ABSTRACT
The worst mistake one can make in essay writing is failing to answer the question asked. Essay questions or assignment titles usually contain instruction words such as ‘discuss’, ‘summarise’ or ‘criticise’. It is worth underlining or circling the key instruction word to remind one to focus on it. This chapter lists some of them together with brief suggestions about what they are instructing one to do. One should always think about the instruction words in their actual context. Some of the comments about the words may not be relevant to the context of the question; they are just there as broad guidelines. Direct questions give a focus for one's concluding paragraph: that paragraph should address what has been asked head-on, as, in many cases, should one's opening paragraph.
