What do words like state, describe, explain, compare, analyse, justify and evaluate actually require in a 2027 SEC question? These instructions tell a learner what to do with the information and knowledge they have. Some questions need a concise fact; others need an explanation, evidence, a comparison or a supported judgement. Misreading that action can cost marks even when the child knows the topic.
PG1, PG2 and PG3 are Secondary 1 admission groups, while G1, G2 and G3 are the demand levels of individual SEC subjects. Students at every level benefit from reading the instruction accurately. The definitions below are parent-friendly study guidance, not an invented universal SEAB glossary; the actual subject and marking instructions remain authoritative.
This guide makes command words easy to understand through practical examples in English, Mathematics, Science, History, Social Studies, Geography, Art and Design. The aim is not to give children a thick list to memorise, but to show how a single word changes the kind of answer that makes sense.
Independent eduKateSG parent and student reference, October 2026. Confirm formal task wording and expectations from the relevant 2027 SEAB syllabus, actual question paper and school feedback. Descriptions of common command words are explanatory educational guidance, not official universal mark allocation rules.
Quick reference: common exam instruction words
- State / identify: give the correct relevant fact or item.
- Describe: say what is observed or what happens.
- Explain: connect a cause, concept or reason to the outcome.
- Compare: identify a relevant similarity or difference between items.
- Analyse: examine how features or relationships contribute to a result.
- Justify: support a decision or claim with reasons or evidence.
- Evaluate: weigh evidence and limitations against criteria before reaching a judgement.
- Calculate / show: use valid mathematical steps, units and required working.
- Always read: the subject context, all verbs and limiting words.
Command words: browse the detailed examples
- 1. Why the first word in a question matters
- 2. The Posting Group does not change the basic habit
- 3. What does state usually ask?
- 4. What does identify usually ask?
- 5. What does name usually ask?
- 6. What does list usually ask?
- 7. What does define usually ask?
- 8. What does describe usually ask?
- 9. What does explain usually ask?
- 10. What does outline usually ask?
- 11. What does summarise usually ask?
- 12. What does compare usually ask?
- 13. What does contrast usually ask?
- 14. What does distinguish usually ask?
- 15. What does classify usually ask?
- 16. What does calculate usually ask?
- 17. What does determine usually ask?
- 18. What does estimate usually ask?
- 19. What does show usually ask?
- 20. What does prove usually ask?
- 21. What does justify usually ask?
- 22. What does evaluate usually ask?
- 23. What does assess usually ask?
- 24. What does analyse usually ask?
- 25. What does interpret usually ask?
- 26. What does infer usually ask?
- 27. What does discuss usually ask?
- 28. What does suggest usually ask?
- 29. What does predict usually ask?
- 30. What does hypothesise usually ask?
- 31. What does recommend usually ask?
- 32. What does account for usually ask?
- 33. What does examine usually ask?
- 34. What does illustrate usually ask?
- 35. What does deduce usually ask?
- 36. What does sketch usually ask?
- 37. What does draw usually ask?
- 38. What does label usually ask?
- 39. What does plot usually ask?
- 40. What does annotate usually ask?
- 41. What does sequence usually ask?
- 42. What does give a reason usually ask?
- 43. What do except, only and at least change?
- 44. What does not necessarily mean?
- 45. English comprehension command words
- 46. Mathematics command words require working
- 47. Science command words demand precise processes
- 48. Humanities command words demand evidence
- 49. Art and Design questions have different outputs
- 50. The number of marks matters as context
- 51. Two verbs can mean two jobs
- 52. Do not answer a more interesting question
- 53. What to do when a verb is unfamiliar
- 54. Use a three-step answer check
- 55. G1 learners deserve meaningful verb practice
- 56. G2 learners can practise unfamiliar contexts
- 57. G3 learners still benefit from basic clarity
- 58. Use teacher feedback as a diagnostic
- 59. The correct examination year remains essential
- 60. A calm family conversation improves accuracy
1. Why the first word in a question matters
Examination questions often contain verbs indicating the response expected. A child may know the facts but miss marks by describing when asked to explain, or listing reasons when asked to evaluate. Reading the instruction is a learnable skill.
Example: A Biology question says explain why a structure helps a process, and the learner merely names the structure.
Helpful action: Circle the verb, identify the answer job and check the response against that job.
