GCSE Command Words Explained: Describe, Explain, Compare and Evaluate

GCSE command words tell you what to do with your knowledge. If a question says describe, set out relevant features; if it says explain, show why or how something happens. Compare calls for a direct comparison, while evaluate asks for a judgement supported by evidence. Understanding those differences helps you write an answer that fits the question rather than unloading everything you remember.

These are useful starting points, not a universal marking formula. Your subject, exam board, the full wording, the number of marks and any source or diagram all matter. This guide shows you how to turn the words into a practical answering routine, with original examples you can try today.

What do GCSE exam command words mean?

In official guidance for GCSE Geography, AQA explains command words as instructions about how to answer. AQA's GCSE Science list includes many of the same words, but the expected subject knowledge and answer detail differ. Use the guidance for your *specific subject and specification* when preparing for an exam.

• Identify, name or state: supply the specific fact, item or feature requested. If it asks for one example, start with one clear, relevant example rather than a paragraph.
• Describe: say what something is like or what a graph, process or pattern shows. Use precise observations, details and units where appropriate.
• Explain: give a reason or mechanism. Connect the cause to the outcome; 'because' and 'therefore' can help show the chain of reasoning.
• Compare: put the things being compared in direct relation. Explain an important similarity or difference rather than writing two separate, unrelated mini-essays.
• Assess: weigh up the importance, effectiveness or strength of something and make an informed judgement supported by appropriate evidence. In AQA GCSE Geography this means making an informed judgement.
• Evaluate: use relevant evidence to reach a judgement. Depending on the question, this may mean weighing benefits, limitations or competing explanations.
• Justify: support a decision or point of view with evidence or sound reasons, rather than merely stating what you prefer.

Do not rely on a one-line glossary alone. For instance, OCR cautions that the expected answer depends on the full question and mark allocation. A two-mark explain question and a longer explain question should not automatically receive the same amount of detail.

Step 1: Decode the whole question in 20 seconds

Before writing, identify four things. You can practise this on any past-paper question without needing to know its answer yet.

1. Command: circle the action word, such as 'compare' or 'explain'.
2. Topic and boundary: underline the specific process, place, time period or material the question is about. An answer about all rivers is not the same as an answer about the named river in a resource.
3. Evidence requirement: notice 'using Figure 2', 'refer to a case study', 'use the data' or similar instructions. These are part of the task, not optional decoration.
4. Marks and answer space: use the mark allocation as a clue to the appropriate detail, while remembering that each subject's mark scheme determines what actually earns credit.

Try the invented practice question: 'Using the diagram, explain why a paved playground may produce more surface runoff than a grassy field.' The command is explain; the topic is runoff; the comparison and diagram set the boundaries. Your answer needs a reasoned link from surface properties to the amount of water flowing over the ground, using the diagram where relevant.

Step 2: Learn the difference between describe and explain

These words can feel similar when you know the topic well. The difference is the job your answer performs.

Practice example A: Describe

Question (invented): 'Describe what happens to runoff when rain falls on a paved surface.'

Model answer: 'A larger share of the rainwater travels across the surface instead of soaking into the ground.' This states the pattern or feature. It does not yet explain the reason.

Practice example B: Explain

Question (invented): 'Explain why paving can increase surface runoff.'

Model answer: 'Paving is much less permeable than many natural soils, so less rainwater infiltrates. More water can move over the surface into drains and watercourses.' This links a cause to a result rather than only naming the result.

Both model responses are simplified teaching examples, not official exam-board answers or guarantees of marks. In a real paper, include any data, named setting or extra reasoning required by the question and mark scheme.

Step 3: Compare both sides explicitly

A common weak comparison says everything about A, then everything about B, but never tells the examiner what the relationship is. Direct comparison words such as *whereas*, *both*, *more than* and *in contrast* make your thinking easier to follow.

Invented practice prompt: 'Compare how a paved area and a grassy area respond to rainfall.' A more effective answer is: 'Both receive rainfall, but the paved area usually allows less infiltration, whereas the grassy area can allow more water to enter the soil, depending on ground conditions.' The sentence establishes a comparison instead of leaving the reader to infer it.

If the question gives two charts, quote their figures accurately and attach units. If it asks for 'two differences', make sure you actually state two distinct differences rather than repeating the same point with different words.

