ANSWERING THE EXAM TASK

In order to do well on the exam, it is extremely important that you interpret the tasks
correctly and do exactly what they ask you to do. Here is a course on how to do this. Note
that in this course we target only the long answer, part 2, of the exam.

PART 1: Common instructional words

An important part of interpreting a task correctly is to know what the instructional words
mean. Here is a table presenting the most common instructional words used on the exams
given in recent years, along with explanations of what they mean.

Instructional word Explanation

Describe, present, Show your knowledge about a specific topic in a neutral and
inform, give an factual way. Do not include personal opinions.
account of

Explain Use your own words to make something clear.

Comment (up)on Use your own common sense and present observations or
opinions about the topic, quote, dilemma etc. in question.

Illustrate Explain something by giving examples.

Sum up/summarise Present the main points without examples or details. Do not
include new ideas when you sum up.

Refer to Mention the text, issue etc. you are asked to refer to when you
write.

Compare, contrast Find similarities and differences between two or more ideas,
situations, people etc.

The word “contrast” indicates that you should focus mainly on the
differences.

Analyse Examine the text critically and in detail, so as to bring out the
essential elements and explain their function and the relationship
between them. Do not retell the content.

Examples: A poem consists of various literary devices that you

can study. An article may consist of various facts and arguments
that you can examine more closely.

Assess, evaluate Determine the value (relevance, significance and quality)of

something in a careful and thoughtful way. Make a judgement

Discuss See an issue from different points of view. Present arguments

both for and against something.

No instructional Not all tasks contain clear instructional words. Sometimes you
words? will simply be asked to write a text about a certain topic. When
that is the case, make sure you include all the points the task

Gyldendal Undervisning
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 asks you to include.

PART 2: Step-by-step guide

How to do exactly what the task asks you to do:

STEP 1: Understand the words. Read all the words in the task carefully and make sure you
understand what they mean. If you are in doubt, use your dictionary.

STEP 2: Identify instructional words. Underline the instructional words in the task.
Remember that many tasks contain more than one instructional word. (Examples: “explain”,
“compare”, “discuss” etc.)

STEP 3: Clarify requirements. Clarify what the task asks you to include.
 What exactly is the topic?
 Who is the audience?
 What is the purpose of the text?
 In which genre should the text be written?
 Do I need to refer to or use any specific sources or quotations?

STEP 4: Find relevant aids. Find the texts and the aids which are relevant for your writing.
Examples of relevant aids are the preparation material, your text book, various articles,
documents from your teacher, your dictionary and your own notes.

STEP 5: Create an outline. Create an outline in which you decide what to include in your
text. In many tasks, the outline has already been made for you in the form of bullet points
telling you what you should or must include. If the task does not contain any bullet points,
create your own.

STEP 6: Write the text. Start writing and remember that most people edit their text several
times before they consider themselves finished.

This form may be of help when you interpret a task:

STEPS NOTES
Step 1 Vocabulary: Are there any
words you do not
understand?
Step 2 What are the instructional
words?

Step 3 Clarify requirements. Topic:

Audience:
Purpose:
Genre:
Refer to/use:
Step 4 What are the relevant aids
for this task?

Step 5 Create an outline.

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PART 3: Practice

Below you will find tasks from two exams given recently. Your teacher may also give you the
complete exam set including the preparation material and the appendices. Use the form
above to apply the step-by-step guide to each task. The first task in each set has already
been interpreted.

Spring exam 2014

TASK 1
Discuss the issue of global warming by responding to the quotations below and providing your
own ideas and opinions based on what you have studied in your English course.

Quotations

Quotation 1
The truth is, as most of us know, that global warming is real and humans are major
contributors, mainly because we wastefully burn fossil fuels.
David Suzuki
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2012/08/climate-change-deniers-are-
almost-extinct/

Quotation 2
Dealing with global warming doesn't mean we have all got to suddenly stop breathing.
Dealing with global warming means that we have to stop waste, and if you travel for no
reason whatsoever, that is a waste.
David Attenborough
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davidatten454712.html

Quotation 3
The whole global warming thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and
our economic stability.
Jerry Falwell Jr.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jerryfalwe390287.html

Quotation 4
Would you bet your pay-check on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should
the USA bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation?
Thomas Sowell
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomassowe371252.html

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Suggested interpretation of Task 1

STEPS NOTES
Step 1 Vocabulary: Are there any Provide = komme med/sette frem
words you do not
understand?
Step 2 What are the instructional Discuss
words?