Important distinction: This article is a practical guide, not a claim that all SEAB subjects share a single official command-word dictionary.
2. The Posting Group does not change the basic habit
PG1, PG2 and PG3 are Secondary 1 admission groups; the SEC examines individual subjects at G1, G2 or G3. Careful reading of task instructions helps learners at all these levels without turning the levels into ability labels.
Example: A PG1 student and a PG3 student both misread the word only in a question.
Helpful action: Practise identifying verbs and limiting words using suitable questions at the student’s actual level.
Important distinction: The exact marking expectations always come from the registered subject’s syllabus and examination task.
3. What does state usually ask?
State generally asks for a concise relevant piece of information such as a fact, value, term or conclusion. Many questions do not require a full explanation unless the wording adds another demand.
Example: A Science question asks students to state the name of a process shown in a given diagram.
Helpful action: Answer with the correct term and avoid replacing it with a paragraph of unrelated detail.
Important distinction: If a task says state and give a reason, both parts are required.
4. What does identify usually ask?
Identify asks the learner to recognise the specified item, feature or relationship from given information. It can involve selecting evidence in a text or reading a diagram rather than explaining all its causes.
Example: A Geography map shows several regions and the question asks which has the highest density.
Helpful action: Read the legend and name the correct region using the actual measurement.
Important distinction: A visual guess is not reliable identification when map colours or scales differ.
5. What does name usually ask?
Name can request an exact object, category, person or process. The answer should be accurate and match the subject’s approved terminology where relevant.
Example: A History question asks students to name a historical institution mentioned in a source.
Helpful action: Use the institution’s correct name without inventing background claims.
Important distinction: Naming is not the same as providing a causal explanation, though a combined instruction may require both.
6. What does list usually ask?
List generally calls for multiple discrete items. A useful answer separates them clearly and avoids making every item a paraphrase of the previous one.
Example: A learner is asked to list two features of a healthy school learning routine and writes adequate sleep twice in different words.
Helpful action: Count distinct relevant points and use short, clearly separated responses.
Important distinction: The required number of items must come from the question, not from a generic memorised rule.
7. What does define usually ask?
Define asks for the meaning of a concept or term, usually requiring the features that distinguish it from related ideas. The response should be accurate rather than merely give one example.
Example: A Mathematics task requests the meaning of a prime number.
Helpful action: State the defining property and consider an example only if the task benefits.
Important distinction: One familiar example may not amount to a complete definition.
8. What does describe usually ask?
Describe commonly asks what something is like or what happened, including important observable features or changes. It need not provide the cause unless the task also asks for explanation.
Example: A graph shows a population increasing rapidly then flattening.
Helpful action: Report the pattern, relevant units and any significant change.
Important distinction: A description of the trend does not automatically show why it occurred.
9. What does explain usually ask?
Explain asks for a meaningful connection showing how or why an outcome occurs. Students often need the correct concept plus reasoning that links it to what was observed.
Example: A Science question asks why water evaporates faster under one set of conditions.
Helpful action: Identify the relevant process and connect the condition to the result.
Important distinction: Repeating the observation in different words is not the same as explaining its cause.
10. What does outline usually ask?
Outline often requests a brief structured account of the major stages or elements rather than exhaustive detail. The student should maintain the important sequence or relationships.
Example: A task asks for an outline of how an investigation was planned.
Helpful action: Give the major steps in a sensible order and preserve the key purpose.
Important distinction: A short outline must still include the elements needed to understand the process.
11. What does summarise usually ask?
Summarise asks for the essential meaning or main points without unnecessary detail. Accuracy matters because compression can accidentally change who did something or why.
Example: A passage contains a main argument and three supporting examples, while the learner copies one illustration as the whole summary.
Helpful action: Find the central idea, preserve important relationships and remove nonessential detail.
Important distinction: A shorter answer that reverses the source’s meaning is not a successful summary.
12. What does compare usually ask?
Compare asks students to examine a relationship between items, generally identifying relevant similarities, differences or both as requested by the wording. The comparison needs a shared basis.
Example: A History question asks students to compare the perspectives of two authors.
Helpful action: Name the precise issue both discuss and show their relevant agreement or disagreement.
Important distinction: Writing two independent descriptions without a comparative link can miss the task.
