
Learn how to develop your skills here
Learn how to develop your skills here
HOW TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY WRITING
Highlighters, if used properly can have a huge impact on a student in terms of developing their extended writing skills. They should be used to highlight the connectives needed when addressing a specific command term.
For example, if you are asked to compare and contrast, once you have finished your answer, highlight the connectives you have used to answer the question properly. If you only highlight one/two connectives, then you most likely haven't answered the question properly which means your answer can be improved. If on the other hand, you have 4/5 connectives highlighted, then you know you are answering the question right in terms of skill requirements.
Top tips for students:
Use a different colour highlighter to address a different skill
For example - orange - effect (as a result/therefore/this could lead to)
Green - evaluation - to conclude, my most important reason, short term/long term, however, even though
Blue - application/linking - data/facts/figures/stats/ key information from a case study
Yellow - compare and contrast - connectives that either compare or contrast
Watch the examples below.
Understand how you are being assessed
From an assessment/exam perspective, Bloom's Taxonomy is a set of hierarchical skills that need to be demonstrated when it comes to extended writing. These skills are linked to a set of command terms that are asked across all subjects.
You start at the bottom of the hierarchy where you need to answer low order thinking skills questions such as list/state/identify. Here you are demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of concepts/topics. As you move up the hierarchy, the skills you need to demonstrate get more and more challenging where you need to be able to answer questions that begin with command terms such as describe/ explain/compare and contrast.
Towards the top of the hierarchy, you come across higher order thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. When students have to do this, questions will begin with words such as discuss/recommend/justify.These are some of the hardest skills to demonstrate which is why they will have the highest marks in an exam.
Most common types of command terms?
Level:
Easy
List
State
Identify
Suggest
Level:
Medium
Describe
Compare & Contrast
Explain
Analyse
Level:
Difficult
Evaluate
Discuss
Justify
Recommend
Assess
Do you agree
Examine
What does each command term mean?