The first step in answering an essay question is to correctly interpret the meaning of the direction words.  Before you take an essay test, learn the meanings of the following direction words.  Pay special attention to the often misinterpreted meanings of compare, criticize, and justify, and notice that describe, explain, and illustrate each have two meanings.

Direction Word	Meaning	Sample Questions
Compare	Discuss similarities and differences	Compare democracy and communism
Contrast	Discuss differences	Contrast Catholicism and Protestantism
Criticize (or Evaluate)	Discuss the good and bad points of a subject and conclude whether it is primarily good or bad	Criticize or evaluate the death penalty
Describe	Write as much as you can OR Write about the subject so that it can be visualized	Describe 17th Century American life Describe a nutritious diet
Define	Give a specific, detailed meaning	Define psychopath
Diagram	Draw a picture and label its parts	Diagram the parts of the human ear
Discuss	Write as much as you can	Discuss test taking skills
Enumerate	Make a numbered list	Enumerate good listening habits
Explain	Write as much as you can OR Discuss reasons	Explain democracy Explain why the US entered WW II
Illustrate	Draw a picture and label its parts OR Give a long written example	Illustrate the parts of the human eye Illustrate the use of the SQ3R study formula
Justify	Discuss the good and bad points of a subject and conclude that it is good.	Justify US expenditures on military defense
List	Make a numbered list	List good manners for business employees
Outline	Make a numbered or well-organized list	Outline basic test taking strategies
Relate	Discuss the connection between or among topics	Relate leaning by television to learning by reading
Summarize	Briefly state	Summarize the accomplishments of the Clinton administration
Trace	Discuss in a logical or chronological sequence	Trace the events that caused the United States to go to war with Iraq