Answering the Exam Questions » Paper 1 Short Answers: Identify, Outline and Explain
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Assessment
- What Identify, Outline and Explain ask you to do, and how many marks each carries
- How to answer each one, with a worked answer for each command word
- How to improve a weak answer step by step
- How long to spend on each part, and the mistakes that lose marks
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Unlock This CourseThree command words, three jobs
The first three parts of every Paper 1 question each use a command word. A command word tells you what kind of answer to write. The spec describes them like this:
📝 Identify [3 marks]
Provide knowledge by recalling factual information. This tests AO1.
🔍 Outline [4 marks]
Recall factual information and provide development. This tests AO1.
💡 Explain [6 marks]
Provide a developed understanding of an aspect of religion and belief. This tests AO1 and AO2.
Key terms:
- Command word: the word in a question that tells you what to do, such as Identify or Explain.
- Development: a detail, reason or example that grows out of a point and adds to it.
Some parts are general, some say "Choose one religion"
Many parts do not name a religion. Any correct religious or non-religious point can earn marks. Other parts begin "Choose one religion". Then every point must come from that one religion, and you should name it. Mixing religions in one answer risks losing marks.
In the model answers below, the religious teaching is shown as a slot: add a teaching from your religion here. Fill the slot with a teaching you have learned from your own religion's lessons. A good answer names the teaching and then says what it means.
Identify: three short, separate points
Identify wants three correct items. Write a word or a short phrase for each. Do not explain them, because no marks are given for explanations. Each point must be different.
Worked answer: Identify
Identify three causes of wrongdoing. [3 marks]
1. Selfishness (1) 2. Greed (1) 3. Ignorance (1)
That is all the answer needs. It takes about 2 minutes.
Outline: two points, each one developed
Outline is worth 4 marks, so it is 2 + 2. For each of your two points you get 1 mark for the point and 1 mark for developing it. The development must grow out of the same point. A good pattern is: point, then "because", "which means" or "for example", then the detail.
Worked answer: Outline
Outline two reasons why some people believe humans should care for the planet. [4 marks]
Some believe humans are stewards, which means they look after the world for God (1), so they must not waste or damage what they have been given (1). Others believe in conservation, which means protecting nature (1), because climate change and the loss of wildlife harm future generations (1).
Notice that there are two separate points and each has its own development. One long point with lots of detail would only earn 2 marks.
Explain: developed reasons that answer the question
Explain is worth 6 marks and is marked in two levels, not one mark per point. Level 1 (1 to 3 marks) mostly describes. Level 2 (4 to 6 marks) uses correct terms with understanding and gives a full explanation of why something matters or how it affects people. Aim for three or four developed reasons, one short paragraph each, about 120 to 180 words in total. Add a teaching or example where it fits. If the question says "different" or "differing", give contrasting views.
A weak answer, improved step by step
Explain why some people believe that humans have a soul. [6 marks]
Weak answer: "People believe humans have a soul. It is a part of you that lives on. Some people think this because of religion."
Step 1: use the key term properly. Say what the idea is: dualism is the belief that a person is a body and a soul, and the soul is the real self.
Step 2: give a reason and say "because". Some people believe the self stays the same even though the body changes over time, so there must be something more than the body.
Step 3: add a second reason. Some point to near-death experiences, where people say they felt peace and floated above their bodies, and take this as evidence that consciousness can exist apart from the brain.
Step 4: add a teaching and show the effect. Add a teaching from your religion here, then say how it affects believers, for example in how they treat life as precious or what they expect after death.
Step 5: contrast. Say that physicalists disagree, because they argue that consciousness depends on the brain.
Improved answer (Level 2)
Some people believe in a soul because of dualism, the belief that a person is a body and a soul, and that the soul is the real self. They say that you stay the same person even though your body changes, so there must be something more than the body. Some point to near-death experiences, where people say they floated above their body, and they take this as evidence that consciousness can exist apart from the brain. Believers can also base the idea on their religion. Add a teaching from your religion here and say that believers treat life as precious because it is more than physical, so the soul shapes how they live. This belief matters to many people because it gives hope that death is not the end. Physicalists disagree, because they say consciousness depends on the brain, which is why belief in a soul is not shared by everyone.
One short illustration
If your religion is Christianity, the slot could read: "Christians believe God created the world, so they see human beings as made by God and valued by God." Whatever your religion, name a teaching and then say what it means.
Timing
You should spend no more than 20 minutes on a whole 25-mark question. Use roughly these times:
- Identify: about 2 minutes
- Outline: about 3 minutes
- Explain: about 5 minutes
- Evaluate: about 10 minutes (the next lesson)
Notice that the time is in proportion to the marks. Marks come quickly in the first two parts, so do not run over there.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
- Explaining when asked to identify. It wastes time and earns no extra marks.
- Writing one long point instead of two developed ones in an Outline answer. You can only get 2 marks for one point.
- Repeating the same point as the development, for example "Humans are stewards because they are stewards".
- Describing what believers do when the question says Explain. Say why it matters.
- Mixing religions in a "Choose one religion" part.
- Giving one view only when the question says "different".
Exam-style question
Try this question in the style of Paper 1.
(a) Identify three arguments people use for believing in God. [3 marks]
(b) Outline two reasons why some people are atheists. [4 marks]
(c) Explain why some people believe that humans have free will. [6 marks]
Model answer
(a) 1. The first cause argument (1) 2. The design argument (1) 3. Religious experience (1)
(b) Some atheists say science explains how the world works, so they do not need God to explain it (1), for example storm forecasts and medicines that were once put down to God (1). Others say the evil and suffering in the world is hard to square with a loving God (1), because earthquakes and diseases harm innocent people (1).
(c) Free will is the belief that people can make real choices. Many people believe in it because they feel they choose between options every day, such as whether to tell the truth. Free will also allows moral responsibility, because people can only be blamed or praised for actions they chose freely. Believers can add a religious reason: add a teaching from your religion here and say what it means. It matters because it affects how law and religion treat wrongdoing. Determinists disagree, because they say upbringing and nature decide what people do. This answer reaches Level 2 because it uses correct terms, has 'because' links, adds a teaching and a contrasting view.
Exam tip
Check the mark total before you write. Three marks means three items, four marks means two points with two developments, and six marks means developed reasons with a "because".