Understand the assignment
Task Verbs: Analyze, Compare, Evaluate
Use this page when a prompt uses a verb such as analyze or evaluate, and you are not sure what it asks you to do.
Why the verb matters
A task verb is the word in a prompt that names the kind of thinking you must do. Two students can write about the same topic and get very different grades. One did what the verb asked, and the other did not.
Look at one topic with three different verbs:
- Describe the effects of social media on sleep. Report what the effects are.
- Explain why social media affects sleep. Give the causes.
- Evaluate one way to reduce the effects of social media on sleep. Judge how well it works, and give reasons.
These are three different assignments. A strong answer to the first one would be a weak answer to the third.
Instructors do not all use these verbs in exactly the same way. If your prompt or your instructor defines a verb, use that definition. If you are not sure, ask.
- Task verb:
- the verb that names the kind of thinking and writing you must do.
- Evidence:
- facts, examples, or ideas from sources that support a point.
- Criteria:
- the standards you use to judge something. One standard is a criterion.
Three groups of verbs
Most task verbs belong to one of three groups. Each group asks for more of your own thinking than the one before it.
Group 1: Report
Say what something is or what a source says. Stay close to the facts. The prompt is not asking for your opinion.
| Verb | What to do |
|---|---|
| define | Give the exact meaning of a word or idea. |
| describe | Say what something is like. Give details. |
| identify | Name the thing the prompt asks about. A short answer is often enough. |
| summarize | Give the main ideas of a text in fewer words, in your own words. |
Group 2: Show how or why
Show how ideas connect. Your thinking is visible in the connections you make.
| Verb | What to do |
|---|---|
| explain | Make something clear by giving reasons or steps. Answer “how?” or “why?” |
| analyze | Break something into parts. Show how the parts work together. |
| compare | Show how two things are alike. Many instructors also want the differences. |
| contrast | Show how two things are different. |
| apply | Use an idea from the course in a new situation. |
Group 3: Take a position
Give your own judgment or view, and support it. Your opinion is required, and so are your reasons.
| Verb | What to do |
|---|---|
| argue | State a position. Support it with reasons and evidence. |
| evaluate | Judge how good, useful, or true something is. Name your criteria and give reasons. |
| respond | Give your own reaction to a text, with reasons. |
| reflect | Think about your own experience or learning. Say what it means to you and what you will do next. |
Discuss is the least exact task verb. It usually means: look at the topic from more than one side, and then give your view. If a prompt says only “discuss,” ask your instructor what the answer should include.
Example: one article, three verbs
Three students read the same article about sleep and college students. Each student had a different task verb. Here is the first part of each answer. Each number matches a note below.
Summarize
The author explains that1 college students who sleep fewer than seven hours have more trouble remembering information. The article describes a study in which students who slept longer earned higher grades.
Analyze
The article has three parts: a claim, a study, and advice.2 The advice depends on3 the study. Without the study, the advice would be only the author’s opinion.
Evaluate
The article is convincing but limited.4 The evidence is strong because it comes from a study.5 However, the study included students at only one university, so the results may not be true for all students.
- A summary reports. The words The author explains that show that the ideas belong to the author. The student gives no opinion.
- An analysis names the parts. The student divides the article into three parts.
- An analysis connects the parts. Depends on shows how one part is related to another. Naming the parts is not enough.
- An evaluation gives a judgment. Convincing and limited are judgment words. The student gives both a strength and a weakness.
- An evaluation gives reasons. The student’s criterion is the quality of the evidence. Because and so connect each judgment to a reason.
Language focus: words for comparing and judging
Signal words for each task
| Task | Useful words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Show a likeness | both, like, similarly, in the same way | Both courses require a final project. |
| Show a difference | however, while, unlike, in contrast | Online classes are flexible, while in-person classes have a fixed schedule. |
| Show a cause | because, so, as a result, leads to | Students sleep less, so they remember less. |
| Give a judgment | effective, convincing, limited, a strength, a weakness | One weakness of the plan is its cost. |
Comparing with -er and more
To compare two things, change the adjective and add than.
- Short adjectives add -er: cheaper than, easier than, longer than.
- Longer adjectives use more: more flexible than, more expensive than, more effective than.
- Two common adjectives are irregular: good, better and bad, worse.
Use -er or more, never both. Write easier than. Do not write “more easier than.” Also check the spelling of than. Then is a different word, about time.
Sentence starters
Fill in each blank with your own words.
- To summarizeThe author explains that .The main idea of the article is .
- To analyzeOne important part of is . depends on because .
- To compare and contrastBoth and .Unlike , .
- To evaluate is effective because .One weakness of is .
- To argue should because .
Practice
- The prompt says: “Summarize the article in 100 words.” Should you say whether you agree with the author?
- The prompt says: “Compare online classes and in-person classes.” A student writes three good paragraphs about online classes. What is missing?
- Which sentence evaluates?
- A. The article has five paragraphs.
- B. The article is about sleep.
- C. The article’s evidence is weak because it comes from one person’s experience.
- Find the two task verbs: “Describe one problem in your community and argue for a solution.” What does each verb ask you to do?
- Correct this sentence: “Online classes are more easier then in-person classes.”
Show suggested answers
- No. Summarize is a Group 1 verb. Report the author’s main ideas. Your opinion is not part of the task.
- The in-person classes, and the comparison. Compare needs two things and the connections between them. Writing about one thing is describing, not comparing.
- C. It gives a judgment (weak) and a reason (because). A and B report facts.
- Describe and argue. First, say what the problem is like, with details. Then take a position on a solution and support it with reasons. The answer needs both parts.
- Online classes are easier than in-person classes. Easy is a short adjective, so it becomes easier, without more. The comparing word is than.
Next step
Try this with a prompt from one of your classes
- Find every task verb. Some prompts have two or three.
- Decide which group each verb belongs to.
- For each verb, write one sentence that begins “I need to .”
- If a verb is not on this page, or you are not sure what it means in your course, ask your instructor.