?
It is important that you provide more than one meaning if there are several of them as it shows that you are very familiar with the literature.
The key to tackling ‘demonstrate’ questions is to use several examples, evidence, and logical arguments. Essentially, you are required to show how a particular research topic or argument is valid by using evidence and arguments to support your claim.
Make sure you assert your position with these types of questions. It's even more important that you support your arguments with valid evidence in order to establish a strong case.
When describing something, you must provide thorough insight into the main characteristics of a research subject in an objective manner. As answers to such questions will be inherently descriptive, it is important that you recount or characterise in narrative form.
‘Describe’ question words focus less on the basic meaning of something, therefore, and more on its particular characteristics. These characteristics should form the building blocks of your answer.
Here, you are required to provide a lot of detail and information on a research topic or argument. ‘Elaborate’ questions tend to elicit descriptive responses. Therefore. it's important to demonstrate that you have done significant research on the topic to support the information you provide.
‘Explain’ questions expect you to basically clarify a topic. When answering such questions, it helps to imagine you are writing for someone who knows absolutely nothing of the subject. And remember two things. To provide as much detail as possible, and to give definitions for any jargon or key terms when used.
In addition, always remember to back any claims with academic research. In explanatory answers it is important that you demonstrate a clear understanding of a research topic or argument. This comes across most convincingly if you present a clear interpretation of the subject or argument to the reader. Keep in mind any ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions as this will help you to structure a clear and logically coherent response. Coherence is extremely important in providing explanatory answers.
Needless to say, your answer must be exploratory and thus it is imperative that you adopt a questioning approach when answering such questions. Because of the exploratory nature of such essays, objectivity is key. That is, you should give an overview of all viewpoints before providing any of your own arguments.
A somewhat detached, dispassionate tone can be particularly effective, in contrast to the more assertive, argumentative tone you might adopt for other types of essay question. Just remember that the key objective here is to give a nuanced account of a research topic or argument by examining its composite parts.
Essay questions that require you to ‘identify’ something in relation to a research topic or argument require you to simply point out and describe the main ideas in a short and coherent way. A little like this paragraph.
Such an answer will generally involve the use of many examples, such as tables, figures, graphs, or concrete research statistics and evidence. The aim is to use these examples to demonstrate knowledge of the subject of the question and to further explain or clarify your answer.
outline answer requires you present an organised description of a research topic or argument. It is imperative that you provide the main points only (and any important supplementary information) as opposed to focusing on the minor details. Remember to present your answer in a systematic and coherent way.
When you are asked to summarise or present a summary of a research topic, you should give a condensed form of its main points or facts. You must omit all minor details and focus mainly on the key facts. As a result, summaries are typically brief and straight to the point. The key is to get all the main facts across to the reader in as punchy and succinct a manner as possible.
This means to provide insight into a subject, and quite literally, provide clarification. For example, this could be done by making an argument or topic more clear by explaining it in simpler terms.
Such questions require you to shed light on a topic or, in some instances, break down a complex subject into simple parts. Coherence is very important for acing such questions, remembering to present your answer in a systematic manner.
When asked to ‘compare’, you must identify any similarities between two or more subjects of discussion. You can go beyond making a basic comparison by trying to understand the roots of the similarities you identify, as well as their significance.
Furthermore, you may also want to emphasise any differences, although the focus of your essay should be on establishing similarities.
A ‘contrast’ question expects you to identify differences, not similarities, between subjects. What are the main dissimilarities between two or more subjects? What sets them apart? These are the general questions that you must keep in mind when addressing ‘contrast’ questions.
Courtesy of Oxbridge Essays : https://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/analyse-explain-evaluate-answer-essay-question-words/
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Posted in: essay-writing
Instruction or command words indicate what your tutor wants you to do in your written assignment. It's vital that you understand exactly what these instruction words mean so you can answer all parts of the essay question and provide a complete response.
Here's a list of some of the most common instruction/command words you'll see in essay questions (and examination questions as well), together with an explanation of what they mean.
Describe: Give a detailed account of…
Outline: Give the main features/general principles; don't include minor details.
Explain, account for, interpret: Describe the facts but also give causes and reasons for them. Depending on the context, these words may also suggest that you need to make the possible implications clear as well. For example: 'Explain X and its importance for Y'.
Comment on, criticise, evaluate, critically evaluate, assess: Judge the value of something. But first, analyse, describe and explain. Then go through the arguments for and against, laying out the arguments neutrally until the section where you make your judgement clear. Judgements should be backed by reasons and evidence.
Discuss, consider: The least specific of the instruction words. Decide, first of all, what the main issues are. Then follow the same procedures for Comment on, Criticise, Evaluate, Critically Evaluate and Assess.
Analyse: Break down into component parts. Examine critically or closely.
How far, how true, to what extent: These suggest there are various views on and various aspects to the subject. Outline some of them, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, explore alternatives and then give your judgement.
Justify: Explain, with evidence, why something is the case, answering the main objections to your view as you go along.
Refute: Give evidence to prove why something is not the case.
