answer assignment questions

8/3/2019 Answer Assignment Questions

1/10

ACY(C)_HOWDOI


2/10

In Comprehension,Reread.

Spot key ideas and mark them with pencil.

In all subject papers,Take note of 2-3 mark questions and must elaborate on them . A four or five word answer for

a 2 mark question is not enough.

Examples of answering better:

Issue Question Answer Better Answer

Answers arenot complete

Why is it not goodfor submerged

plants if the water is

muddy?

Little sunlightpenetrates through in

a muddy water.

Little sunlight canpenetrate through the

muddy water and so

plants cannot

photosynthesize well.

Answers are

not clear

What changes to

the experiment

should Susan make?

She should change the

size of the flowers.

She should use flowers

of different sizes.

Answers are

not specific

How is

condensation

caused?

The droplets of water

on the glass is caused

by air condensing on

the glass surface when

cooled.

Instead of air

condensing, it should

be water vapour in the

air condensing.

ACY(C)_HOWDOI


3/10

ACY_2011

1

Types of AssignmentsEssays(NOT FICTIONALENGLISH ESSAYS)

There are four main types of essay: argument essays;

discussion essays; comparison essays and multi-task essays.

The structure of essay-style assignments is very open but

generally includes an introduction, a main body and a

conclusion.

These types of assignments are assigned by professors in

order to improve the learning and thinking skills of students

about the social and physical world in particular ways. These

assignments also help the students to enhance their

knowledge about the chosen subject. The ideal length of the

five paragraph essay is 350 or 400 words.

Essays allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their

understanding of the material they have been taught. Theyrequire the ability to see relationships between concepts and

to impose a logical structure on material gathered from a

range of different sources.

Reports There are four main types of report: information or description

reports; reports of investigations or studies; mathematical

reports; scientific reports. These are composed of different

sections, which can vary according to what is specified in your

assignment or course guide. Always refer to your course

materials to find out what sections might be required in yourassignment.

OralAssignments

The tasks are very much like those for written assignments, but

take the form of oral presentation, either recorded or live, to be

performed within a certain time limit. This helps students to

enhance their public speaking skills, the ability to organize

ideas in better way and also help them to construct logical

arguments, which are very important in todays employment

market.

Short AnswerQuestions

Questions that are broken down into parts that each require abrief answer. The length of short answer is not more than five

or six lines (50 or 60 words). In short answer it is necessary to

analyze each question in order to carefully understand the

requirement of the question. Be precise! Avoid adding

irrelevant material

MultipleChoices

You choose your answer from two or more choices. It is

designed to test the skills of students regarding the facts and

understanding of the particular area of study. Work on multiple

choice questions three times:

(adapted fromhttp://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/types-of-assignment.php, http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/assessment/assign/assigntypesandhttp://education.ezine9.com/types-of-assignments-14c2ab77b1.html)
http://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/types-of-assignment.phphttp://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/assessment/assign/assigntypeshttp://education.ezine9.com/types-of-assignments-14c2ab77b1.htmlhttp://education.ezine9.com/types-of-assignments-14c2ab77b1.htmlhttp://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/assessment/assign/assigntypeshttp://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/types-of-assignment.php


4/10

ACY_2011

2

How to Analyse a Question Using Key WordsTask Words tell you what to do; the action(s) you need to perform.

are usually verbs.

ContentWords

tell you what the topic area is

limit and define the essay, making it workable.

help you to focus your research and reading on the correct

area.

LimitingWords

tell you what area(s) to focus on

define the topic area further

indicate aspects of the topic area you should narrowly

concentrate on.

Example Question: (from the school of education)

Computers have had a significant impact on education in the 20th century.Discuss the changes they have made.

TaskWords

DISCUSS.

Look up the meaning in the glossary of task words to find out what it

means.

ContentWords

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.

LimitingWords

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.

(adapted fromhttp://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/taskanal.html)
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/taskanal.htmlhttp://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/taskanal.html


5/10

ACY_2011

3

Terms of Verbs Used in Written Assignments

Analyse Show the essence of something by breaking it down into its

component parts and examining each part in detail.

Argue Present the case for and against a particular proposition.

Compare Look for similarities and differences between propositions.

Contrast Place the two propositions in opposition in order to show the

differences between them.

