Introduction
Would you rather think like the lecturer that set your assignment question while answering it, instead of going by your own interpretation? How can you think like the lecturer when you don’t have the superpower to read minds? Actually, you can read the part of the lecturer’s mind that matters for your answer. The clues are all in the command words!
What are Command Words?
Besides the general instructions in assignment question papers or briefs, command words tell you what to do specifically when writing your answers. This is the case in business and management studies, as well as several other study areas.
Some popular command words are describe, discuss, analyse and evaluate. See the list of command words and meaning shared by the University of Leeds Library here. Be sure to use the meaning provided by your university. This is because different universities have minor variations. Let’s use the command words in the sample question below to read the lecturer’s mind.
How Can I Describe Like A lecturer?
University of Leeds Library (2023, p.1) defines describe as “give a detailed or graphic account, keeping to the facts or to the impressions that an event had upon you. In history, this entails giving a narrative account of the events in the time sequence they occurred.”
To answer the question above, the description should clarify that the benefits to consumers and to businesses differ. However, the focus is on the business ones. A benefit of internet marketing can be cost reduction. The description should include details of how the spending on TV, radio, billboard, direct mail, and print ads can be reduced because of internet marketing.
Facts or data on how the traditional advertising budget of the businesses looked at have reduced over time can be used to support this. This can be found via research. If another benefit such as better targeting is included, details around this should be included in the description.
How Can I analyse Like a Lecturer?
To analyse, you have to “examine an issue in very close detail and break it into constituent parts. Look in depth at each part using supporting arguments and evidence for and against as well as how these interrelate to each other” (University of Leeds Library, 2023, p.1). An issue would normally be within a subject or topic area. This can be narrowed down into a concept or theory. The analysis definition above has five parts.
Firstly, using the example above, to analyse the benefits of internet marketing (cost reduction), it has to be broken into its constituent parts. These include social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimisation, and affiliate and influencer marketing.
Secondly, one of the parts (social media marketing for example) has to be dealt with at a time, in detail, as much as the word count allows. Thirdly, sources or literature on how social media marketing helps reduce costs compared to traditional marketing should be researched and paraphrased. Facts or data can be used to support this. This is “supporting arguments and evidence for”. That of against is in step four.
Fourthly, sources on how social media marketing does not reduce cost should be researched too and paraphrased with facts or data as evidence. Lastly, what connects the third and fourth stages together should be mentioned. For example, advertising on a platform such as Facebook may be more expensive and may not reduce cost but on a less expensive platform such as Twitter it may reduce cost.
How about Evaluating Like a Lecturer?
Evaluation is to “make an appraisal of the worth of something, an argument or a set of beliefs, in the light of their truth or usefulness. This does involve making your own value judgements, but not just naked opinion: they must be backed up by argument and justification” (University of Leeds Library, 2023, p.2).
Evaluation can be built on analysis. That is, your argument or judgement should be informed by what you have done in steps three and four of the analysis. In short, it is always safer academically to analyse before evaluating. This is because an argument or judgement that is not backed by the literature or facts is just an opinion. Unsupported opinions are not beneficial to your grade at levels five and above.
Conclusion
Besides the clarity that understanding command words give you when answering assignment questions, they contribute to your grades significantly when done properly. Having a go at some of them may not seem straightforward initially, but with practice, it becomes second nature. Knowing how to use command words when answering assignment questions is even more important from the second year of undergraduate studies (level 5). This is because your level five grades normally contribute to your final degree classification. Click here to learn How to Answer Assignment Questions Like a Lecturer!
Drop your questions (and thoughts) in the comment box below.
