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Essay Questions - English

We have now opened up part of our database to give you, the user, access to our free english essay questions and essay topics, please remember to use these as research material and reference them if you use any quotes.

Interpret an English essay question...

English essay questions come in a variety of forms. Each form asks the student to critically respond to one or more English texts. These might be novels, plays, poems, performances or films. Each different form of essay question, however, demands a specific type of response.

Understanding the form of an essay begins by locating the verb cue or instruction word in the question. This is the word that tells you what to do. For example, you might be asked to discuss, describe, analyse, explain, contrast or compare. It is important to locate and understand what the verb is, because this is the word that will instruct you on how to respond correctly to the essay question. In short, this word will tell you what to do.

Some of the most common verb cues used in English essay questions are:

  • Describe: This requires a detailed account of the subject matter. You might be asked to describe a theme, character, event, plot or stylistic technique. For example: Describe the major events in a novel you have studied, that lead the protagonist to undergo a great change.

  • Discuss: This requires an explanation of the subject matter giving supporting arguments both for and against the topic. For example: Discuss how a minor character in a play that you have studied, serves as a reflection of the protagonist.

  • Analyse/Examine: This requires a close and critical examination of the topic, with the use of very specific examples from the text to elucidate points. For example: Analyse the significance of setting, in a novel you have studied, and explain how the setting impacts on both characters and events.

  • Compare and/or contrast:  These two verb cues are normally asked within a single question, though they may also be asked separately. They are similar in so far as they require that you consider two texts or ideas so that their juxtaposition brings to light the underlying characteristics. Responding to this verb cue requires a synthesis of the characteristics of themes, ideas or of characters, plots.  For example: Compare and contrast two poems composed by two different poets to show how stylistic techniques used serve the different aims of each poet.

Approaching an English essay question.

Some of the advice for interpreting an English essay question is simple common sense, but keeping strictly to this advice will help you achieve two important things. Firstly, you will understand exactly how to respond correctly to an essay question and, secondly, you will be able to successfully and logically structure your essay.

  1. Before you do anything else, it is important to simply read the question. During the first reading of the question, you should simply look for the general focus of the question.

  2. Then, begin dissecting the question in order to locate the key words and phrases that will direct you toward what the purpose of the essay is and toward what you must do in order to answer the question successfully.

  3. Look for the verb cue or instruction word and then circle it.

  4. Next, underline the other key words in the question. These could be the name of a character or event in a text, a literary theory or literary device, or the name of a poet or author.

  5. Now, divide the essay question into parts. Sometimes a question will ask you to do more than one thing. It may ask that you to refer to more than one text, or more than one literary device. By dividing the question into parts, you will be able to also structure the sections of your essay so that each part of the question is answered.

  6. Finally, rewrite the question in your own words. If you are able to rewrite the question in your own words then you will have successfully understood and interpreted the essay question. To rewrite the essay question, simply ask yourself what you must do and write this down. For example, 'To write this essay, I must compare and contrast the role of a major character with a minor character in a novel I have studied. I will need to include examples and quotes from the text to support my answer.'