13. What does contrast usually ask?
Contrast focuses on differences between the specified items or processes. Students should select comparable characteristics and explain the relevant distinction.
Example: A Biology task asks for the contrast between ventilation and cellular respiration.
Helpful action: Compare their purposes and processes instead of saying one is more important.
Important distinction: A difference should be factually relevant and not rest on a vague judgement.
14. What does distinguish usually ask?
Distinguish requests a way to tell two ideas apart, often through defining characteristics, conditions or effects. It is useful when students routinely confuse related terms.
Example: A learner is asked to distinguish speed from acceleration.
Helpful action: State how each quantity is defined and how their units differ.
Important distinction: Merely writing that they are different does not specify the distinction.
15. What does classify usually ask?
Classify means sorting or assigning items according to defined criteria. The student needs to use the correct properties rather than group objects by superficial resemblance.
Example: A Science question gives several materials and asks for their classification.
Helpful action: Identify the relevant distinguishing property and check borderline cases.
Important distinction: An item looking similar to another does not guarantee identical chemical or physical classification.
16. What does calculate usually ask?
Calculate requires a mathematical result using appropriate quantities and operations. Working and units may be required, particularly where SEAB’s Mathematics syllabus specifically warns against omitting essential working.
Example: A learner knows the percentage formula but uses the final price as the reference base for the increase.
Helpful action: Name the input quantities, perform the operation and interpret the numerical result.
Important distinction: A correct-looking decimal can still be a calculation of the wrong question.
17. What does determine usually ask?
Determine can ask the learner to obtain a result using available data, a method or a reasoned process. Depending on the subject, a bare answer may be insufficient if the task requires showing how it is established.
Example: A Mathematics problem asks the learner to determine an unknown length from a diagram.
Helpful action: Identify the justified relationship and show relevant working.
Important distinction: The question’s evidence and marking instructions control the amount of explanation required.
18. What does estimate usually ask?
Estimate asks for a reasonable approximate value or judgement based on the available information. The candidate should show appropriate scale and precision rather than claim certainty.
Example: A student needs to estimate a reading from a graph between two labelled values.
Helpful action: Use the graph scale and state an appropriately approximate result.
Important distinction: Excessive decimal places can falsely suggest more precision than the evidence supports.
19. What does show usually ask?
Show or show that may require the candidate to demonstrate a stated result from earlier information. The reasoning should begin from the givens rather than assume the target is already proven.
Example: A Mathematics task tells the learner to show that an expression equals a particular value.
Helpful action: Use valid transformations or calculations leading independently to the stated relationship.
Important distinction: Simply copying the value supplied in the question is not a demonstration.
20. What does prove usually ask?
Prove asks for a logically defensible argument using assumptions, known properties and appropriate deductions. Students should avoid relying only on the appearance of a diagram.
Example: A geometry task asks the learner to prove two angles are equal.
Helpful action: State the relevant theorem or property and explain how it applies.
Important distinction: An accurate drawing can suggest a result without proving it.
21. What does justify usually ask?
Justify asks for relevant reasons supporting a claim, choice or mathematical conclusion. It often requires connecting evidence to the conclusion rather than repeating the claim.
Example: A Geography task asks the candidate to justify selecting one site for a public facility.
Helpful action: Compare the decision with the stated criteria and source evidence.
Important distinction: A personal preference with no relevant evidence is not an adequate justification.
22. What does evaluate usually ask?
Evaluate asks for a judgement against criteria, often weighing strengths, limits, evidence and alternatives. The student should explain why the final view follows from the comparison.
Example: A Social Studies task asks whether a policy is effective for several affected groups.
Helpful action: Define relevant success criteria, weigh the evidence and give a supported conclusion.
Important distinction: Listing advantages alone does not automatically provide an evaluation.
23. What does assess usually ask?
Assess may involve making a considered judgement using the evidence or criteria available. A response often needs to describe what is supported, what is uncertain and what matters most.
Example: A History task asks students to assess the importance of a factor in an event.
Helpful action: Explain the factor’s significance relative to other relevant influences.
Important distinction: One confident adjective cannot replace an evidence-based argument.
24. What does analyse usually ask?
Analyse means examining components, relationships or mechanisms to explain how they contribute to a whole. In English or Art, it may focus on how choices produce an effect; in data tasks it may focus on patterns.
