Command terms and answer technique

Every geography examination question tells you two things: what to write about (the topic, the place, the scale) and what to do with it. The second part comes from the command term, the word or phrase at the start of the question. “Describe” and “explain” can be asked about the same graph, but they want different answers, and an answer that does the wrong task earns few marks, however accurate its facts.

Command terms are linked to four assessment objectives, and the marks for every answer, from a 1-mark reading of a map to a 16-mark discussion, are awarded against them. Learning what each term asks for, how marks are given in a structured question, and how to use examples, time and diagrams is the quickest way to turn knowledge into marks.

How geography answers are judged

Examiners judge answers against four assessment objectives (AOs). Each describes a kind of thinking, and each command term belongs to one of them.

The objectives rise in demand from AO1 to AO3. A question that starts with “State” wants a single fact; one that starts with “Evaluate” wants knowledge (AO1), used to explain (AO2), then weighed to reach a judgment (AO3), all written in a clear structure (AO4). AO4 terms such as “draw” and “annotate” sit outside this ladder, because they name a skill rather than a depth of thinking.

Extended answers are not marked point by point. They are marked with a markband: a range of marks with a description of a typical answer in that range, judged on the answer as a whole. The descriptors for each band have one strand per assessment objective, so an answer full of accurate facts (AO1) with no judgment (AO3) cannot reach the top bands. Examiners apply the markbands using a markscheme for each paper, which lists creditable points for structured questions and notes on what each band looks like for each essay.

The command terms and what each asks for

Geography uses about two dozen command terms. Their meanings are fixed, and each one implies a particular shape of answer. The tables group them by assessment objective, from the least to the most demanding, with the kind of answer each needs and the marks it usually carries.

AO1 terms: show what you know

AO1 terms ask what, where, when and how much, not why. The commonest error with them is to explain, which wastes time and earns nothing. “Describe the trend” wants the direction, the rate and the figures; the reasons belong to a later part of the question, which will usually ask for them.

AO2 terms: use and analyse what you know

“Explain” is the most frequent term in structured questions. Its marks are almost always split between reasons and their development, so a list of reasons earns little. “Suggest” sounds easier but is marked in the same way, with one extra rule: the suggestion must fit the place or situation in the question. A reason that would be true anywhere often earns only part of the marks.

AO3 terms: weigh the evidence and judge

The AO3 terms overlap, but each has its own emphasis. “Evaluate” puts strengths against limitations; “examine” looks for hidden links and assumptions; “discuss” wants a range of views; “to what extent” wants a measured verdict on a claim. All of them need evaluation and a justified conclusion, and all are marked with markbands.

AO4 terms: show the skill

One topic, rising demand: Dhaka at every level

The clearest way to see what each command term wants is to ask several questions about the same topic and compare the answers. Every question in this set is about the growth of Dhaka, a megacity in Bangladesh, and uses the fact file as its stimulus. The answers get longer and more argued as the command term moves from AO1 to AO3, while the evidence stays much the same.

Sources: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, census 2022; other figures via Wikipedia, “Dhaka” and “Textile industry in Bangladesh”, 2026.

AO1: state, identify, outline, describe

An “Outline” question asks for a brief account, which in a 2-mark part means one point and one development. The development can come from general knowledge as well as from the stimulus.

“Describe” needs evidence from the stimulus, quantified. Two short, separate points are the safest way to earn two marks.

AO2: explain and suggest

“Explain two reasons… [3+3]” is marked as two separate 3-mark answers. Each gets one mark for the reason and up to two for developing it: the next step in the chain, a consequence, or a located example.

“Suggest” asks for a plausible answer to something the stimulus does not explain directly. It rewards reasoning applied to the place in the question.

AO3: examine, evaluate, to what extent

The three AO3 questions on Dhaka could all be answered with the same facts, but each needs a different argument. The table sets out what changes; the model openings and conclusions show the difference on the page.

An evaluation keeps returning to the same question, “how well does it work, and for whom?”, rather than describing the response.

“To what extent” sets up a claim to be tested. The conclusion must state how far it holds, not simply that “there are arguments on both sides”.

How structured questions are marked

A structured question is marked point by point from a markscheme that lists the creditable answers. Each valid point earns one mark, up to the maximum for the part, and the marks beyond the first in a reason are for its development. Knowing this rule changes how answers should be written: briefly, in separate points, and with every point carried one step further.

One mark per point, and marks for development

A developed point is a point that goes beyond a bare statement. It explains how or why the point works, gives its consequence, or supports it with a named, located example. In a 2-mark “Outline”, one point plus one development earns both marks. In a 3-mark “Explain”, the reason earns one mark and two developments earn the other two.

The same idea runs through every structured part. The difference between one mark and three is rarely more knowledge. It is usually the habit of finishing the chain from cause to effect.

