Describe does not mean “write everything you can see.”
It means select the relevant characteristics, features, states, sequences or patterns and report them accurately enough that the examiner can reconstruct what matters.
That sounds simple. It is not.
Students lose marks on describe questions in two opposite ways. Some write too little: one vague adjective, one number, one isolated feature. Others write too much: causes, theories, interpretations and background knowledge that the question never asked for.
The skill is controlled observation.
This page owns one narrow examination-performance job: describe questions across subjects—how to identify what must be described, choose the right level of detail, state main features and characteristics, describe trends, graphs, data, distributions, processes, diagrams, texts and cases, quantify where useful, and stop before drifting into explanation unless the command asks for it.
Official assessment language supports that boundary. Cambridge International defines “Describe” around stating points, characteristics and main features, while its “Explain” definition adds purposes, reasons and relationships. AQA uses closely related wording across subjects, such as “set out characteristics” or “give an account of.” Exact command-word definitions still belong to the learner’s syllabus and paper. See the current Cambridge International command-word guide and relevant AQA command-word guidance for examples.
This page does not replace How to Answer Explain Questions in Exams. Describe owns what is there, what happened, what changes and what the pattern looks like. Explain crosses the next boundary and asks why or how one state produces another.
The 50-Second Describe Route
- Identify the object. What exactly must be described?
- Identify the dimension. Shape, trend, distribution, process, characteristic, appearance, sequence, relationship, data pattern?
- Select the major features first.
- Add precise evidence. Numbers, intervals, quotations, locations, labels or examples where useful.
- State direction. Increasing, decreasing, stable, clustered, dispersed, concentrated, irregular, symmetrical, cyclical?
- Include exceptions or turning points if they matter.
- Match detail to marks.
- Stop before giving reasons unless the question also asks you to explain.
The simplest version is:
object → main feature → precise evidence → next relevant feature.
Clara Knows Why the Graph Changes—and Loses Time Explaining It
Clara is shown a graph and asked:
Describe the trend in Y as X increases.
She writes:
Y increases because X causes more collisions, which means the process becomes faster until another factor becomes limiting.
That may be excellent explanation.
It may also miss the describe marks.
A stronger descriptive answer is:
Y rises rapidly as X increases from 0 to about 20, then the rate of increase slows and Y approaches a plateau above 30.
It names direction, interval, changing rate and final pattern.
It does not explain why.
Describe Answers the “What?” Question
A describe question can ask “what is there?” in several forms:
- What are the main characteristics?
- What happens in the process?
- What pattern does the graph show?
- How is the distribution arranged?
- What changes over time?
- What features are visible?
- What does the source say or show?
- What does the object look like?
- What stages occur?
- What similarities or differences are present when “describe” is combined with comparison language?
The answer reports the state accurately.
Description Is Selective, Not Exhaustive
A photograph can contain hundreds of details. A graph can contain dozens of points. A passage can contain thousands of words.
The exam does not reward noticing everything.
It rewards noticing what answers the task.
If asked to describe a population distribution, colours in the map key may matter while the title font does not. If asked to describe the writer’s portrayal of a character, repeated physical and behavioural features matter while unrelated plot details do not. If asked to describe the shape of a graph, the exact colour of the plotted line does not matter.
Description is filtered observation.
Main Features Come Before Minor Detail
Start with the biggest pattern.
For a graph:
- overall direction;
- major turning point;
- plateau;
- highest or lowest region;
- exception.
For a distribution:
- cluster;
- concentration;
- dispersion;
- gradient;
- empty or sparse areas;
- outliers.
For a process:
- starting state;
- main stages;
- sequence;
- end state.
For a text:
- dominant feature;
- repeated characteristic;
- change across the passage;
- important contrast.
Major structure first. Detail second.
Precision Beats Adjectives
Weak:
The graph goes up a lot.
Stronger:
The value rises from about 12 to 28 between 2010 and 2015.
Weak:
The population is uneven.
Stronger:
Population is concentrated along the coast and around the two largest cities, while the interior is sparsely populated.
Specificity turns impression into description.
Describe vs State
“State” usually requires a concise fact or condition.
“Describe” usually requires more developed characteristics or an account.
State:
The highest value is 64.
Describe:
The value rises steadily from 35 to a peak of 64, then falls slightly to 59 at the final point.
The second answer provides the pattern around the fact.
Describe vs Outline
Exact syllabus definitions vary, but “outline” commonly asks for main characteristics or points with limited detail, while “describe” can require a fuller account of relevant characteristics.
Do not assume every examination board separates them identically. Use the actual syllabus glossary.
Describe vs Explain
This is the most important boundary in the lane.
Describe:
Unemployment rises sharply from 4% to 9% between Year 1 and Year 3, then falls gradually to 6% by Year 6.
Explain:
Unemployment rises because demand for labour falls during the downturn, leading firms to reduce hiring and employment.
The describe answer tells us what happened.
The explain answer tells us why.
In combined questions—“describe and explain”—do both deliberately.
Describe vs Analyse
Description records features and patterns.
Analysis breaks the evidence into relationships and explains significance.
Describe:
The passage begins with long sentences, then shifts to several short fragments near the end.
Analyse:
The shift from long sentences to fragments disrupts the earlier rhythm and makes the ending feel abrupt and tense.
Describe supplies the pattern. Analyse interprets what the relationship does.
Describe vs Compare
Description can focus on one object.
Comparison requires a relationship between at least two states on a shared dimension.
Describe A:
A rises from 10 to 25.
Compare A and B:
A rises by 15 units, while B rises by only 5 over the same interval.
How to Answer Compare and Contrast Questions in Exams owns that relationship-building layer.
Describe a Trend
Search-language questions often use exactly this phrase: “describe the trend.”
A complete trend description can include:
- overall direction;
- starting value;
- ending value;
- rate of change;
- turning points;
- plateaus;
- fluctuations;
- exceptions;
- interval where change is fastest or slowest.
Do not include every item automatically. Choose the features that define the trend.
Trend Vocabulary
- increases / decreases;
- rises / falls;
- remains stable;
- fluctuates;
- peaks;
- reaches a minimum;
- levels off;
- plateaus;
- accelerates;
- slows;
- recovers;
- converges / diverges;
- shows no clear trend.
Use verbs and evidence rather than decorating the answer with many adjectives.