Example: A visual artwork uses contrasting colours and asymmetrical placement.
Helpful action: Identify the specific features and explain how they shape the viewer’s experience.
Important distinction: A catalogue of features without relationships is not a complete analysis.
25. What does interpret usually ask?
Interpret requires making sense of information from a text, graph, image or dataset in the light of its context. Students should separate direct observation from a plausible inference.
Example: A chart shows an increase in a rate and the learner concludes a whole population must have doubled.
Helpful action: Read the denominator and explain what the plotted change actually means.
Important distinction: The same graphic can be misread if its unit or audience is ignored.
26. What does infer usually ask?
Infer asks for a reasoned idea suggested by evidence rather than directly stated. Strong inference includes the detail supporting the conclusion and respects alternative explanations.
Example: A character pauses before answering a question, suggesting uncertainty.
Helpful action: Point to the pause and context that make the interpretation plausible.
Important distinction: One detail may support a cautious possibility rather than a certain motive.
27. What does discuss usually ask?
Discuss can invite a reasoned consideration of an issue, relationship or different viewpoints. The appropriate depth depends on the specific question and subject.
Example: A humanities task asks students to discuss the effects of urban growth on residents.
Helpful action: Organise relevant effects, provide evidence and connect them to the question.
Important distinction: Do not assume discuss always means an identical five-paragraph template.
28. What does suggest usually ask?
Suggest often invites a plausible, relevant proposal or explanation grounded in provided information. It can allow more than one sensible answer when supported by the scenario.
Example: A Science task asks the learner to suggest why a measured value differed from an expected result.
Helpful action: Check which conditions could reasonably account for the difference.
Important distinction: A creative answer that contradicts the evidence is not necessarily acceptable.
29. What does predict usually ask?
Predict means stating an expected outcome based on a trend, process or model. A sound prediction depends on the given assumptions and must not be presented as certainty beyond them.
Example: A Biology task shows a food web and asks how a population might respond to a change.
Helpful action: Trace relevant relationships and qualify the result if information is incomplete.
Important distinction: An unsupported general statement about every species is not a reliable prediction.
30. What does hypothesise usually ask?
In an investigation context, a hypothesis is a testable statement about a proposed relationship. It should be clear enough that an appropriate investigation could support or challenge it.
Example: A learner predicts that increasing light intensity changes a measured plant response under stated conditions.
Helpful action: Identify the variables and define the predicted direction where relevant.
Important distinction: A broad wish for better results is not a testable scientific hypothesis.
31. What does recommend usually ask?
Recommend requests a suitable choice supported by criteria and evidence. An answer should address the practical constraints of the scenario, not only express a general preference.
Example: A Geography scenario asks for a recommendation to improve travel access within a budget.
Helpful action: Select the option that best meets the stated criteria and justify the trade-offs.
Important distinction: The most expensive option is not automatically the most suitable.
32. What does account for usually ask?
Account for can request an explanation of an observed pattern or difference using relevant factors. The context determines which mechanism or evidence makes the response sufficient.
Example: A graph shows a change in tourism arrivals and the question asks students to account for it.
Helpful action: Use the supplied conditions and relevant course ideas to explain the pattern.
Important distinction: An unrelated list of tourism attractions does not necessarily explain the measured change.
33. What does examine usually ask?
Examine directs attention to particular evidence or features, often as part of a reasoned investigation. A strong answer follows the focus specified by the full question rather than wandering through everything known.
Example: A Literature question asks students to examine how dialogue reveals conflict.
Helpful action: Select meaningful exchanges and explain their effect on the characters’ relationship.
Important distinction: Retelling the plot in order is not automatically an examination of dialogue.
34. What does illustrate usually ask?
Illustrate may invite an example, diagram or case to make an idea clear. The example must be relevant and correctly connected to the concept.
Example: A Biology learner gives an example of how structure supports function.
Helpful action: Name the structure and demonstrate the specific link.
Important distinction: An impressive case-study name alone does not show the required relationship.
35. What does deduce usually ask?
Deduce involves reaching a result using supplied premises or observations. The student should be able to trace how the available information constrains the answer.
Example: A Chemistry problem gives test outcomes and asks what conclusion follows about a substance.
Helpful action: Eliminate interpretations inconsistent with the evidence and support the remaining one.
