The first step of writing an essay is to make sure you understand the title. Teachers often complain that students fail to do this, and so they lose marks by writing about something else. Especially in exams, when time is short, you must focus closely on exactly what you are asked to discuss.
Titles generally contain one or more key words which tell the writer what to do:
Outline the events leading up to the outbreak of war in 1914 and discuss the main causes of the war.
Here the key words are 'outline' and 'discuss'. The first means to give a clear but simple account of a situation, while the second means to evaluate a complex topic by looking at various points of view and trying to establish which is the most credible.
Other key words include:
Analyse To divide a subject into sections and discuss each one critically
Describe To give a detailed account of something
Illustrate To give examples
Suggest Make a proposal and support it
Note that if there are two or more key words in the title they may help you decide how much space to give each part. For example, on the above title (the outbreak of war) you might decide to split the essay 50/ 50 between the events and the causes. But in another case:
Define what is meant by renewable energy and illustrate some current applications
you might decide to divide the essay 30/ 70 to focus more on the examples.
For more ideas about Understanding Titles see Academic Writing Chapter 1.4 p. 37
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