Think of left shift and right shift as reaction of Hgb to an altered metabolic state that then has consequence on oxygen loading and unloading, which are usually adaptive but not always so.
For example, if there is tissue ischemia creating a lactic acid build up, that lowers the pH (increased [H+]) and causes a right shift, meaning more O2 will be unloaded at those tissues by the blood that reaches it, which is probably a good thing.
However, one of the reasons that alkalosis is a really bad thing is that it does the opposite and Hgb holds on tighter to O2 and unloads less at target tissues.
IMO questions tend to give you the metabolic scenario (metabolic acidosis vs respiratory alkalosis vs CO poisoning) and expect you to know the shift and the consequence of that shift. A question that just says "theres a right shift, what happens" doesn't really make much sense unless the answer is "decrease affinity of Hgb for O2"