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How to Analyse Exam Questions: A Step-by-Step Method

Learn how to break down any exam question, spot the command word, read the mark allocation and use past papers and memos to see where you lose marks.

Published 2026-11-03

How to Analyse Exam Questions: A Step-by-Step Method

How to Analyse Exam Questions: A Step-by-Step Method

Learner underlining a command word in an exam question

To analyse an exam question, slow down before you write. Read the instructions, underline the command word and the topic words, check how many marks the question carries, and decide what format the answer needs. Then use past papers and their memos to practise this until it becomes automatic. Most lost marks come from answering a slightly different question from the one on the page, and this method is built to stop that.

This guide is written for South African learners in Grades 3 to 12, and for the parents and teachers who help them. It leans on official advice from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), so you can see where each step comes from.

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Practise Analysing Real Exam Questions
Use past papers from DBE, IEB and provincial sources, often paired with memos for self-assessment across Grades 3 to 12.
Browse past exam papers

TL;DR

Table of Contents

What it means to analyse an exam question

Analysing a question means taking it apart before you answer it. You are asking four things: what is the examiner asking me to do, which topic or case does it concern, how much is it worth, and what shape should the answer take?

Four aspects to check when analysing a question

That is different from studying the content. A learner can know the work well and still lose marks by listing when the question asked for an explanation, or by writing a page for a two-mark question. Question analysis is the skill that connects what you know to what the paper rewards.

It also works at two levels. The first is the single question in front of you during the exam. The second is a whole paper you have already written, where you look back to see which kinds of questions cost you marks. Both are covered below.

Step 1: Preview the whole paper first

The WCED’s 2025 Grade 12 Tips for Success advises learners to preview the whole paper, note the question and mark totals, identify choices, allocate writing time and keep time to check answers. The DBE’s own exam-preparation guide says the same about reading time: use it to read the instructions carefully, break questions down and identify key words.

A practical way to do this in the first few minutes:

  1. Read every instruction on the cover page, including how many questions to answer from each section.
  2. Note which questions are compulsory and which offer a choice.
  3. Add up the marks per section so you know where the weight sits.
  4. Decide roughly how many minutes each section deserves.
  5. Mark the questions you are confident about, because you will start there.

If timing is where you struggle, our guide on how to manage exam time gives a seat-side system you can rehearse with past papers.

Step 2: Break the question into parts

The WCED tells learners to read each question carefully, underline key words, especially the verbs, and check whether the question has one part or two. It also asks you to work out what information is available and what is needed, then plan the response.

In practice, split every question into four pieces:

Two-part questions are a common trap. If a question asks you to “name two causes and explain one effect”, it contains two separate tasks with different depths. Number them in the margin so neither gets forgotten.

Step 3: Read the command word with the rest of the question

Command words tell you the level of response expected. Our full guide to exam command words covers the most common ones. The Institute for Education explains that trigger or command words reveal the assessment objective, but warns that you must read the command word together with the rest of the question.

The DBE’s Business Studies examination guideline gives a clear example of how much the verb matters. According to it, “give” or “state” generally needs a one- or two-word answer, “outline” or “mention” needs a brief explanation in full sentences, and “distinguish” or “differentiate” needs clear differences between concepts. The same verb can behave a little differently from subject to subject, so check the examination guideline for yours.

What about “analyse”?

When a question says “analyse”, it usually wants you to break a topic into its parts and show how those parts relate, rather than just describe them. The DBE guideline does not define the word on its own, but it does describe what a good extended answer looks like: an introduction, a logically organised body and a conclusion, with headings and subheadings, no repeated facts, statements placed in context and everything relevant to the question. For a longer “analyse” question, that structure is your safest frame. For Business Studies specifically, see our guide to Grade 12 business studies essays.

Step 4: Let the mark allocation set the size of your answer

The DBE tells learners to match the amount of information to the mark allocation. Its Business Studies guideline repeats the point for case studies, where learners should use the mark allocation to judge how many facts to include.

A working rule of thumb, which is our own and not an official formula: for short-answer questions, aim for roughly one clear point per mark, unless the question says otherwise. A four-mark “explain” question that gets one long paragraph with a single idea will usually score one or two. Four short, separate points will score better.

The memorandum shows why precision matters. A DBE memorandum notes that when a question asks for a set number of facts, only the first requested number may be assessed. If you are asked for three, give three good ones, not a list of seven in the hope that three are right. For a fuller treatment, read mark allocation in exams.

Step 4: Let the mark allocation set the size of your answer

Step 5: Answer in the format the question asks for

The WCED says learners must answer in the format required, such as an essay, programme, review, interview, letter or calculation. A perfect argument written as an essay when the question wanted a formal letter loses format marks.

Format also covers presentation. The same document recommends legible writing, correct numbering, spaces between questions and starting a new section on a new page. Examiners cannot award marks they cannot find.

Subject papers have their own formats too. If you want to see how this plays out, our guides to the accounting exam format, the English Paper 2 format and the Afrikaans Paper 3 format show what each paper expects.