Compare, contrast, distinguish, differentiate, relate: All require that you discuss how things are related to each other. Compare suggests you concentrate on similarities, which may lead to a stated preference, the justification of which should be made clear. These words suggest that two situations or ideas can be compared in a number of different ways, or from a variety of viewpoints. Contrast suggests you concentrate on differences.
Define: Write down the precise meaning of a word or phrase. Sometimes several co-existing definitions may be used and, possibly, evaluated.
Illustrate: Make clear and explicit; usually requires the use of carefully chosen examples.
State: Give a concise, clear explanation or account of…
Summarise: Give a concise, clear explanation or account of… presenting the main factors and excluding minor detail or examples (see also Outline).
Trace: Outline or follow the development of something from its initiation or point of origin.
Devise: Think up, work out a plan, solve a problem etc.
Apply (to): Put something to use, show how something can be used in a particular situation.
Identify: Put a name to, list something.
Indicate: Point out. This does not usually involve giving too much detail.
List: Make a list of a number of things. This usually involves simply remembering or finding out a number of things and putting them down one after the other.
Plan: Think about how something is to be done, made, organised, etc.
Report on: Describe what you have seen or done.
Review: Write a report on something.
Specify: Give the details of something.
Work out: Find a solution to a problem.
Adapted from: Coles, M. (1995), A Student’s Guide to Coursework Writing, University of Stirling, Stirling
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So wonderful can anyone get the information
Thanks Josphat!
This is a life saver, do you have a youtube channel where you talk about all this stuff? If so I would love to know about it 🙂 Rachelle
Thanks for your comment. We don't have a YouTube channel but stay tuned for more posts. You will also find additional self-directed learning resources in MySkills .
Quite helpful. I would definitely check this before my next essay.
Thank you, Dan.
Very helpful now I understand how construct my assignments and how to answer exam questions
I have understood it clearly;)
it is very useful for us to understand many instruction word and what we need to write down
There are some define of some words,and I find that there do have many common things for some words,but not all the same.Such as compare, contrast, distinguish, differentiate, relate,they all need people to compare but foucs on different ways.
Very helpful. Listed most of the words that might be misunderstood by foreign students. Now I know why my score of writing IELTS test is always 6, I even didn't get the point of what I was supposed to write!
I have already read all of this. And it gave me a brief instruction.
There are varied instruction words in essay questions. It's a good chance for me to have a overview of these main command words because I could response to requirements of questions precisely and without the risk of wandering off the topic.
When i encounter with an essay title with these instruction words above,I should understand exactly what these words mean so that i could know what my tutor would like me to do in the assignments.Also,these words may help me make an outline and read academic articles with percific purposes.
These words are accurate and appropriate. It is really helpful for me to response some assignment questions and I can know the orientation of my answers . I can also use these words to make an outline of my essay. However, in my view, for some instruction words which are confusing and hard to understand, it is better to give an example to help us understand.
It's the first time for me to recognise these instruction words , some of them are really similar with each other.
it is very helpful to my future study. it will be better to have some examples with it.
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About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.
We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.
You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.
If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:
It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.
Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.
It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.
Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ? To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss. I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:
The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:
Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:
To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.
My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.
The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:
Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.
The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:
Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth. To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.
The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:
You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback. If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.
Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .
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“It is well worth the time to break down the question into its different elements.” Kathleen McMillan & Jonathan Weyers, How to Write Essays & Assignments
When you get an essay question, how do you make sure you are answering it how your tutor wants? There is a hidden code in most questions that gives you a clue about the approach you should be taking...
Here is a typical essay question:
Analyse the impact of the employability agenda on the undergraduate student experience.
Let's decode it...
Did you know that analyse means something different to discuss or evaluate ? In academic writing these have very specific and unique meanings - which you need to make sure you are aware of before you start your essay planning. For example:
Examine critically so as to bring out the essential elements; describe in detail; describe the various parts of something and explain how they work together, or whether they work together.
It is almost impossible to remember the different meanings, so download our Glossary of Instruction Words for Essay Questions to keep your own reminder of the most common ones.
Don't get thrown by other regularly used phrases such as "with reference to relevant literature" or "critically evaluate" and "critically analyse" (rather than simply "evaluate" or "analyse"). All your writing should refer to relevant literature and all writing should have an element of criticality at university level. These are just redundant phrases/words and only there as a gentle reminder.
Many students think this is the easy bit - but you can easily mistake the focus for the subject and vice versa. The subject is the general topic of the essay and the instruction word is usually referring to something you must do to that topic .
Usually, the subject is something you have had a lecture about or there are chapters about in your key texts.
There will be many aspects of the subject/topic that you will not need to include in your essay, which is why it is important to recognise and stick to the focus as shown in the next box.
Every essay has and needs a focus . If you were to write everything about a topic, even about a particular aspect of a topic, you could write a book and not an essay! The focus gives you direction about the scope of the essay. It usually does one of two things:
This could be something there were a few slides about in your lecture or a subheading in your key text.
I have to make up my own title.
If you have been asked to come up with your own title, write one like the ones described here. Include at least an instruction, a subject and a focus and it will make planning and writing the essay so much easier. The main difference would be that you write it as a description rather than a question i.e.:
An analysis of the impact of the employability agenda on the undergraduate student experience.
