Michael Dulay: Answering Essay Questions

Responding to Essay Questions

The first- and most important- thing to do is read the entire question. This will give you time to develop a strategy to completely answer the essay question. Good strategies should be converted into outlines that can guide your writing. Next, look for the specific words that generate the question. Examples of such words include: what, when, who, and so on. Though these questions may be most obvious, there are several others for which you should be mindful because such words tell you what your instructor expects to read in your response. Build these words into your outline, and review it for consistency and accuracy. A well-prepared outline includes concise responses to questions, and support for each response. Using your outline, begin the next step: write. Simply put the pen to paper and follow your outline. After writing, review the essay for missing words and ideas, and make sure that it is clear and relatively neat. We often think faster than we write, which can lead to carelessness and absentmindedness. These problems can be exacerbated by time constraints and stress. Fortunately, being prepared (i.e., studying) and having a good outline can help alleviate these problems.

Essay Questions

Analyze	divide into parts to examine the nature and function of each part, and examine the relationships between the parts
Compare	describe the similarities and differences between the things included in the question
Contrast	highlight the differences between the things included in the question
Define	explain the meaning of words, objects, or ideas
Describe	give detailed accounts of words, objects, events, or ideas
Discuss	compare (or weigh) the pros and cons of two or more ideas
Enumerate	make a detailed outline of list
Evaluate	judge the quality of a concept, argument, or theory
Explain	make something clear and understandable with a great deal of detail
Identify	show how words, objects, events, or ideas fall into specific categories
Illustrate	make clear and understandable with examples
Interpret	explain the meaning of something using specific ideas and theories
Justify	show the reasons why something is proper (by emphasizing its use of logic and consistency)
Outline	list- in systematic order- the main points and ideas of the subject in question
Prove	show how and why something is factual; all arguments should be rigorously supported
State	explain something precisely and specifically
Trace	highlight the developmental history of the subject in question