Describe a Graph
Before describing, read:
- title;
- x-axis;
- y-axis;
- units;
- scale;
- legend;
- time period;
- data series.
Then describe the relevant shape or relationship.
A graph that visually looks steep can use a compressed x-axis. A small fluctuation can look dramatic on a narrow y-axis. Description should follow the data, not the visual drama of the chart design.
Graph Description: Start, Change, Turn, End
A compact structure is:
start → main change → turning point/exception → end.
Example:
The value begins near 20, rises gradually to 35 by Year 4, increases sharply to a peak of 58 in Year 6, then falls to about 50 by Year 8.
The examiner can reconstruct the shape from the words.
Describe Data With Numbers That Earn Their Space
Numbers should prove the descriptive claim.
Weak:
The value increases.
Better:
The value increases from 18 to 31.
Stronger where rate matters:
The value increases from 18 to 31 over the first three years, then rises only to 34 over the next three, so growth slows markedly after Year 3.
The numbers carry the pattern.
Do Not Copy Every Number
Listing 12, 14, 17, 21, 26, 30, 31 and 32 is not automatically a trend description.
Compress:
The value rises throughout, increasing most quickly in the middle of the period before growth slows near the end.
Add representative numbers only where they demonstrate the key feature.
Describe a Distribution
Distribution questions ask where something is located and how concentrated or dispersed it is.
Useful language includes:
- clustered;
- concentrated;
- dispersed;
- sparse;
- dense;
- linear;
- coastal;
- central;
- peripheral;
- north/south/east/west;
- along a river/road/coast;
- around nodes;
- isolated outlier.
Good distribution descriptions combine pattern and location.
Most settlements are concentrated along the main river and eastern transport corridor, while the western uplands contain few large settlements.
That says where and how.
Describe a Spatial Pattern Before Explaining It
Clara sees retail concentrated near transport stations.
Describe:
Retail outlets are clustered around the three major stations, with density decreasing further from the central interchange.
Explain:
Stations concentrate passenger flow and accessibility, increasing potential customer numbers.
The first belongs here. The second belongs to Explain.
Describe a Process
Process description focuses on sequence.
Use:
starting state → stage 1 → stage 2 → stage 3 → final state.
Do not automatically add why each stage happens unless the question asks for explanation.
For example, a cycle description should report the order and changes of state. An explanation would add the mechanisms driving each transition.
Sequence Words Matter
- initially;
- first;
- next;
- then;
- subsequently;
- at the same time;
- before;
- after;
- finally;
- returns to.
Use only as many as needed to preserve order.
Describe a Cycle
A cycle has no absolute beginning in the system, but the exam answer can choose one convenient starting point.
State that the final stage reconnects to the starting state.
The description should preserve order and recurring structure.
Describe a Diagram
Diagram description depends on what the question asks.
Possible dimensions include:
- shape;
- relative position;
- connection;
- size;
- orientation;
- labels;
- symmetry;
- sequence;
- movement arrows;
- changes between panels.
Do not infer a property from appearance if the diagram is not stated to be to scale.
How to Draw Useful Diagrams in Exams owns creation of visual working. Describe owns reporting what the visual representation shows.
Describe a Table
Tables tempt students to copy cells rather than describe relationships.
Before writing, ask:
- Which row/column has the highest value?
- Which has the lowest?
- What changes consistently?
- Where is the largest difference?
- Is there an exception?
- Do categories cluster?
- Does one variable move with another?
Then write the pattern, supported by representative values.
Describe a Scatter Plot
A scatter-plot description can include:
- positive/negative/no clear association;
- strength of clustering around a trend;
- outliers;
- range;
- clusters or subgroups.
Do not automatically say one variable causes the other.
Description reports the association.
Describe a Histogram or Distribution of Values
Depending on the syllabus, relevant features may include:
- centre;
- spread;
- shape;
- skew;
- peaks;
- gaps;
- outliers;
- range.
Use only statistical vocabulary taught in the course.
A description should not pretend the graph proves a cause.
Describe a Map
Map descriptions often require spatial language.
- north/south/east/west;
- central/peripheral;
- coastal/inland;
- upstream/downstream;
- near/far from;
- along;
- clustered around;
- concentrated in;
- scattered across;
- absent from.
Reference named features or grid locations where the paper expects them.
Describe a Photograph
Photograph description should remain anchored to visible evidence.
Weak:
The area is poor.
That is an inference.
Stronger description:
The buildings are closely packed, mostly low-rise, and several roofs appear to use corrugated sheet material. The road surface is unpaved and drainage channels are open.
Visible evidence first. Interpretation later if asked.
Science: Describe an Observation
Observation describes what is seen, measured or recorded.
“A white precipitate forms” is an observation.
“A chemical reaction occurred because ions combined…” is explanation.
Aisha learns to separate the observed state from the inferred mechanism.
Science: Describe a Method
A method description needs an executable sequence.
- what is changed;
- what is measured;
- how it is measured;
- what is controlled;
- how repeats are handled where relevant;
- how results are recorded.
If the command is only “describe the method,” do not spend marks evaluating why the method is good unless requested.
Science: Describe a Relationship
Describe what happens to Y as X changes.
Possible forms:
- Y increases as X increases;
- Y decreases as X increases;
- Y remains approximately constant;
- Y rises then plateaus;
- Y peaks at an intermediate X;
- no clear relationship is visible.
Then support with values or intervals if useful.
Science: Describe an Anomaly
Do not explain the anomaly unless asked.
At 40°C, the value falls to 12, whereas the surrounding trend would place it near 20–22.
That identifies location and direction of deviation.
“The thermometer was misread” belongs to Suggest/Explain unless the question asks for a reason.
Mathematics: Describe a Graph
Ryan can describe:
- intercepts;
- turning points;
- increasing/decreasing intervals;
- symmetry;
- asymptotes;
- periodicity;
- domain/range;
- end behaviour;
- gradient sign;
- shape.
Choose only properties relevant to the task.
Description says what the graph does. Explanation tells why an algebraic form produces those features.
Mathematics: Describe a Transformation
If asked to describe a transformation, state the transformation completely according to the syllabus.
For example, a rotation may require angle, direction and centre. An enlargement may require scale factor and centre. A translation may require a vector.