Important distinction: Guessing the most familiar substance does not constitute deduction.
36. What does sketch usually ask?
Sketch generally calls for a clear representation of the key features rather than an elaborate final rendering. In Mathematics, its meaning depends on the graph or diagram requirements; in Art it can support idea exploration.
Example: A learner sketches a quadratic graph with roots correct but places the turning point inconsistently.
Helpful action: Mark the important mathematical or visual features before drawing the outline.
Important distinction: Decorative neatness is not a substitute for structural correctness.
37. What does draw usually ask?
Draw can request a diagram, graph or visual expression with properties specified by the question. Students need accurate labels, scale or relationships where those matter.
Example: A Science task requests a circuit diagram and the student produces an ambiguous drawing.
Helpful action: Use the appropriate symbols and label the relationships requested.
Important distinction: A picture that looks like the object is not necessarily a valid scientific diagram.
38. What does label usually ask?
Label asks the student to identify parts on a supplied or constructed representation. Correct placement can matter as much as knowing the terminology.
Example: A learner writes xylem next to the wrong structure in a plant diagram.
Helpful action: Trace the relevant structure and attach the label to the correct location.
Important distinction: Naming the right word away from the correct position may not complete the task.
39. What does plot usually ask?
Plot requests accurate placement of data points against scales and units. Students should check axes, coordinates and the required representation before drawing connecting lines.
Example: A learner reverses x and y values and draws a smooth but incorrect trend.
Helpful action: Write a small ordered-pair check for the first and last plotted points.
Important distinction: A visually attractive graph cannot rescue incorrectly positioned data.
40. What does annotate usually ask?
Annotate calls for short meaningful notes attached to relevant features of a text, diagram or design. The notes should explain the feature’s purpose, effect or significance in context.
Example: An Art sketch contains arrows pointing to shapes without describing why they were chosen.
Helpful action: Make each annotation identify a meaningful visual or functional decision.
Important distinction: Adding many labels without information is not deeper analysis.
41. What does sequence usually ask?
Sequence means arranging steps or events in a justified order. The student should understand why the order matters and what changes if a step occurs earlier.
Example: A procedure lists observations before the actual measurement is taken.
Helpful action: Check the process order against the intended task.
Important distinction: A memorised list can fail when the scenario changes the prerequisites.
42. What does give a reason usually ask?
Give a reason asks for a valid causal, logical or evidential connection. It is usually more demanding than repeating the answer and may be simpler than a long explanation.
Example: A Mathematics task asks for a reason why a stated solution must be positive.
Helpful action: Identify the relevant constraint or mathematical property.
Important distinction: The phrase because it is correct does not count as an informative reason.
43. What do except, only and at least change?
Small limiting words are not verbs, but they change which answer meets the task. Negation, boundary conditions and quantities often cause mistakes across Mathematics, English and Science.
Example: A probability task asks for at least one success, but the learner counts exactly one.
Helpful action: Underline the condition and test it against a few concrete cases.
Important distinction: A correct formula applied to the wrong event yields an incorrect answer.
44. What does not necessarily mean?
The phrase not necessarily warns that a conclusion is not guaranteed by the information. Students should resist turning incomplete evidence into absolute statements.
Example: A student sees two quantities rise together and says one must have caused the other.
Helpful action: Ask what other mechanism could produce the observed relationship.
Important distinction: Correlation alone does not establish a unique cause.
45. English comprehension command words
English reading tasks may ask for evidence, an inference or an explanation of writer’s effect. The candidate must connect the chosen detail to the actual question and not simply reproduce a stock phrase.
Example: A learner names the technique metaphor but fails to explain the emotion or image it evokes.
Helpful action: Write a short claim–detail–effect response grounded in context.
Important distinction: A generic answer about making the text interesting rarely explains a specific choice.
46. Mathematics command words require working
Mathematics tasks such as calculate, determine, show and justify depend on valid operations, mathematical constraints and relevant working. The 2027 K110, K210 and K310 syllabuses warn that omission of essential working can lose marks.
Example: A candidate writes an answer to a multi-step inequality without showing how the solution interval arose.
Helpful action: Record enough correct mathematical steps to make the result checkable.
Important distinction: A calculator result is not a substitute for the reasoning explicitly requested.
