Answering Essay Questions

QUESTION TYPEVERBS / CUESDEFINITION / STRATEGY
Factual Recall   NAME, LIST, STATE, SUMMARIZE, OUTLINERestate or summarize from your notes. 
Analysis / Explanation of Relationships EXPLAIN, DISCUSS  (Main ideas and Major supporting points) Explain in detail, based on the information in a lecture or reading Note: Do not express your opinion!
use Critical Analysis
use Cause/Effect; (C/E)
use Comparison/Contrast (C/C) 
Synthesis / Application of previously learned principles ANALYZE, EVALUATE, EXPLAIN, PROVE, SHOW, JUSTIFY, ILLUSTRATE, COMPARE/ CONTRASTTransfer the principles or material learned in class to another example or situation (synthesis /“think”-question) 
Note: Do not express your opinion!
OpinionIN YOUR OPINION, …    WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT …?State your opinion and prove it with examples and/or supporting points by referring to information from a lecture or reading. 

  • Read the questions very carefully at least 2 or 3 times. 
  • Circle  the main verb (= action verb/imperative) in the question and decide on the necessary rhetorical strategy for answering the question (cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, classification, problem-solution). 
  • Make sure you understand what type of answer the main verb calls for (a diagram a summary, details, an analysis, an evaluation). 
  • Circle all the keywords in the question. 
  • Decide if you need to write a 1-paragraph or a multi-paragraph answer. 
  • Write a brief outline of all the points you want to mention in your answer. 
  • Restate the question and answer it with a topic sentence (for a 1-paragraph answer) or a thesis statement (for a multi-paragraph answer).  
  • Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing.  Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence(s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion.  Use correct punctuation throughout. 
  • Read over your answer again and check if all the main ideas have been included. 
  • Check your answer for grammar and punctuation. 
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    Posted in MBA

    RetroPi

    This was a fun project to get some old school retro apps installed and running on RetroPi, it was pretty easy to setup and within no time I was playing Super Mario with my kids on a controller.

    This is the basic overview of how I got it setup and started:

    • Download Balena Etcher
    • Download RetroPi
    • Install onto Micro SD Card using Balena Etcher
    • Add Keyboard/SD/Power/HDMI
    • Enable SSH
    • Use Filezilla to copy games to folders

    The Odebrecht Group: Ethical Insight

    Here is a paper I wrote (with 3 colleagues) on the graft and fraud within The Odebrecht Group.

    December 11, 2018

    Executive Summary

    The Odebrecht Group, established in 1944, was once a flourishing family run business that grew into a $40 billion conglomerate. The company operates within the construction and engineering industry through the development of infrastructure and energy projects. During a money laundering investigation in 2015, The Odebrecht Group was found to be a key company at the center of one of the largest bribery and corruption scandals in the world. The company admitted to using deceitful tactics to gain business around the globe. These tactics proved not only to be contradictory to the company’s guiding principles, but also against the law in many countries. Since this unethical behavior came to light, the company has faced many financial and reputational repercussions. However, The Odebrecht Group is currently making strides to better its compliance programs and leadership. To further these efforts, the company should establish practices to improve the company’s overall ethical culture, enhance ethical leadership commitment and build upon compliance monitoring structures. read more