Command Terms International School Students Should Know Before Secondary

In the previous article, we looked at how the English needed in an international school is different from everyday conversation, and why it helps to understand classroom vocabulary not only as a “meaning,” but as an action to perform.
In this article, we will look more closely at the Command Terms that often appear in tests and assignments.

Previous article: International school English: is it enough to just ‘study English harder’?

———

When students move from Primary into Secondary, the kind of English they meet begins to change.

Knowing the meaning of a word is no longer always enough. It becomes more important to read a question and understand exactly what the student is being asked to do.

Words such as describe, explain, compare, justify, analyse, and evaluate often appear in tests and assignments. They are Command Terms: signals that tell students what kind of action their answer should perform.

———

In Primary, many questions can feel fairly direct.

Circle the correct answer.
Draw a line.
Match the words.
Write your answer.

With these instructions, the action is easy to see. Students circle, draw, match, choose, or write.

But in Secondary, command words begin to connect more closely with ways of thinking.

Describe the pattern.
Explain your reasoning.
Compare the two sources.
Justify your answer.
Evaluate the method.

Now it is not just about writing an answer. It is about showing thinking in the way the question expects.

———

Words That Change the Direction of an Answer

Two words many students confuse at first are describe and explain.
Both may feel like “say something about it,” but they ask for different kinds of answers.

• identify: Find or name what the question asks for. It usually does not ask for a long explanation; the key is to point out the correct object, feature, or idea.

• describe: Give clear details about what can be seen, what happened, or what features are present. For example, if a graph rises, falls, or changes sharply, the answer should say what is visible.

• explain: Say why something happens or how it works. The answer should go beyond stating the situation and connect reasons, causes, or processes.

• compare: Look at two or more things and explain similarities and differences. It is not enough to say “A is like this and B is like that”; the answer should show the basis for comparison.

• classify: Put things into groups using shared features or criteria. When classifying animals, materials, shapes, or data, it helps to show what rule was used.

The same graph, text, or source can lead to a very different answer depending on the Command Term.

———

Words That Matter More in Secondary

In Secondary, students meet more command words that ask them to show evidence, structure, and reasoning.

• infer: Work out something that is not stated directly by using clues in a text, source, image, or data. It should not be a guess; students need to show which clue led them to that idea.

• interpret: Explain what a graph, map, table, text, or result shows. It is not just repeating the data; it is explaining what the information means.

• justify: Support an answer, choice, or opinion with reasons. It should not stop at “I think…” because the answer needs reasons or evidence to support the idea.

• analyse: Break information into important parts and explain how those parts connect. In a graph, this might mean trends and changes; in a text, language and effect; in an experiment, causes and results.

• evaluate: Consider strengths, limitations, advantages, weaknesses, effects, or problems, and make a judgement with evidence. It is not enough to say something is good or bad; the answer should show why.

• conclude: State a final finding or judgement based on the evidence and results already discussed. A conclusion should connect back to where it came from.

• discuss: Consider more than one side, viewpoint, advantage, or limitation. This appears often in longer answers in Science, Humanities, and English.

These words are not just vocabulary. They are ways of building an answer.

———

The Same Topic Can Need Different Answers

Imagine a student has read a source about an environmental problem.

• Describe the problem.
  The answer should say what the problem looks like and what is happening.

• Explain the problem.
  The answer should say why the problem happens and what process leads to it.

• Evaluate the solution.
  The answer should judge how effective the proposed solution is, including strengths and limitations.

Even with the same topic, the shape of the answer changes when the Command Term changes.

———

Command Terms Vary by Subject and Context

The words in this article are only a starting point.

In real lessons, students meet many more Command Terms depending on the subject and context. That is why it is more effective to learn them together with the kind of answer each subject expects.

In the InterVoca app, there is a Command Terms word pack for focused practice with these question words. You can find it here:

[Home > Start Learning > Common Study Pack > Command Terms]

Knowing how Command Terms work can make it much easier to answer assignments and test questions in the way they are intended.
As students move up through the grades, this becomes more important, so it is worth getting familiar with these words step by step.