If you have been given assignment criteria, the question often still contains the information you need to break it down into the components on this page. For example, look at the criteria below. There are still instruction words, subjects and focus/constraints.
An understanding of learning theories is important to being an effective teacher. In this assignment you will select two learning theories and explain why they would help you in your own teaching context. You will then reflect on an experience from your teaching practice when this was, or could have been, put into practice.
Select two learning theories , referring to published literature, explain why they are relevant to your own teaching context.
Reflect on an experience from your teaching practice .
Explain why a knowledge of a learning theory was or would have been useful in the circumstances .
Think of each criterion therefore as a mini essay.
Use question analysis for assignments, exam essays and short answer questions.
Video: https://youtu.be/UtjssKwUvII?
Apply the following steps to all question analysis:
It is important that you interpret the question accurately and clearly. First impressions can lead to an error which may fail to meet your marker's expectations.
In most of your university essay questions, you will find one or more instruction words that tell you what your essay should do. Therefore, to interpret the question accurately, you must understand exactly what these words mean.
Instruction word | Definition |
---|---|
Account for | Give reasons for something. |
Analyse | Focus on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of an issue or topic. Do not simply describe or summarise. |
Compare | Find similarities and differences between two or more objects, ideas, events or theories. |
Contrast | Similar to compare, but differences should be emphasised |
Criticise | Assess the merit of something. Consider both good points and bad points and give the results of your analysis. |
Define | Give precise meanings with key details. Examples may be useful. |
Describe | Recall specific details about size, cost, texture, appearance etc. |
Discuss | Present a point of view after considering both sides of an issue or question. Your opinion should be supported by arguments and evidence. |
Evaluate | Consider both strengths and weaknesses and make a judgement. |
Explain | Relate how something happens in the order in which it occurs, or, clarify reasons, causes and effects. |
Illustrate | Use examples to demonstrate a point. |
Interpret | Express in your own words. Examples may be useful. |
List | Write your answer as an itemized series which may be in point form. |
Outline | Provide main points and leave out minor details |
Prove | Give factual evidence, examples or clear logical reasons which demonstrate the validity of a statement/idea. |
Relate | Tell the story in clear sequence, or, show how things are connected or similar to each other. |
Review | Examine a subject critically, analysing and commenting on the main points. |
State | Present the main points in brief, clear sequence. |
Summarise | Give the main points or facts in condensed form. |
To what extent | Consider both sides, make a judgment and defend it. Similar to evaluate or discuss. |
Trace | Relate the progress, development or history of a subject. |
Topic words (or keywords) are usually easy to locate. They tell you what you have to write about. Use these keywords to find information on your topic.
Restricting words are words or phrases that narrow the topic and make it more specific. Geographical location and date are both common restrictions.
Once you have analysed the question, check your understanding. Try to rewrite the question using your own words by completing the following sentence in no more than 25 words. E.g. The question is asking me to . . .
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At university you will not be asked to write down absolutely everything you know about a topic.
Instead, you are asked to interpret a question about one aspect of that topic.
You must always answer the question as it has been asked, so analysing the question is crucial to getting the essay right. Breaking the question down into several parts can help you know how to approach the question and understand what you are being asked to do.
To do this you need to know:
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This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 648,828 times.
Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused. Developing your ability to give excellent answers on essay exams will take time and effort, but you can learn some good essay question practices and start improving your answers.
To write a good answer to an exam essay question, read the question carefully to find what it's asking, and follow the instructions for the essay closely. Begin your essay by rephrasing the question into a statement with your answer in the statement. Include supplemental facts and figures if necessary, or do textual analysis from a provided piece to support your argument. Make sure your writing is clear and to the point, and don't include extra information unless it supports your argument. For tips from our academic reviewer on understanding essay questions and dealing with testing nerves, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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When an essay title includes the word ‘Discuss’, this means that you are being asked to debate the subject of the essay. In other words, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have understood and evaluated both sides of the topic, problem, or opposing views in a theoretical perspective. At the same time, you need to be able to show, through rational evaluation of the evidence why you favour a particular view.
From this definition, it is clear that a ‘discuss’ essay is looking for balance, not bias or persuasion. In other words, the essay is not starting from one perspective and aiming to confirm this. Rather the intent of a ‘discuss’ essay is to deliver a work that clearly separates facts and opinions. The skills required for this include paraphrasing, summation, and the clear evaluation of different viewpoints. Common titles for a discuss essay include the format “AI is killing natural innovation from engineers. Discuss”, “Highlight and examine the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling for toddlers”, “Examine the arguments for and against the widespread mandatory delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine”. All of these titles require a discuss essay to be produced.
Introduction.
In all essays the best introductions are those which draw in the reader with a strong statement from the outset. The remainder of the introduction should give a brief indication of the subject being covered, the key points that will be discussed, and if you wish, anticipated conclusions. You should also incorporate any acronyms, or industry specific terms that will be covered in the essay.