Incomplete descriptive parameters can make the transformation ambiguous.
Mathematics: Describe a Sequence
A sequence description may identify:
- common difference;
- common ratio;
- alternating pattern;
- recursive relationship;
- growth or decay;
- periodicity.
If asked only to describe, do not derive a formula unless needed or requested.
English: Describe a Character
Ben selects characteristics supported by the text.
Weak:
She is nice.
Stronger:
She is patient and attentive: she waits for the younger child to finish speaking and repeats the instructions calmly.
The characteristic is backed by behaviour.
Explaining why the writer portrays her that way belongs to a later analytical layer.
English: Describe a Setting
A setting description can cover:
- place;
- time;
- light;
- sound;
- weather;
- space;
- movement;
- condition;
- social atmosphere;
- change across the scene.
Use evidence from the passage rather than inventing details.
English: Describe a Writer’s Tone
Tone labels should be precise enough to distinguish nearby states.
- cautious;
- confident;
- hostile;
- dismissive;
- admiring;
- nostalgic;
- ironic;
- anxious;
- detached;
- urgent.
Ben supports the tone with wording.
Explanation of how that wording produces the tone belongs to Explain/Analyse where required.
English: Describe a Change in Tone
State both states and the transition.
The tone shifts from restrained and factual in the opening to openly frustrated in the final paragraph.
Add one or two textual anchors if marks require them.
English: Describe a Structure
Structure description reports arrangement:
- chronological;
- flashback;
- circular;
- problem–solution;
- question–answer;
- general-to-specific;
- alternating viewpoints;
- delayed revelation;
- repeated motif;
- contrast between sections.
Explain/Analyse then asks what that arrangement does.
Humanities: Describe an Event
Clara reports:
- what happened;
- where;
- when;
- who was involved;
- sequence;
- scale;
- immediate outcome.
Why it happened belongs to explanation.
Why it mattered belongs to analysis/evaluation depending on the question.
Humanities: Describe a Source Message
A source message description should state the message and support it with source evidence where required.
Do not immediately judge reliability or speculate about motive unless asked.
Source says → evidence → message.
Geography: Describe a Distribution
This is one of the most common describe structures in Geography.
A strong answer includes:
- overall pattern;
- named concentration;
- sparse region;
- linear/clustered tendency;
- outlier or exception;
- direction/gradient if present.
Then stop.
“Because the coast provides jobs” belongs to Explain.
Geography: Describe a Landscape
Use visible and mapped characteristics:
- relief;
- slope;
- vegetation;
- water features;
- settlement;
- land use;
- transport;
- coastline/river form;
- density;
- pattern.
Do not infer processes not visible or supplied unless the task asks.
Economics: Describe a Market Change
Describe the movement before explaining the cause.
Price rises from P1 to P2 while equilibrium quantity increases from Q1 to Q2.
That is description.
“Because demand shifted outward” is explanation.
Economics: Describe Inflation or Unemployment Data
Use time periods, peaks, troughs, acceleration/deceleration and turning points.
Do not confuse inflation falling with the price level falling. If inflation falls but remains positive, prices may still be rising more slowly.
Description requires concept accuracy as well as pattern language.
Business: Describe Performance
Business performance can be described through:
- sales;
- revenue;
- profit;
- cost;
- market share;
- cash flow;
- customer retention;
- capacity;
- productivity;
- trend over time.
“Profit falls while revenue rises” is a valuable description because it identifies a relationship that later demands explanation.
Business: Describe an Organisational Structure
Depending on the task, describe:
- number of levels;
- span of control;
- reporting lines;
- centralisation/decentralisation;
- functional/divisional grouping;
- formal hierarchy.
Do not evaluate whether the structure is good unless asked.
Computer Science: Describe an Algorithm
Describe the ordered steps, decision points, loops and output.
“The algorithm checks the middle value, discards the half that cannot contain the target, and repeats until the value is found or the search space is empty.”
That describes operation.
Explaining why it is efficient requires a later relationship between repeated halving and number of steps.
Describe a Change Over Time
Time-series description needs more than “it increases.”
- start;
- end;
- overall direction;
- fastest change;
- period of stability;
- reversal;
- maximum/minimum;
- exception.
Use time anchors.
Between 2012 and 2016 the value rises steadily, then remains near 45 until 2019 before falling sharply in 2020.
Describe Rate of Change Without Explaining Cause
Rate language belongs in description when it reports the pattern.
- increases rapidly;
- increases gradually;
- rate of increase slows;
- decline accelerates;
- remains approximately constant;
- changes at a decreasing rate.
“Because…” crosses into explanation.
Describe Variation
Two data sets can have the same mean and different variation.
A descriptive answer may note:
- narrow or wide spread;
- consistent or variable repeated values;
- large/small range;
- clusters;
- outliers.
Use formal statistics only where the syllabus teaches them.
Describe Similarities and Differences Only When Asked
If a prompt says “describe the differences,” relation language is required.
If it says “describe A,” do not introduce B unless B is relevant context.
Command words and objects work together. Do not answer a different question because a familiar response pattern is available.
Describe With Qualifiers
Qualifiers help preserve accuracy:
- approximately;
- about;
- mostly;
- generally;
- slightly;
- sharply;
- gradually;
- nearly;
- roughly constant;
- no clear pattern.
Do not pretend a noisy pattern is perfectly smooth.
Do not write “all” when the data show “most.”
Approximation Is Better Than False Precision
If a graph reading is between marks, “about 47” can be better than “47.000.”
Use the graph’s resolution to control numerical precision.
How to Use Rounding and Significant Figures in Exams owns the wider precision system.
Outliers Deserve Mention When They Change the Pattern
A strong description does not hide inconvenient points.
If one value is far outside an otherwise tight relationship, mention it.
Most points follow a positive relationship, although the point at X = 8 lies well below the general pattern.
Do not explain why it is anomalous unless asked.
Turning Points Deserve Mention When Direction Changes
If a trend rises then falls, the maximum is structurally important.
The value rises to a maximum of about 72 at 40°C, then declines rapidly at higher temperatures.
The turning point divides two regimes.
Plateaus Need Their Own Language
“Still increasing” and “plateauing” are different.
A plateau means values remain approximately stable across a range or the rate of change becomes negligible relative to the earlier trend.
