Common IB command terms and answer patterns
Command terms are instruction words that indicate the kind and depth of response an assessment question requires. The same word can appear across courses, but its assessment-objective level, paper context and subject conventions must be checked in the current guide for your exact course.
Use this page as a common-language reference, not as a universal markscheme. The command term tells you the response action; the marks available and the paper-specific markscheme tell you how much accurate knowledge, evidence, working and development the answer needs.
Important: this is a 32-term cross-subject reference, not a claim that every IB course uses every term. Confirm the applicable glossary in your subject guide, especially after a curriculum change.
Analyse
Break the material into important parts and show how those parts relate or contribute to the whole.
Answer pattern: Identify the parts, explain their relationship, and connect the analysis to the question.
Annotate
Add short explanatory notes to a diagram, graph, image, text or other presented material.
Answer pattern: Place concise, relevant labels or notes beside the feature they explain.
Apply
Use an idea, rule, equation, theory or method in the situation given.
Answer pattern: Select the relevant knowledge and show how it works in this specific case.
Calculate
Produce a numerical answer and show the relevant stages of working.
Answer pattern: Write the method, substitute values with units, calculate, and present the requested result.
Comment
Make a reasoned judgment about a statement, result or calculation.
Answer pattern: State what the evidence indicates and support the judgment with a relevant reason.
Compare
Give an account of similarities, referring to every item throughout the response.
Answer pattern: Use paired points rather than describing each item in separate, unconnected blocks.
Compare and contrast
Give an account of both similarities and differences, referring to every item throughout.
Answer pattern: Organise paired similarities and differences around common comparison points.
Complete
Supply the information or data that is missing.
Answer pattern: Fill every requested gap in the required format and check units or labels.
Construct
Present information in a clear diagrammatic, mathematical or logical form.
Answer pattern: Use the conventions required by the subject and label the completed representation.
Contrast
Give an account of differences, referring to every item throughout the response.
Answer pattern: Make paired difference statements and identify why each distinction matters when relevant.
Define
Give the precise meaning of a word, phrase, concept or quantity.
Answer pattern: State the meaning directly; do not replace precision with an example alone.
Demonstrate
Make something clear through reasoning, evidence, examples or practical application.
Answer pattern: Show the claim is true by connecting each step of the evidence or reasoning.
Describe
Give a detailed account of relevant features, events, patterns or processes.
Answer pattern: State what is present or what happens in a clear, accurate sequence.
Determine
Find the single answer that follows from the supplied information.
Answer pattern: Use the appropriate method and give the uniquely supported result.
Discuss
Give a considered and balanced review involving relevant arguments, factors or hypotheses.
Answer pattern: Develop more than one supported perspective and reach a reasoned conclusion where appropriate.
Distinguish
Make the differences between concepts or items clear.
Answer pattern: Name the items and state precise paired differences that separate them.
Draw
Represent information with an accurate, labelled diagram or graph.
Answer pattern: Follow subject conventions for scale, axes, plotted points, curves and labels.
Evaluate
Make an appraisal by weighing strengths and limitations against relevant evidence or criteria.
Answer pattern: Judge significance after weighing supported strengths, limitations and trade-offs.
Examine
Investigate an argument or concept so that assumptions and relationships become clear.
Answer pattern: Unpack the issue, test important assumptions, and explain the relationships revealed.
Explain
Give a detailed account that includes reasons, causes, mechanisms or connections.
Answer pattern: Move beyond what happened to show how or why it happened.
Identify
Select or provide the relevant answer from the available possibilities.
Answer pattern: Name the requested feature or answer directly and precisely.
Interpret
Use knowledge and understanding to recognise meaning, trends or conclusions in information.
Answer pattern: State the pattern or meaning and connect it explicitly to the evidence supplied.
Justify
Give valid reasons or evidence that support an answer or conclusion.
Answer pattern: Make the choice or claim clear, then connect it to specific supporting evidence.
Label
Add names or short identifiers to features in a diagram, image or representation.
Answer pattern: Place each precise label where its connection to the correct feature is unambiguous.
List
Give a sequence of brief answers without explanation unless the question also asks for it.
Answer pattern: Provide the requested number of distinct, relevant items concisely.
Outline
Give a brief account or summary of the main features.
Answer pattern: Cover the essential points without the depth expected for describe or explain.
Plot
Mark points accurately on a graph using the values supplied or calculated.
Answer pattern: Use appropriate axes and scale, plot every point accurately, and follow instructions about joining them.
Recommend
Present the option or course of action that is most appropriate to the stated situation.
Answer pattern: Choose clearly and justify the choice using the case evidence and relevant criteria.
State
Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or working.
Answer pattern: Answer directly and avoid adding unsupported material.
Suggest
Propose a possible answer, solution or hypothesis that fits the information given.
Answer pattern: Offer a plausible response grounded in the context rather than an unrelated guess.
To what extent
Judge how far an argument or concept is convincing, valid or applicable.
Answer pattern: Weigh supporting and opposing evidence, define the limits of the claim, and reach a qualified conclusion.
Use
Make the supplied information, evidence or method part of the response.
Answer pattern: Refer explicitly to the material named in the question and show how it supports the answer.
Notes
Quick answer
IB command terms indicate the kind and depth of response a question requires. Common definitions recur across courses, but students must use the current subject guide, the mark allocation and the paper-specific markscheme rather than treating one glossary as universal.
How to use command terms well
- Underline the command term before you start writing so you match your response to what the examiner is actually asking.
- Pair the command term with the marks and paper-specific markscheme. Short low-mark questions usually need concise precision, while longer responses need fuller structure and evidence.
- Practise rewriting weak responses by changing the command term. A paragraph that only describes will not score well if the question asks you to analyse or evaluate.
Frequently asked questions
Are IB command terms the same in every subject?
No. Many definitions recur across IB courses, but the applicable list, assessment objective, paper context and subject conventions come from the current guide for the exact course. Treat this page as a common reference, then check the relevant subject guide and teacher instructions.
What is the difference between analyse and explain in IB questions?
Explain asks how or why something happens by giving reasons, causes or mechanisms. Analyse asks students to break material into important parts and show relationships, patterns or significance. The available marks and subject markscheme determine the required depth.
What is the difference between discuss and evaluate?
Discuss requires a considered, balanced review of relevant arguments or factors. Evaluate requires an appraisal that weighs strengths and limitations and reaches a supported judgment. A strong response may overlap, but it must satisfy the exact instruction used.
Does compare include differences in an IB question?
In common IB glossary wording, compare focuses on similarities, contrast focuses on differences, and compare and contrast requires both. Refer to all items throughout instead of writing isolated descriptions that never make the relationship explicit.
How do marks affect an IB command-term answer?
The command term identifies the kind of thinking required, while the mark allocation and paper-specific markscheme indicate the expected breadth and depth. A low-mark identify or state question should be concise; a longer discuss or evaluate response normally needs developed evidence and reasoning.
Official sources checked
These guides demonstrate both the recurring definitions and the subject-specific selection and assessment-objective use of command terms.