47. Science command words demand precise processes
Science may ask students to state an observation, explain a process, compare conditions or suggest a control. The response should remain faithful to the actual experiment or model.
Example: A learner identifies a gas from bubbles without the test results required for that inference.
Helpful action: Separate observations, processes, proposed explanations and conclusions.
Important distinction: A scientific answer should not overclaim what one observation proves.
48. Humanities command words demand evidence
History and Social Studies source questions can require comparison, reliability evaluation and supported inferences. Geography tasks can require explanations of maps, mechanisms and case-study outcomes.
Example: A student calls a source unreliable solely because they dislike its viewpoint.
Helpful action: Evaluate whether its content, provenance and support are adequate for the particular claim.
Important distinction: A strong argument is not measured by emotional intensity or the length of quotations.
49. Art and Design questions have different outputs
Art questions may require visual analysis, exploratory sketching or a reflection; D&T may ask for design reasoning and evaluation. The verbs must be interpreted alongside each subject’s actual assessment criteria.
Example: A student sketches a beautiful product but ignores the requirement to explain which user need it addresses.
Helpful action: Read the brief, identify the purpose of each task and make the visual or written response relevant.
Important distinction: A single writing template cannot serve every practical and creative subject.
50. The number of marks matters as context
Marks may help estimate an appropriate response size, but they do not provide an automatic sentence count. The subject rubric and precise question remain the stronger guides.
Example: A learner writes ten sentences for a short fact question and two words for an explanation requiring a reason.
Helpful action: Notice the task’s scope and whether several distinct points are requested.
Important distinction: Do not replace comprehension with a universal one-sentence-per-mark rule.
51. Two verbs can mean two jobs
Some questions combine instructions such as describe and explain or identify and justify. Students should complete each part rather than satisfy only the first familiar verb.
Example: A Science task asks for a trend and a reason, while the learner supplies only the trend.
Helpful action: Write a two-part response checklist before drafting.
Important distinction: A complete answer needs all stated tasks fulfilled.
52. Do not answer a more interesting question
A student may know the topic well and write about an adjacent idea rather than the question asked. This is often an instruction-reading or focus problem, not a knowledge problem.
Example: A History learner writes everything remembered about a war when asked to assess one cause.
Helpful action: Underline the specified factor and period before selecting evidence.
Important distinction: More content can make an answer less relevant when it wanders outside the focus.
53. What to do when a verb is unfamiliar
When practising, students can ask their teacher what a command word requires in a specific subject and examine model responses that meet the syllabus. In a formal exam, they must follow permitted procedures.
Example: A learner meets an uncommon instruction in a Geography practice paper.
Helpful action: Look at the task, accompanying information and published relevant assessment criteria.
Important distinction: Guessing from everyday conversational meaning can be unreliable for a specialised course.
54. Use a three-step answer check
Before submitting, ask whether the response did the requested action, used relevant evidence and stayed within the specified limits. This applies to many subjects without replacing their particular rubrics.
Example: A candidate has finished a chart explanation but forgot to state the units.
Helpful action: Re-read the verb, check the evidence and scan for a missing condition or unit.
Important distinction: A checklist catches omissions but cannot manufacture content knowledge that is absent.
55. G1 learners deserve meaningful verb practice
G1 questions can assess retrieval, explanation and appropriate problem-solving, as defined by the actual syllabus. Practising them clearly builds communication rather than setting a ceiling on ambition.
Example: A G1 learner describes a percentage change then explains which amount was the original base.
Helpful action: Start with brief supported answers and gradually vary the scenarios.
Important distinction: A Posting Group does not prevent a child developing strong reasoning habits.
56. G2 learners can practise unfamiliar contexts
A G2 learner may handle rehearsed tasks but misread a new version of compare or explain. Practice should therefore include varied contexts with the same underlying question demand.
Example: A Mathematics story changes from shopping to transport but uses the same ratio structure.
Helpful action: Ask the child to identify the instruction and model before calculating.
Important distinction: Memorising the wording of one worked example is not independent mastery.
57. G3 learners still benefit from basic clarity
Complex questions can contain several requirements and limiting conditions. Even a capable student may overlook a simple instruction under time pressure.
Example: A G3 candidate produces an advanced explanation yet never answers which option the question asks them to recommend.
Helpful action: Read the command and focus words before demonstrating wider knowledge.
