Table of contents
Short-answer exam questions
Short-answer exam questions generally require you to remember and reproduce knowledge, e.g. "Define the term fuzzy logic". You may also be required to demonstrate your understanding of knowledge in questions such as "discuss the role of...".
Understanding what type of response the examiner wants requires that you read and analyse the question carefully. To analyse and interpret the question accurately requires a good knowledge of the meaning of direction words.
| Direction words | Response required |
|---|---|
| List... | You are asked to briefly note or state specific information in a list format. For example: "List the three major components of the CPU." |
| Explain... | You are asked to clarify, interpret, and elaborate on the material presented, to give reasons for differences of opinion or results, and to try to analyse causes. For example: "Explain the basic operation of the CPU as it processes instructions in memory." |
| Compare... | You are asked to identify characteristics or qualities that resemble each other; to emphasise similiarities and also mention differences where appropriate. For example: "Compare optic fibre and coaxial cable as data transmission media." |
| Describe... | You are asked to state the most noticeable qualitites or features. For example: "Describe the operation of the CSMA/CD medium access protocol." |
| Name... | You are asked to give the appropriate (discipline-specific) term by which something is known. For example: "Name the three types of modulation which can be used to encode digital data on an analog wave." |
| Discuss... | You are asked to point out the important features and express some form of critical judgement. For example: "Discuss the role of cache memory within the memory hierarchy." |
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