GCSE-readyExam command words
The first word of an exam question tells you what to do: list, explain, evaluate. Each Pearson Edexcel specification defines its command words. Here they are by subject, in plain English, with a link to the official source.
GCSE Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Combined Science
For GCSE and International GCSE Biology, GCSE and International GCSE Chemistry, GCSE and International GCSE Physics, GCSE Combined Science.
| Command word | What the examiner wants |
|---|---|
| Add / Label | Add something to the material you are given, such as labels on a diagram or units in a table. |
| Assess | Weigh up all the factors, decide which matter most, and reach a conclusion if one is needed. |
| Calculate | Work out a number and show your working. Include the unit if there is one. |
| Comment on | Pull together several pieces of data or information to reach a judgement. |
| Compare | Give similarities or differences between two or more things, mentioning each of them. No conclusion is needed. |
| Compare and contrast | As compare, but you must give at least one similarity and at least one difference. |
| Complete | Fill in a table or diagram. |
| Deduce | Reach a conclusion from the information you are given. |
| Describe | Say what something is like or what happens. Develop your points, but you do not need to give reasons. |
| Determine | Your answer must include a quantity taken or worked out from the information given. |
| Devise | Plan or invent a method using ideas you already know. |
| Discuss | Identify the issue, explore all sides of it, and reason your way through it. |
| Draw | Make a diagram, with a ruler or freehand. |
| Estimate | Find an approximate value from a diagram, from data or by a calculation. |
| Evaluate | Review the evidence, including strengths, weaknesses and alternatives, and come to a supported judgement. |
| Explain | Make a point and justify it: say how or why. Reasoning can be mathematical. |
| Give / State / Name | Recall one or more facts. No explanation is needed. |
| Give a reason / reasons | Say only why the statement in the question is true. |
| Identify | Pick out the key information from the source or resource you are given. |
| Justify | Give evidence that supports a statement in the question or an earlier answer. |
| Measure | Find a length or angle from a diagram using a ruler or protractor. |
| Plot | Mark points accurately on a grid from the data and draw a line of best fit. Add a sensible scale and labelled axes if they are not given. |
| Predict | Say what result you would expect. |
| Show that | Prove that the statement in the question is correct. |
| Sketch | Draw freehand. A sketched graph needs a line, labelled axes and its important features, but no scale. |
| State and explain | Make a point, then link ideas to justify it. |
| State what is meant by | Give the meaning of a term; there may be more than one acceptable way to describe it. |
| Write | Used when the question wants an equation. |
| Suggest | Used in front of another command word, as in suggest an explanation or suggest a description: put forward a sensible answer. |
Source: Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Biology (1BI0) specification, Issue 4, Appendix 2: Taxonomy, pages 45 to 46; the same table appears in the Chemistry (1CH0), Physics (1PH0) and Combined Science (1SC0) specifications. Meanings are summarised in our own words; the specification is the final word.
GCSE Geography A
For GCSE and International GCSE Geography A.
| Command word | What the examiner wants |
|---|---|
| Identify / State / Name | Recall or pick out one or more pieces of information. |
| Define | Give the meaning of a term. |
| Calculate | Work out a number and show your working. |
| Draw / plot | Show geographical information as a graph, map or diagram. |
| Label | Add one or more labels to the resource, graphic or image. |
| Describe | Give the main features of something, or the steps in a process. Develop your points, but no reasons are needed. |
| Compare | Give similarities and differences between the two things in the question, referring to both each time. |
| Explain | Give reasons for how or why something happens, and justify your points. Some questions want an annotated diagram. |
| Suggest | Use what you know to give a reasoned explanation of how or why something might happen. |
| Examine | Break the topic into parts, say how each part contributes, and how the parts work together. |
| Assess | Use evidence to judge how significant something is, weighing all the factors to decide which matter most. |
| Discuss | Explore the strengths and weaknesses of different sides of the issue, using reasoning. |
| Evaluate | Judge the value or success of something and reach a supported conclusion, using evidence such as strengths, weaknesses, alternatives and data. |
Source: Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Geography A (1GA0) specification, Issue 5 (September 2025), Appendix 3: Exam command word definitions, page 41. Meanings are summarised in our own words; the specification is the final word.
GCSE Psychology
For GCSE Psychology.
| Command word | What the examiner wants |
|---|---|
| Assess | Weigh up all the factors, decide which matter most, and reach a conclusion where needed. |
| Calculate | Work out a number and show your working. Include the unit if there is one. |
| Compare | Give at least one similarity and one difference, referring to everything named in the question. No conclusion is needed. |
| Complete | Fill in all the details asked for. |
| Define | Give the meaning of something. |
| Describe | Say what something is like or what happens. Develop your points, but no reasons are needed. |
| Draw | Produce something such as a graph, freehand or with a ruler. |
| Evaluate | Review the evidence, including strengths, weaknesses and alternatives, and come to a supported judgement. |
| Explain | Make a point and justify it. Reasoning can be mathematical. |
| Give / State / Name | Recall one or more facts; in a scenario question, show you have understood the facts given. |
| Identify | Pick out the key information from the source you are given. |
Source: Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Psychology (1PS0) specification, Issue 1, Appendix 1: Command words used in examination papers, page 39. Meanings are summarised in our own words; the specification is the final word.
GCSE Computer Science
For GCSE and International GCSE Computer Science.
| Command word | What the examiner wants |
|---|---|
| Amend | Change, add to, remove or rearrange code. Paper 1: 1 to 6 marks; Paper 2: 5 to 15 marks. |
| Calculate | Work out a number and show your working, with the unit if there is one (2 to 4 marks). |
| Complete | Fill in a table, diagram or algorithm, in any notation (2 to 6 marks). |
| Construct | Create something using the subject's symbols, rules and syntax (2 to 4 marks). |
| Convert | Change information from one representation to another (2 to 6 marks). |
| Define | Give the meaning of a term (1 to 2 marks). |
| Describe | Say what something is or what happens, with developed points but no reasons needed (2 to 4 marks). |
| Discuss | Identify the issue, explore every side of it and reason it through (6 marks). |
| Draw | Produce a diagram, possibly with labels, with a ruler or freehand (2 to 6 marks). |
| Explain | Make linked points and justify them; reasoning can be logical or mathematical (2 to 4 marks). |
| Give / State / Name | Recall a fact (1 mark each). |
| Identify | Pick out key information from the source or options given (1 mark each). |
| Write | Create or change something in a given notation (Paper 1: 1 to 6 marks), or a program in a high-level language (Paper 2: 5 to 15 marks). |
Source: Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Computer Science (1CP2) specification, Issue 1, Appendix 1: Command word taxonomy, pages 27 to 28. Meanings are summarised in our own words; the specification is the final word.
Checked against the specifications on 16 October 2026.