Step 2: Dissect your essay topic - Active Success at Uni

Academic Writing Steps

One of the most important steps in writing a university essay is making sure you clearly understand the topic question. A quick way to get started is to identify the task and limit words.

In an assignment topic, the task word(s) explains what action you have to take – in other words, what the assignment is asking you to do. The limit words limit you, they provide the boundaries of your topic.

Here is a list of common task words and their meanings.

Analyse

Take apart an idea to consider all its elements, and show the relationship between the elements.

Argue

Make a case for your point of view by presenting arguments supported by evidence.

Compare

Show the similarities (and perhaps differences) between ideas or things.

Contrast

Show the differences between ideas or things.

Debate

Argue from two or more viewpoints.

Define

Explain precisely the meaning of a concept.

Describe

Write what something is like, that is, its most relevant qualities/features. (You are not asked to explain or interpret.)

Discuss/ consider

Present a point of view. This is likely to need both description and interpretation. Your opinion must be supported by authoritative evidence.

Enumerate

List relevant facts or items.

Evaluate

Make a judgement about something, considering both strengths and weaknesses.

Examine

Consider or study something very carefully.

Explain

Tell how things work or how they came to be the way they are.

Illustrate

Use a figure, or a diagram or examples to explain what you mean.

Interpret

Explain the meaning of a concept, giving judgements supported by research or theory.

Justify

Show reasons, including evidence, to support your position or conclusions.

Outline/ summarise

Provide a concise account of all the main points or features.

Relate

Tell how some facts are connect to each other.

State

Present relevant points, in brief, clear sentence form.

Write brief notes

Provide the requested information in a concise form, clearly stated but not necessarily in full sentences.

The topic for the sample essay is:

Some consider that happiness is about how a person feels right now. Others think happiness is about our long-term sense of meaning or purpose. Compare and contrast these two viewpoints. Explain which is more persuasive.

Use your cursor to find three tasks or actions that all need to be met to answer this essay question.
The limit words give you the scope or provide the boundary around what you must write about to answer this essay question. Note some of the limits in the sample topic are phrases. Which of the following is a limit word:

‘that’?
‘happiness’?

In dissecting a topic, it can help you to highlight its task word(s) and to underline its limit words/phrases.

Again consider the sample essay topic. Both its task and limit words have now been indicated.

Some consider that happiness is about how a person feels right now. Others think happiness is about our long-term sense of meaning or purpose. Compare and contrast these two viewpoints. Explain which is more persuasive.

Do you want to know more?

At university, you will find that a variety of task words are used for different assessments. Generally, lower order task words require description (rather than analysis), for example, ‘describe’. Higher order task words require analysis, for example, ‘analyse’. Analysis requires not only a knowledge of the topic content, but a greater personal understanding of the subject matter and, very importantly, the establishment of your position (viewpoint, thesis) about the topic.

Activity – Lower and Higher Task Words

Following are some task words or phrases that are commonly used in university assignments. Drag and drop them according to whether you consider they would require higher or lower order thinking skills.

Analyse

Argue

Assess

Compare & contrast

Define

Describe

Discuss

Evaluate

Explain

Justify

List

Outline

Summarise

Write brief notes

Find causes why

Higher Order Task Words

Lower Order Task Words

Implied task words

Usually the task words in assignment questions are easy to identify. However, sometimes you may find that you have to answer an assignment question which does not have a very clear task word. This is where the task is implied, that is, suggested in an indirect way, and it is not directly stated.
The following example of an assignment question has an implied task word:

Why will future communication skills depend so heavily on dealing with increased quantities of information at a more rapid rate than in the past?

There is no clear task word in this assignment question. It does, however, have an implied task word – ‘why’ – which asks you to give reasons. Therefore, the task word could be considered to be ‘justify’ which is, show reasons, including evidence, to support your position or conclusion.
The next example of an assignment question also has an implied task word.

Violent computer games are having a negative impact on the way children behave. Do you agree or disagree?

Which would you consider to be the more appropriate task word: analyse or argue?

In this assignment question, you are being asked if you agree or not. In other words, you are required to argue your position concerning the question, and to try to convince the reader to share your opinions through making a case for your point of view by presenting arguments supported by evidence.