The main body (or the meat of the essay) should be divided into separate paragraphs that each cover one distinct point or statement. A discuss essay requires presentation of evidence, so each paragraph should be focused on one point with both for and against perspectives, before a final summary point identifying one or the other as being justified. In all cases, any points made should be backed up by evidence, correctly cited and referenced at the end of your work.
Important point: The evidence provided, and references cited should only come from valid, credible sources, preferably peer-reviewed articles, and fully referenced. It is vital to ensure that the views expressed are not opinions but have been delivered based on evidence of wider reading in the field.
To ensure a logical flow, you should raise the main or key points of an arguments first, and then move onto sub-arguments, ensuring that all the paragraphs are well linked to deliver a cohesive, essay that flows in a logical way.
A discuss essay conclusion should contain two elements. Firstly, a summary of the core ideas, returning to the evidence presented and the points made, along with an indication of which you believe delivered the strongest arguments for or against the statement in the title.
Secondly, a discuss essay should give your opinion, which should be grounded in the presented evidence, to demonstrate your ability to draw a conclusion from the data considered. In other words, following an internal debate with yourself, evaluating the information available, you should demonstrate that you have an informed opinion on the subject under discussion.
To help you in the construction of your discussion essay, we have put together a list of key words and phrases that can be used to ensure you deliver a first-class piece of work.
When presenting evidence:.
essay question
Examples of essay question in a sentence.
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'essay question.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
1947, in the meaning defined above
Cite this entry.
“Essay question.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay%20question. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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Quotation + Discuss' questions
One of the most common types of essay question is a direct quotation followed by a general task word or phrase like ‘Discuss' or ‘To what extent do you agree?'.
When answering these questions, the most important thing is to work out your argument – what you think about the ideas in the quotation. Are they right, or wrong? Is there more than one side to the issue? This type of question lets you argue both sides of an argument, as long as you still come to a clear conclusion.
'Double-barrelled' questions
‘Double-barrelled' essay questions contain several issues that you need to answer separately. It's easy to miss parts of these questions – especially in an exam – but you have to answer each part in order to pass.
One way to deal with these questions is to break them into smaller, simpler questions. This makes it easy to see if you need to discuss more than one idea, and gives your research some clear goals.
Double-barrelled questions also challenge you to find relationships between different issues, and show your understanding of how they affect each other.
‘World War II saw many people question old beliefs and argue for change.' To what extent do you agree?
A good essay would talk about both issues raised in this question and talk about how they impact on each other.
Firstly, you'd write about whether WWII made people question their beliefs and if so, how their beliefs changed.
Then you would talk about whether questioning old beliefs led people to argue for change.
General questions
General questions often use task words like ‘discuss', and ask broad questions that could apply to almost any topic. This means you have to decide on the scope of your essay, and build your argument from scratch.
The good thing about general questions is that they allow you to pick a topic you know about and really show what you can do.
Were there any winners in the conflict that you studied?
This is a History question, so topics you could write about include:
The key to answering this question well is exploring the idea of what it means to ‘win', and whether there are ever any real winners when societies come into conflict.
The question is broad so you could answer it no matter what period of history you studied.
Specific questions
Specific questions are usually quite long and clearly outline what you need to cover in your essay. They're often easier to answer because they tell you exactly what to do, but they aren't very flexible – you have to be able to do everything in the question, so there can't be any gaps in your knowledge.
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.
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 are the words in an assignment question that tell you the approaches to take when you answer.
Make sure you understand the meaning of key words in an essay question, especially t ask words . As Task words are verbs that direct you and tell you how to go about answering a question, understanding the meaning helps you know exactly what you to do.
Content words tell you what the topic area(s) of your assignment are and take you halfway towards narrowing down your material and selecting your answer. Content words help you to focus your research and reading on the correct area.
Limiting words make a broad topic workable. They focus the topic area further by indicating aspects you should narrowly concentrate on.
If you're not sure about any aspect of the question, ask your tutor/lecturer for clarification. Never start any assignment until you know and understand exactly what you are being asked to do.
Computers have had a significant impact on education in the 20th century. Discuss the changes they have made.
DISCUSS. Look up the meaning in the glossary of task words to find out what it means.
(See Glossary of task words )
EDUCATION, COMPUTERS. Content words help you to direct your research and reading towards the correct area(s), in this case on computers and on education.
CHANGES, SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, 20TH CENTURY. Limiting words further define the topic area and indicate aspects you should narrowly concentrate on. For example, in this question, do not just write about computers in education, Discuss the SIGNIFICANT IMPACT they have had and the CHANGES computers have made to education during a certain time: the 20TH CENTURY.
Essay and assignment writing guide.
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Any SAT essay question—whether about music, sports, or politics—will favor students with certain interests.
The Penn application process includes a personal essay —which is sent to most schools you apply to—as well as a few short answer prompts . We read your words carefully, as they are yet another window into how you think, what you value, and how you see the world. Through your writing, we get a glimpse of what you might bring to our community—including your voice and creativity.
Remember, you are the expert on your story. This is an opportunity for you to reflect and understand who you are now, and who you want to be in the future. You have the agency to choose the information you want to share. This is your story: your experiences, your ideas, your perspective.
