Task Words Guide
Here is a list of ‘Task words’ that can be used to help understand assignment briefs. Task words explain what you have to do.
| Task Words | Meanings |
| Account for | Give reasons for; explain why something happens. |
| Analyse | Examine closely; examine something in terms of its parts and how they are related to each other. |
| Argue | Present a case for and/or against something. |
| Assess | Decide the value of something. |
| Comment on | Identify and write about main issues, giving your reasons and your reactions based upon what you have read or heard in lectures. Avoid purely personal opinion. |
| Compare | Discuss two or more things in terms of their similarities and differences. |
| Critically Evaluate | Discuss two or more things, emphasising their differences and giving reasons why. |
| Critically Evaluate | Weigh arguments for and against something, assessing the strength of the evidence on both sides. Use criteria to guide your assessment of which opinions, theories, models or items are preferable. |
| Criticise | Give a judgment about the value of something and support that judgment with evidence. |
| Define | Make clear what is meant by something, or use a definition or definitions to explore a concept. |
| Demonstrate | Show or prove by reasoning or evidence; display and explain the workings of a system. |
| Describe | Present a detailed account of something. |
| Discuss | Consider and offer some interpretation or evaluation of something; present and give a judgment on the value of arguments for and against something. |
| Distinguish | Bring out the differences between two (possibly confusing) items. |
| Enumerate | Give an item-by-item account of something. |
| Examine | Attempt to form a judgment about something. |
| Explain | Make clear the details of something; show the reason for, or underlying cause of something, or the means by which something occurs. |
| Illustrate | Offer an example or examples to show how something happens; or make concrete a concept by giving examples. |
| Interpret | Make clear the meaning of something and its implications. |
| Justify | Give reasons why certain decisions should be made, or certain conclusions reached. |
| Narrate | Concentrate on saying what happened, telling the story. |
| Outline | Go through and identify briefly the main features of something. |
| Prove | Show by logical argument. |
| Relate | Show similarities and connections between two or more things. |
| Review | Report the chief facts about something, or offer a criticism of something. |
| State | Report the chief facts about something; or offer a criticism of something. Give the main features, in very clear English (almost like a simple list but written in full sentences). |
| Summarise | Describe something concisely. |
| To What Extent | Consider how far something is true, or contributes to a final outcome. Consider also ways in which the proposition is not true. |
| Trace | Consider also ways in which the proposition is not true. Identify and describe the development or history of something from some point, or from its origin. |