Key Idea: Command terms tell you the job the examiner is paying for. Answer 'Explain' when the question wants 'Evaluate' and you lose half the marks before you start — the content can be perfect and still score low. Master this and every Paper 2 answer does exactly what its command term asks, in the right proportion.
🧠 The sub-skills, one card each
Topic 11.3 at a glance
- Two different jobs — 'Explain' asks you to SHOW you understand a view. 'Discuss/Evaluate' asks you to WEIGH it and JUDGE. They are graded on different things — never mix them up.
- How to Explain [10] — Define the idea in your own words, unpack its parts, show the reasoning behind it, and illustrate with a short example. Stay neutral — do not argue for or against.
- How to Evaluate [15] — Set out views in genuine tension, bring objections (attack a premise or the logic), weigh which really bite, and reach a reasoned judgement. Neutrality here scores low.
- The two-part shape — Papers 2 and 3 often run (a) Explain [10] then (b) Discuss/Evaluate [15]. Part (a) builds the ground part (b) then tests — one flows into the other.
- Term family — 'Discuss', 'to what extent', 'assess', 'evaluate' all demand judgement. 'Explain', 'describe', 'outline' demand understanding. Read the verb first, every time.
Explain = show you understand; Evaluate = weigh and judge. If the command term is Explain, staying neutral is correct — arguing wastes words. If it is Evaluate, staying neutral is fatal — you MUST end on a reasoned verdict. Do the job the verb names, no more and no less.
✍️ See it work
Practice question — (a) Explain the view that morality is simply whatever a society approves of. [10] (b) Evaluate this view. [15]
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Answering the command term you wish you'd been asked. Most lost marks come from evaluating an 'Explain' (wasting words arguing when you should show understanding) or explaining an 'Evaluate' (re-describing the view instead of weighing and judging it). Underline the command verb before you write a single sentence.
✅ Check yourself
Six quick technique checks. If you can do these, no command term will catch you out.
What does 'Explain' ask for? Show you UNDERSTAND a view: define it, unpack it, give the reasoning, illustrate. Stay neutral — no arguing for or against.
What does 'Evaluate' ask for? WEIGH and JUDGE: set views in tension, object, decide which bites, reach a reasoned verdict. Neutrality scores low.
How do you structure an Explain? Define → unpack the parts → show the reasoning behind the view → illustrate with a short example.
How do you structure an Evaluate? Set out the views → bring objections (premise or logic) → weigh them → reach a judgement.
Which terms mean 'judge'? Discuss, evaluate, assess, 'to what extent'. Also 'critically'. They all demand a reasoned verdict.
The two-part (a)/(b) shape? (a) Explain [10] builds the ground; (b) Discuss/Evaluate [15] then tests it. Part (a) is neutral, part (b) decides.
Exam Tips
- Underline the command verb before you plan — it fixes the whole shape and weighting of your answer.
- In an 'Explain', resist arguing; a neutral, well-unpacked account with a clear example is exactly what earns the marks.
- In an 'Evaluate', never re-explain — set views in tension, object, weigh, and end on a decided verdict.
- In a two-part question give (b) more room than (a): the [15] evaluation is where the higher marks live.