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Sometimes essay questions contain an instruction word or expression which indicates the approach you should take.

In this case, you are instructed to make judgements about the media coverage. You might ask yourself: How good or bad was it? Or: To what extent was it fair, accurate, or thorough?

Notice how changing the instruction word changes the approach.

For example: Analyse media coverage of the 2008 banking crisis.

This question requires you to study media coverage in order to come to an understanding of why it was the way it was. This might involve looking for patterns or dividing it into categories in such a way that allows you to understand it more deeply. You might ask yourself questions such as: How frequently was the banking crisis mentioned in the news? Which aspects of the crisis were given most attention? What sort of language was used to describe the crisis?

Exercise 3

Instruction words often appear in the introductions to essays and reports. Complete the essay extracts below by underlining the most appropriate word in italics.

1 Section 1 will discuss/justify racial stereotyping with regard to the ‘big five’ personality traits. Section 2 assesses/examines the interplay between cultural stereotypes and media representations of minority ethnic communities.

2 This essay compares and contrasts/outlines the main components of the government’s poverty reduction strategy… A final evaluation will trace/assess the extent to which government measures to reduce child poverty have met targets set in 2000.

3 This study will trace/justify the one-thousand-year history of the Catalan language. It will then outline/compare and contrast Spanish policy on minority language protection with that of the Scottish government in relation to Gaelic.

4 This essay will argue that there is little evidence to justify/outline arguments in favour of state intervention.

Exercise 4

Eight common instruction words and expressions along with examples are given in the table below. Match each expression with the correct definition a–h.

Instructions	Definitions
1 Assess the European Central Bank’s response to the Eurozone financial crisis.	a Give a description or explanation of something
2 Compare and contrast social media use among young people in the United States and in China.	b Describe how something happened or developed
3 Discuss the principal factors that are commonly thought to influence a person’s choice of life partner.	c Describe the similarities and differences between two or more things
4 Examine the impact of management style on teamwork in organizations.	d Give reasons and evidence in support of an opinion
5 Give an account of the role of ribonucleic acid in protein synthesis.	e Investigate closely and in detail
6 To what extent should parents be held responsible for criminal acts committed by their children? Justify your view.	f Make a judgement about something, for example how good or bad it is
7 Outline the key components of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.	g Consider a topic from different points of view in order to reach a decision about it
8 Trace the history of the comic book.	h Describe the main features of something

Exercise 5

Write definitions for the instruction words in bold below.

1 Comment on the key components of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

2 Illustrate the impact of management style on teamwork in organizations.

3 Relate the principal factors that are commonly thought to influence a person’s choice of life partner to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.