What the question is really asking
Describe, explain, analyse, evaluate - the verb at the start of a question tells your student exactly what kind of answer will score. Most kids have never been told.
Why the verb matters
Outside Maths, most marks are lost not because a student doesn't know the content, but because they answered a different question from the one asked. "Explain why the First Fleet was sent to Australia" answered with a list of dates is a describe answer to an explain question, and it scores poorly however accurate it is.
Every skill in Masterly's catalogue carries a cognitive verb, and every question is graded against what that verb asks for. Where it helps, we show the verb next to the question so your student can see what kind of answer is expected before they start.
You'll see the verb as a small chip when you review uploaded schoolwork, and your student sees it on the question. Maths is the exception: almost every Maths question is 'solve' or 'apply', so we don't label it.
Identify
Point to the right thing. Name it, pick it out, select it. No reasoning needed beyond being correct.
- Good answer: names the thing, briefly and accurately.
- Common mistake: writing a paragraph when one line was asked for.
- Example: 'Identify the main character's motivation in paragraph two.'
Describe
Say what something is like. Features, characteristics, what happened, in what order. Description is about what, not why.
- Good answer: two or three specific features, in the student's own words, with an example.
- Common mistake: explaining causes when only a description was asked for, or the reverse.
- Example: 'Describe one method of transmitting data in a wired network.'
Explain
Say how or why. An explain answer has to connect a cause to an effect, or a concept to a consequence. 'Because' is the key word: if the answer could have 'because' in it and doesn't, it's probably a description.
- Good answer: states what happens, then why or how it happens, with an example.
- Common mistake: restating the question or listing facts without linking them.
- Example: 'Explain how multi-factor authentication protects an account when the password is compromised.'
Analyse
Break something into its parts and show how they relate. Analysis works from evidence: a source, a data table, a text. The answer should quote or point to that evidence and say what it shows.
- Good answer: identifies patterns or features, explains what they mean, backs it with evidence.
- Common mistake: summarising the source instead of interpreting it.
- Example: 'Analyse the data to identify the trend in rainfall across the decade.'
Evaluate
Make a judgement and defend it. Was it effective? Is the source reliable? Which option is better? An evaluate answer must land on a position and give reasons, ideally weighing more than one side.
- Good answer: a clear judgement, criteria or evidence for it, and acknowledgement of the other side.
- Common mistake: describing both sides and never deciding.
- Example: 'Evaluate the reliability of this source for understanding life in the colony.'
Apply
Use what you know on a new problem or situation. Most Maths questions are apply questions. Outside Maths, apply means taking a concept and using it in a scenario the student hasn't seen before.
- Good answer: the right method used on the given problem, with working or reasoning shown.
- Common mistake: reciting the rule instead of using it.
Create
Produce something original: a plan, a design, an argument, a story. Create questions are graded on whether the work is coherent, fit for purpose, and shows the target skill, not on a single right answer.
- Good answer: an original piece that does the job asked, with evidence or examples where relevant.
- Common mistake: an unfinished or generic response that could answer any question.
How to use this at home
When a question comes home, ask your student to say the verb out loud and what it wants. Ten seconds. Kids who do this habitually stop losing marks to the wrong kind of answer, which is worth more than most content revision.