Analysis and Evaluation Vocabulary

Key Terms and Definitions

• Analyze

  • Examine detailed components to show meaning.
  • Aim: To make an informed judgment.

• Assess

  • Make a detailed evaluation to determine quality or significance.

• Compare

  • Identify and comment on similarities and differences between topics.

• Consider

  • Review and respond thoughtfully to given information.

• Contrast

  • Identify and comment on the differences between items or ideas.

• Describe

  • State the main points of a topic and list characteristics associated with it.

• Develop

  • Expand on information to move toward a more advanced understanding or build upon existing ideas.

• Discuss

  • Write about issues or topics in a detailed and structured manner.

• Evaluate

  • Judge or calculate the importance, amount, or value of something.

• Explain

  • Set out purposes, reasons, and relationships between concepts clearly.

• Give

  • Produce an answer based on a given source or recall from memory.

• Identify

  • Name, select, or recognize an item or concept.

• Justify

  • Support a case or argument with evidence.

• State

  • Express ideas in clear terms.

• Demonstrate

  • Show how something works or provide an example of it.

• Examine

  • Investigate closely and in detail.

• Suggest

  • Apply knowledge and understanding to various situations to make proposals.

• Summarize

  • State the main points of a topic without going into detail.