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Understanding Key Exam Instruction Words

By: Mark Miller

One of the hardest things students often find about sitting exams is that those setting exams seem to enjoy using a whole range of instruction words which must be understood to answer the questions correctly. As a few marks can make a world of a difference in terms of overall grades, it is well worth reviewing the likely instructions or terminology commonly used within exam questions.
Exam Questions Include Interpret, Justify and List
When reading the word interpret in a question, simply exchange it in one's head for the words explain and evaluate. Undertaking an interpretation basically means that the candidate is required to first explain and identify key points about a specific subject and then conclude with a judgment about the subject otherwise known as an evaluation. If the exam question asks for a justification relating to a statement then all that is required is to come up with some reasons which support the view or subject matter. Sometimes justifying will require one to play devil's advocate and put oneself in another person's shoes to see the issue from an entirely different perspective or view point.
A very common form of instruction in exams is the word list which simply involves recording key aspects about a specific issue or subject possibly in a bullet point style of presentation or through using a table to clearly highlight the main points. The manner in which a list is presented will largely depend on the subject one is relating to; for example science requires a very different style of presentation to English literature.
Understanding How to Prove, Relate and Review
Another fairly common inclusion in exam questions involves being asked to either prove or disprove a theory or argument. This instruction requires the candidate to clearly state evidence for and against the argument, theory or statement being correct or plausible. Again, this type of instruction is far more likely to be given during science-based exams. The word relate usually includes some form of analysis to show how different themes or theories may be connected or linked together. In order to brainstorm this area it can help to use a spider diagram or a Venn diagram.
An additional instruction which is common in most essay style questions in exams involves the candidate having to review specific issues. A review must include key information on how the data or facts come together and requires main points to be clearly stated and organised into paragraphs or different lists.
Exams Require Students to State, Suggest, Summarize and Trace
Stating simple involves listing the key points and does not require the candidate to get into a long discussion as exam questions involving this instruction tend to be in short-answer format. The exam instruction to suggest basically involves offering key reasons why something is the way it is and may also likely indicate that quotes are needed to achieve optimum marks. One of the most common instructions involves summarising which simply means restating or summing up the key points without including new information or going into detail.
Finally, in subjects such as history, the instruction to trace is often required and typically this will involve using dates, theory stages and key aspects associated with historic events or historical figures. Including a chronological time-line may help to ensure that key information is not omitted or in the wrong order.
As highlighted above, a large part of exams is being able to understand exactly what the instructions actually mean in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. During revision it is important to practice answering such instructions as part of exam preparation.

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