IB command term
Analyse in IB exams: what the command term asks of you
By Michael Thompson - Head of Teaching Excellence; 15 years as an IB Coordinator
In IB exams, analyse means breaking a subject down into its parts and bringing out the essential elements, structure or relationships that hold it together. You take the thing apart and show how it works. You are not asked to judge it.
Paraphrased from the command-term definitions in the IB Diploma Programme subject guides (International Baccalaureate Organization).
At a glance
Accounts and analysis
Answer shape: Linked paragraphs that connect parts, causes or differences
What analyse asks you to do
Analyse asks you to take the subject apart. Identify its components, work out how they relate to each other, and show how together they produce the whole. The focus is on structure and relationships, not on a verdict about whether the thing is good, bad, successful or flawed.
How to structure an analytical answer
Build the answer around the parts you have separated. Each paragraph should take one element or one relationship, show how it works and say what it contributes to the whole. If your paragraphs follow the order of events or the order of a textbook chapter instead of the parts of the problem, you are probably describing.
Keep the focus of the question in view
Tie every part back to what the question is actually about. Analysing everything at once means analysing nothing. Before you write, decide which components matter for this question, then leave out the ones that do not bear on it.
Analysing data and sources
When a question gives you data or sources, analyse means asking what the material shows, how its pieces connect and what drives the pattern. It does not mean deciding whether the pattern is good or bad. That second step belongs to a different command term, evaluate.
Where it appears
Economics
In economics, analyse means separating a situation into its components and showing how they connect. If a question gives you data, ask what it shows and what drives the pattern, rather than judging whether the outcome is desirable.
Economics tutoringHistory
In history, analyse means not retelling what happened. Separate the topic into its elements, such as the factors or relationships involved, and give each its own paragraph showing how it works and what it contributes. With sources, focus on what they show and how their parts connect.
History tutoringPsychology
In psychology, do not simply restate what a theory or study says. Break it into its parts, show how those parts relate and how they hold the explanation together, and keep each part tied to the focus of the question.
Psychology tutoringGeography
In geography, analyse means identifying the components of a process, pattern or data set and showing how they link. If you are given data, say what it shows, how its pieces connect and what drives the pattern, without drifting into judgement.
Geography tutoringCommon mistakes
- Describing instead of analysing: retelling events or restating a theory without breaking it into parts reads as describe, however long it runs.
- Slipping into judgement: saying whether something is good, bad or successful is evaluate, not analyse.
- Analysing everything at once: covering every possible element without tying each to the focus of the question.
- Organising by narrative or textbook order instead of by the parts you have separated, so each paragraph has no single element or relationship to work with.
- With data or sources, only reading the figures aloud instead of explaining how the pieces connect and what drives the pattern.
Frequently asked questions
- What does analyse mean in IB exams?
- It means breaking the subject into its parts and bringing out the essential elements, structure or relationships that hold it together. You show how the components work and fit, rather than retelling or judging.
- What is the difference between analyse and evaluate?
- Analyse takes the subject apart and shows how the pieces relate. Evaluate asks you to make a judgement about it. If you find yourself deciding whether something is good or bad, you have moved from analyse towards evaluate.
- Why does my analysis get read as description?
- The commonest cause is retelling what happened or what a theory says without ever separating it into parts. Length does not fix this. Each paragraph should take one element or relationship and show how it works and what it contributes.
- How should I analyse data or a source?
- Ask what the material shows, how its pieces connect and what drives the pattern. Stay with explaining the pattern rather than deciding whether it is good or bad.
Related command terms
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