Use the graph resolution and context rather than claiming perfect constancy.
No Clear Trend Is a Valid Description
Students sometimes invent a pattern because they think every graph must have one.
If points are widely scattered without a clear direction, say so.
Accurate absence of pattern is better than imaginary precision.
The Examiner-Reconstruction Test
After a description, ask:
Could someone who cannot see the graph, map, process or image reconstruct its main pattern from my words?
If yes, the description probably contains the right level of information.
If no, add the missing major feature.
If the answer contains causes they never needed, delete them.
The Feature–Evidence Pair
A descriptive claim becomes stronger when anchored.
Feature: the value rises sharply.
Evidence: from about 15 to 42 between 2018 and 2020.
Or:
Feature: settlements are clustered along the coast.
Evidence: six of the eight largest settlements lie within the coastal belt shown.
Feature + evidence is a reusable description unit.
The Pattern–Exception Pair
Where an exception is meaningful:
Most values increase with X, except the reading at X = 6, which falls below the surrounding values.
This reports both the dominant pattern and its limit.
The Start–Middle–End Pattern
For time series and processes, a simple scaffold is:
- start state;
- major middle change;
- end state.
Add turning points only if they matter.
This prevents line-by-line narration of every point.
The Most–Least–Exception Pattern
For maps, categories and distributions:
- where most occurs;
- where least occurs;
- important exception.
This is compact and often high-yield.
Do Not Explain When Describe Is Enough
This is the signature failure.
Question:
Describe the distribution of population.
Wrong-direction answer:
Population is concentrated near the coast because there are more jobs and transport links.
The first half describes. The second half explains.
The cause may be correct but can consume time and distract from missing spatial detail.
Do Not Write One Adjective and Stop
“Increasing.”
“Uneven.”
“Aggressive.”
These may identify a feature but often do not complete the description.
Complete the account with evidence, interval or supporting characteristic.
Do Not Dump Every Feature
A learner who sees seven graph features may write all seven in a two-mark question.
This wastes time and can introduce errors.
Use marks, wording and prominence to prioritise.
Do Not Infer From Appearance Without Evidence
A triangle looks isosceles.
A person in a photograph looks poor.
A source looks angry.
A cluster on a map looks causal.
Description should remain inside what the evidence actually supports.
How to Use Assumptions in Exam Answers owns the hidden-condition problem.
Do Not Use Causal Connectives Accidentally
Words such as because, therefore, due to, leads to, results in and causes can push the answer into explanation.
For description, prefer relational language:
- increases;
- decreases;
- remains;
- is concentrated;
- is followed by;
- changes from;
- appears mainly in;
- reaches;
- peaks at;
- differs from.
This is not a ban on “because” forever. It is a boundary-control habit.
Do Not Over-Interpret Textual Features
Question: describe the character’s behaviour.
Answer:
She avoids eye contact, gives brief replies and repeatedly changes the subject.
“This proves she feels guilty” goes beyond description and may overclaim.
Do Not Confuse a Label With an Account
“Urban.”
“Exponential.”
“Hostile.”
“Centralised.”
Labels can be useful, but describe questions often need the characteristics that make the label meaningful.
Do Not Use Memorised Background Instead of the Source
If a graph, photograph or passage is provided, describe what it shows.
General knowledge can distract.
The paper may deliberately present an unusual case that differs from the textbook pattern.
Source first. Memory second.
The Feature-Hunt Drill
Give a graph, map, photograph or passage and allow 20 seconds.
The learner identifies only:
- three major features;
- one supporting detail for each;
- one possible exception.
No explanation allowed.
This trains selection.
The Describe–Explain Split Drill
Give mixed statements and classify them.
The value rises from 10 to 20. → Describe.
The value rises because demand increases. → Explain.
Most settlements lie near the river. → Describe.
Settlements lie near the river because it provides transport and water. → Explain.
Repeat until the boundary becomes automatic.
The Main-Feature Drill
Give ten visual or data tasks.
The learner gets only one sentence for each.
They must choose the most important feature rather than write everything.
This strengthens prioritisation before longer answers.
The Evidence-Anchor Drill
Every descriptive claim must be paired with one anchor:
- number;
- time;
- place;
- quotation;
- label;
- specific visible detail.
This converts vague description into examinable evidence.
The No-Cause Drill
Ban causal connectives for five minutes.
The learner describes graphs and distributions without because, therefore, due to or causes.
This is temporary training, not permanent writing style. It makes the Describe boundary visible.
The Reconstruction Drill
Student A sees a graph.
Student B does not.
Student A describes it aloud. Student B sketches the graph from the description.
Compare the sketch with the original.
Missing turning points, scale changes and endpoints become immediately visible.
The Trend Compression Drill
Give eight data points.
The learner may use only two numbers and two sentences.
They must choose numbers that prove the main pattern.
This stops data dumping.
The Exception Drill
Show a mostly regular pattern with one anomaly.
The learner must write:
general pattern + precise exception.
No explanation yet.
The Spatial-Language Drill
Give a map and ban the phrase “over there.”
The learner must use direction, named places, distance, concentration and alignment.
This builds precise distribution language.
The Process-Sequence Drill
Give a six-stage diagram.
The learner writes the stages in order without causal explanation.
Then, in a second round, add explanations.
This makes the Describe/Explain boundary concrete.
The Timed Describe Drill
Describe questions should often be efficient.
Use:
scan → choose 2–4 features → anchor evidence → write → stop.
Exact feature count depends on marks and subject conventions. The principle is controlled selection.
The Final-Quarter Describe Drill
Late in a paper, students can become either vague or over-explanatory.
Place graph/data description near the end of timed practice and score:
- major feature selected;
- direction correct;
- evidence anchor present;
- exception included where important;
- no causal drift;
- time proportional to marks.
The Describe Error Taxonomy
- Vagueness failure: feature stated without precision.
- Data-dump failure: every number copied without pattern.
- Minor-detail failure: small features replace main pattern.
- Explanation drift: reasons added before description is complete.
- Inference failure: invisible or unsupported meaning presented as observation.
- Exception failure: anomaly ignored despite changing the pattern.
- Scale failure: graph axes/units misread.
- Sequence failure: process stages out of order.
- Evidence-free label: one adjective without support.
- Overwriting failure: excessive description consumes time.
