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A command word does not operate independently of the subject, evidence and limits around it. Compare two theories in a particular case is different from summarise everything you know about both. Identify the object of the task, the required operation and the stated scope. Use your course’s explanations where available. Generic lists of verbs can be a starting aid, but they cannot override the meaning established by the actual assignment.
Distinguish description from analysis
Description tells a reader what something contains or what happened. Analysis examines relationships, parts or mechanisms relevant to the question. A response can include description without stopping there. For practice, take a descriptive sentence and add the connection it leaves unexplained. Do not merely replace ordinary verbs with academic-sounding ones. The reasoning changes when you explain how one feature affects the interpretation of another.
Make the comparison consequential
A comparison needs a basis: a shared question, relevant criterion or difference that matters. Listing one account and then another does not by itself explain their relationship. Choose dimensions justified by the task, and make similarities or differences visible along those dimensions. Where the objects are not directly comparable, explain why. Artificial symmetry can make a neat essay structure at the cost of an inaccurate account.
Evaluate with stated criteria
An evaluation requires reasons for a judgment. Identify the criteria and explain why they fit the question. A personal preference is not automatically an evaluation, and a long list of weaknesses does not establish the relative strength of alternatives. Consider the quality of evidence, assumptions and applicability as relevant. Keep the conclusion proportionate: a method can be useful for one purpose and unsuitable for another without being universally good or bad.
Translate the prompt into an outline
Write a one-sentence account of what a successful response would demonstrate. Then assign each planned section a role in meeting that demand. Remove material that is interesting but does not serve it. If you remain unsure, ask the teaching team about the task’s intended operation with a specific example. This is more useful than asking whether a completed essay is good while leaving its central interpretation of the question unexamined.