Criticise Give your judgement about the merit of theories or opinions about

the truth or facts, and back your judgement by a discussion of

evidence.

Define Set down the precise meaning of a word or phrase. Show that the

distinctions implied in the definition are necessary.

Describe Give a detailed or graphic account of the characteristics of the

subject.

Differentiate Show the difference between two things by determining their

distinctions.

Discuss Investigate or examine by argument, sift and debate, giving reasons

for and against.

Enumerate Listen or specify and describe one by one.

Evaluate Make an appraisal of the worth of something, in the light of its

apparent truth or utility. Include your personal opinion, supported by

evidence.

Explain Make clear, interpret, and account for in detail.

Explore Thoroughly inquire into a topic by examining and analysing everyaspect of it.

Illustrate Explain and make clear by the use of concrete examples or by the

use of figure diagrams.

Interpret Bring out the meaning of, and make clear and explicit; usually also

giving your own judgement.

Investigate Search, study and carefully survey all areas of the subject.

Justify Defend or show adequate grounds for decisions or conclusions.

Outline Give the main points or general principles of a subject, omitting

minor details, and emphasising structure and relationship.

Prove Demonstrate truth or falsity by presenting evidence.

Relate Narrate or show how things are connected to each other and to what

extent they are alike or affect each other.

Review Make a survey of, examining the subject critically.

State Specify details fully and clearly.

Summarise Give a concise account of the chief points or substance of a matter,

omitting details and examples.

Trace Identify and describe the development or course of history of a topic

from some point or origin.(Adapted fromhttp://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/answering_questions.htm)
http://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/answering_questions.htm)%0cHowhttp://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/answering_questions.htm)%0cHowhttp://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/answering_questions.htm)%0cHowhttp://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/answering_questions.htm)%0cHow


6/10

ACY_2011

4

How To Answer Multiple Choice and True-False Questions

Multiple Choice

Read each

question carefully

In objective tests the wording of the question and potential

answers can be tricky. Each word is important so its vital toread and thoroughly understand each question and the various

responses to it.

Consider all the

options before

choosing your

answer, even if

the first option

seems correct.

This is important when you have to choose the best or most

correct answer in some multiple choice exams.

Take special note of phrasing, such as

Negative phrases(e.g. Choose the answer which DOESNT

describe)

Subjective questions (e.g. Choose the option that BESTdescribes)

Judgement questions (e.g. Choose the MOST CORRECT

answer)

Multiple answers (e.g. Choose MORE than one)

Try to supply your

own answer

before reading

the options

provided

Read the question and cover the choices provided with your

hand. Try to answer the question yourself. Then read through

the choices. Doing this allows you to make a clearer and more

accurate choice.

Accept the

questions at face

value

Read the questions (and the language used) carefully, but

dont assume they contain any tricks. Reading too much into a

question usually results in a wrong answer.

Dont leave any

questions

unanswered

Unless there is a marks penalty for incorrect answers, always

at least make a calculated guess.

Be alert for

grammatical

inconsistencies

between the

question and the

potential answers

A choice is nearly always wrong if the question and the answer

dont combine to make a grammatically correct sentence.

Do not change

your original

answer

In most cases your intuition is correct. Only change your

answer if you have a very strong hunch that its wrong, you find

new evidence, or suddenly remember otherwise.


7/10

ACY_2011

5

True-False Question

In true-false

questions, be

alert for qualifying

words

Words like:

all, none, always, never which generally make a statement

false

most, some, usually, seldom which tend to make a statementtrue

In true-false tests,

be alert for

multiple ideas or

concepts within

the question

All parts of the statement must be true or the entire statement

is false. If you really can't make a perfect match between the

question and the answer, choose the alternative that is more

nearly true than the other choices

Be aware of the

wording used

The following words are commonly used in true-false

questions:All-most-some-no

Always-usually-sometimes-never

Great-much-either-no

More-equal-less

Bad-good

Is-is not

If You are Really Stuck

Narrow your choice down to which of the answer options is most likely to be correct.This helps you take your 'best guess'.

Use a process of elimination. Multiple choice questions usually contain one or two

answer options that are obviously incorrect. Eliminate these first. If you still need to

guess the correct answer from the remaining options, youll have a better chance of

getting it right.

