COMMAND WORD · BIOLOGY

Add/Label

Put the missing name or unit onto a diagram or table the question has already given you.

All command words

Method

What is already there, then the right name, in the right place.

What the parts mean

  • Stimulusthe arrow, cell or column that is waiting
  • Namethe biological term or the unit
  • Placeon that structure, not in a new sentence

How to build your answer

  1. 1Look at what is already drawn or tabulated.
  2. 2Add the name or unit the blank is asking for.
  3. 3Touch the right structure, and stop when the blanks are filled.

Biology exemplar

Original question

A mitochondrion diagram has three unlabelled arrows: the smooth outer line, the central space, and a fold of the inner membrane. Add the labels.

Annotated answer

StimulusThree arrows are already on the diagram. NameOuter membrane, matrix and crista. PlaceEach name sits on its own arrow. Nothing is written about ATP.

The labels match the frame. Read them in order. This is one accurate route, not the only one.

Exam habit

Count the blanks before you start writing prose.

Common pitfall

Describing what mitochondria do, and leaving the arrows empty.

Exam-style question

3 marks

Based on a sample question

Mark points shown after marking

The drawing shows a section through a plant stem. Use the low-power view on the left.

Left: a circular stem section with a ring of eight small vascular bundles; one bundle near the top is boxed. Right: the boxed region enlarged. From top to bottom: a thin outer layer, a row of rounded thin-walled cells, a cap of small thick-walled grey cells, a band of small orange cells, a group of large blue open tubes, and large pale cells in the centre of the stem.Whole stem (low power)One vascular bundle (higher power)
Simplified drawing of a stem section.

Draw a low-power plan of the stem and label two tissues. Use the pad.

(3)

Draw your answer in the box below. Then press Show model answer and tick each point your drawing shows.

Draw here

Draw with a mouse, finger or stylus.

Total for this question: 3 marks

Answer discussion

A low-power plan uses clean outlines of tissue regions and names two of them. Drawing every cell, or writing a paragraph instead of a labelled plan, answers a different instruction.

Where this comes from

Unit 3 sample paper. The instruction asks for a low-power plan of a stem section and for two tissues to be labelled. The drawing task is shared with Draw; this page uses it for the labelling demand. Sample assessment, not a live paper.

Sample paper WBI13/01, question 1 (a)(i) (3 marks), 2017 sample assessment. Question page · Mark scheme page

Sources

Pearson Biology specification · Sample assessment PDF