When answering these prompts, be precise when explaining both why you are applying to Penn and why you have chosen to apply to that specific undergraduate school. Some of our specialized programs will have additional essays to complete, but the Penn short answer prompts should address your single-degree or single-school choice.
Transfer Essay (required for all transfer applicants): Please explain your reasons for transferring from your current institution and what you hope to gain by transferring to another institution. (4150 characters)
For students applying to coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer this question about your single-degree school choice; your interest in the coordinated dual-degree or specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay.
Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. What do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150-200 words)
To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about Penn Nursing’s mission and how we promote equity in healthcare . This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of our values and how they align with your own goals and aspirations.
The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words)
To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about the academic offerings within the College of Arts and Sciences . This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of how the study of the liberal arts aligns with your own goals and aspirations.
Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. (150-200 words)
To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about the foundations of a Wharton education . This information will help you better understand what you could learn by studying at Wharton and what you could do afterward.
Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at Penn. (150-200 words)
To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about Penn Engineering and its mission to prepare students for global leadership in technology . This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of academic pathways within Penn Engineering and how they align with your goals and interests.
For students applying to coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer the program-specific essay below.
** Numbers marked with double asterisks indicate a character count that only applies to transfer students applying through Common App.
Why are you interested in the Digital Media Design (DMD) program at the University of Pennsylvania? (400-650 words / 3575 characters**)
We encourage you to learn more about the DMD: Digital Media Design Program .
The Huntsman Program supports the development of globally minded scholars who become engaged citizens, creative innovators, and ethical leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the United States and internationally. What draws you to a dual-degree program in business and international studies, and how would you use what you learn to contribute to a global issue where business and international affairs intersect? (400-650 words)
The LSM program aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the life sciences and their management with an eye to identifying, advancing, and implementing innovations. What issues would you want to address using the understanding gained from such a program? Note that this essay should be distinct from your single degree essay. (400-650 words)
Describe your interests in modern networked information systems and technologies, such as the internet, and their impact on society, whether in terms of economics, communication, or the creation of beneficial content for society. Feel free to draw on examples from your own experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology. (400-650 words / 3575 characters**)
Discuss your interest in nursing and health care management. How might Penn's coordinated dual-degree program in nursing and business help you meet your goals? (400-650 words)
How do you envision your participation in the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) furthering your interests in energy science and technology? Please include any past experiences (ex. academic, research, or extracurricular) that have led to your interest in the program. Additionally, please indicate why you are interested in pursuing dual degrees in science and engineering and which VIPER majors are most interesting to you at this time. (400-650 words)
His bizarre diatribe at the RNC shows why the pro-democracy coalition is so worried about beating him.
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Donald Trump’s bizarre diatribe at the Republican National Convention shows why the prodemocracy coalition is so worried about beating the GOP nominee—even if it means that Joe Biden must step down.
But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic .
Not Comparable
It’s been quite a year in politics, what with President Biden facing calls to drop out of the race and Trump having a meltdown in public after an assassination attempt and …
I’m sorry, did I say a year ? I meant a week .
So much has happened, and political events have become so freakish, that we can all be forgiven for losing our bearings a bit. For the past few days, I’ve felt like Homer Simpson after he accidentally turned a toaster into a time machine and came back to find that Ned Flanders was the unchallenged dictator of the world.
But in the midst of all this, two things remain clear:
These are not comparable problems.
Nor did Biden and Trump have equally bad weeks. Biden is facing a revolt in his own party and is now recovering from COVID. Trump was nearly killed by a young loner .
Biden claims to still be in the race, an answer many elected Democrats have refused to accept. My colleague Russell Berman wrote yesterday afternoon that Senator Peter Welch of Vermont believes that the Biden campaign may be at an end; more telling is that Russell described Welch as the only member of the upper chamber making that argument, but from the time that Russell wrote that article to this afternoon, three more sitting Democratic U.S. senators— Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana, and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico—called for Biden to step down.
The case for Biden leaving the race is evident to anyone who’s watched him over the past month. He seems to be no better in his public outings than he was during the debate, and has sometimes seemed worse. As I’ve said here , I don’t think that means he can’t run the country for the remainder of his term, but Trump is going to be fired up and on the road, and I doubt that Biden can match that level of engagement, which could be decisive in a race that will be won on slim margins in a handful of states. I suspect that the people voting to save democracy would vote for Biden if he were governing from a cryostatic tube, but the Democrats calling on him to wrap it up have perfectly valid fears that he could lose and take the down-ballot races with him.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention was a searing reminder that Trump is a vengeful autocrat with obvious mental deficits who has surrounded himself with a crew of vicious goons.
I approached Trump’s speech with genuine curiosity. I was for most of my life a working political scientist, and I have written speeches for politicians; I think I know a good one when I see one. So I watched last night to see if Trump, tamed by a brush with death, would strike a new tone or, at the very least, try to make peace with one of his most hated enemies: the teleprompter.