Step 3 Clarify requirements Topic: Global warming

Audience: Not specified
Purpose: Present different facts and opinions,
including my own, about global warming
Genre: Not specified
Refer to/use:
- The 4 quotations given in the task.
- What I have studied in my course
Step 4 What are the relevant aids Example
for this task?  My dictionary
 My notes from the lecture about global
warming in class
 My notes from Al Gore’s film, “An
Unconvenient Truth”
 The texts in our textbook
 The document about linking words
Step 5 Create an outline Example
 An introduction presenting the issue of
global warming
 Arguments for global warming being real
(and I will refer to the quotes)
 Arguments against global warming being
real (and I will refer to the quotes)
 What humans can do about global
warming
 What humans cannot do about global
warming
 My own opinions about this issue
 A conclusion where I sum up the main
points

TASK 2
In the extract in Appendix 1, Zaiba has been arrested in Bangladesh.

Discuss some of the pros and cons of Western news reporting in other parts of the world in
light of what happens to Zaiba.

TASK 3
In the extract in Appendix 1, in addition to telling the story of her arrest in Bangladesh, Zaiba
also reveals something about growing up in a multicultural society.

Compare some of Zaiba’s experiences of living in a multicultural society to similar experiences

of other characters or people you have studied in your English course.

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TASK 4
Read the two poems in Appendix 2.

Discuss the issues the two poems present and use examples to show how the poets’
messages are conveyed.

Autumn exam 2013

TASK 5
In your course you have studied global challenges through English-language literature and
films.

Write a text in which you reflect on how effective a literary text and a film have been in
raising your awareness about one or two global challenges. Use examples from each work.

Suggested interpretation of Task 5

STEPS NOTES
Step 1 Vocabulary: Are there any Awareness = bevissthet, forståelse
words you do not
understand?
Step 2 What are the instructional Reflect
words?

Step 3 Clarify requirements Topic: How a literary text and a film have raised
my awareness about a global challenge.
Audience: Not specified
Purpose: Inform the reader about how a literary
text and a film have raised my awareness about
a global challenge.
Genre: Not specified
Refer to/use: Examples from both the literary
text and the film.
Step 4 What are the relevant aids Example
for this task?  My dictionary
 The literary text
 The film
 The factual texts about the global issue in
the textbook
Step 5 Create an outline Example
 An introduction presenting the global
issue, the literary text and the film
 Facts about the global issue
 How the literary text raised my awareness
about the global issue
 How the film raised my awareness about
the global issue
 A conclusion summing up the main points

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TASK 6
In the extract from the novel Honour by Elif Shafak in Appendix 1 we read about Iskender
Toprak, an immigrant boy in the UK, his sister Esma and his friend Arshad.

Write a text in which you discuss what the extract reveals about being an immigrant and
compare this to the experiences of another immigrant character in a film or literary text from
your course.

TASK 7
Using the statistics in Appendix 2 and the quotations in the box below, write a text in which
you discuss the global refugee problem.

Quotation 1
While every refugee's story is different and their anguish personal, they all share a common
thread of uncommon courage – the courage not only to survive, but to persevere and rebuild
their shattered lives.
-Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 2005

Quotation 2
We are all part of the human family and we should be about doing what all good families do -
caring for our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
-Dan O'Neill, Founder, Mercy Corps

Quotation 3
We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle, or zoos. We are people and we want to be
respected, not to be victims of intolerance and racism.
-Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 1992

Quotation 4
When I arrived in America, though I had left the war physically far behind, in my mind, the
soldiers were still chasing to kill me, my stomach was always hungry, and my fear and
distrust kept me from opening up to new friendships. I thought the war was over when I left
Cambodia, but I realize now that for survivors and all those involved, the war is never over
just because the guns have fallen silent.
-Loung Ung

http://www.betterworld.net/quotes/refugee-quotes-4.htm

TASK 8
For years young people have taken internships, which means that they join a company or an
organization for a limited period of time to gain work experience in a profession or business.
This has become an increasingly popular way of working abroad. But as with most things in
life there are two sides to the story.

Using the material in the box below, write a text in which you discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of being an intern in a foreign country and whether you would consider
working as one.