Important distinction: Sophistication cannot compensate for an answer to a different task.
58. Use teacher feedback as a diagnostic
A marked answer can show whether the content was missing, the command word misunderstood or the response incomplete. These require different learning activities.
Example: A learner knows an example but gives no evaluative judgement.
Helpful action: Practise the missing judgement step on a new example.
Important distinction: A large amount of fact revision does not automatically fix an evaluation gap.
59. The correct examination year remains essential
These learning habits are broad, but specific command meanings and marking expectations belong to the examination-year syllabus. Candidates sitting after 2027 should check current documents.
Example: A student starting Secondary 1 in 2027 plans to use the same past-year paper format years later.
Helpful action: Update the official syllabus and school instructions as examination time approaches.
Important distinction: This guide is not a substitute for future SEAB specifications.
60. A calm family conversation improves accuracy
Rather than drilling children on fifty verbs, parents can ask what one school question really requested and how the answer showed that task was completed.
Example: A learner discovers a missing because sentence and repairs an otherwise accurate response.
Helpful action: Celebrate the precise correction and return to another short authentic question.
Important distinction: PG1, PG2 and PG3 are educational starting arrangements, never lifelong limits.
Questions families ask about command words
Does state mean explain?
Usually no; state requests a relevant fact or conclusion, while explain asks for a link showing how or why.
Is describe the same as explain?
Description identifies what is seen or happened; explanation gives a relevant mechanism or reason.
What does compare ask for?
A clearly stated similarity or difference, as relevant, supported by information about both items.
What does justify require?
A conclusion supported by appropriate reasoning, evidence or criteria.
What does evaluate require?
A balanced, criteria-based judgement supported by relevant evidence.
What does analyse require?
Examining how details or relationships contribute to meaning, function or outcome.
What does infer mean?
Drawing a defensible conclusion from clues, with attention to the limits of the evidence.
What does show that mean in Mathematics?
Demonstrating a stated result through valid working from the given information.
What does account for mean?
Explaining an observed difference or trend using relevant factors.
What does distinguish mean?
Identifying a characteristic that makes related concepts different.
Can a response use more than one skill?
Yes. Questions may combine command words or require several kinds of reasoning.
Are these definitions an official universal SEAB glossary?
No. They are practical study guidance; each subject’s current syllabus and mark scheme govern formal expectations.
Does every command word require the same number of sentences?
No. Relevance, marks, task structure and the subject’s rubric matter.
Can a G1 student explain or justify?
Yes. Appropriate reasoning and explanation are valuable at every subject level.
Why does my child lose marks despite knowing the chapter?
They may have misread the task, omitted a required part or used irrelevant evidence.
How should students handle a two-part question?
Identify and answer each requested action separately before reviewing the complete response.
What if the student gives too much information?
Check whether every detail advances the particular question; remove irrelevant content.
Should candidates memorise an essay for every command word?
Flexible interpretation and evidence-based reasoning are more reliable than universal scripts.
Can a question’s meaning change with only one word?
Yes. Words like only, except, at least and not can change the required answer.
What is the best home practice?
Choose one actual school question, identify its command and explain why a model response meets it.
Linked eduKateSG subject guides
These companion articles explain the actual G-level subjects and give more examples of reading, working and evidence-based reasoning. They help families connect the general question-reading habit with the academic requirements of a specific registered course.
- 2027 SEC assessment objectives AO1 AO2 AO3
- English SEC reading, writing, listening and e-Oral
- Mathematics and Additional Mathematics 2027
- G2 Science Physics and Chemistry study
- G3 History and sources study
- Social Studies–Geography and History choices
- G2 Literature in English study
- G3 Art and Higher Art pathways
- Parents and Pathways Hub
- 2027 SEC Study Guide Index
Official SEAB reference material
- SEAB G1 2027 school-candidate syllabus directory
- SEAB G2 2027 school-candidate syllabus directory
- SEAB G3 2027 school-candidate syllabus directory
- SEAB G3 Mathematics K310 assessment objectives and paper scheme
A supportive study habit
At the next homework review, ask the learner to point to the exact word that says what the question wants. Then invite them to show how their answer completes that request. It is a short, repeatable habit that can improve many subjects without increasing study hours.
Every learner can become more attentive to instructions and more accurate in expression. The starting Posting Group never defines what the child can learn.