Economics and Business Studies command terms for writing essays and other questions

Economics and Business Studies command terms for writing essays and other questions

Here are some examples of command words that are the most common in economics and business studies questions and what they mean.
Account for
Asks students to explain a particular situation or a particular outcome. Students are expected to present a reasoned case for the existence of something. For example: Account for the rise in unemployment shown in the table of data.
Analyse
Here you are being asked to provide a comparison in detail of the causes and any possible effects of how the thing under consideration has developed or happened. Wherever it is possible ,try to give examples, this is especially true if the material offered has examples within it. If the term “critically" is prior to the term analyse. This is telling you that you need to make suggestions as to possibly why or why not something may or may not, in your own opinion, be appropriate considering the issue or event being analysed. Always try to offer support to your findings and/or opinions.  For example: Analyse the extent to which foreign aid promotes economic development.
Apply
This as the word suggests is asking you to apply your knowledge of a particular thing, say the monetary or fiscal policy, to a given situation. It is asking you to relate your own specific knowledge of the issue from the syllabus area to the particular situation that has been given to you.
Assess
Asks students to measure and judge the magnitude or quality of something. Students may offer differing assessments as they present the reasoning for their conclusion. For example: Assess the economic implications of the movement of many eastern and central European countries from planned economies to market economies.
Calculate
This type of question is normally asking you to use specific knowledge' that you should have i.e. a formula. When doing a question like this it is important to show each step or stage of an calculation used.  For example: Calculate the PED for a price change of $4.00 to $4.40.
Comment
A comment question requires you to draw some conclusions about the issue under consideration.  This is often from the result of your considerations, workings and/or calculations have told you about the problem that you have been given.
Compare/Compare and contrast
Asks students to describe two situations and present the similarities and differences between them. A description of the two situations does not on its own meet the requirements of this key term. For example: Compare the effectiveness of demand-side policies to supply-side policies in reducing the level of unemployment.
Consider
A consider question is asking fro reflections on the different options/alternatives that may exist to resolve / solve / defeat or possibly correct the problem that has been posed.