Command terms for SAQs (DP IB Psychology)

Which command terms are used for SAQs?

• One of the benefits of taking the IB course for psychology is that there is a limited set of command terms that can be asked on Paper 1 and Paper 2 (Paper 3 is a little different)

• This means that you are at an advantage as you can practice exam responses well in advance of the exam, using each of the prescribed terms

• Paper 1 Section A consists of SAQs (short answer questions) only, each of which is worth 9 marks

• You are required to answer all three SAQs in Section A

• On Paper 1 Section A three command terms could be used in a question:

  • Outline

  • Describe

  • Explain

• You may be asked questions which use all three of the above command terms, two of them or only one of them

Outline

• ‘Outline’ involves giving a brief account or summary of a theory, study or explanation of a behaviour

• You should give enough information to be informative but you do not need to go into any great detail or provide any explanation

• An example question is ‘Outline one model of memory’ [9 marks]

Describe

• ‘Describe’ involves giving a detailed account of a theory, study or explanation of a behaviour 

• You should give more detail in your response but you do not need to provide any explanation

• An example question is ‘Describe the working memory model’ [9 marks]

Explain

• ‘Explain’ involves giving a detailed account, including reasons or causes 

• You should give a good level of detail in your response and say why/how the theory or study or behaviour is relevant/how it works/how it relates to the topic

• An example question is ‘Explain one research method used to investigate cognitive processing’ [9 marks]