Key Instruction Words
Analyse - When you analyse something you consider it carefully and in detail in
order to understand or explain it. To analyse, identify the main parts or ideas of a
subject and examine or interpret the connections between them.
Comment on - When you comment on a subject or the ideas in a subject, you say
something that gives your opinion about it or an explanation for it.
Compare - To compare things means to point out the differences or similarities
between them. A comparison essay would involve examining qualities/characteristics
of a subject and emphasising the similarities and differences.
Contrast - When you contrast two subjects you show how they differ when
compared with each other. A contrast essay should emphasise striking differences
between two elements.
Compare and Contrast - To write a compare and contrast essay you would
examine the similarities and differences of two subjects.
Criticise - When you criticise you make judgements about a subject after thinking
about it carefully and deeply. Express your judgement with respect to the correctness
or merit of the factors under consideration. Give the results of your own analysis and
discuss the limitations and contributions of the factors in question. Support your
judgement with evidence.
Critically evaluate - When you evaluate in an essay, decide on your subject's
significance, value, or quality after carefully studying its good and bad features.
Define - When you define something you show, describe, or state clearly what it is
and what it is like, you can also say what its limits are. Do not include details but do
include what distinguishes it from other related things, sometimes by giving
examples.
Describe - To describe in an essay requires you to give a detailed account of
characteristics, properties or qualities of a subject.
Discuss - To discuss in an essay, consider your subject from different points of view.
Examine, analyse and present considerations for and against the problem or
statement.
Evaluate - When you evaluate in an essay, decide on your subject's significance,
value, or quality after carefully studying its good and bad features. Use authoritative
(e.g., from established authors or theorists in the field) and, to some extent, personal
appraisal of both contributions and limitations of the subject. Similar to assess.
Explain - When explaining in an essay give details about your subject and describe it
so that it can be understood. Give reasons for a particular event or situation. State
the 'how' and 'why', account for causes, results and implications. Use examples to
support your explanation.
Illustrate - If asked to illustrate in an essay, explain the points that you are making
clearly by using examples, diagrams, statistics etc.
Interpret - In an essay that requires you to interpret, you should translate, solve, give
examples, or comment upon the subject and evaluate it in terms of your judgement
or reaction. Basically, give an explanation of what your subject means. Similar to
explain.
Justify - When asked to justify a statement in an essay you should provide the
reasons and grounds for the conclusions you draw from the statement. Present your
evidence in a form that will convince your reader.
Outline - Outlining requires that you explain ideas, plans, or theories in a general
way, without giving all the details. Organise and systematically describe the main
points or general principles. Use essential supplementary material, but omit minor
details.
Prove - When proving a statement, experiment or theory in an essay, you must
confirm or verify it. You are expected to evaluate the material and present
experimental evidence and/or logical
Relate - To relate two things, you should state or claim the connection or link
between them. Show the relationship by emphasising these connections and
associations.
Review - When you review, critically examine, analyse and comment on the major
points of a subject in an organised manner.
Tips for Essay Writing
Directly answer the question.
Spend some time thinking about and focusing on your topic before you begin.
Carefully read the essay question, analysing the key instructions, the topic and its
parameters, and the different parts of the question you have to answer. Break the
essay topic down into smaller sub-questions or 'chunks' that need to be addressed in
order to develop your answer.
Make good use of the materials in the resource booklet
You need to show you can find materials pertinent to the topic, and that you have
read and understood them. Use sub-questions to direct your reading and organise
your note-taking. Information gathered from research forms the 'flesh' of your essay:
it substantiates explanations, backs up claims, and ties your essay to current
knowledge and data. All ideas and information from other writers should be clearly
explained and referenced.
Organise your answer.
Generally, academic essays are structured in the following
way:



Important for schol geo.
Introduction: a paragraph or two explaining what the essay is about
Body: a series of paragraphs that develop the arguments, opinions and ideas
in the essay, with explanations and examples.
Conclusion: A paragraph that sums up the main ideas in the body of the
essay and provides a final comment in relation to the essay question.
Planning before you write is vital. Begin by brainstorming or mind-mapping all the
ideas generated from your reading and research, then work out a logical order for the
points you want to present. Always keep the question, and therefore the answer
required, in mind.
Write well-structured paragraphs.
Each paragraph should develop one main point, which is expressed clearly and
simply and backed up with explanations, elaboration, evidence and/or examples and
a diagram. Work on achieving a sense of flow in the essay. Provide transitional
bridges to move the reader from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph.
Your train of thought and your connections between ideas should be made obvious
to the reader.
How to be a smart reader


Feel bogged down?
Read everything at the same speed?
Chances are you are a passive reader!
Don't know where to start?
Can't remember a thing?
Smart reading means:
S et goals
M ake a reading plan
A ctivate prior knowledge
R ead with gusto
T ake time to reflect
As a result you will be more Active, Attentive and even Attracted to your reading.
The SMART steps:
1. Set goals
This involves knowing your purpose: why are you reading the text?