The First-Divergence Review
- Did I identify what must be described?
- Did I choose the main feature?
- Did I state direction or characteristic precisely?
- Did I anchor it with evidence?
- Did I include the important exception?
- Did I stop before explanation?
The first failed step is the repair target.
Primary Learners: Describe What You Can Point To
Young learners can begin with a simple rule:
If you can point to it, count it, locate it or quote it, you can probably describe it.
Use pictures, objects, simple graphs and short passages.
Ask for one main feature and one evidence detail.
Lower Secondary: Add Pattern Language
Students should become comfortable with:
- trends;
- turning points;
- spatial patterns;
- process sequence;
- characteristics;
- exceptions;
- evidence anchors.
The main training goal is to stop explaining too early.
Upper Secondary: Add Precision and Data Economy
Upper-secondary learners should describe complex graphs, source features, processes and distributions with efficient numerical or textual evidence.
They should distinguish:
- absolute versus relative change;
- trend versus fluctuation;
- observation versus inference;
- pattern versus cause;
- main feature versus detail.
JC, IB, IP and Advanced Learners: Description Becomes High-Resolution Observation
Advanced learners often underestimate description because it appears basic.
Yet advanced analysis depends on accurate description.
A researcher must describe the data before explaining it. A mathematician must characterise a function before proving properties. A literary critic must notice the exact language before interpreting it. An economist must distinguish rising prices from rising inflation before explaining policy implications.
High-level description is disciplined observation with precise boundaries.
Parents: Ask “What Can You Actually See?”
A useful parent question is:
What can you actually point to in the graph, source or passage?
If the child answers with causes, ask them to return to observation.
If they answer vaguely, ask for one number, location, quotation or visible feature.
Tutors: Do Not Reward Explanation When the Task Was Description
A bright learner may produce impressive causal knowledge and still fail command discipline.
Mark the operation separately:
- Did they describe?
- Was the description precise?
- Was evidence anchored?
- Did they waste time explaining?
Correct knowledge does not excuse answering the wrong command.
The Three-Student Description Comparison
Aisha, Ben and Clara describe the same graph or source.
One writes many numbers. One writes vague labels. One selects main features and anchors them.
Compare:
- Which answer lets you reconstruct the evidence?
- Which answer wastes detail?
- Which answer crosses into explanation?
- Which answer matches the marks?
This makes description quality visible.
The Describe Dashboard
- object identified;
- main features selected;
- direction accurate;
- evidence anchored;
- scale/units read correctly;
- turning point included where relevant;
- exception included where relevant;
- sequence preserved;
- no causal drift;
- time proportional to marks.
The Independence Test
Describe performance is independent when the learner can:
- identify main features without prompts;
- choose relevant evidence;
- describe trends, distributions and processes precisely;
- distinguish observation from inference;
- avoid explaining unless asked;
- compress large data sets into high-value statements;
- preserve accuracy under time pressure;
- transfer across unfamiliar subjects and representations.
The Red–Amber–Green Audit
Red: learner is vague, copies raw data, misses the main pattern, invents inference, misreads scale or spends time explaining instead of describing.
Amber: major features are usually correct, but evidence selection, exceptions, data economy or command discipline becomes inconsistent under unfamiliar or timed tasks.
Green: the learner selects the decisive features, states them precisely, anchors them with evidence, includes important exceptions and stops exactly where explanation would begin.
The Eleven-Question Audit
- What exactly must I describe?
- What is the main feature?
- What direction or characteristic matters?
- What evidence anchors the feature?
- Are the units and scale correct?
- Is there a turning point?
- Is there an important exception?
- Am I describing a trend, distribution, process, object or text?
- Have I selected rather than copied?
- Have I added any unsupported inference?
- Have I stopped before explanation?
What Mastery Looks Like
Clara sees the graph.
She knows why it rises.
She does not write the reason.
She writes the overall trend, the interval where change is fastest, the plateau and one representative value.
Then she stops.
Later, if the paper asks “Explain,” she crosses the boundary and supplies mechanism.
The discipline is not knowing less.
It is answering exactly what was asked.
Deep Layer: Description Is Information Compression Without Causal Drift
A good description compresses a large amount of evidence into a small amount of language while preserving the features that matter.
A graph may contain fifty plotted values. A map may contain hundreds of symbols. A source may contain a page of prose. The student cannot reproduce all of it, and should not try.
The job is to preserve structure.
That makes description a form of loss-controlled compression: remove detail that does not affect the requested pattern, but keep the turning point, direction, scale, exception, sequence or defining characteristic that would change the reader’s understanding.
Aisha learns to ask:
If I had only two sentences, which features must survive?
That question is often more useful than “What else can I add?”
Observation, Measurement and Description
These are related but not identical.
- Observation: what is seen, detected or noticed.
- Measurement: an observation expressed through a defined scale or instrument.
- Description: a structured verbal account of observations or measurements relevant to the task.
“The solution turns blue” is observation. “The temperature rises from 22°C to 31°C” is measured observation. “The temperature rises steadily from 22°C to 31°C over five minutes, with the largest increase in the first two minutes” is a description of the pattern.
Description organises evidence rather than merely noticing it.
Description Has a Resolution
Too coarse: “The graph changes.”
Too fine for a short question: “At x = 1 the value is 11, at x = 2 it is 12, at x = 3 it is 13…”
Useful resolution: “The value rises almost linearly from about 10 to 20 over the first half of the range, then remains nearly constant.”
The right resolution depends on the marks, visual complexity and question focus.
The Salience Test
A feature is salient when removing it would materially distort the description.
- Does this feature change direction?
- Does it define the highest, lowest or dominant region?
- Does it mark a major contrast?
- Does it break the general pattern?
- Does the question explicitly point to it?
- Would the reader misunderstand the object if I omitted it?
If yes, the feature probably deserves space.
The Representative-Evidence Rule
One number can support a claim. Two numbers can show change. Three numbers can show curvature or a turning pattern. Ten numbers can become clutter.
Choose evidence that demonstrates the feature.
- For a rise: from 14 to 27.
- For a peak: reaches a maximum of 68 at 40°C.
- For a plateau: remains between about 48 and 50 from x = 6 to x = 10.
Evidence should serve the sentence, not replace it.
