How to tell whether your MMI answer addresses the question
By Videoath · Updated
Read the prompt's final sentence and name the task in a few words, such as "recommend one option and explain it to the people affected." Then replay your answer and find the sentence that does that task. If you can't point to it, or it only arrives after a minute of general points, your answer may sound good without answering the question.
This is a self-check for practice. It is not how any school scores answers.
Name the task before judging the answer
The task is usually carried by a verb, such as recommend, decide, explain how you would tell someone, describe a time, or say what you would do first. Some prompts have two tasks joined by "and." Write each task on its own short line before you replay your answer.
Four checks on replay
- Point to it. Find the sentence that does each task, and note when in the recording it comes.
- Swap test. Could your opening paragraph answer a different prompt without changes? If so, it's general background.
- Count the parts. Did each task get its own answer?
- Follow the reasons. Does each reason support the decision you made, or a different decision you didn't make?
Before and after
Practice example. A neighbourhood library has to cut four hours a week. The board asks whether to cut weekday evening hours or Saturday morning hours. What would you recommend, and how would you explain it to the people affected?
The tasks are to recommend one option and to explain it to the people affected.
First attempt. "Libraries are really important to communities. They give everyone access to information, and many people rely on them, especially people who can't afford internet at home. Cutting hours is always difficult, and I think the board should be really thoughtful and consider equity."
This fails the swap test, because it could open almost any prompt about libraries. There is no recommendation to point to, and neither task gets an answer.
Second attempt. "I'd recommend keeping Saturday mornings and cutting one weekday evening, but I'd want to check the usage numbers by hour first. Saturday may be the only time families and people who work weekday shifts can come. If the main branch stays open on weekday evenings, people still have somewhere to go then. If the numbers showed evenings were busier, I'd change my answer. To explain it, I'd post the change early, say why we chose it, and point people to the nearest branch with evening hours."
| Check | First attempt | Second attempt |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation | Missing | First sentence |
| Explanation to people affected | Missing | Last sentence |
| Reasons tied to the decision | General value of libraries | Who can come when, and what alternatives exist |
| What would change it | Missing | Usage numbers |
The second attempt answers both tasks, and each sentence it adds either supports the recommendation or explains it to the people affected.
Common ways answers drift
- Defining the issue at length. The listener already has the prompt.
- Answering an easier question. "Should libraries get more funding?" is a different question from which hours to cut.
- Ending on a value instead of an action. "Equity matters" doesn't tell anyone what you'd do.
When to ask someone else
Self-review can miss assumptions that feel obvious to you. Ask a friend to listen once and tell you in one sentence what you recommended. If they can't, the answer isn't clear yet. The peer practice guide includes a short card for whoever listens.
Pick a public MMI practice question, write its tasks on separate lines, then record and run the four checks.