Answering the question is a very important academic skill. Not answering the question is the most common reason for students failing at university. In order to make sure that you successfully answer the question, there are two very important things you need to do before you start writing:
- Make sure you understand the question
- Break the question into its component parts
Point one ensures that you write what you are supposed to write and not just what you think you should write. Point two helps you to plan your writing to ensure that you include all parts of the question in your answer.
Here is a video example of this process based on a question that my university students completed recently (this was a short answer preparation for full essay writing practice later in the semester 😉 )
The question that the students were answering was: Which is more important, the process of cooking or the presentation of food?