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Understanding the Assignment: 

Now that you've been assigned a reading, and have actually read it, you'll probably be asked to write about it. So, let's review some of the most common key words in the writing assignment that often accompany a reading. This will help you know you're expected to write. A sentence example follows each definition:  

Analyze:  Hey, we recognize this one! We already know that this word means that we're going to break something down into its parts and then discuss the parts. 

 
Analyze Franz's idea of "the good life". 

Classify: When we classify something, we arrange the material into groups according to shared features. 

 
Classify the different types of minerals found in the Traid Rock Formation. 

Compare & Contrast:  This is a very popular assignment. You're required to show both the similarities and the differences. 

 
Compare and contrast the tragic love stories in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. 

Criticize:  To criticize means that you give your opinion about both the good and bad aspects of something. 

Define:  To give a definition of something means to indicate its meaning. 

 
Define "Yellow Journalism". 

Discuss: To discuss an issue is to consider the majority of elements that compose that issue. 

 
Until now, campus security has served the campus community wielding only their night-sticks. Discuss the possible effects of giving guns to campus security officers. 

Evaluate:  If you are asked to evaluate something, you are asked to give our opinion about the value of something. 

 
Evaluate Princess Diana's contribution to the charity movement. 

Illustrate:  Show by examples that something is so. 

 
Illustrate the author's use of metaphor in the essay, "The Medium is the Message". 

Justify:   Justify means to prove that something is valid or correct. 

Prove:  To prove your point, you must present evidence that supports your point. 

 
Prove that Booth's opinion is correct. 

Relate:  To relate several things to each other means to show the connections or the interrelationship between two or more things. 

Relate Culler's theory of an "inner life" with Hamlet's monologues.
 

Writing a Response: 

Your response must not only contain enough information so that the reader of your response does not need to refer to the text, but also can understand how you arrived at your opinions and thoughts. In other words, you must support your responses with clear and comprehensive textual references. Remember your audience. Who are you writing to?  Remember your purpose - are you writing to inform or persuade?  Most importantly, don't forget to make sure you've answered the question completely - what does this question require you to write?