Rule out options that are completely unfamiliar to you, especially if they use

unfamiliar vocabulary terminology or concepts.

Humorous or absurd answer options are usually incorrect.

Eliminate options that contain exact or absolute words. Words like always, every,

never mean that there is no exception. Therefore, if you can think of one exception,

statements that include these words are incorrect or false. Favour options that

contain qualifiers (mostly, sometimes, rarely, seldom).

If you know more than one option is correct, an all of the above option may be a

good choice.

For number answers, avoid extremes and favour options in the middle-range.


8/10

ACY_2011

6

Consider look-alike optionscarefully. If two of the alternatives are similar, one is

likely to be correct; choose the best but eliminate choices that mean basically the

same thing, and thus cancel each other out.

Please note: there are no guarantees with these strategies, but they are worth

considering when you really dont know 'the answer'.

(Adapted fromhttp://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/multiex.html#multiex_3)

HOW TO ANSWER ESSAY QUESTIONS

Be familiar with

the terminology

used in essay

exam questions

Make sure you understand the question and are clear about

what you are being asked to do. Terms like:

compare

trace

illustrate

evaluate

all have different meanings and will require a different style of

answer.

Take time to read

the exam paper

thoroughly

Not reading questions properly is a common mistake made in

essay exams. Therefore, make sure you read each question

carefully and be sure you understand exactly what the question

is asking.

If the question is ambiguous, unclear or too broad, clearly write

your interpretation of the question before answering.

Plan before you

write

Don't write your essay off the top of your head - the results will

be disorganised and incoherent. Before you start writing, jot

down your ideas and organise them into an essay plan.

You can write a plan on the exam paper itself, or on

any spare paper you have with you.

Begin by thinking about how you will answer the

question.

Note the main information in point form. Doing this will

also help you think about your answer.

Number your

answers

If you have to write more than one essay, always indicate the

number of the essay so it is clear which question you are

answering.

Hint:

You don't have to answer questions in the order in which they

appear in the exam paper. Start with the easiest one first and

do the hardest last. This approach reduces anxiety and can

facilitate clear thinking.
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/multiex.html#multiex_3http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/multiex.html#multiex_3http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/multiex.html#multiex_3http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/multiex.html#multiex_3


9/10

ACY_2011

7

Make sure you

time yourself on

each question

Another common mistake made in essay exams is running out

of time.

Allocate time for each question. If you need to write two

essays in two hours, then allocate 1 hour per question.

Start with the easiest one first and do the hardest last. Thisapproach reduces anxiety and helps you think more clearly

Always give your

answer in the first

sentence

A good technique is to use the wording of the question in your

answer. For example:

"How do the goals of liberal and socialist feminism differ?"

You could begin your essay with:

"The goals of liberal and socialist feminism differ in three main

ways . . ."

This approach makes sure you answer the question, and

makes the exam easier to mark.

Make sure you

structure your

essay

You should include:

An Introduction

An introduction should explicitly state your answer and the

organisation of the essay. For example:

"The goals of liberal and socialist feminism differ in three main

ways. The first is that . . . The second is . . . and the third main

area of difference lies in the . . . This essay will argue that

although these differences exist in approaches, the practices of

liberal and socialist feminism have become very similar".

The Body

The Body of your essay should include:

supporting material

appropriate details for your answer.

Make sure you structure the body of the essay as you

indicated in your introduction. Use transitions to tie your ideas

together. This will make your essay flow. If you feel you are

losing the plot, go back and reread the question and your

introduction.

The Conclusion

In your Conclusion, re-answer the question and refer briefly to

the main points in the body. Show HOW you have answered


10/10

ACY_2011

8

the question. For example:

"In conclusion, it is clear that although liberal and socialist

feminism originally held differing views on how to attain their

goals, a realistic assessment now shows that their practice has

become very similar. This is most clearly illustrated by . . . (giveyour best example and end the essay).

If you run out of time, answer in point form.

Markers will often give you some marks for this.

Try to write as

legibly as

possible

Print your answers instead of using cursive writing.

Be aware of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

If you are using exam booklets, write on every second line.

If you have time at the end of the exam, proof read your essay

for grammatical and spelling errors.Leave space in between answers in case you have time to

add any information you didn't include in your essays.

(Adapted from http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/esex.html)

answer assignment questions

Documents