Understanding

Academic Writing
Assignments

(ANALYZING AN ESSAY QUESTION)

 What do markers want when setting essays?

No matter what course you are doing, it's

designed with two specific goals in mind:

to show knowledge of a particular subject

to show your skills in thinking and

communication.
 Introduction
Common criteria of undergraduate essay writing focus on the
following requirements:

students need to be analytical and critical in their response

students need to structure their writing logically
students need to be persuasive writers
students need to answer the question
 Essay Questions
Set questions are usually written in order to judge
your ability to understand a topic or theme, and
to relate general ideas to specific applications (or
vice versa).

In order to demonstrate that you can do these

things you must be able to:
• correctly identify the focus of the question
• deal with it consistently and within the terms
of the essay and discipline
• That is, you must answer the set question.
Exercise 1
First year students were asked to write an essay on
the following question:

“The science of ergonomics is central to

good modern design.” Discuss this
statement.

About half of the group wrote essays that answered this question
appropriately. The other half wrote essays which really answered
other questions.

Read the essay extracts below and match each essay extract with
the question it appears to be answering. Write the letters a) - d) in
 Essay extracts:
a)Ergonomics is important in design as it can cut down
workloads and the energy needed to perform a task.
b)During the industrial revolution, the word "ergonomics" had a
rather negative implication about it. .... However, the word has
taken on a different meaning through time.
c) Whilst the statement seems straight forward enough I take
issue with the words "modern" and "good".
d)If we were to design a chair we should have an
understanding of the purpose of the chair - will it be used for
work or just to sit on and eat.

Essay questions:
[ ] Discuss the wording of this question.
[ ] Why is ergonomics important?
[ ] Describe an ergonomically designed object.
[ ] What is ergonomics?
Question Analysis
There may also be some sections of your essay where you will write
descriptively. However, most disciplines, especially in the Arts,
Humanities and Social Sciences, will set essay questions that
involve the process of analysis.

Analysis is the process of:

•breaking down a of facts into components

topic/concept/group categories or

•looking for relationships between them

•understanding how each component contributes to the whole

picture

•drawing conclusions about their significance

For example, an essay question such as
“How does play contribute to the development of the primary school-aged child?
” (Education)
requires you to:

•understand what is meant by the two key concepts of play and development

•identify different types of play, for example, board games, group games,
solitary play, imaginative play, ...

•organise these different types of play into logical groupings or categories for your
discussion, for example, inside versus outside play, group versus solitary play,
organised versus spontaneous play and so on

•identify different areas of development, for example, social, cognitive, emotional,

physical,
language and psychological development and so on

•then by referring to the research literature show how (= in what ways) the
different categories of play contribute to different areas of development.
 Essay questions requiring analysis may also involve some (or
all) of the following processes.

PROCESS/TYPE PURPOSE

EXPLANATION to offer explanation on why things happen

INTERPRETATION to look at assumptions/ information in terms of

key/ model/ framework
EVALUATION to present and justify a value judgement about
certain information
ARGUMENTATION to take and justify a position on some issue/
debate

Adapted from Martin, J. R. & Peters, P. [1985] "On the analysis of exposition" in Hasan, R. (Ed) Discourse on Discourse, ALAA Occasional
Papers, No. 7, p. 88.)
Explanation
Why was the early 19th century so important for the development of
archaeology?(Archaeology)

This essay question assumes that the 19th century was very
important in the development of archaeology and is asking you
to explain why it was so important, and to give your reasons for
each of the points made or issues raised.
Interpretation
'Jemma (aged 14 years) fights a lot with her parents but not with
her friends. She used to be a keen student but now seems to have
lost interest in both her school studies (she wants to leave school
next year) and outside school activities. She does however take a
passionate interest in the environment and in boys.‘
Interpret these behaviours in the light of Erikson's stage theory on
adolesence. (Education)

This essay question is asking you to interpret particular behaviours

in a brief case study of an adolescent in terms of Erikson's theory
on adolescence.
Evaluation
Evaluate the role of J.S.Mills in the transition from Classical,
Political Economy to Modern Economics, with particular reference
to value and distribution. (Economics)

This essay question is asking you to make a judgement

on the contribution made by J.S.Mills giving the reasons
for your judgement. By making a judgement you are also
taking a position - that he played a major role or a minor
one.
Argumentation
Nursing practice has been crucial in preventing the spread of
disease. Do you agree?(Nursing)

This essay question is asking you to discuss the relationship

between nursing practice and the prevention of the spread of
disease. You would select and show how different examples of
nursing practices have prevented the spread of disease/s and you
would take a position on this relationship, i.e. that nursing
practice has been crucial or has not been crucial in preventing the
spread of disease.
Deconstructing the Question
Look closely at what you are being
asked to do in your assignment

(Deconstructing the Question):

There are:
‘content’ words
‘task’ words
‘limit’ words and
The Assignment Structure
Definitions:

The content words tell you the subject matter of

the essay question;

The task words set out the academic action

you must undertake;

The limit words are those that tell you the

boundaries of the essay;

The Assignment structure tells you what type of

writing you should produce (Academic Action):
essay; report; critical review; literature review;
reflective journal; portfolio and case Study.
Commonly Used Task Words Overview :

analyze examine
argue explain
assess illustrate
compare interpret
contrast justify
criticize outline
define prove
describe review
discuss summarize
evaluate trace
enumerat
e
 For example, look closely at the following question:
Discuss the effects of the 2000 Olympic Games on
Australia’s international reputation (2500 word essay)

In this question:
The assignment structure is ‘essay’ – the format of
the writing
The content words are ‘the effects of the 2000
Olympic Games’ and
‘Australia’s international reputation’— the subject matter
The limit words are - ‘2000 Olympic Games’
and ‘2500’words;
‘discuss’ is the task (direction)
Summary

Deconstructing the question guides your writing in terms of what the

assignment is asking of you (as well as setting limits to what you do):

You should:
Identify the key points and note them down

Ask yourself:
What specific material needs to be addressed?
What specific issues need to be explored?
What commentators and theories are particularly relevant?
What questions need to be considered?
Subject/Angle/Process
Consider this question:

What is the “world food crisis”? What are the

political causes of it and what might be the
political responses to it? (2,000 words)

While you are reading the following section on

subject, angle and process, think about how
they apply to the question above.
 Subject/Angle/Process
Analyzing the question in terms of subject/angle/process helps you
identify the task in preparation to developing a plan.

•The subject of your essay is the broad field or topic - it is the “what”
your topic is about: ask yourself, “What do I have to demonstrate
knowledge about?”

•The angle of your essay is the controversy or debate that is at the heart
of the subject - “why” you should examine this topic: ask yourself, “What
questions do I have to answer?”

• The process is the “how” your essay is going to proceed in answering

the “what” and the “why”: ask yourself, “How should I answer?”
The process is the way in which you demonstrate your academic point of
view, using evidence to develop your answer to the question.
In the essay question above, the subject is the “world food crisis.”
In this question, the angle for International Relations is to identify
what the “world food crisis” is, the political causes of it and the
possible political responses to it.

The process involves explaining the politics of trade and the

inequalities of wealth, and some suggestion of how these might be
overcome.

Now you are in a position (though this will adapt and evolve) to
develop an argument: ask yourself, “What do I want to persuade
(with evidence) the reader to think?”
The first point is about the subject matter: if you are studying commerce, you will learn the
significance of a debt to equity ratio and how to read a company’s financial statements.

The second point is more complicated: these skills in thinking and communication are often not
acknowledged explicitly in your courses, but improving these skills is fundamental to successful
academic study.

In developing your knowledge about the subject - whatever subject it is - you will need to:
 develop reading skills to order, test and evaluate ideas and evidence,
 assess the relationships of these ideas to other ideas and evidence, and
 formulate questions about these ideas and evidence
 become an increasingly independent learner
 develop a nuanced, coherent position which can be substantiated with evidence
 develop a questioning and academically critical mind
 learn writing and communication skills in order to express your position with clarity
and precision.

With this list in mind, markers assess your ability as it is demonstrated in your assignment. This
assessment can be considered as four areas of competence: focus, wide and critical reading,
argument, and presentation.
Focus
In order to demonstrate your questioning and critical mind, it is
expected that your essay focuses clearly on the issues of the
question you have been given.
This involves several tasks:
• understanding the question(s) or task(s) you have been
given: what knowledge or skill are you being required to
demonstrate?

• identifying relationships between ideas: are these ideas in

opposition with each other, in support of each other, or
somewhere in between?

• what, in a nutshell, are the most significant elements that

you explore to answer the question?
Wide and critical reading
Of all the skills developed at university, reading is perhaps the most
important. Reading widely - from a variety of sources, authors and points of
view - enables you to understand the spectrum of points of view relevant to
the topic.
Whatever the topic, it's likely that there is a range of views which take different
positions, contradict each other, support each other, use alternative evidence,
refute the positions of others and so on. As you read widely, your ideas will be
tested, your assumptions may be made clearer to you, and this will help you to
develop a coherent argument for your essay.

Reading “critically” means reading for strengths and weaknesses to gain a deeper
understanding of a point of view rather than necessarily accepting the writer’s position.
Ask yourself:
•what is the writer’s argument?
•what evidence is used to substantiate the argument?
•what are the limitations to the argument?
•what are the assumptions used by the writer?
•what evidence might refute or question the writer’s
argument?
Argument
The “argument” in this sense is not a
dispute.

Your argument is a combination of reason,

analysis and evidence constructed coherently
and logically, intended to persuade the reader
to this position.