Describe the Baseline Before the Change When It Matters
A change has meaning relative to where it began. “Rises by 10” can mean doubling from 10 to 20 or barely changing from 1,000 to 1,010.
When scale matters, include the baseline. This does not turn description into evaluation. It makes the magnitude interpretable.
Absolute and Relative Description
Raw change and proportional change are both descriptive quantities.
A rises from 10 to 20. B rises from 100 to 110. Both rise by 10 in absolute terms. A doubles. B rises by 10%.
If the question asks only to describe each series, use the form that best communicates its pattern. If comparison is required, align the measure deliberately.
Do Not Confuse a High Value With a High Rate of Change
A line can be high on a graph and nearly flat. Another line can be low but rising rapidly.
- Level: current value.
- Rate: how quickly the value changes.
Clara checks which dimension the question asks for before writing “higher,” “faster,” “steeper” or “larger.”
Describe Steepness Carefully
Visual steepness depends on axis scaling. Where gradients are mathematically meaningful, compare actual rate of change rather than page angle.
If the question is qualitative and the axes use a consistent scale, “steeper” may be useful. If not, state the numerical change over the interval.
Describe Acceleration and Deceleration
“Increasing” is not enough when the rate itself changes.
A curve that becomes steeper shows an increasing rate under the relevant axes. A curve that still rises but becomes flatter shows continued increase at a decreasing rate.
Population continues to grow throughout the period, but growth slows after 2040 as the curve begins to flatten.
That describes the second-order pattern without explaining its cause.
Describe Step Changes
Some data do not change smoothly. A value may remain stable, jump abruptly, then stabilise at a new level.
The value remains near 30 until 2018, jumps to about 52 in 2019, and then stays around 50–53 for the remaining years.
Do not smooth a step into “gradually increased.”
Describe Cyclical Patterns
A cycle repeats. Useful descriptive features include period length, peak timing, trough timing, amplitude, whether cycles strengthen or weaken, and whether timing remains regular.
“It goes up and down” is too vague if the cycle is a main feature.
Describe Volatility
Some time series fluctuate irregularly. Description can distinguish stable trends with small fluctuations, large irregular swings, calm periods followed by volatile periods, one isolated shock, or repeated oscillation around a stable level.
Do not explain the volatility unless asked.
Describe Convergence and Divergence
Two series may move closer together or further apart.
The gap between the two series narrows from about 20 units to fewer than 5 by the end of the period.
This is especially useful in time-series and comparative data questions.
Describe Rank Changes
Categories can change order even when all values rise.
Region A begins with the highest value, but Region B overtakes it after 2022 and remains first thereafter.
Rank reversal is a descriptive feature that raw growth language can miss.
Describe Category Composition
Pie charts, stacked bars and composition tables require part–whole language: largest share, smallest share, combined share, dominant category and change in composition over time.
Services form the largest share at just over half of total employment, while agriculture accounts for less than one tenth.
No causal explanation is needed unless asked.
Describe Per-Capita and Total Values Correctly
Totals and rates answer different descriptive questions.
A country can have the highest total emissions and lower per-capita emissions than a smaller country. A school can have more absences in total and fewer absences per student.
Read the denominator before describing the ranking.
Describe Proportions Without Confusing Percentage Points and Percent Change
If a proportion rises from 20% to 30%, it rises by 10 percentage points. Relative to the starting percentage, that is a 50% increase.
These are different descriptive statements. Use the form appropriate to the question and do not mix the terms.
Describe Uncertainty Visibly
If error bars, confidence intervals, ranges or uncertainty bands are shown and relevant, include them descriptively.
The mean is higher for Group A, but the uncertainty intervals overlap substantially.
Do not jump from overlap to a universal statistical conclusion unless the syllabus and question support it.
Describe Missing Data
Missing values can be part of the description: “No data are shown for 2020.” “The western region has no recorded sites on the map.”
Do not silently interpolate or invent the missing state.
Describe a Method So Another Person Could Perform It
A method description has a practical reconstruction test: could a competent reader perform the procedure from the description?
- materials/equipment where necessary;
- sequence;
- amounts or settings if relevant;
- what is changed;
- what is measured;
- how results are recorded;
- repeat structure if part of the method.
Do not add a paragraph about validity unless the task asks to evaluate or justify the method.
Describe an Algorithm So the State Changes Are Clear
For algorithms and procedures, description should identify input, initialisation, decision, repetition, state update, termination and output.
Description should make the control flow reconstructable.
Describe a Mathematical Object
Mathematics description can identify structural properties without proving them.
- increasing/decreasing intervals;
- even or odd where taught;
- periodic;
- bounded;
- continuous over a stated domain;
- asymptotic;
- one-to-one on a restricted domain.
The command “describe” may require properties. “Prove” or “show” requires justification.
Describe Geometry Precisely
Geometry description should use exact taught relationships: parallel, perpendicular, congruent, similar, equal length, equal angle, bisected, tangent, symmetrical and collinear.
Do not infer these properties merely because a diagram looks that way.
Describe Probability Outcomes Without Explaining Why
A probability distribution can be described by most likely outcome, least likely outcome, symmetry, range of possible values, concentration around a centre, or tail direction where taught.
Explanation asks why the probabilities take that form.
Describe Text Before Interpreting It
Close reading becomes more reliable when observation precedes interpretation.
what is written → what pattern appears → what it may mean.
The first two stages belong to description.
The narrator repeatedly uses first-person plural pronouns and directly addresses the reader with “you.”
That is observable. “This creates solidarity and pressure” is analysis/explanation.
Describe a Character Without Diagnosing Them
“He speaks rarely, avoids eye contact and leaves when challenged” is descriptive. “He has an anxiety disorder” is a clinical inference unsupported by ordinary literary evidence unless the text explicitly establishes it.
Precision includes knowing what not to claim.
Describe Tone With Evidence, Not Mind-Reading
Ben can describe the tone as cautious because the writer repeatedly uses modal terms such as “may,” “could” and “perhaps.”
He should not automatically say the writer is personally uncertain in real life. Tone is a textual property of the voice on the page.
Describe a Source Before Evaluating Reliability
Clara first identifies what the source says, shows, emphasises and omits. Only if the command asks should she move into provenance, purpose, usefulness or reliability.
Describe a Historical Change Without Explaining Causation
A historical describe question may ask how an institution, policy or social pattern changed over time.
