The three components of a question
By Marjorie Henry, Contributor

Sixth-form students hard at work on their fist issue of the Pegasus View, Herbert Morrison Technical High School's monthly newsletter. - Claudine Housen Photo

IN THE last lesson I shared with you some questions taken from past CSEC geography examination papers. Before I begin to guide you through answering these questions, the first set in these series of lessons, I would like to give you some hints on how to decode the question. This helps you to understand the question, which is absolutely necessary in order for you to write a satisfactory response.

A question has three parts, namely:

1. A KEY VERB - the word that tells you what you are supposed to do

2. An OBJECT - which tells you on what to perform your task

3. A LIMITING FACTOR - that tells you how to go about it.

The first question from the last lesson was:

Explain why few corals are found close to the mouth of large rivers.

The word that tells you what to do - the KEY VERB - is EXPLAIN. This means that you are required to write as fully as you can about the matter, as if you are addressing someone who knows nothing about it.

To identify the OBJECT in the question, you could ask yourself - What am I required to explain? You are asked to explain something about the location of corals. Are you required to explain about the location of corals generally? No, but rather, why so few are found close to the mouth of large rivers. The latter becomes your LIMITING FACTOR. For this question then, you are being asked to write as much as you can on the reasons why conditions at the mouth of large rivers do not allow corals to thrive there.

There were other key verbs used in the other questions given. Let me identify and explain them. The question from the June 2000 paper has STATE. This means that you should write out in the form of a sentence, the information you are asked. You would have noticed that the demand for this is not as much as that for 'explain'.

DESCRIBE is used in the question from the June 2002 paper. For this, you simply write down the details about the object. Let me now refer to the questions given.

June 1995 - Question 3 (b) (i)

'Explain why few corals are found close to the mouth of large rivers'.

In answering this question, you must keep in mind the ideal conditions needed for corals to thrive.

The two main reasons are as follows:

(a) Rivers bring fresh water to the sea. Corals cannot flourish in fresh water. They need saline water.

(b) Rivers deposit sediments into the sea. Corals need clear, clean water which is free from sediment in order to grow.

Consideration could also be given to the temperature of the water. For example, if there is industrial activity along or close by the river, the temperature of the water is raised. Coral reefs can only survive in a specific temperature.

Question (b) (ii) from the same paper reads:

'For a named Caribbean country, explain THREE ways in which the activities of man are destroying the coral reefs.'

The literature tells us that coral reefs have been destroyed in Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Barbados and Tobago. You could choose any of these. Please note that if you fail to name a Caribbean country, you cannot be awarded maximum points. Activities of man that result in the destruction of the coral reefs were given in a previous lesson. You must, however, be aware of what is happening in the country you have chosen. I will choose Barbados as an example. For this country, man's activities that have led to the destruction of the coral reefs include:

1. Deforestation for the growing of sugar cane. As a result of heavy rains, fresh water flooded into the sea carrying mud and soil with it. This led to the damaging of the reefs.

2. Increased urban development leads to increase run-off of fresh rainwater into the sea.

3. The presence of large ships increases the risk of oil spills.

The other remaining questions will be answered in the next lesson.