Tips on Interpreting Essay and Exam Questions

Social Research Methods

Tips on Interpreting Essayand Exam Questions

Contributors: Nicholas WallimanPrint Pub. Date: 2006Print ISBN: 9781412910620Online ISBN: 9781849209939DOI: 10.4135/9781849209939Print pages: 175-177

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods. Please note that thepagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

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of 5 Social Research Methods: Tips on InterpretingEssay and Exam Questions

Sage Research Methods

Tips on Interpreting Essay and ExamQuestions

Although examiners do not deliberately design questions to trick you or trip you up,they cannot always prevent you from seeing things that were not designed to be there.When one student was asked what the four seasons are, the response given was ‘salt,pepper, mustard and vinegar’. This was not quite what the examiner had in mind¡

If you write down the question you have chosen to address, and perhaps quietlyarticulate it with your lips, you are more likely to process fully its true meaning andintent. Think how easy it is to misunderstand a question that has been put to youverbally because you have misinterpreted the tone or emphasis.

Be well prepared when you go into the exam room, or address the course work essay,but be flexible enough to structure your learned material around the slant of thequestion.

If you are asked to discuss

Students often ask how much of their own opinion they should include in an essay. Ina discussion, when you raise one issue, another one can arise out of it. One tutor usedto introduce his lectures by saying that he was going to ‘unpack’ the arguments. Whenyou unpack an object (such as a new desk that has to be assembled), you first removethe overall packaging, such as a large box, and then proceed to remove the covers fromall the component parts. After that you attempt to assemble all the parts, according tothe given design, so that they hold together in the intended manner. In a discussion

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your aim should be not just to identify and define all the parts that contribute, but also toshow where they fit (or don't fit) into the overall picture.

Although the word ‘discuss’ implies some allowance for your opinion, remember thatthis should be informed opinion rather than groundless speculation. Also, there must bedirection, order, structure and an end project.

Checklist: Responses to a ‘discuss’ question

• # Responses should contain a chain of issues that lead into each other insequence.

• # Clear shape and direction are unfolded in the progression of the argument.• # Answers should be underpinned by reference to findings and certainties.• # Issues where doubt remains should be identified.• # The tone of argument may be tentative but should not be vague.

If you are asked to critique

One example that might help clarify what is involved in a critique is the hotly debatedtopic of the physical punishment of children. It is important, in the interest of balanceand fairness, to present all sides and shades of the argument. Therefore, you wouldlook at whether there is available evidence to support each argument, and you mightintroduce issues that have been coloured by prejudice, tradition, religion and legislation.You would aim to identify emotional arguments, arguments based on intuition and to getdown to those arguments that really have solid, evidence-based support. Finally, youwould want to flag up where the strongest evidence appears to lie, and you should alsoidentify issues that appear to be inconclusive. It would be expected that you should, ifpossible, arrive at some certainties.



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If you are asked to compare and contrast

When asked to compare and contrast, you should be thinking in terms of similarities anddifferences. You should ask what the two issues share in common, and what features ofeach are distinct. Your preferred strategy for tackling this might be to work first throughall the similarities and then through all the contrasts (or vice versa). On the other hand,you could discuss the similarities and differences of each point in turn.

When you compare and contrast you should aim to paint a true picture of the full‘landscape’.

If you are asked to evaluate

Some summary questions are presented below to guide you on the best approach toa question that asks you to evaluate a theory or concept in your own academic field ofstudy.

• Has the theory/concept stood the test of time?• Is there a supportive evidence base that would not easily be overturned?• Are there questionable elements that have been or should be challenged?• Does more recent evidence point to a need for modification?• Is the theory/concept robust and likely to be around for the foreseeable

future?• Could it be strengthened through being merged with other theories/concepts?

It should be noted that the words presented in the above examples might not alwaysbe the exact words that will appear on your exam script. For example, you might find‘analyse’ or ‘outline’ or ‘investigate’, etc. The best advice is to check over your pastexam papers and familiarize yourself with the words that are most recurrent.

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Tips on Interpreting Essay and Exam Questions

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