The command words, and what each one is really asking for
| Command word | What it means | What that looks like in an exam answer |
|---|---|---|
| Assess | Make an informed judgement. | A judgement with support - not just an opinion. |
| Calculate | Work out from given facts, figures or information. | Show the working. A bare number with no method can lose the mark. |
| Compare | Identify and comment on similarities and/or differences. | You must give both sides - describing only one caps your marks. |
| Describe | State the points of a topic, give characteristics and main features. | What it is and what it involves. No reasons required. |
| Evaluate | Judge the quality, importance, amount or value of something. | Weigh it up and reach a supported judgement. No judgement, no top mark. |
| Explain | Set out purposes or reasons, make relationships clear, say why and/or how, and support with relevant evidence. | Every point needs a reason or consequence. This is where most marks are lost. |
| Give | Produce an answer from a given source, or recall from memory. | Short and direct. |
| Identify | Name, select or recognise. | Just the answer - no explanation needed. |
| State | Express in clear terms. | One clear fact per mark. Do not waste time developing it. |
| Suggest | Apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there are a range of valid responses, in order to make proposals or put forward considerations. | Apply it to the situation given - that is what is being tested. |
Cambridge publishes these ten command words in the 9696 syllabus. The paper adds phrases such as “to what extent” and “how far do you agree”, which are essay instructions, not command words - the marks still sit in explain, assess and evaluate, each anchored to a named place.
The difference that matters most
Look at the same knowledge asked three ways. Same topic, three different answers, three different marks.
| Command | Question | Answer that scores full marks |
|---|---|---|
| State (1) | State one physical cause of a river flood. | A period of prolonged heavy rainfall that saturates the soil, so all further rain runs over the surface. |
| Explain (3) | Explain how urbanisation increases the risk of river flooding. | Impermeable surfaces such as tarmac and concrete prevent infiltration, so more water reaches the channel as surface runoff (1); drains and sewers carry that water to the river quickly, shortening the lag time and raising the peak discharge (1); and building on the floodplain removes the natural storage, so the same volume of water has nowhere to spread out (1). |
| Assess (6) | Assess the view that hard-engineering flood defences are the most effective way to manage a river flood risk. | Hard engineering such as dams, levees and channel straightening gives immediate protection to a known settlement and can be justified where the value of what is protected is high (1). Dams store water and can also generate hydroelectric power, so the cost is shared with another benefit (1). However the protection is finite: a levee that is overtopped, or a dam that fills with sediment, can fail catastrophically and shift the problem downstream (1). The defences are expensive to build and maintain, which matters most in the low-income countries where flood risk is often highest (1). Soft engineering - afforestation, wetland restoration, floodplain zoning - works with the catchment, is cheaper and brings wider benefits, but takes years to show an effect and cannot protect an existing town from a flood next winter (1). The strongest answers reach a judgement: the most effective approach depends on the value of what is being protected and on whether the catchment can be managed as a whole (1). |
Learn this pattern. Fact. Then consequence. Then the context. Almost every lost mark is a missing middle step.
Command-word trainer
Read the question, decide what the command word demands, write the answer, then compare it with the model answer.