The argument of your essay is your answer to

the question and is a demonstration of your
academic point of view.
A reasoned argument requires:

• coherence: its parts fit logically together; the argument

announced in your introduction develops through your
paragraphs and is confirmed in your conclusion.
• explanation: background, theories, specialist terminology,
evidence and conclusions are clearly identified and framed
so that the reader gains a better understanding of the topic.
• evidence: examples, source documents, the arguments of
others and results of experiments from your wide and critical
reading are explored so that they explain, support and
develop your point of view, or refute the point of view of
others.
• reason: logical connections are made between actions or
phenomena and results or implications, so that the reader
better comprehends your argument.
Argument is the key to a successful essay, but it is
important to realise that your argument relies on the
focus of your essay, the wide and critical reading you
demonstrate, and the presentation of your essay.
 PROBLEMS/SOLUTIONS
Living in a foreign country can be fun and
exciting, but it can also be problematic. One
of the most serious problems that people
living in a foreign country face is culture
shock. What ways can you think of to help
people deal with this problem?
 Culture Shock
Frustration, anxiety and stress occur whenever people can’t do all the things they
are
accustomed to doing in their everyday lives.
Problem Communication – language – friendship ;
–
Environment
bigger/smaller; weather; ways of dressing ;
Transport ; Shopping ; Food ; Money problems
Accommodation ; Values – religion, moral behaviour,
justice

Solution Learn the way your hosts do things from as simple as shaking hands to
what is taboo ; Be more flexible in your thinking ; Join as many different
groups that will allow you to mix and form friendships ; be
prepared to open up to new experience at least once to broaden your
outlook ; be prepared but if not learn quickly ; become familiar with
your surroundings ; expect and learn to cope with teasing and ridicule ;
talk with people who have “been there, done that” ; meet someone
local who can guide you through the problems that may arise ; try
talking to counsellors and teachers.
Understanding the Question
 Understanding the Question Example:
Present a written argument or case to an educated reader
with no specialist knowledge of the following topic:

We live in a technological age. However, technology

cannnot solve all the world’s problems. Therefore
some people argue that we need to place less
emphasis on technological solutions and more on
other values.
• To what extent do you agree or disagree with this
opinion?
• You should use your own ideas, knowledge and
experience to support your arguments with examples
and relevant evidence.
 Understanding the Question Example:
The first part of the instruction makes it clear that
a) you need to present a serious argument in a formal style (for an
'educated reader')
b) you are not being tested on your deep knowledge or understanding
of the
subject ('with no specialist knowledge').

The last part of the instruction offers a suggestion about what to

include. ('You should use your own ideas, knowledge and
experience to support your arguments with examples and relevant
evidence.')

Now let us look at the question itself. This also has two
components:

a) the description of the topic, which is usually expressed

as a point of view on a current situation and
b) a question asking you what your opinion is.
 Understanding the Question Example
Part a) is generally expressed in 1 to 3 sentences. One or
two sentences may present a statement or a question
about a situation: (’We live in a technological age, but
technology cannot solve all our problems').
The second part will probably present a conclusion that
some people draw from this situation ('therefore we
should place less emphasis on technology and more on
other values'). This is designed to help you to think about
the contents.

Part b) asks the question. This may be phrased as to

what extent do you agree? or
what is your opinion? or do you agree with this?
or words to that effect.
 Understanding the Question Example
Now what is your task?
a) to present both sides of the argument?
b) to either strongly support or strongly oppose the argument, depending on
your own personal opinion?
c) to partly support or partly oppose the argument, depending on your
own personal opinion?

The correct answer is either b) or c).

The words to what extent mean the same as how much. That is, your
answer will express one of these attitudes:
d) I agree completely
e) I agree partly and disagree partly
f) I disagree completely.

We live in a technological age. However, technology cannnot solve all the world’s
problems. Therefore some people argue that we need to place less emphasis on
technological solutions and more on other values.
 Finding the Focus

a)Many people believe that the Internet is the most revolutionary

new invention of the last century. Do you agree?

b)The Internet has revolutionized the modern world, but many

people argue that it has also created new problems and inequalities.
What is your opinion?

c)The Internet could revolutionize the world in future, if everyone

could have easy access to all the information that is available on
the World Wide Web. Do you agree or disagree with this
statement?
 Finding the Focus
Each question has a topic of the internet and its role in the
world. However each must be answered differently. How?

a)Many people believe that the Internet is the most

revolutionary new invention of the last century. Do you
agree?

b)The Internet has revolutionized the modern world, but many

people argue that it has also created new problems and
inequalities. What is your opinion?

c)The Internet could revolutionize the world in future, if

everyone could have easy access to all the information that is
available on the World Wide Web. Do you agree or disagree
with this statement?
You can see that
a) involves comparing the Internet with other
inventions, and arguing that it is, or is not,
the most revolutionary.
While
b)expects you to accept that it is revolutionary,
and to consider both its benefits and the
problems it has created.
Finally
c)wants you to speculate about the future, and
to consider how much you believe the future
benefits will change the world.
THANK YOU!