No chance. To be fair, some people who watched the speech thought that the first 10 minutes or so, in which Trump recounted being injured, were good, even thoughtful. I thought they were terrible; although Trump and his people have emphasized Trump’s defiance in the moment after he was hurt, his blow-by-blow account of the incident came across to me as creepy and solipsistic rather than brave.
Contrast that with Ronald Reagan, the previous president injured in an attempt on his life. Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post reminded us today that Reagan appeared before Congress a month after he was nearly killed. (His injuries were severe and life-threatening.) Reagan was on the Hill to talk about the economy, but he started by thanking the country for its prayers and good wishes, noting a cute letter he got from a child while he was in the hospital, and paying tribute to the people injured alongside him. This digression took all of four paragraphs, a matter of a few minutes. “Now, let’s talk about getting spending and inflation under control and cutting your tax rates,” he then said. Trump, however, droned on about how much the human ear can bleed, while the screens behind him showed huge pictures of blood on his face. He then went over to the equipment owned by Corey Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter killed in the attack, and kissed the helmet. Some in the crowd may have loved it, but I prefer a bit more stoicism in national leaders; I’ve always thought that Trump’s penchant for hugging and kissing flags was weird, and planting a kiss on the headgear of a dead man was even weirder.
And then things really went off the rails. If you didn’t sit through it, I can’t blame you; it was the longest presidential-nomination-acceptance speech on record. Basking in the friendliest audience he will ever find on this planet, Trump couldn’t help himself. He was supposed to be like a band at a concert doing a tight set, playing some favorites for the loyal fans, introducing a little new material, and gaining a wider audience. Instead, he blew the chance and ran overtime as he noodled, improvised, and even mangled some of his classics.
The speech wasn’t written that way, of course, but Trump can’t stick to a script. You can always tell when Trump is trying to read the teleprompter: His shoulders tense up, he cocks his head and squints, and he rushes through words he has clearly never seen before. It doesn’t help that Trump’s writers stuff his speeches with baroque constructions that are supposed to be soaring and majestic but that always end up sounding more like dollar-store Churchill imitations. Trump struggles with these complex sentences, and then he abandons them—and that is when the real Trump comes out, in all his whiny and aggrieved glory.
I do not have the space (or the endurance) to relive those moments with you, but they were the ramblings of a man who has serious psychological problems . All of it was on display last night: rage, paranoia, pettiness, desolating selfishness.
I’m always sorry to leave readers with these sorts of observations just before a weekend, but much of the media response to Biden’s troubles and Trump’s madness has been mired in equivalences that obscure what’s happening to both men, and what’s at stake for the nation. (As I was writing this, for example, a Washington Post newsletter arrived in my inbox and told me that the GOP had just wrapped up “an energized, focused convention.” That’s an interesting description of a Republican gathering that featured a sex worker, Hulk Hogan, and a spaced-out Trump.)
Yes, Biden is old, and he’s having trouble communicating. The people expressing serious concerns about him have good reason to worry about both his health and his ability to defeat Trump. He might be out of the race by next week. But Trump is mentally and emotionally unwell. He and his valet, J. D. Vance, are not going anywhere. The real tragedy is that, in a serious country, Biden might step down without incident, and a normal race would continue, because decent people would have banished Trump from the public square long ago.
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Evening Read
How I Faked My Way to Rock Stardom
By J. R. Patterson
Before John Fogerty’s life became mine, there was cold. In November 2012, I was 22 and had left the family farm in Manitoba to find work in the oil fields of Alberta. I arrived during a bust and, because work was not immediate, spent the days driving my Ford F-150 around the country surrounding Calgary, listening to AM radio and my small collection of CDs—a few Rolling Stones albums, some outlaw-country records, and the complete discography of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Ford was what they call a SuperCab, with a rear backward-opening half door and a narrow bench for a back seat. At night, lacking the money for a hotel, I would find a quiet place to park, crawl into the back seat, and stretch out on the bench, my clothes wrapped around my boots for a pillow. I kept my guitars—an acoustic Martin and an electric Epiphone Les Paul—beside me to warm them, lest they crack in the cold. The nights weren’t kind to me either, and I often woke up shivering, the world outside covered with frost or snow. To allay myself, I’d run the engine for a while and put on Creedence.
Read the full article.
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Watch. Twisters , in theaters, squeezes a lot of juice out of the weather-driven disaster flick.
Read. In Yasmin Zaher’s debut novel, The Coin , the promise of exclusivity is a facade .
Play our daily crossword.
Some of you may have noticed that I don’t particularly admire Trump’s running mate, Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio. (Vance has noticed it too.) I wrote about his RNC speech here . I remain appalled at Vance’s casual betrayal of the people he claims to care about, the poor and working-class whites he grew up with in Ohio.
Perhaps I feel this more keenly because I grew up in a working-class town in Massachusetts, and I think working people deserve a better spokesperson than an opportunistic plutocrat like Vance. You may find it striking to think of New England as a depressed area; people who are not from the region probably think of it as a lovely expanse of college greens and church steeples and foliage. And it is—but much of New England was once home to mills and factories that produced shoes, textiles, and even military swords. (The bronze doors of the U.S. Capitol’s House wing were cast in 1903 in my hometown of Chicopee.) By the late 1970s, many of those workplaces, abandoned as industries moved out of the Northeast and sometimes out of the United States, were rotting hulks.
