Essay Writing Techniques:

Step One: Analysing My Topic

By: Ms Lynne April
Academic Literacy Facilitator
UNISA Parow Campus
QALitCT@unisa.ac.za

Outcomes

Be able to analyse your essay topic by:
Knowing the different categories of task words
and their function.
Should be able to identify a poor analysis of a
topic from a good analysis.
Interpreting an Essay Topic
Here we look for key words.
Action words/task words
Limiting words
Content words

These words provide you with direction
as to how you proceed with your essay
Task Words
Tell you WHAT you have
to do; the action you need
to perform.
Three categories:

Information Words
- Ask you to demonstrate
what you know about the
subject such as WHO, WHAT,
WHEN, WHERE, HOW and
WHY

Define, Explain, Illustrate, Summarize, Trace,
Research
Task Words
Relation Words
Interpretation words

Ask you to demonstrate
how things are connected
Ask you to defend ideas of
your own about the
subject. These do not
request opinion alone
(unless so indicated) but as
opinion that is supported by
concrete evidence.
Assess, Prove, Justify,
Evaluate, Respond,
Support,
Compare, Contrast, Apply,
Cause, Relate
Task Words
Content words
- Indicate the topic area
and what you should write
about


Limiting words
- These limit and focus your
essay/assignment/
research topic.
- Define the topic area
further
- Aspects of the topic on
which you should focus
Education, computers,
HIV, teenage
pregnancies, language
acquisition
Impact, changes,
influence, development,
Activity One: Analyze Essay Topic:
Identify the key words based on previous slides
In the last 20 years, rates of divorce have risen
significantly in Western countries. Critically
analyse some of the different explanations
given for this phenomenon. In your discussion
you should consider what implications these
explanations might have for social policy.
Answers:
In the last 20 years, rates of divorce have
risen significantly in Western countries.
Critically analyse some of the different
explanations given for this phenomenon. In
your discussion you should consider what
implications these explanations might have
for social policy
Categorising the Answers
last 20 years (Limiting)
risen significantly
(Limiting)
Western countries
(Limiting)
different explanations
(Limiting)
Implications (Limiting)

Critically analyse
(Information word)
Discuss (Information word)
Rate of Divorce (Content
word)
Social Policy (Content word)

Student Ones Interpretation
This essay topic is about divorce in Western
countries. I would look in detail at statistics for
divorce in various countries. I would then focus
on the effects of divorce, as discussed by
various sociologists. I would describe the
effects divorce is thought to have on parents
and on children. Then I would consider what
social policy solutions there are for the
problems arising from divorce.

Student Two
For this essay I would focus on why rates of
divorce have increased in Western countries. To
answer this question, I would give my own
critical explanation, focusing on what I know
from experience are the reasons why couples
choose to divorce. I would then interview a
number of divorced people I know asking them
what the reasons were for the breakdown of
their marriage. I would then consider current
social policies relating to divorce and find out
how well the people I interview have coped
since they were divorced.

Student Three
This topic states that divorce has risen in
Western countries. First I would want to find out
if this is the case by looking at statistics from a
number of countries. Assuming that the
proposition is true, I would then look at a variety
of accounts given by sociologists for this
increase. For each of these, I would consider
how adequate an explanation it is. The topic
seems to imply that rising divorce is a
phenomenon that needs to be addressed by
policy makers. I would then think about what
sort of social policy positions might follow on
from each explanation.

Thank You!