Step 4: Evaluate or assess with a justified judgement

Evaluation is not just 'give two advantages and two disadvantages'. Start with a position, build it from relevant evidence, acknowledge an important limitation when helpful, and conclude by answering how far or how well the evidence supports the claim. In some questions the best conclusion is conditional rather than an absolute yes or no.

Invented practice prompt: 'Evaluate whether planting trees is an effective method of reducing river flood risk.' A brief answer plan might be:

• Claim: tree planting can form part of a flood-risk strategy.
• Reason: in suitable locations vegetation can intercept rain and help slow how water reaches channels.
• Limit: the benefit depends on location, soil conditions, rainfall intensity and time; trees alone cannot prevent every flood.
• Judgement: useful as part of a wider strategy, but not a complete substitute for other flood-management measures.

This is a planning model, not a ready-made response for a particular paper. AQA's GCSE Geography command-word guide includes real questions with different mark values; compare your structure with the relevant official mark scheme to see the depth and evidence demanded in that subject.

Step 5: Use the mark scheme as feedback, not a script

A mark scheme is most useful *after* you have tried the question yourself. Reading one first can make an answer look obvious without showing whether you can produce it under exam conditions.

1. Choose one past-paper question from your exact subject and board. Check the assessment year and specification so the materials match your course.
2. Write an answer without looking at the mark scheme. For an extended response, first note a one-sentence judgement and two supporting points.
3. Read the scheme and any examiner commentary carefully. Separate content that was missing from a problem with following the instruction word.
4. Write an action note such as 'I compared the trends but forgot to quote the figure' or 'I listed effects without explaining the cause'.
5. Try a different question using the same command word a day or two later, then check whether the specific problem improved.

For deeper follow-up, see Prepo's guide to learning from practice-test mistakes and its method for active recall. They work well with this command-word drill, but checking your own board's mark scheme remains essential.

A 12-minute GCSE command-word drill

Use a page from a past paper, four blank lines and a timer. This short routine makes the skill concrete without becoming another hour of passive revision.

1. Minutes 0–2: choose two short questions with different command words; highlight instruction words and any references to figures or examples.
2. Minutes 2–5: plan each response in short notes. For explain, write cause → process → result. For compare, write A vs B. For evaluate, write evidence → limitation → judgement.
3. Minutes 5–9: answer from memory, keeping within a realistic time for the marks available.
4. Minutes 9–12: use the appropriate mark scheme to name one content gap and one answer-structure improvement. Save those notes before moving on.

Repeat with a *different* question next time. Vary the subject when you can: a definition in science, a data comparison in geography and an evidence-based judgement may require different forms of precision.

Common mistakes that cost clarity

• Explaining when asked to describe: extra reasons may not address the requested observation, especially in a brief data question.
• Listing facts when asked to explain: connect facts into an actual 'why' or 'how' chain.
• Writing two descriptions instead of a comparison: add direct similarities or differences between the specified things.
• Giving a personal preference for evaluate: support your decision with relevant content and evidence; qualify it if necessary.
• Ignoring figures, units or the named case: the exam may be testing your ability to apply knowledge to those exact materials.
• Memorising one fixed paragraph shape: use an answer structure as a starting scaffold, then adapt it to the task and specification.

Frequently asked GCSE command-word questions

Does 'evaluate' always mean writing both sides?

Not as a rigid formula. What matters is a reasoned judgement supported by the evidence requested. Sometimes considering a limitation or contrasting position helps; the exact assessment criteria are set by your subject and board.

Does using the word 'because' guarantee an explanation?

No. It can signal reasoning, but the actual reason must be scientifically, geographically or otherwise academically correct and must address the named outcome. 'Because it is better' is not an explanation of a process.

Are GCSE science and GCSE geography command words identical?

There is overlap, but not a universal one-size-fits-all answer. AQA's separate Science and Geography lists show why checking the relevant subject guidance is sensible. Even within one subject, marks and resources change what a complete response requires.

What to do in your next revision session

Choose one command word you often misread. Find three real questions that use it, answer one without notes and inspect the official marking guidance. Record a single correction you can use on the next attempt. If the question is hard to understand, Prepo can help you work through the underlying topic, but still verify exam-specific expectations with your teacher and board. For extended prompts, you can also practise planning an essay answer.

Official sources and further reading

• AQA GCSE Geography: command words and example exam questions — definitions and examples for specification 8035.
• AQA GCSE Science: command words — science-focused definitions and instructions.
• OCR: How important are command words? — advice about reading the whole question and mark value.