How Important Are Command Terms? The Short Answer
Command terms matter because they tell you what to do with your psychological knowledge.
For example, explaining something involves showing how or why it happens, while evaluating involves weighing up strengths and limitations.
However, you do not need to become anxious about small differences between command terms.
For the new IB Psychology course, first assessed in 2027, we expect the command terms for each question in Papers 2 and 3 to remain consistent. This means you can prepare by learning and practising the particular task each question requires.
In Paper 1, the short questions may ask you to describe or explain, while the longer responses could ask you to discuss, evaluate or consider “to what extent”.
The important thing is to understand the task, read the whole question and make sure your answer actually addresses it.
How Important Are Command Terms? The Long Answer
You have probably been told to underline the command term before answering an exam question.
That is useful advice. But what should you do once you have underlined it?
Knowing that a question says “explain” is only helpful if you understand what explanation looks like in your answer.
Similarly, memorising the definition of “evaluate” will not automatically help you evaluate effectively.
You need to practise the thinking behind the command term.
That means learning how to explain a link, compare research methods, interpret findings or weigh up an argument using relevant psychological knowledge.
Will the Command Terms Change in Every Exam?
At the time of writing, the first examinations for this course have not yet taken place.
However, based on the assessment structure and specimen materials, we are confident that the command terms for each question in Papers 2 and 3 will remain consistent.
For example, in the Paper 2 specimen, you are asked to:
- describe their class practical
- explain a concept in relation to that practical
- compare and contrast research methodologies
- design another investigation
- discuss an unfamiliar study using specified concepts.
In Paper 3, the tasks require you to:
- explain an issue with interpreting visual data
- analyse findings and stating a conclusion
- discuss a qualitative research consideration
- judge the extent to which a claim is supported.
The content will change. The research methods, concepts and sources you need to address may change. But we expect the type of thinking required for each question to stay consistent.
This makes practising each question type particularly valuable.
Paper 1: Should I Worry About “Describe” and “Explain”?
There is a difference between these command terms:
- Describe: give a detailed account.
- Explain: give a detailed account that includes reasons or causes.
However, you should not spend valuable exam time worrying about whether you have accidentally included some explanation in a describe answer.
You can include explanation in a describe response.
In fact, the Paper 1 Section A specimen markbands reward detailed relevant knowledge and an explained example, including for the question that uses “describe”.
Your priority should be to give an accurate, focused answer that shows your understanding.
For example, if you are asked about anchoring bias, simply saying that people are influenced by the first information they receive is unlikely to demonstrate everything you understand.
You could develop this by explaining how an initial price acts as an anchor and influences someone’s judgement of whether a later price is good value.
The example should help show how the psychological idea works.
You do not need to turn a four-mark answer into an essay. But you do need to make the relevant links clear.
What About “Discuss”, “Evaluate” and “To What Extent”?
For Paper 1 Section C, the longer questions could use discuss, evaluate or to what extent.
These terms have slightly different emphases:
Command term |
What should your answer do? |
Discuss |
Consider a range of relevant arguments or factors and develop a balanced, evidence-based response. |
Evaluate |
Weigh up strengths and limitations to reach a judgement. |
To what extent |
Consider how far an argument or claim is justified and support your judgement with evidence. |
However, there is considerable overlap in the skills you need.
For all three, a strong longer response needs more than description. You need to develop relevant arguments, think critically and reach a reasoned conclusion.
In the new course, this also means paying close attention to the concepts and how they relate to the topic in the question.
If a question focuses on measurement, for example, your response needs to explore issues involved in measuring the behaviour or cognitive process concerned.
A list of general strengths and limitations of studies will not necessarily answer that question.
The command term guides your approach. The rest of the question tells you what that approach must focus on.
The Same Command Term Does Not Always Mean the Same Answer Structure
Another reason to read beyond the command term is that the same word can appear in very different tasks.
For example, “discuss” appears in both:
- Paper 2’s 15-mark question about an unfamiliar study and specified concepts
- Paper 3’s six-mark question about a qualitative research consideration.
Both require thoughtful discussion, but they do not require identical answers.
For Paper 2, you need to use the required concepts to discuss the study.
For Paper 3, you need to show detailed understanding of the research consideration and apply it explicitly to the relevant source.
You should not see “discuss” and automatically begin writing a memorised essay structure.
Instead, ask yourself:
What am I being asked to discuss, what material must I use, and how much depth is appropriate for the marks available?
Why Command Terms Still Matter
Predictable command terms do not make the skills behind them less important.
In Paper 2, compare and contrast requires both similarities and differences. Writing one description of your class practical followed by a separate description of another method leaves the comparison for the examiner to work out.
Make the links yourself.
For example, explain how the methods are similar or different in their procedures, the data they produce or the conclusions they allow.
In Paper 3, analyse requires you to do something with the findings. Copying numbers from a table is not enough. Use those numbers to explain patterns, differences or relationships, then link your conclusion to the findings.
Similarly, explain requires you to develop your point.
For Paper 3 Question 1, identifying a problem with a graph is only the beginning. You need to explain why that problem limits interpretation.
The command term matters because it helps distinguish between mentioning something and doing the thinking the question requires.
How Should I Revise Command Terms?
You do not need to spend hours copying out definitions.
Learn what the relevant terms mean, then practise using them in the questions you will actually answer.
Try to:
- explain how or why an example illustrates a psychological idea
- make direct comparisons between research methods
- design a clear investigation that meets the question’s requirements
- analyse data and draw a supported conclusion
- develop arguments using the relevant concepts
- weigh up evidence before reaching a judgement.
Use the markbands to check whether you have demonstrated the required skill.
For example, have you explained the example? Have you applied your knowledge to the source? Have you analysed the evidence, or mainly described it?
Understanding what a successful answer does is more useful than memorising a definition in isolation.
My Biggest Command Term Tip
Before you write, finish this sentence:
“To answer this question, I need to…”
Make your answer specific.
“To explain how this example demonstrates anchoring bias.”
“To compare similarities and differences between these research methods.”
“To judge how far the sources and my own knowledge support this claim.”
If you can clearly identify the task, you are much more likely to write a focused response.
Command terms are useful signposts. Learn what they mean, practise the skills they require and read them alongside the whole question.
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