Command words and mark schemes: decoding the question's instructions (analyse, compare, in the light of this view) and the band descriptors so an answer targets the assessed objectives.

What this dot point is asking

Eduqas English Literature questions use recurring command words and structures, and the answers are marked against band descriptors that describe what each band's work looks like for each objective. Reading both, the question's instructions and the mark scheme, lets you answer what is actually asked and aim for the top band. This dot point covers the common command words and what they signal, the two-part question structure, and how to use the band descriptors to set concrete targets for an answer.

The answer

Two documents govern every Eduqas answer: the question (which tells you what to do) and the mark scheme (which tells you what good work looks like). Reading both is a skill. The command words signal which objectives a task assesses and how to shape the answer; the band descriptors describe the quality the top bands reward. This dot point sets out how to read each.

Decode the command words

Eduqas questions use a small set of recurring command words and phrases, each signalling the objectives in play.

• Analyse. Close analysis of how meaning is shaped (AO2 dominant). Move from feature to effect.
• Compare. Connection across texts (AO4 central). Structure by idea, both texts in each paragraph.
• In the light of this view. A debate to be tested and judged (AO1 leading; AO5 prominent in drama and whole-text tasks). Engage the view, do not agree with it.
• Explore the presentation of. An argued analysis of how something is presented (AO2 within an AO1 argument), often across a whole text.

Reading the command word tells you which objectives the task assesses, so you target them and avoid writing on objectives it does not credit.

Read the two-part structure

Two Eduqas tasks use a two-part structure (the pre-1900 poetry and the Shakespeare questions), and the structure is itself an instruction. Part (i) signals close analysis of a printed extract (AO2 dominant); part (ii) signals a wider response across the whole text (AO1 leading, with AO5 in the Shakespeare task). Treating both parts the same way is a common, costly error: the structure tells you to switch from microscope to telescope.

Use the band descriptors as targets

The mark scheme describes each band's work for each objective, and the top-band language tells you what to aim for. The descriptors reward, for AO2, perceptive and precise analysis of method to effect; for AO1, a coherent, well-argued, accurate response; for AO4, sustained and integrated comparison; for AO3, a confident grasp of significant context; for AO5, evaluated, well-deployed interpretations. Words like perceptive, sustained, integrated and evaluative are the targets: depth and precision, a developing argument, continuous comparison, and interpretations weighed rather than named.

Examples in context

These illustrate reading command words and descriptors.

Command word to answer. Faced with "Compare how your two poets present memory", a candidate reads "compare" as AO4 central, and plans an idea-led structure with both poets in each paragraph, rather than two separate accounts. Faced with "Analyse how Shakespeare presents power in this extract", they read "analyse" as AO2 dominant and stay in close analysis of the printed lines.

Descriptor to target. Knowing the AO4 top band rewards "sustained and integrated" comparison, a candidate makes connection run through every paragraph of the drama comparison, rather than comparing only at the end, because "integrated" is the explicit target.

Try this

Q1. What do "analyse" and "compare" each signal? [2 marks]

• Cue. "Analyse" signals close analysis of method (AO2 dominant); "compare" signals connection across texts (AO4 central), structured by idea.

Q2. What does "in the light of this view" require? [2 marks]

• Cue. Engaging and testing the view across the text, weighing support and resistance (and deploying interpretations where AO5 applies), then reaching a judgement, not agreeing with it.

Q3. A question says "Explore the presentation of ambition across your set play." Explain how you would read it and what you would target. [short response]

• What the marker wants. Read it as an argued analysis of how ambition is presented across the whole play (AO2 within AO1, with AO5 if a view is implied), and target the top-band qualities: perceptive analysis and a sustained, argued response reaching a judgement.

A note on command words

This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. The exact command words and mark scheme language can change across specification cycles; confirm against the current Eduqas A720 papers and assessment grids. The skill of reading the question and the mark scheme transfers across the tasks.