Bloom’s Taxonomy divides thinking skills into six subdivisions.  These form the basis for K-12 content standards in education.  The subdivisions comprise a hierarchy from simplest to complex that can be used to formulate writing assignments at the college level.

Thinking Skill	Definition	Key Words for Assignments
1.  Knowledge	Remembering previously learned material	List, name, identify, show, define, recognize, recall
2.  Comprehension	Ability to grasp the meaning of material	Explain, summarize, compare, paraphrase, differentiate, demonstrate, classify
3.  Application	Ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations	Solve, illustrate, interpret, relate, manipulate, apply, modify
4.  Analysis	Break down material into component parts in order to understand its organizational structure	Analyze, organize, contrast, distinguish, plan, devise
5.  Synthesis	Ability to put parts together to form a new whole	Design, hypothesize, support, justify
6.  Evaluation	Ability to judge the value of material according to definite criteria	Evaluate, choose, estimate, judge, defend, criticize