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. |
| Define | Give precise meaning. | One precise sentence. Do not describe or give examples instead. |
| Describe | State the points of a topic, give characteristics and main features. | What it is and what it involves. No reasons required. |
| Devise | Create a questionnaire or similar to present information according to specific requirements. | Say what you would ask or record, and why each item earns its place. |
| Discuss | Write about the issue or topic in depth in a structured way. | Both sides, organised, with a conclusion. |
| Estimate | Use judgement to give a unit value to a distance or area. | Give a sensible figure with its unit. Precision is not the point; the order of magnitude is. |
| 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. |
| Justify | Support a case with evidence or argument. | A claim plus the evidence that supports it. |
| Locate | Indicate the position of a place, feature or entity from or in a resource. | Use the resource in front of you, and be specific enough to be found. |
| Plan | Create a method to obtain or present certain information according to specific requirements. | Write it as a method someone else could follow. Say what you would measure and where. |
| Plot | Mark point(s) on a graph, diagram or map. | Accuracy of position is the mark. Read both axes or grid lines carefully. |
| Predict | Suggest what may happen based on the information available. | Use the information given, not guesswork. |
| Sketch | Make a simple freehand drawing showing the key features, taking care over proportions. | Label it. Proportions matter more than artistic quality. |
| 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 command words in the 0460 syllabus. In Geography the marks sit in the named place, the process and the judgement - describe, explain, suggest and evaluate are where most marks are won and lost, and an answer with no named example caps out early however good the theory is.
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 process of river erosion. | Hydraulic action. |
| Explain (2) | Explain how hydraulic action erodes a river bed. | Water is forced into cracks in the rock, compressing the air trapped inside (1); when the pressure is released the air expands suddenly and pieces of rock break away, so the bed is worn down (1). |
| Apply (2) | Explain how this process affects a river in its upper course. | The upper course has the steepest gradient, so the water moves fastest and carries most energy (1); hydraulic action is therefore strongest there, which is why the upper course is where waterfalls and gorges form (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.