Command words and question types: decoding the OCR formats (Discuss the passage; In the light of this view; Compare; Analyse the extract) and command words, and matching each to its dominant assessment objective.

What this dot point is asking

OCR H472 uses a small set of recurring question types and command words, and each one signals a different task and a different dominant assessment objective. Misreading the command, treating a close-analysis task as an essay, or a "consider this view" task as "do you agree", wastes marks however much you know. This dot point covers decoding OCR's formats: what each question type and command word is asking, and which dominant objective each signals, so you write the right kind of answer.

The answer

OCR's wording is a code: read it correctly and it tells you the task, the focus and the dominant objective. The single most common avoidable error is to write the wrong kind of answer for the question type, especially to misread the Shakespeare whole-play view as a simple agree-or-disagree. Two things deliver it: knowing the question types and their dominant objectives, and reading each command word for what it actually requires.

The H472 question types and their dominant objectives

A small set of formats recurs across the papers:

• "Discuss the following passage, exploring Shakespeare's use of language and dramatic effects." The Shakespeare passage question (part a): close analysis of the printed extract. AO2 dominant, AO1 supporting. Stay inside the passage.
• "In the light of this view... consider ways in which" (or "show how far you agree"). The Shakespeare whole-play essay (part b): an argued response to a printed critical view across the play. AO1 and AO5 equal, AO2 supporting. Test the view; do not just agree.
• "Compare... exploring the significance of contexts." The Section 2 comparison and the Component 02 comparative essay: a context-led, integrated comparison. AO3 dominant, AO4 secondary. Let context drive the comparison.
• "Analyse the following extract." The Component 02 unseen close reading (Section A): close reading of an unfamiliar prose passage. AO2 dominant, AO1 and AO3 supporting. Analyse method, do not import set texts.

Read the command word for its real demand

Command words carry precise demands, and the most misread is the whole-play view formula.

• Discuss / Analyse / Explore (of a passage or extract). Analyse closely how meaning is shaped; this is an AO2 close-reading task.
• In the light of this view / show how far you agree. Test a contestable view across the text, weighing support and resistance, exploring interpretations, and reaching a judgement. This is not a yes-or-no prompt; assenting wholesale collapses AO5.
• Compare. Build an integrated comparison with both texts live, not two separate accounts; in H472 this is also context-led (AO3).
• Exploring / considering the significance of contexts. A signal that AO3 is weighted heavily; context must read the texts, not sit as background.

Examples in context

The principle is strategic; the moves below are illustrative.

A model decoding. "The question reads 'In the light of this view, explore Shakespeare's presentation of the protagonist in the play as a whole.' This is the whole-play essay, part (b): AO1 and AO5 equal, AO2 supporting. The command is interpretation-led, so I will test the view across the play, weighing support and resistance and exploring a credible alternative reading, and reach a judgement, not simply agree. The plan follows from the decoding." The wording is read for type, dominant AO and command.

A weak approach upgraded. A student might read the same question as 'do you agree the protagonist is X?' and write an agreeing essay, collapsing AO5. Upgraded, they decode it as an interpretation-led task, test the view with a credible alternative, and judge, earning the AO5 marks. The misread becomes a correctly targeted answer.

Try this

Q1. What does "Discuss the following passage, exploring language and dramatic effects" signal? [2 marks]

• Cue. The Shakespeare passage question: close analysis of the extract, AO2 dominant; stay inside the passage.

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

• Cue. Testing a contestable view across the text and exploring interpretations to a judgement, not simply agreeing.

Q3. For each H472 question type, name its dominant objective and what it requires. [15 marks]

• What the marker wants. Correct mapping of the passage (AO2), the view essay (AO1 and AO5), and the comparisons (AO3) to their demands, with the command words decoded.

A note on the formats

This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. OCR's question wording and formats can be revised across specification cycles; confirm them against the current H472 papers and mark schemes. The decoding habits described here transfer across the tasks.