If you’d like to read a memoir that shows what it was like to grow up in Massachusetts in those days, I’d suggest Townie: A Memoir , by Andre Dubus III, who is near my age and grew up in a mill town much like mine. It’s not a pretty read, but it is evocative—so much so that some passages made me wince. I can affirm that it captures the reality of growing up in a part of America, far from Vance’s hometown, that was also plagued by dysfunction and decline.
When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic .
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The Great Manliness Flip-Flop
A Candidate, Not a Cult Leader
Former President Barack Obama recently said, in private, that President Joe Biden’s chances at a successful presidential run in 2024 have declined and that he needs to examine whether it’s the best choice for him to remain in the race, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Obama is perhaps the most influential Democrat to question whether Biden is the party’s best option in the upcoming elections.
Obama had said earlier, also behind closed doors, that Biden’s poor performance in last month’s presidential debate could pose an obstacle to his reelection and has been in contact with many members of Congress about it, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the Post.
Democratic leaders have been amplifying concerns about Biden’s continued candidacy and the impact it could have down the ballot.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday called on Biden to step aside.
A potential boost for former President Donald Trump from the Republican National Convention and a failed attempt on his life on Saturday could also work against Biden.
The Post reported that Obama said he thinks Biden has done a good job as president but worries that the progress he’s made could be undone by a bad showing for Democrats in November’s elections.
He’s been publicly supportive of Biden but also said that he’s concerned over polls and donors moving away from him over the past weeks.
Obama and Biden have reportedly spoken only once since late June .
Obama has, however, emphasized that he does not want to unduly influence Biden’s decision and has not made any public comments in favor of his leaving the race.
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been under a microscope and vilified.
Questions and talks about diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education, companies and their place in America is a hot topic among conservatives as the presidential election draws near. Republicans took aim at DEI initiatives during the Republican National Convention last week. On Monday, Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett stated that Vice President Kamala Harris and now former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle were "DEI hire(s)." Dismissing the two women's qualifications with a statement.
The recent comments have brought back the question of just what DEI is and what does a "DEI hire" mean. Here's a look at where DEI programs and initiatives are and the roots of the program.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to organizational frameworks that seek to promote "the fair treatment and full participation of all people", particularly groups "who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination".
In a nutshell, DEI programs create a place where all are welcome, supported and have the resources to succeed regardless of identity, race or orientation.
In 2020 and 2021, diversity policies and programs rushed into existence amid the nation’s racial reckoning. But these aren't new or radical ideas.
Affirmative action and equal employment laws were enacted in the middle of the 1960s, following the introduction of equal employment laws and affirmative action in workplaces, according to the Department of Labor. These laws also pushed companies to develop diversity training programs meant to help employees adapt to working in increasingly integrated office environments.
Burchett's comments about Harris and Cheatle referred to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to expand opportunities for women and people of color in workplaces and create more inclusive organizational cultures.
During a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability questioning Cheatle on the Secret Service's response during the assassination attempt against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Burchett called Cheatle a "DEI horror story."
Before Cheatle was named director, she was the senior director of global security for PepsiCo, and before joining PepsiCo, she served 27 years in the Secret Service, including as assistant director of the office of protective operations.
He used similar language in a CNN interview when talking about Harris.
Harris served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017-2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011-2017 before she was elected vice president in 2020. Harris and President Joe Biden received more than 81.2 million votes, the highest total in American history by more than 8.6%.
The comments, especially against Harris, have shone the light once again that women of color in leadership are often seen as being a "DEI hire" and not in a position because of their competence and fitness, Ruchika Tulshyan, author of “Inclusion on Purpose," said in an interview with USA TODAY.
“I'm already seeing calls from the Black women I know to gear up for retraumatization and all sorts of attacks they've faced before in their own corporate careers as leaders,” said Tulshyan, founder and CEO of DEI strategy and communications firm Candour LLC.
Burchett's disparaging remarks could land him in hot water.
According to Politico , a pair of House Democrats are considering whether to introduce a censure resolution against the Tennessee representative for his "DEI hire" remark against Harris.
While Burchett could be looking at censure, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Biden administration critics to take aim at Harris’ record .
“ Her ethnicity and her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever. This is about who can deliver for the American people and get us out of the mess that we’re in,” Johnson said at a press conference.
Affirmative action and equal opportunity laws are a GOP creation. Efforts for diversity and inclusion advanced as federal policy under staunch Republican President Richard Nixon, these initiatives paved the way for diversity programs that were used for years which helped to pave the way for some of the DEI programs seen now.
When the United States Supreme Court knocked down race-based affirmative action , Trump and other conservatives called it a "win" and Trump said the ruling marked "a great day for America," according to Reuters . The ruling did nothing about the legacy and socio-economic affirmative action policies set in place for some schools though.
While diversity is usually seen as something based solely on race , some schools (especially elite) may consider students diverse based on how much their families earn, their home state or country, or even what sport they play . Some students can even get a leg up just because their family went to the institute they are applying to, called legacy admissions.
