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Glossary of command terms

This glossary of command terms provides a list of terms commonly used across the Victorian Curriculum F–10, VCE study designs and VCE examinations.

The glossary can be used by:

  • teachers across Foundation to Level 10 and VCE to develop internal assessment tasks and prepare students for tests and examinations
  • examination panels in the development of assessment items for external examinations.

The glossary may be used in classrooms by teachers across all F–10 curriculum areas and VCE studies to help students better understand the requirements of command terms in the context of their discipline. Students may benefit from using the glossary in the context of questions and tasks they are working on as opposed to learning the terms in isolation.

It is important that the command terms are not interpreted in an overly prescriptive way. Teachers are reminded that study-specific nuances may elicit different kinds of responses to a given term as the term may carry a particular meaning within a discipline that is not necessarily represented in the glossary. For example, an 'evaluate' question will require a different response in Mathematics than it will in History.

The list of terms in the glossary is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting; other terms may be used if required and/or appropriate, allowing study-specific questions to be constructed. Additionally, not all terms in the glossary will be suitable for use in all disciplines and studies. Reference to the relevant curriculum and VCE study design is paramount when developing internal and external assessments.

When using command terms in the construction of assessment items, questions, tasks and marking rubrics, the following definitions may be useful in considering what the term requires students to do.