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Key Words

It is important to familiarize yourself with key words that may occur on essay response prompts. Some of the most frequently used key words are defined in the table on the following page. An example of each word in use follows the definition. Pay attention to action words.

Key Word	Definition	Example
Analyze	look closely both at the parts of the subject and at the subject in its entirety in order to describe how it works	Analyze how the legislative process works.
Apply	use what you know about the subject to demonstrate how it would work in a particular situation	Apply Piaget's theory of constructivism to the following scenario.
Cause/effect	show how one event, or a series of events, made something else happen	Explain the economic causes of the Civil War and the effects this war had on the South's economy.
Classify	place similar subjects together in a cohesive group, and explain why they were grouped together	Classify the following lab specimens. Explain why you placed each in the group you chose to place it in.
Compare	show how two or more things are similar	Compare "The Witch's Husband" to "The Moths"
Contrast	show how two or more things are different	Show how "Wear It in Good Health" differs from "The Moths"
Criticize	explore the good points and the bad points related to a specific subject	Criticize Beng's argument on legalizing marijuana. What fallacies exist? What are the good points of the argument?
Define	give the subject's meaning	Define natural selection.
Describe	create a mental picture with words	Describe Charlotte's feelings upon learning of her husbands death.
Discuss	examine or talk about an issue from all sides	Discuss the new student parking policy. Remember to examine all sides of the argument.
Diagram	organize information into a visual representation	Draw a diagram illustrating how a local area network (lan) functions.
Evaluate	make a statement and back it with evidence	Evaluate Johnson's choice. Was it right or wrong? Provide evidence to support your response.
Explain	clarify in detail	Explain why Custer chose to attack the Sioux camp on June 25, 1876
Interpret	explain the meaning of a subject that is beyond previously cited examples	Interpret the poem "Kitchenette Building."
Illustrate	give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each example relates to the subject	Illustrate three examples of faulty arguments. Show that each of your examples commits a fallacy.
Justify	give reasons or examples that support why something is the truth	Explain why Darwin's theory of natural selection is still supported today.
List	give information not in paragraph form, but in a numbered or sequenced format	List three primary causes of the Civil War.
Outline	give information organized by main points and sub points	Construct and outline of the main events in Of Mice and Men.
Predict	take a subject and state what is likely to occur based on the current information	Using the following scenario, predict what will happen if behaviorism becomes the predominant form of management in Ms. Smith's classroom.
Prove	give reasons or examples that support why something is the truth	Prove why Washington's theory couldn't work.
Relate	show or describe connections among things	Relate constructivism to the Montessori method.
Research	gather information about the subject from outside sources and analyze it	Research the topic of dyslexia.
Review	examine or summarize in a logical order the key characteristics of the subject	Review Henry Clay's ideas on the emancipation of slaves.
State	present a concise statement about the subject	State Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development.
Summarize	cover the important ideas associated with the subject	Summarize "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.
Synthesize	put together two or more items and show the reason for putting them together	Using what we learned this semester, synthesize two classroom management styles.
Trace	outline how the subject has changed or developed over the course of time	Trace the development of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

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Essay Exams (Introduction)

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About the Author of

Essay Exams

Candice Chovanec Melzow began working in the Academic Center as a peer writing tutor in Spring 2002. Candice received a B.A. in English Literature with teacher certification in May 2004 and an M.A.I.S. with concentrations in literature and history in May 2006.