What’s the question?

An essay word cloud using wordle. The question was 'How effective was Elizabeth's government?'

Imagine how frustrating life would be if no one answered your questions:

Which way is the train station? A train station is a building where trains depart from.
How much is this coat? A coat is something that you wear to keep you warm and dry.

However, every year a surprising number of students fail to answer the questions set in exams. One of the key features of a good essay is a clear and consistent focus on the question. A good essay doesn’t just describe a topic, it answers the question.  

An easy way to ensure that you are focused on the question is to use the words from it. That is one of the reasons that teachers are always reminding students to highlight or underline the key words in exam questions. www.wordle.net is a free online tool that can help you to reflect on the answers that you write. It takes all the words from your answer and puts them into a ‘word cloud’: the more you have used a word the bigger it appears.