Participation expanded from a small urban group in the early period to a broader national movement by the final decade, with membership increasing especially rapidly after Year X.
Why that change happened belongs to explanation.
Describe an Economic Diagram Without Repeating Its Labels
The demand curve shifts to the right from D1 to D2, raising equilibrium price from P1 to P2 and quantity from Q1 to Q2, with supply unchanged.
The explanation of why demand shifts or how adjustment occurs belongs to the Explain owner.
Describe Business Performance Through Driver States
- sales volume up;
- average price stable;
- revenue up;
- costs rising faster;
- profit margin falling;
- repeat purchase lower;
- capacity utilisation near maximum.
The description creates the state map. Explanation later identifies the driver chain.
Describe an Exam Script
Description can also be diagnostic.
- three blank subparts near the end;
- two correct methods with arithmetic slips;
- long answers on low-mark questions;
- several changes from correct to incorrect during checking;
- notation becomes less legible in the final quarter.
This factual description is a better foundation for later diagnosis than a personality label.
Describe Before Diagnosing
Parents and tutors often jump directly to explanations: “He is lazy.” “She panics.” “He does not understand.” “She rushes.”
Start with observable patterns:
He completes 90% of homework but leaves the final two questions blank in three timed papers.
She answers accurately in untimed practice but loses marks after minute 45.
Description gives diagnosis something real to explain.
Worked Description 1: Rising Then Plateauing Graph
Y increases rapidly from 8 to about 35 as X rises from 0 to 20, then levels off, remaining close to 36–38 across the rest of the range.
No mechanism is added.
Worked Description 2: Peak and Decline
The value rises from 15 at 20°C to a maximum of 46 at 40°C, then falls sharply to 8 by 60°C.
That captures both regimes and the turning point.
Worked Description 3: Anomalous Point
There is an overall positive relationship between X and Y, with one clear low outlier at approximately X = 7.
The description reports the exception without guessing its cause.
Worked Description 4: No Clear Relationship
The points are widely dispersed and show no clear positive or negative association across the observed range.
Do not force a trend into noise.
Worked Description 5: Population Distribution Map
Population is concentrated along the eastern coast and central transport corridor, while the western highland region is sparsely populated. The largest cities are also clustered in the east.
Pattern + named region + secondary feature.
Worked Description 6: River Profile
The river begins on a steep gradient with a narrow channel, then the gradient becomes progressively gentler downstream while the channel becomes wider.
Why these changes occur belongs to explanation.
Worked Description 7: Scientific Method
Aisha states the method sequence: vary light intensity in controlled steps, measure a suitable indicator of photosynthetic rate over a fixed time, keep relevant variables such as temperature and carbon dioxide availability controlled where required, repeat measurements, and record the results.
The answer describes what to do. Justifying each control is a second command if asked.
Worked Description 8: Mathematics Function
The graph is an upward-opening parabola crossing the x-axis at x = −2 and x = 4, with a minimum at approximately (1, −9).
No derivation is needed unless asked.
Worked Description 9: Transformation
It is a rotation of 90° clockwise about O.
This is a case where concise completeness is better than elaboration.
Worked Description 10: Sequence
Each term is twice the previous term, so the sequence grows by a constant ratio of 2.
If the question asks for a formula, that is an additional task.
Worked Description 11: English Character
The character is patient and attentive, shown by her willingness to wait, listen and repeat instructions calmly.
Characteristic + evidence.
Worked Description 12: English Tone Shift
The tone shifts from restrained and factual at the start to forceful and emotionally charged by the ending.
Analysis would explain how the language produces the shift.
Worked Description 13: Source Message
The source presents increased production as a shared national duty and emphasises collective effort.
Why the source promotes that message belongs to purpose/explanation.
Worked Description 14: Historical Change
Membership increases sixfold across the decade, with growth accelerating particularly after Year 6.
Cause is intentionally absent.
Worked Description 15: Inflation Data
Inflation rises sharply from 2% to a peak of 8%, then declines to 3%. The inflation rate falls after the peak but remains positive throughout.
This avoids the common mistake of saying prices fall simply because inflation falls.
Worked Description 16: Market Diagram
Demand shifts right from D1 to D2 while supply remains unchanged, increasing equilibrium price from P1 to P2 and quantity from Q1 to Q2.
The reason for the shift is not required unless commanded.
Worked Description 17: Business Performance
Revenue increases by 12%, but operating costs rise faster at 20%, while profit falls by 8% over the period.
This description creates the paradox the Explain owner can later resolve.
Worked Description 18: Customer Retention
Repeat purchase falls substantially from 48% to 31%, while monthly new-customer acquisition remains roughly stable at about 10,000.
The contrast is descriptive evidence.
Worked Description 19: Algorithm
The algorithm compares the target with the middle item in an ordered list, discards the half that cannot contain the target, and repeats the process until the target is found or no items remain.
Why this is efficient belongs to Explain/Analyse.
Worked Description 20: Exam Script
Accuracy is high in the first half of the paper but falls sharply in the final quarter. Three late subparts are left blank, and two answers changed during checking move from correct to incorrect.
This is rich diagnostic description without prematurely blaming confidence, stamina or timing.
The Description Ladder
- Notice: detect a feature.
- Name: label it accurately.
- Anchor: support with data/text/location.
- Prioritise: select main over minor features.
- Compress: summarise many details into pattern language.
- Qualify: preserve approximation, uncertainty and exceptions.
- Transfer: describe unfamiliar representations.
- Perform: stay precise under time pressure without drifting into explanation.
The Description Strength Matrix
- Feature correct + evidence precise: strong description.
- Feature correct + evidence absent: vague or under-supported.
- Feature minor + evidence precise: accurate but low-yield.
- Feature correct + cause added: command drift.
- Pattern correct + exception ignored: incomplete.
- Evidence copied + pattern absent: data dump.
The Describe–Explain Boundary Card
- Describe words: rises, falls, remains, peaks, clusters, shifts, contains, shows, occurs, changes from.
- Explain words: because, causes, leads to, due to, results in, therefore, allows, prevents.
These are not absolute grammar rules. They are a rapid exam signal. If a Describe answer keeps crossing into the second list before the pattern is fully stated, pull it back.
