Writing graduate-level questions and assignments
Students at the graduate level need to be able to think critically about the material that they are
studying in their courses. Being able to state a definition is useful in the early stages of the learning
process, but at the graduate level students need to cultivate a deeper understanding of the material. For
this reason, assignments and items that merely ask for a definition or an example, or ask students to
plug numbers into a formula, are not appropriate in graduate-level courses.
Bloom’s Taxonomy arranges educational tasks from the most simple (doesn’t require very much
thought or understanding of the material) to the most complex (requires significant thought and
understanding of the material). At the most basic level is knowledge. Knowledge tasks generally ask
students to define a term or list the different parts of a concept. Knowledge tasks often include verbs
such as define, identify, list, and name. The next level up is comprehension. At this level, students are
often asked to provide an example of a concept or briefly explain/summarize a concept. These tasks
often include verbs such as explain, summarize, and discuss. The application level requires students to
use a process to obtain an answer or solve a problem. Application tasks often require basic calculations
or applications of a theory, without asking for decisions or recommendations. Tasks often include the
verbs use, calculate, and apply. These three lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (knowledge,
comprehension, application) don’t require students to have a deep understanding of the material.
Rather, they require only very shallow levels of learning. As such, these three levels are inappropriate
for tasks in graduate-level courses.
Graduate-level tasks should relate to the three upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (analysis,
synthesis, evaluation). Analysis tasks require students to think critically about a concept or concepts.
Analysis tasks often ask students to compare concepts, make a prediction, or examine evidence.
Common verbs in these tasks include compare, analyze, predict, and interpret. At the synthesis level,
students use their learned knowledge to create something, be it a process, an argument, or a theory.
Synthesis tasks often include the verbs create, integrate, develop, and propose. At the top of the
taxonomy is evaluation. Evaluation tasks require students to use their knowledge to make judgments or
recommendations. Assess, evaluate, recommend, judge, and rate are common verbs in evaluation tasks.
So, how can assignments and items be changed to increase their level of complexity? What can
you do to change a knowledge item into an analysis item? The following table has some
recommendations and examples.
Original item
It is a unique client who does
not re-evaluate their appetite
for risk after their investments
drop in value by
a. 20%
b. 30%
c. 20% more than the S&P 500
Index.
d. 30% more than the standard
deviation of their portfolio.
Original level
Knowledge
Suggestions
Create a scenario and
ask student to make a
prediction
New item
Your client’s investments have dropped in value by
30%. If this client is highly risk-averse, what is this
client most likely to do?
a. Reallocate her assets to higher-risk
investments
b. Leave her investment portfolio as-is
c. Reallocate her assets to lower-risk
investments
d. Liquidate her assets
New level
Analysis
Identify the factors primarily
responsible for the East Asian
Financial Crises (1997-98) and
explain the Contagion effect.
Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM)
has an estimated beta of – 0.2.
The risk-free rate of return is
4.5%, and the equity risk
premium is estimated to be
7.5%. Using the CAPM, calculate
the required rate of return for
investors in NEM.
A. 3.00%
B. 4.45%
C. 5.00%
D. 5.15%
Comprehension Ask student to
compare the event to
another similar event
Compare and contrast the causes of the East Asian
Financial Crisis to the causes of the Great
Recession.
Analysis
Application
Ask student to make
a recommendation
based on calculation
results
Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) has an estimated
beta of – 0.2. The risk-free rate of return is 4.5%,
and the equity risk premium is estimated to be
7.5%. Using the CAPM, calculate the required rate
of return for investors in NEM. If the actual rate of
return is 2%, what would you recommend to an
investor considering purchasing stock in NEM?
a. Purchase stock immediately
b. Do not purchase stock
c. Consider purchasing stock, but observe
trends for several weeks before making
decision
Evaluation
What is the Prudent Investor
Act?
Knowledge
Ask student to
evaluate actions in
light of the concept
Bryan is helping Walt and Elizabeth, a retired
couple in their 80s, to manage their investments.
Bryan recommends shifting 25% of their available
Evaluation
Explain how a spendthrift trust
provision may be used to
protect beneficiaries from
creditors.
Comprehension Ask student to create
a plan utilizing the
concept
A year ago, you invested $1,000 Application
in a savings account that pays an
annual interest rate of 9%. What
is your approximate annual real
rate of return if the rate of
inflation was 4% over the year?
Ask student to make
a prediction based on
calculation results
funds into a new tech startup that, while high risk,
has the potential for high yields in several years if
the company prospers. Evaluate Bryan’s
recommendations in light of the Prudent Investor
Act.
Martine has approached you for help in planning
her estate. She has few assets: a house owned
outright worth $320,000, and an IRA worth
$15,000. In the event of her death, she wants the
house and the IRA to pass on to her daughter, who
has poor employment history and whose house is
currently in foreclosure. Create an outline of an
estate plan that will ensure Martine’s assets go to
her daughter upon her death and cannot be seized
by creditors.
A year ago, you invested $1,000 in a savings
account that pays an annual interest rate of 9%.
The rate of inflation for the year was 4%. If the
inflation rate rises to 5% next year, how will your
annual real rate of return be affected?
Synthesis
Analysis