“Two reasons, each developed”

Questions such as “Explain two ways…” or “Suggest two reasons…” are marked as separate halves, [2+2] or [3+3]. The examiner credits the first two reasons only. Writing a third reason gains nothing, and a third reason squeezed in while the first two are left undeveloped loses marks that were within reach.

Using the stimulus with figures and units

Most structured questions are built on a stimulus: a map, graph, table, photograph or diagram, printed in a separate resource booklet. When a question says “shown in the graph” or “in the photograph”, the answer must use it. Markschemes for “Describe” parts often note that answers should quantify for full marks, and “Suggest” parts may be capped if the answer ignores the context the stimulus sets, such as an arid area or a coastal city.

• Quote figures with units and dates: “fell from 68,000 km² in 1960 to about 10% of that by 2007”, not “fell a lot”.

• Give the general pattern first, then the exception: “most provinces recorded fewer than 1,000 deaths, but Hatay recorded 24,147”.

• Use the stimulus’s own words for categories, places and keys, so the examiner can match them.

• Read the scale and units carefully: thousands or millions, per cent or percentage points, mm or cm, per year or in total.

Using examples and case studies

Geography answers are judged on the quality of their evidence. A general point (“cities in poorer countries have more slums”) shows understanding, but a point supported by a specific place, figure and date shows knowledge, and it is what lifts an answer from the middle markbands to the top. Examiners distinguish two kinds of evidence: the short detailed example and the longer case study.

An example enriches one point. It names the place and adds at least one precise fact: a location, an amount or a date. “Bangladesh” on its own is not an example; “Bangladesh’s Cyclone Preparedness Programme, whose volunteers helped to evacuate about 2.2 million people before Cyclone Amphan in May 2020” is. An essay may use many examples, each supporting a different point.

A case study is a fuller body of evidence about one place or event, used to argue rather than to narrate. It should be recent, ideally within your lifetime, so that data are available and it reflects current conditions; a historic event such as the eruption that buried Pompeii is not a suitable case study. Where a question asks for a case study, it says so (“with reference to one named city”), and the case study must match the question exactly.

Time per mark

Every geography paper is tightly timed, and the papers give different amounts of time per mark, so the same number of marks deserves different amounts of writing in different papers. A useful rule is to divide the minutes available by the marks: the result is the time a mark is worth, including reading and planning.

• A 1-mark “State” in Paper 2 is worth about 1–2 minutes: read the stimulus, write the value, move on.

• A [3+3] “Explain” in Paper 1 is worth about 11–13 minutes, including a few seconds to choose the two reasons.

• A 10-mark essay in Paper 1 is worth about 22 minutes, of which 3–4 minutes should go on a plan.

• Part (b) of Paper 3, worth 16 marks, is worth over half an hour; part (a), worth 12, about 25 minutes.

Diagrams and sketch maps in answers

A good diagram can replace a paragraph, and in extended answers the top markband credits maps, graphs or diagrams that are annotated following conventions and whose relevance is explained. A diagram earns credit only when it is accurate, labelled or annotated, and referred to in the text (“as the annotated hydrograph shows…”). A decorative sketch with no labels earns nothing.

Labelled and annotated diagrams

Labels name features; annotations explain them. In an answer, annotations are almost always more useful, because they turn a drawing into an explanation. A sketch of a groyne field is labelled with “groyne”, “beach” and “longshore drift”; annotated, it adds “sediment trapped on the updrift side” and “beach starved downdrift: erosion increases”.

Sketch maps

A sketch map is a simple map drawn from memory to show the location and key features of a place. It is not a work of art: what matters is that it is clear, correct and follows the conventions every map should have.

1. Title saying what and where.

2. Frame and a simple outline: coast, river, border, main roads.

3. North arrow and scale (or “not to scale”).

4. Key for every symbol or shading.

5. Labels for the places named in your answer, and nothing more.

6. Annotations (short notes with arrows) that explain why the map matters to the question.

A routine for every question

The same few steps work for every geography question, from a 1-mark reading to a 16-mark discussion. Practised until they are automatic, they stop the commonest losses of marks: the wrong task, half the question, an undeveloped point or an unsupported conclusion.

• To do:

  Underline the command term and decide which assessment objective it belongs to.

• To do:

  Circle every element of the question: topic, place, scale, and each part (“costs and benefits”, “physical and human”).

• To do:

  Check the marks and divide your time: about 1.5 minutes per mark in Paper 2, a little over 2 in Papers 1 and 3.

• To do:

  For a stimulus, read the title, units and key first, then quote figures with units in your answer.

• To do:

  In structured parts, give exactly the number of points asked for and develop each one (“because… so…”).

• To do:

  Support every point in an extended answer with a named, located example with a figure or date.

• To do:

  Add a labelled or annotated diagram or sketch map only where it supports a point, and refer to it.

• To do:

  In AO3 answers, state your line of argument early, evaluate as you go, and end with a justified conclusion at the extent asked.