DIRECTIVE WORD MEANINGS
Good answers to essay questions depend in part upon a clear
understanding of the meanings of the important directive words. These are
words such as explain, compare, contrast, justify, and analyze
which
indicate the way in which the material is to be presented. Background
knowledge of the subject matter is essential. But mere evidence of this
knowledge is not enough. If you are asked to compare the British and
American secondary school systems, you will get little or no credit if you
merely describe them. If you are asked to criticize the present electoral
system, you are not answering the question if you merely explain how it
operates. A paper is satisfactory only if it answers directly the
question asked. The words that follow are frequently used in essay
examinations:
SUMMARIZE:
Sum up; give the main points
briefly.
Summarize the ways
in which man preserves food.
EVALUATE:
Give the good points and the bad ones;
appraise; give an opinion regarding the value of; talk over the advantages
and limitations.
Evaluate the contributions of teaching machines.
CONTRAST:
Bring out the points of
difference.
Contrast the Animal
Science Departments at UC Davis and Cal Poly.
EXPLAIN:
Make clear; interpret; make plain;
tell
"how" to do; tell
the meaning of. Explain how man can, at times, trigger a
full-scale
rainstorm.
DEFINE:
Give the meaning of a word or
concept;
place
it in the
class to which it belongs and set it off from other items in the same
class. Define the term "archetype."
COMPARE:
Bring out points of similarity and
points of difference.
Compare the legislative branches of the state government and the
national
government.
DISCUSS:
Talk about; consider from various
points of view; present
the different sides of. Discuss the use of pesticides in controlling
mosquitoes.
CRITICIZE:
State your opinion as to the
correctness or merits
of an item or issue; criticism may approve or disapprove. Criticize
the
increasing cut backs at Cal Poly.
JUSTIFY:
Show good reasons for; give your
evidence; present facts
to support your position. Justify the American entry into World War
II.
TRACE:
Follow the course of; follow the
trail of; give a
description of progress. Trace the development of television in school
instruction.
INTERPRET:
Make plain; give the meaning of;
give your
thinking about; translate. Interpret the poetic line, "The sound of a
cobweb snapping is the noise of my life."
PROVE:
Establish the truth of something
by giving factual
evidence or logical reasons. Prove that in a full-employment economy,
a
society can get more of one product only by giving up another
product.
ILLUSTRATE:
Use a word picture, a diagram, a
chart, or a
concrete example to clarify a point. Illustrate the use of catapults
in
the amphibious warfare of Alexander.
ANALYZE:
Study or determine the nature and
relationship of the
parts. Resolve the complex into the simple by taking apart. Analyze
the
major source of conflict between Syria and Israel.
CLARIFY:
Make clear. Make simple,
concrete, and understandable.
Clarify the position of Republicans on the new tax issue.