If you read for this examination, you have to put your detective hat on; you
are looking for clues and answers to your essay or research question(s).
If you read for a test or exam, you are not only looking for the relevant
information, you need to recall and retrieve the information as well.
2. Make a reading plan, by:



Surveying the headings and subheadings of the text and/or the first sentence
and last sentence of each paragraph.
Checking that it serves your purpose.
Making a list or mind map to organise the main ideas, to keep you on track.
3. Activate prior knowledge
Try to predict before you read what the writer will tell you by asking questions
about the main ideas and see whether you can answer them. It does not
matter whether you guessed correctly or wrongly, chances are you'll
remember the information you read better.
4. Read with gusto
When you are searching for information, make predictions to know where you
are heading. As a result, reading will not be a boring task because you are
actively involved in the process; you're the captain of your own ship and not
just a bystander.
5. Take time to reflect, by


Checking that the reading served your purpose.
Using active recall strategies, such as: Recitation: paraphrasing/summing up
the information in your own words and taking notes from memory.
Using the SMART approach when reading surely will make you an effective reader!
Your essay answer in the examination:
Must include:
1. Quoting and Paraphrasing
Quoting and paraphrasing are two ways of integrating other authors' ideas into your
own writing.
A quotation is the words of another writer reproduced exactly in terms of wording,
spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and paragraphing.
A paraphrase is your version of essential ideas and information expressed by
someone else. A summary is less detailed than a paraphrase, and significantly
shorter than the original, rephrasing just the main points.
Quotes should be used sparingly and only when the way in which the author
expresses an idea seems as significant as the idea itself. Otherwise it is preferable to
express the idea in your own words. Paraphrasing enables you to incorporate the
ideas of other writers in your field into your own writing. Whether you are using a
paraphrase, quote or summary, ideas that are not your own must ALWAYS be
attributed to the original source. The author should be acknowledged in the
referencing style of your department.
Eight Tips for Effective Paraphrasing and Summarising
1. Have a clear purpose in mind before you commence reading and note taking.
Decide what and how much detail is needed.
2. Reread the passage until you understand it thoroughly.
3. Jot down the main points.
4. Set aside the original, and rewrite the text in your own words. This way you
will not be tempted to plagiarise!
5. Aim to synthesise and integrate other people's thoughts with your own. You
can use opening gambits to introduce the idea e.g. Paraha (1992) found
that... As Jones (2000) has recently indicated...
6. It is unacceptable to simply replace words from the original statement with
words or phrases with similar meanings, or to rearrange the sentence or
paragraph.
7. Use quotation marks within a paraphrase when you want to utilise the
author's exact language.
8. If you do quote an author, ensure that the wording, punctuation and spelling
are exactly the same as the original.
Paraphrasing - good and bad examples
Original text:
For example, McDonald's has expanded rapidly overseas in recent years. Its skill in
managing fast-food operations has proven to be just as valuable in countries as
diverse as France, Russia, China, Germany and Brazil as they have been in the
United States. Prior to McDonald's entry, none of these countries had American-style
fast-food chains, so McDonald's brought a unique product as well as unique skills to
each country.
From Hill, C. W. L. (1994). International business: Competing in the global
marketplace. Illinois: Irwin.
Acceptable paraphrase:
Hill (1994) cites McDonald's as an example of a company that has been able to
successfully expand into the international market. McDonald's has created a global
impact not only with its "American-style" fast-food products, but its particular brand of
management practices.
Acceptable summary:
McDonald's has successfully established both its product and operating style in many
countries outside the United States (Hill, 1994).
Plagiarism!
In recent years, McDonald's has expanded rapidly overseas. In countries as diverse
as France, Russia, China, Germany and Brazil they have proven to be just as
valuable at managing fast-food chains as in the United States. Previously, none of
these countries had American-style fast-food chains. McDonald's brought unique
skills and a unique product to these countries.
2. Diagrams
You must include diagrams, sketches, maps and tables within your essays. These
should be original (completely your own), adapted (taking a diagram from the
resource and changing it somehow), maybe a map showing something, a flow
diagram (see below) a graph (could be a simple line graph or a more complex graph)
to show an idea. Could be one of the thinking maps etc.
Diagrams
and Graphs
etc need to
be included
in the essay
itself.
Effects of (and events that lead to) the
global food crisis
Cyclones,
droughts and
heatwaves
Population
growth
Limited
arable land
TWO
illustrated
essays are
required in
the exam..
Higher food
prices than
normal
Eg Myanmar,
rice
Changing
eating habits
Skyrocketing
food prices
Land
degradation
GLOBAL
FOOD CRISIS
Starvation and
hunger plus
malnutrition
Saltwater
leaking into
aquifers
increasing land
salinity and
reducing food
produced
Essay type questions to plan
Critically evaluate the impact that mining on conservation lands might have on
people and places across the globe.
Use information from the resources provided and other information from your
geographical studies.
You MUST support your answer by incorporating and referring to appropriate visuals
within your essay. These can be adapted or original diagrams, graphs or maps.
Main idea you are going to
develop
Examples specific detail
Possible diagrams