Comprehending questions

Question What to focus on

Comment on the appropriateness of the title In terms of the article as a whole why could the title be considered
appropriate? Link what is said in the title (break it down if appropriate)
to what the content of the article consists of. Look for emotive
words/rhetorical questions and figures of speech/plays on words.
Discuss the effectiveness of the word…in the context of the Diction/word choice. Look for words that have particular
passage./Critically evaluate the diction in paragraph…. connotations/emotive words/figures of speech. Words that engage
the reader/designed to elicit a response. Propaganda?
Subjective/’objective’. Formal/informal/colloquial words. Why have
they been chosen?
Always bear in mind the writer’s intention, purpose in writing the text
and why the particular words were chosen/what purpose they serve
in terms of reflecting the writer’s purpose. Consider too the audience
and what impact these words are designed to have/feelings designed
to evoke/attitudes they feed into.
Critically evaluate the purpose of the emotive language in Identify the emotive word first
paragraph…
Comment on the writer’s attitude in line…. The following method may assist with a question like this which asks
you to comment on the writer’s attitude or tone,
STOP!
State The Obvious Point
In this case, the obvious point is the writer’s tone/attitude.
First give the writer’s attitude
Then say how you determine this by the word choice and the way in
which something is said

What is the writer’s intention in referring to…. First identify the writer’s intention and then show how what is said is a
clear indication of that intention. Look at diction, emotive words.
Do you agree with…. Justify your response. Make an informed comment. Please do not write ‘yes I agree’ or ‘no, I
don’t agree’. Make sure that you understand what the writer is saying
and then discuss why you agree with or disagree with the writer’s
view. Justify means provide sensible, logical, coherent and
To what extent do you share the writer’s view that ….Justify relevant/pertinent reasons why you are saying what you write. Do not
your response. make superficial statements.
State what the writer’s view is and then give reasons as to why the
writer has this view. ‘Account for’ in this sense suggests that you give
reasons as to why the writer feels a particular way.
Account for the writer’s view in paragraph…. Look for ’key’ words in the text and consider the connection between
these and the visual. Don’t always look at the surface meaning of the
visual. What does the visual imply/what connotations? Make sure that
you make clear connections between the visual and the text. Be
systematic in your answer. Refer to as many different possible
meanings in the text and show how the visual is used to reinforce
these.
Briefly explain how the visual reinforces the text. A writer’s style is what sets his or her writing apart and makes it
unique. Style is the way writing is dressed up (or down) to fit the
specific context, purpose, or audience. Word choice, sentence
fluency, and the writer’s voice — all contribute to the style of a piece
of writing. How a writer chooses words and structures sentences to
achieve a certain effect is also an element of style.
For example, the first-person narrative style of a popular magazine
like National Geographic is quite different from the objective, third-
person expository style of a research journal like Scientific American,
even though both are written for informational purposes.
 Style is not a matter of right and wrong but of what is appropriate for
a particular setting and audience.
WORD CHOICE(DICTION)
Good writers are concise and precise, weeding out unnecessary
words and choosing the exact word to convey meaning.
Good writers also choose words that contribute to the flow of a
sentence. Polysyllabic words, alliteration, and consonance can be
used to create sentences that roll off the tongue. Onomatopoeia and
short, staccato words can be used to break up the rhythm of a
sentence.
SENTENCES
Sentence fluency is the flow and rhythm of phrases and sentences.
Good writers use a variety of sentences with different lengths and
rhythms to achieve different effects.
VOICE
Voice is an essential element of style that reveals the writer’s
personality. A writer’s voice can be impersonal or chatty, authoritative
or reflective, objective or passionate, serious or funny.
Source http://www.learnnc.org/lp/people/59
To what extent do you regard TEXT A as successful in TONE
engaging the reader? Justify your response by referring to Tone, in writing, is an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an
the style of TEXT A. audience. Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or
the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.
Every written piece comprises a central theme or subject matter. The
manner in which a writer approaches this theme and subject is the
tone. The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad,
and cheerful.
Tone, in literature, decides how they readers read a literary piece and
Both TEXT A and TEXT B address the issue of …. In your how they should feel while they are reading it. It stimulates the
view, which text is likely to have a greater impact on the readers to read a piece of literature as serious, comical, spectacular
reader? Justify your response by comparing the styles of the or distressing. In addition, tone lends shape and life to a piece of
texts. literature because it creates a mood.
http://literarydevices.net/tone/
Comment on the difference in tone between…

QUESTION ANSWERING TECHNIQUES

Always ensure that you read the question carefully.
Highlight what it is you are required to do: Account for,
compare, discuss, explain.
Make sure that you know the difference between these.

Analyse carefully what the question requires of you. Break

the question down and identify exactly what steps you need
to take to effectively respond to what you are being asked.
LEARN THE FOLLOWING QUESTION WORDS AND WHAT THEY MEAN
● ANALYSE: you must break it down to its component parts and say how they work
● ACCOUNT FOR: give a reason
● COMMENT ON/CRITICALLY COMMENT ON: you must say whether the
word/image/paragraph/etc works well or not; then you must give reasons why it works
well, or does not work well.
● COMPARE: say what the two things have in common AND what is different about them –
there MUST be TWO parts in your answer: The first example shows this and the second
example shows that
● CONTRAST: say what is different between the two things (useful conjunctions: whereas, on
the other hand, while, alternatively) – there MUST be TWO parts in your answer:
● DESCRIBE: tell about, eg ‘describe the scene’=say what it looks like
● DISCUSS: talk about all sides of an issue, looking at the differing ideas equally
● EFFECTIVENESS: say how well or badly it works
● EVALUATE: say how well or badly it works
● EXPLAIN: give reasons
● GIVE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR ANSWER: give reasons for your answer
● IN YOUR OPINION: say what you think: you need to state what you think; then explain
(GIVE REASONS) why you think that way. NB Most often, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
answer for this type of question – the marks are all in how clearly you put your case!
● IN YOUR VIEW: say what you think: you need to state what you think; then explain (GIVE
REASONS) why you think that way. NB Most often, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer for
this type of question – the marks are all in how clearly you put your case!
● IRONY: any question dealing with irony must have two parts: “This is what it appears to be,
but that is what it really is.” OR “One would expect this, but then this is what it really is”
● JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER: give reasons for your answer
● MOTIVATE YOUR ANSWER: give reasons for your answer
● PLACE IN CONTEXT: to put something in context means you must say what happened
before this that led to the incident/action in the passage; and what happens as a result
of the incident/action in the passage
● SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER: give reasons for your answer
● SUBSTANTIATE YOUR ANSWER: give reasons for your answer