A worked example

Here is an invented practice question, written for illustration only and not taken from any real paper:

Explain two ways in which a business can improve its public image. (4 marks)

Piece What you find What it tells you
Command word Explain Say what the point is and why or how it works
Topic words improve, public image Stay on reputation, not profit or staffing
Limits two ways Exactly two points; extra ones will not be marked
Marks 4 About two marks per way: the point plus its explanation
Format Short answer Two short paragraphs or two numbered points, no introduction

With that table filled in, the answer almost writes itself: a named way, then a sentence explaining how it improves the business’s image, twice over. You have not added a conclusion, because four marks do not need one.

For case-study questions, add steps before this. The DBE guideline tells learners to inspect headings and images, read the case carefully, underline the keyword or verb, then reread the case and underline relevant keywords. Our page on business case study questions shows how to do this with real past papers.

Analysing a whole past paper after you write it

The second level of analysis happens after you have practised. The WCED’s Business Studies revision booklet advises learners to know the work thoroughly and answer as many previous papers and textbook practice questions as possible. Practice only helps if you review it properly.

Mark yourself with the memo

Write the paper under timed conditions, then mark it with the memorandum. Be strict. The memo also teaches you how examiners think. For open questions, a DBE memorandum states that no marks are awarded for a yes/no response alone, because the reason, motivation or evidence is what is assessed. Calculation memos can be just as revealing: a DBE Mathematical Literacy memorandum says that when a candidate gives more than one solution, only the first is marked. Present one clear final method.

Sort every lost mark by cause

Do not just write “Topic 3: weak”. For each question where you lost marks, tag it with one reason:

  1. Content gap: you did not know the work.
  2. Command word: you did the wrong task, such as listing instead of explaining.
  3. Depth: you gave too little or too much for the marks.
  4. Format: wrong structure, no numbering, unclear final answer.
  5. Time: you ran out of minutes, not knowledge.

After two or three papers, a pattern appears. If most losses are tagged “command word” or “depth”, more content revision will not help. Practising question analysis will.

Look across years

Papers from different years and sessions often test the same topics in different wording. Put the same-topic questions from three or four papers side by side and compare how the verbs and mark values change. You will see which topics return and which command words are attached to them, and that tells you where to spend revision time. Our Grade 11 exam preparation plan shows how to build this into a weekly routine.

Tips for parents and teachers

If you are helping a learner, do not teach the content first. Hand over a past question and ask: “What is this asking you to do? How many marks? How long should the answer be?” If the learner can answer those three questions aloud, the writing usually follows.

Teachers can run the same exercise as a class activity: project a question, have learners underline command words in one colour and limits in another, then compare. Five minutes at the start of a lesson, repeated through the term, builds the habit faster than one big revision session before exams.

For younger learners in Grades 3 to 7, keep it simple: circle the doing word, underline what it is about, and check the number of marks. The same three habits carry all the way to matric.

Our perspective

We built PapersZA because learners kept telling us the same thing: they studied hard and still did not know what the paper wanted from them. The gap is rarely effort. It is familiarity with how questions are worded and how marks are given.

That familiarity only comes from seeing many real papers. A collection of official DBE, IEB and provincial papers, each next to its memo, lets a learner see the same command word attached to different marks, and see exactly what the memo rewards. That is question analysis in practice, not in theory.

This is why we keep everything in one place, organised by grade, subject, year and session, with no account needed. If getting to the paper takes three steps and a sign-up, many learners never start. If it takes one click, they do a paper tonight. We would rather a learner do ten papers and analyse them carefully than read ten pages of advice.

Our advice is simple: pick one paper, write it with a timer, mark it with the memo, and tag every lost mark by cause. Repeat weekly.

Nkosi

Practise on real papers

You can try everything above today on official past papers. PapersZA is a free, searchable library of DBE, IEB and provincial papers and memos for Grades 3 to 12, with no account to create. Start with a paper in a subject where command words matter, such as the Business Studies May/June 2024 question paper, or browse the full collection on the PapersZA homepage.

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Open the paper, underline the command word in every question, then write it and mark it with the memo.

FAQ

How do I understand what an exam question is asking?

Read the instructions and the whole question, then identify the command word, the topic and any limits. Check the mark allocation and decide on the format. The DBE’s exam tips recommend using reading time exactly for this: breaking questions down and identifying key words before you begin writing.

What does it mean to analyse a past exam paper?

It means writing a past paper under exam conditions, marking it with the memo, and finding out why you lost marks. Sort the losses into content gaps, misread command words, wrong depth, format errors and time problems. The pattern shows you what to fix first.

How should I answer a question that says “analyse”?

Break the topic into its parts and show how they connect, rather than just describing it. For a longer answer, use an introduction, an organised body with headings and a conclusion, avoid repeating facts, and keep every point relevant to the question, as the DBE’s guideline for extended answers describes.

How many points should I give for a question worth a set number of marks?

As a rough guide, aim for about one clear point per mark on short-answer questions, unless the question says otherwise. If the question asks for a specific number of facts, give exactly that number, because a DBE memorandum notes that only the first requested number may be assessed.

Sources

Browse past papers