Understanding essay / exam questions
In some disciplines, students are assessed by exams consisting of so-called essay questions. This is common in take-home exams and in open-book exams. In order to succeed with such an assignment, it is vital that you understand what you are expected to do.
The information below is of a general nature; as a student, you must make sure that you understand what the requirements are in your course and in your field.
Essay questions demand answers with an element of reasoning. This means you are not expected to only present facts but also to provide an interpretation, argument, or reflection that shows you have understood the course content.
Understanding the exam / essay question
Read exam questions carefully: they are intended to help you complete the assignment, and your answers will be graded based on how well you adhere to instruction. Often essay questions consist of three elements:
1. an informative part that provides some background and context
2. a directive part that tells you how to approach the task
3. an instructional part with instructions on how the text is to be written.
Sometimes not all three elements are provided in each exam question. Some of the information may be given in introductory instructions that apply to all questions in the exam. Such general instructions often say something on the required format and what resources (if any) may be used.
Instructional verbs
Even though you may know what the instructional verbs (sometimes called command verbs) you come across in exams mean in general language use, they may have a more spcific meaning in exam or essay questions.
Some instruction verbs you are likely to come across in exam questions ask you to show your knowledge of something (e.g. list, give examples of) or to show that you have understood something (e.g. explain, compare). Still other verbs indicate that you are asked to show that you can use your knowledge (e.g. apply, demonstrate, illustrate) or to demonstrate your skills in critical thinking (e.g. examine, create, design, justify).
Although many such verbs in everyday speech may be almost synonymous, as instruction verbs for written assignments, they require different actions. We here list some common instruction verbs and their definition. Note that some instruction verbs may have a more specific meaning in your field.
| Discuss | to discuss something means to write about it in detail and to take different ideas and perspectives into account. |
| Analyse | to analyse means to study something in detail, often by identifying what different components the study object consists of and how these different parts/components relate to each other and to the whole. |
Interpret | to interpret something means to explain and comment on something. In an assignment, you may be asked to interpret a text, a statement, a research result, or a graph, for instance. |
| Support | to support your argument / answer usually means that you need to provide examples or in some other way back up your answer with evidence from the text / experiment / etc. |
| Define | to define means to explain the meaning of, for instance, a phrase, word, or concept. |
Composing your answer
In addition to what we say above, the following advice might be useful when you write your answers to exam and essay questions:
Show that you understand the question
If you are asked to apply a theoretical concept or to discuss something from a particular perspective, make sure your answer reflects that you understand the issue in question and that your answer shows that you can use. How to do this will depend on your discipline. In some areas, it might be relevant to define terms as you use them, but in other areas it will be essential to show that you know what kinds of calculations or argument you will be expected to demonstrate.
Stay on track
Students are examined based on how well their answers respond to the stated question. This means you need to provide relevant information and present an on-topic discussion; it also means that information that is not relevant will not provide points.
Check that you have answered the question
Before submitting the exam, go thrugh your answers. Double-check that you have understood the question and in particular the instruction verbs.