Command words are the most important words in an exam question. They tell you what to do. Things to remember about command words:

• It is a good idea to pick out the command words when you read a question (try underlining them as you read the question).
• They tell you exactly what the examiners want you to do and what they will give marks for.
• You will get very few marks if you do something else.
• Writing all you know about something could waste time.
• Picking out what the examiner wants shows you are a good geographer.

These command words are the ones that your geography examiners use. With each word is an explanation of what it means and some of the ways in which it may be used in a question.

Command Word

Meaning

Examples

Annotate	Add notes to something to describe it or explain it.	Annotate a sketch to describe the site of the factory. Annotate a map of supermarket to explain why it was built in that place. Suggest reasons for changes in population by annotating a graph.
Comment	Write what you think about something, using your own knowledge and understanding.	Comment on what a cartoon shows. Comment on the views expressed in a newspaper article.
Compare	Write about what is similar and different about two things. (Remember that two separate descriptions do not make a comparison.)	Compare the photographs taken in 1950 and 1997. Compare the climate at A and B. Compare the distribution of population in two regions that you have studied.
Contrast	Write about the differences between two things.
Describe	Write about what something is like.	Describe where things are on the map. Describe what you can see on a photograph. Describe what a graph shows. Describe what something you have studied is like giving a detailed answer.
Draw	Make a freehand sketch of something.	Draw a sketch map of something such as the site of a new building. Draw an annotated sketch of a view in a photograph.
Explain	Write about why or how something happens.	Explain why something happens in a certain place, such as earthquakes or heavy rain. Explain how one thing can affect another such as human activity and slope systems.
Give reasons for	Write about why or how something happens.	Give reasons why something such as a factory or a village is found in a certain place. Give reasons for a pattern on a map. Give reasons for a pattern on a graph. Give reasons for what has happened in a place you have studied.
Identify	A brief answer is required, such as:	Identify the highest/lowest figures from a graph or table. Identify an example of something from a map. Identify a named example of something you have studied. Identify a question or hypothesis suitable for an investigation.
Justify	Say why you chose something or why you think in a certain way.	Justify why you chose a site for something on a map. Justify your views on issues like deforestation or out-of-town shopping centres.
Label	Write a word against something on a map or diagram.	Label an example of something on a sketch. Label a sketch map you have drawn with the names of the places shown on it.
List	Write a number of pieces of information in a column.	List cities with more than 10 million people from a table of statistics. List reasons for something in order of importance (rank order).
Locate	Write about where something is or mark it accurately on a map.	Locate an example of something you have studied. Locate something on a map and describe where it is or give its grid reference.
Predict	Use your own knowledge or some information you have been given to suggest what might happen next.	Predict how the population of a place might change. Predict how a settlement shown on a map might grow.
Select	Choose something from what you have studied or from information given to you.	Choose an example of a factory or farm you have studied. Choose one of the people listed below.
State	Write a short clear answer.	State one reason for something. State the name of something.
Study	Look carefully at a piece of information given to you before answering a question.	Study Figure 1. Study the Ordnance Survey map. Study the satellite image.
Suggest	Write down possible reasons for something, using some information given to you or your own knowledge. (You can gain marks here for something which may not be correct as long as your suggestions are reasonable.)	Suggest reasons why something was built at a particular place on a map. Suggest why some people may have a particular view on something.
Summarise	Write a few words on the main points, without details or examples.	Summarise the reasons for the route of a by-pass. Summarise the different views of people about the by-pass.
Use	Get the information you need to answer the question from a particular place.	Use the information in Figure 1………………… Use photograph A and your own knowledge to………….. Use only the graph in Figure 2 to………………

Sometimes a question will have two command words in it. Make sure you do both. Here are examples.

Describe and explain.
State your own views and justify them.
Draw a sketch map of ………………….and annotate it.

Remember... do exactly what the examiners are asking you to do! Good luck.