"Legacy is one more way the deck is stacked against even the most talented students of color and first-generation students applying to elite universities, since most legacies are white, and all of them have parents with at least a bachelor’s degree,” a report from Education Reform Now, a non-partisan think tank focused on education, stated. “More than two-thirds of Latino, Native, and Black college students, however, were first-generation students in 2015.”
In 2019, The Washington Post did an in-depth interview with James Nolan, a friend of Trump's older brother Fred Trump Jr. Nolan described receiving a phone call from his longtime friend to see if he could get his brother an interview to attend the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious school of finance, Wharton. The interview happened and Donald Trump graduated from the school in 1968.
Trump wore Wharton like a badge of honor during his campaign for the White House in 2016, but he would (and still hasn't) released his school records from the time or how much he's donated over the years. And the school has been just as tight-lipped about Trump's time at the school. The Trump legacy continued as his children Don Jr., Ivanka and Tiffany, all attended and graduated from his alma mater.
Tennessee retailer Tractor Supply Company and John Deere, both Fortune 500 companies, have reexamined their DEI programs recently under pressure campaigns.
Last month, Tractor Supply slashed its diversity, equity and inclusion practices along with its goals that focused on environmental, social and governance. The change came in the wake of customer backlash, "We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart."
In response to the online criticism, Tractor Supply announced it would:
As for John Deere, the company stated it would audit its policies and would no longer participate in external social or cultural awareness events after receiving backlash for its diversity hiring targets and sponsoring LGBTQ+ events.
“Our customers’ trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere,” it wrote on social media platform X.
The vast majority – 96% – of corporate social impact professionals in 125 major companies say DEI commitments have either stayed the same (83%) or increased (13%), according to a new survey that the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals and YourCause from Blackbaud shared exclusively with USA TODAY.
Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals president and CEO Carolyn Berkowitz said the survey “sends a clear signal” that the political environment has not weakened support for DEI .
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
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The content words are the "meat" of the question - these are things you can research. Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays.Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.. You will often be asked to talk about "the role ...
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Understanding the essay question is the first and most important step you will undertake with any assignment, as without fully understanding the task you cannot respond to it. Consider the key elements in the question e.g. Examine the role of women in Parliament since 1918, with reference to key Equality legislation and ask yourself: What is the main subject of the question?
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Essay questions that ask you to 'analyse' a particular topic or argument expect a thorough deconstruction of the essay subject. In other words, this word requires you to break the essay topic down into its fundamental parts.
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About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.. We've all been there. You've handed in an essay and you think it's pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you're sure no one else will have thought of.
Decoding the question. Here is a typical essay question: Analyse the impact of the employability agenda on the undergraduate student experience. Let's decode it...
In most of your university essay questions, you will find one or more instruction words that tell you what your essay should do. Therefore, to interpret the question accurately, you must understand exactly what these words mean.
Important Words In Essay Questions - Take Me To Manoa
At university you will not be asked to write down absolutely everything you know about a topic. Instead, you are asked to interpret a question about one aspect of that topic.
Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused.
When an essay title includes the word 'Discuss', this means that you are being asked to debate the subject of the essay. In other words, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have understood and evaluated both sides of the topic, problem, or opposing views in a theoretical perspective.
essay question: [noun] an examination question that requires an answer in a sentence, paragraph, or short composition.
General questions. General questions often use task words like 'discuss', and ask broad questions that could apply to almost any topic. This means you have to decide on the scope of your essay, and build your argument from scratch.. The good thing about general questions is that they allow you to pick a topic you know about and really show what you can do.
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.
Harvard College Writing Center 3 Once you've identified a point of tension and raised a question about it, you will try to answer that question in your essay.
ESSAY QUESTION meaning: 1. a question in an examination whose answer is in the form of an essay (= a short piece of writing…. Learn more.
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ESSAY QUESTION definition: 1. a question in an examination whose answer is in the form of an essay (= a short piece of writing…. Learn more.
Essay question definition: a question on a test or examination on a given topic requiring a written analysis or explanation, usually of a specified length.. See examples of ESSAY QUESTION used in a sentence.
The Penn application process includes a personal essay—which is sent to most schools you apply to—as well as a few short answer prompts.We read your words carefully, as they are yet another window into how you think, what you value, and how you see the world.
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The Post reported that Obama said he thinks Biden has done a good job as president but worries that the progress he's made could be undone by a bad showing for Democrats in November's elections.
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been under a microscope and vilified. The recent comments have brought back the question of just what DEI is and what does a "DEI hire" mean. Here ...
Understanding IELTS and Its Bands. Tackling the world of IELTS can feel like being in an endless loop of late-night study sessions, endless grammar drills, and an unhealthy dependency on caffeine.
The centerpiece is a 900-page plan that calls for extreme policies on nearly every aspect of Americans' lives, from mass deportations, to politicizing the federal government in a way that would ...
What happened: When she grabs the pot of boiling water, one deputy steps back "away from your hot steaming water," he says. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," she says in response ...