This guide explains the common ones and how each changes what your answer should do.
What are IGCSE English command words really asking for?
Command words are the instruction words at the start of a question, such as explain, analyse, comment and summarise. Each one tells you what kind of answer earns marks. A question that says analyse wants something different from one that says explain or summarise.
Students who skip past the command word often write a fluent answer to the wrong task. This affects strong students as much as weaker ones. A capable writer who reads analyse as describe writes a polished description, and it scores like a description.
What do the common command words mean?
- Identify / give / state. Find something in the text and report it plainly. No explanation is needed.
- Explain. Make something clear, usually why it is so or what a phrase means. This needs reasons, not just finding.
- Analyse. Show how and why a writer creates an effect. This is the deepest command word and the most often misread.
- Comment on. Make a supported point about a feature, often the writer’s language or structure. Like analyse, it is about effect.
- Summarise. Pick out the relevant points and write them briefly in your own words. It is not copying.
- Describe / narrate (in writing tasks). Create a vivid place or tell a story with control.
Some words, especially describe, mean different things in reading and writing tasks. Always read the whole question, not just the first word.
Why is “analyse” the classic trap?
Students often see analyse and fall back on describing what the text says. From the inside, the two feel similar, so the student does not notice the mistake. Analyse asks how the writer creates an effect and why it matters.
Our glossary defines each command word. Our skills guides show what an analytical answer looks like next to a descriptive one.
If this is where marks are going missing, a trial hour with an experienced teacher can work on it one-to-one.
What if a question has two command words?
Some questions combine two instructions, such as “summarise and explain”. Students often answer the first and forget the second, losing the marks for that part. Underline every command word and check your answer against each one.
Do the boards use different command words?
Cambridge, Edexcel and OxfordAQA share most command words, but phrase some tasks differently. A student used to one board’s wording can be caught off guard by another’s. Check the details for your board on our qualification pages.
How do you make reading command words a habit?
Underline the command word before you plan. Decide what kind of thinking it wants, then write a one-line plan from there. Our exam-strategy guides show how to build this into a routine that holds up under exam pressure.
How our teachers help with command words
In one-to-one IGCSE English tuition, our experienced teachers ask students what the command word demands before they write anything. Then they read the answer back to check it did exactly that. When a description slips into an analysis question, the teacher points to the exact sentence and shows how to fix it.
If your child writes well but loses marks for not quite answering the question, book a paid one-hour trial class. The teacher will work through real questions with your child and check each answer against its command word.