What Does Outline Mean? Outline vs Describe vs Define
Outline means give a brief account or summary: the main points, no reasons. See how it differs from define, describe and explain, with examples for each.
9 minRead guide
IB Command Terms Explained
Decode what examiners expect from every IB command term - essential knowledge for exam success.
Command terms are the verbs in exam questions that tell you exactly what examiners expect. Understanding the difference between 'describe' and 'explain', or 'analyse' and 'evaluate', is crucial for exam success. Many students lose marks not because they lack knowledge, but because they misinterpret what the question is asking. Our command term guides break down each term with examples, structures, and subject-specific applications to help you maximise your exam marks.
Key Takeaways
- The command term tells you what to do with your knowledge
- Terms such as evaluate, discuss and to what extent require a judgement; analyse asks you to break something down
- Check the mark allocation - more marks means more development expected
- Practise with past papers and study markscheme expectations
- Misinterpreting a command term costs more marks than knowledge gaps
Need personalised guidance?
Get matched with an expert tutor within 24 hours.
Guides in This Category
Short, precise answers
Terms that want a name, a value or a few exact lines - precision earns the mark, length wastes time.
Define in IB exams: what the command term asks for
What the IB command term 'define' demands, how to write a precise definition, and how it applies in economics, biology, business management and physics.
3 minRead guide
Identify: what the command term means in IB exams
What 'identify' demands in IB exams: pick out and name the right answer. See how it works in biology, geography and business management.
3 minRead guide
Outline in IB exams: what the command term asks for
What 'outline' asks for in IB exams: brief main points, no development. See how it applies in biology, economics, geography and business management.
4 minRead guide
State: what the command term means in IB exams
State asks for a name, value or short phrase with no explanation. See how to answer it in IB biology, chemistry, physics and maths AA.
3 minRead guide
Accounts and analysis
Terms that want a structured account: features, mechanisms, connections and differences, held together by the question's focus.
Analysis vs Evaluation: The Difference, With Examples
Analysis breaks something into parts to show how it works; evaluation judges how good or important it is. Side-by-side differences, examples in five subjects.
13 minRead guide
Compare and Contrast Questions: How to Answer Them
Compare means similarities, contrast means differences, compare and contrast means both, with both items in every point. Structures, phrases and examples.
8 minRead guide
Analyse in IB exams: what the command term asks of you
What the IB command term analyse demands, how to structure an answer, and how it plays out in economics, history, psychology and geography.
4 minRead guide
Compare in IB exams: what the command term asks for
What the IB command term compare demands: similarities, with every item kept in view. See how to apply it in history, biology, geography and psychology.
4 minRead guide
Contrast in IB exams: what the command term means
Contrast means setting out differences between items, referring to each throughout. See how to answer it in history, biology, geography and economics.
3 minRead guide
Describe in IB exams: what the command term means
Describe asks for a detailed account of what, not why. This page explains the IB command term and how it works in each subject.
4 minRead guide
Distinguish in IB exams: what the command term asks
Distinguish means making differences between concepts clear. This page explains it subject by subject, with common mistakes.
4 minRead guide
Examine in IB exams: what the command term means
Examine asks you to expose the assumptions and links inside an argument. This page explains the IB command term and how it applies in each subject.
4 minRead guide
Explain in IB exams: meaning and how to answer
What the command term explain demands in IB exams: reasons, not just facts. This page shows how to apply it in each subject.
3 minRead guide
Explore in IB exams: what the command term asks of you
What the IB command term 'explore' demands, with notes on how to approach it in English A, Philosophy and History answers.
4 minRead guide
Judgement and argument
Terms that want a weighed argument ending in a committed, supported conclusion.
What Does Evaluate Mean in an Exam? How to Answer
Evaluate means weigh up strengths and limitations, then give a supported judgement. The IB definition, answer structure, a model paragraph and subject examples.
9 minRead guide
How to Answer To What Extent Questions (vs Discuss)
To what extent asks how far a claim holds, so end with a judgement of degree. Step-by-step structure, a worked plan, key phrases and how discuss differs.
10 minRead guide
Comment in IB exams: what the command term asks
What the IB command term 'comment' demands: an informed judgement, not a restatement. This page explains it for geography, economics and maths AI.
3 minRead guide
Discuss: what the IB command term asks for
What 'discuss' means in IB exams: weigh arguments for and against in a balanced way, then commit to a supported conclusion. With subject examples.
3 minRead guide
Justify in IB exams: what the command term asks
Learn what the IB command term justify demands, how to build reasons and evidence, and what it looks like across four subjects.
4 minRead guide
To what extent in IB exams: command term explained
What 'to what extent' demands in IB questions, how to state and defend a degree of judgement, and how it works in history, economics, psychology and geography.
4 minRead guide
Data, working and diagrams
Terms for quantitative and visual answers: show the working, read the data, draw the form.
Calculate in IB exams: what the command term means
Calculate means work out a numerical answer and show your working. See what that demands in economics, physics, chemistry and business management.
3 minRead guide
Construct in IB exams: meaning and how to answer
What the IB command term construct demands, and how it applies in economics, business management, maths AI and biology.
4 minRead guide
Deduce in IB exams: what the command term asks of you
What the IB command term deduce demands, how to show your reasoning, and how it appears in chemistry, maths AA, physics and biology.
3 minRead guide
Derive in IB exams: what the command term means
What derive demands in IB exams: build a new relationship step by step. See how it applies in physics and maths AA and AI.
3 minRead guide
Determine in IB exams: what the command term means
Determine asks you to work to the single answer the information allows. See what that demands and how it applies in each IB subject.
4 minRead guide
Interpret in IB exams: meaning and how to answer
Interpret asks you to find trends and draw conclusions from given information. This page explains the command term and how it applies in each subject.
3 minRead guide
IB command term 'predict': meaning and how to answer
What the IB command term predict demands, and how it plays out in biology, chemistry, physics and economics answers.
3 minRead guide
Sketch in IB exams: what the command term means
What the IB command term 'sketch' demands: a labelled diagram or graph showing shape and key features, explained for each subject.
4 minRead guide
Suggest in IB exams: what the command term asks
What the IB command term 'suggest' demands, and how to answer it in biology, chemistry and physics questions with a supported proposal.
3 minRead guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Command terms tell you exactly what the examiner wants. Using the wrong approach - like describing when asked to evaluate - loses marks even if your content knowledge is correct. Understanding command terms is often the fastest route to grade improvement.
The IB defines command terms consistently, but application varies by subject context. 'Evaluate' means the same thing conceptually, but what you evaluate differs in History vs Biology. Learn the core meaning, then apply in context.
Do past paper questions, paying close attention to command terms. After answering, check markschemes to see if your approach matched expectations. Notice patterns in how different terms require different responses.