Understanding the prompt – difficult / out-of-the-box exam prompts

In this checkpoint we’re going to talk about how to understand the prompt when you have a difficult / out-of-the-box exam prompt.

These are prompts that many students find difficult like:

• proverbs (have appeared in exams before), and,
• abstract or philosophical prompts.

These prompts generally stump students more than topics they’re not familiar with because there is an additional step that needs to be done. That step is:

• Rephrase the prompt into its ‘real’ and ‘simplified’ meaning.

This is so that the prompt is then manageable and so that suitable arguments or discussion points can then be thought of using the 3 dimensions.

Here’s the step-by-step process to answering these prompts:

1. Read the exam question once and circle the key words
2. Now ask yourself the following: (a) Does it require me to make a decision? (b) What is that decision? (c) What themes or issues does it touch upon?
3. Read the question again, now simplifying the question into separate and manageable parts. For proverbs, simplify the meaning. For philosophical or abstract prompts, break it down into the crucial parts.
4. Restate the requirement so you’re absolutely clear as to what needs to be done.
5. Now, work backwards going through social, economic and health to come up with your points.

Let’s see how you can come up with arguments or discussion points for the following difficult prompts (see video for workings):

1 - Don’t judge a book by its cover. Do you agree or disagree? Argue your point.

• Simplified meaning
• Requirement restated
• Argument / discussion point formulation – social/economics/health

2 - Do animals have rights? Discuss.

• Simplified meaning
• Requirement restated
• Argument / discussion point formulation – social/economics/health

Key Rules to remember

• Simplify or break down the question into basic parts so that you can understand the question.
• Restate the requirement in your own words so that you understand the prompt thoroughly (and confirm this through the restatement).
• Then work backwards to find suitable arguments or discussion points.

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

The questions in this checkpoint are provided to help you develop your writing skills.

To do your practice questions, click on the below to download your question paper. You can print it out or work from the electronic version. We do recommend that you write your answers by hand in a notebook or on paper.

PDW-CP15-Questions.pdf

Once you have completed your questions, review the suggested solutions. You can download (and print if you wish) the PDF suggested solutions and/or watch the suggested solutions video (all below).

Once you're done with reviewing the practice question suggested solutions, move on to the next checkpoint.

PDW-CP15-Answers.pdf

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