The One-Mark Describe Question
One-mark tasks can be extremely concise: “The value decreases.” “The distribution is concentrated in the north.”
Do not assume every Describe question needs paragraphs.
The Two-to-Three-Mark Describe Question
A common structure is main pattern + one supporting figure + turning point or exception.
Exact marking varies. The principle is that detail should expand only enough to earn the available marks.
The Extended Describe Question
Some subjects use longer Describe tasks for methods, processes, case characteristics or source accounts. Longer does not mean explanatory.
- overall state;
- major component 1;
- major component 2;
- change/sequence;
- exception or boundary.
The answer can be detailed while remaining descriptive.
How Many Points Should I Write?
There is no universal points-per-mark rule across all subjects and examination boards. Use the mark value, command wording, response space and subject conventions.
enough distinct, precise features to cover the marks—no more than useful.
Do I Need Numbers in a Describe Answer?
Use numbers when they make the pattern precise or the question expects data evidence. You do not need to quote every value. Representative numbers usually work better than transcription.
Do I Need Reasons in a Describe Answer?
Usually not unless the question contains another command or the subject’s official definition explicitly requires more. Describe reports characteristics and main features. Explain supplies reasons and mechanisms.
Always follow the actual syllabus glossary if it differs.
Should I Mention Anomalies?
Yes when the anomaly materially changes the pattern, especially in graph and data questions. A tiny fluctuation that does not affect the main trend may not deserve space.
Use salience, not completeness anxiety.
Should I Describe Every Stage of a Process?
If each stage is necessary to reconstruct the process, yes. If several micro-steps can be grouped without losing the main sequence, compress them.
Should I Use Technical Vocabulary?
Use accurate subject vocabulary when it makes the description more precise. Do not use jargon merely to sound advanced.
“Clustered,” “plateau,” “asymptote,” “precipitate,” “centralised,” “first-person narrator” and “market share” can be useful because they compress specific meanings.
Thirty Describe Prompts for Training
- Describe a graph that rises then plateaus.
- Describe a graph that peaks then falls.
- Describe a graph with no clear trend.
- Describe a scatter plot with one outlier.
- Describe two time periods with different rates of change.
- Describe a cyclic pattern.
- Describe a step change.
- Describe a spatial cluster on a map.
- Describe a coastal concentration.
- Describe a linear distribution along a road.
- Describe a landscape photograph.
- Describe a six-stage scientific process.
- Describe an experimental method.
- Describe repeated measurements with high variation.
- Describe a mathematical parabola.
- Describe a graph transformation.
- Describe a geometric transformation.
- Describe a numerical sequence.
- Describe a character’s behaviour from a passage.
- Describe a setting.
- Describe a shift in tone.
- Describe a text’s structure.
- Describe a historical event in sequence.
- Describe a change in movement membership over time.
- Describe a source’s message.
- Describe inflation over a decade.
- Describe a change in market equilibrium.
- Describe business revenue, cost and profit trends.
- Describe an algorithm in words.
- Describe the visible error pattern in an exam script.
The Two-Minute Description Clinic
- Circle the command word.
- Underline the object to describe.
- Write the main feature in five words.
- Add one evidence anchor.
- Add one exception if needed.
- Cross out any causal sentence.
The Seven-Day Describe Repair
- Day 1: Describe versus Explain boundary.
- Day 2: main feature + evidence anchor.
- Day 3: trends, turning points, plateaus and anomalies.
- Day 4: distributions, maps and photographs.
- Day 5: processes, methods, text and mathematical objects.
- Day 6: mixed cross-subject timed description.
- Day 7: final-quarter precision and independent stopping.
The Twelve-Week Describe Arc
- Weeks 1–2: feature recognition and precise labels.
- Weeks 3–4: evidence anchoring and data compression.
- Weeks 5–6: trend, distribution and process description.
- Weeks 7–8: text, source, mathematics and method description.
- Weeks 9–10: boundary control against Explain/Analyse/Compare.
- Weeks 11–12: mixed-paper speed, fatigue and independent audit.
The Final-Week Describe Card
- what object?
- main feature?
- direction?
- evidence?
- exception?
- stop before why.
The Describe–Explain Switch Drill
Use the same evidence twice.
Describe: The rate rises to a maximum at 40°C and then falls sharply.
Explain: Above the optimum, enzyme structure is disrupted, reducing successful substrate binding and therefore lowering rate.
The switch teaches command discipline better than teaching the two commands in isolation.
The Describe–Analyse Switch Drill
Describe: The passage shifts from long sentences to short fragments near the end.
Analyse: The shift disrupts the earlier rhythm and makes the ending feel abrupt and tense.
The evidence remains the same. The intellectual operation changes.
The Describe–Compare Switch Drill
Describe: Series A rises from 20 to 35.
Compare: Series A rises by 15 units, three times the 5-unit increase in Series B over the same interval.
Description becomes comparison when a second object enters the same dimension.
Why Description Matters Beyond Examinations
Accurate description is the foundation of diagnosis, science, engineering, medicine, law, journalism, management and everyday decision-making.
Before a doctor explains a condition, symptoms are described. Before an engineer diagnoses failure, the failure pattern is described. Before a data scientist models causes, the data distribution is described. Before a journalist interprets an event, what happened is established. Before a teacher repairs learning, the error pattern is described.
Poor description contaminates everything downstream.
If the graph is described wrongly, the explanation starts from the wrong state. If a character’s actions are remembered inaccurately, the interpretation drifts. If a student’s exam errors are labelled “careless” instead of described precisely, the wrong intervention follows.
Clara eventually sees Describe as more than an easy command word.
It is the discipline of seeing before theorising.
That discipline protects every higher-order answer built on top of it.
The Canonical Boundary
This page owns describe questions as an examination-performance structure: characteristics, main features, accurate accounts, trend description, graph description, data description, spatial distribution, process sequence, evidence anchoring, exceptions and answer economy.
It does not replace Explain, Analyse, Compare, Evaluate or subject-specific owners. Its boundary is deliberate: describe what is present, what changes, where it occurs and what pattern the evidence shows—then stop before causal mechanism unless the question asks for it.
The Return Path
Look carefully.
Select the main feature.
Name the direction.
Anchor it with evidence.
Include the exception if it changes the pattern.
Then stop.
A strong description makes the evidence visible in words without trying to explain what caused it.
