Command word: locate vs explain
These questions test two different operations, so read the command word first. "Identify / find / give the word that means..." wants a word or phrase copied EXACTLY from the text - copy only the unit asked for. "Explain what X means / in your own words" wants a NEW word of your own capturing the meaning in that sentence; copying X back earns nothing. Mixing them up is a command-reading error - underline the command word first.
One precise, context-checked synonym
Most words have several meanings, but each sentence intends only ONE. Read the whole sentence to fix which meaning applies, form your own-words replacement, then run the substitution test: put it back for the original - does the sentence still make sense, with the same intensity? Give ONE answer; if unsure between two, keep the one that survives the test. Match the original's strength: "desperate" is stronger than "wanted"; "perceptive" means noticing, not kindness.
Literal or figurative in this sentence
The same word can be literal (its physical sense) or figurative (metaphorical); explain the sense actually used. "The ice cracked under her boots" - physically split. "Her voice cracked with emotion" - became unsteady, nothing physically split. To tell which, check what the word describes: a physical object signals literal; a feeling or voice signals figurative. Explaining a figurative word with its literal meaning misreads the context and loses the mark.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Copying too much or too little
On "identify the word or phrase" tasks, some candidates copy a much longer stretch of the sentence than needed - diluting a precise answer - while others copy only one word of a two- or three-word phrase, missing part of the answer. Copy exactly the unit of meaning asked for: if the phrase is two words, give both; do not extend into words the question did not ask for.
Digest s1.3, June 2023 (s23) Paper 1 Q2(a): candidates copy more of the sentence than needed, or give only part of a multi-word answer.
Doing the wrong operation
Some candidates explain in their own words when the command asked them to locate and copy the exact word, or copy the original word back when an own-words explanation was required. Both come from not pausing on the command word. Underline "identify/find" versus "explain" before writing, and do only the operation asked for.
Digest s1.3, June 2023 (s23) Paper 1 Q2(a): confusing locate/copy from the text with explain in own words (doing the wrong one) recurs.
Several meanings, not one committed
On "explain the word" questions, candidates hedge - listing two or three possible meanings rather than deciding which the SENTENCE requires. A list of guesses shows none has been tested against the context, and a self-contradictory list can score lower than a single committed answer. Use the substitution test and write the ONE meaning that survives, with confidence.
Digest s1.3, June 2023 (s23) Paper 1 Q2(b): candidates offer several contradictory possible meanings instead of one precise, context-checked explanation.
Misreading the context word
Candidates reliably misread context words - guessing "perceptive" as kind or worried, when it means quick to notice and understand what others miss. The remedy examiners recommend is the substitution test: try your synonym back in the sentence and reject it if it does not fit. Do not settle for a plausible-sounding meaning the sentence does not actually support.
Digest s1.3, June 2023 (s23) Paper 1 Q2(b): reliable misreadings of context words (e.g. guessing "perceptive" as kind/worried); examiners recommend the substitution test.
Literal answer for a figurative use
Explaining a figurative word with its literal, dictionary sense misreads the context, even though the definition is correct in isolation. "Her voice cracked" does not mean it split into pieces; it means it became unsteady with emotion. Check what the word is describing - a feeling, an idea, a person's manner usually signals a figurative sense that a literal gloss would miss.
(general exam technique)
Any dictionary meaning will do
A common belief is that these questions test whether you know a word in general. In fact they test the SPECIFIC meaning it carries in this sentence, which may be one of several, and may be figurative. "Sharp" can mean a fine edge, a strong taste or quick wit - but only "a sudden, steep change" fits "a sharp increase in prices". Context, not the dictionary alone, decides.
Digest s1.3, June 2023 (s23) Paper 1 Q2(b): candidates reach for a plausible dictionary meaning ("perceptive" as kind/worried) rather than the one the sentence requires; examiners recommend the substitution test.
Read the command word first
Before anything, decide whether the question wants you to locate and copy an exact word or phrase, or to explain the meaning in your own words. Answer only the operation asked for - copying when explanation is required, or the reverse, throws the mark away.
Read the whole sentence for context
Read the whole sentence the word sits in - and the sentence before it if the meaning depends on what came earlier. The surrounding words fix which single meaning is intended here; never rely on the word in isolation or a memorised dictionary definition.
Substitute your synonym and check
Once you have a candidate synonym, drop it back into the original sentence in place of the word. If the sentence still makes complete sense - same strength, same literal or figurative sense - you have the answer. If it sounds odd, too strong or too weak, revise and test again.
Decide literal or figurative
Before explaining, judge whether the word is used literally or figuratively in this sentence. A physical object usually signals a literal sense; a feeling or voice signals a figurative one. Explain the sense actually in use, not the word's most common meaning.
This is Reading objective R2: explaining the meaning of a word or phrase as it is used in its sentence — the vocabulary-in-context strand of Paper 1 Question 2(a)-(b), asked about Text C. It sits between two neighbouring skills: 1.2 (explaining a longer implicit idea in your own words) and 1.4 (analysing how a writer's word choices create an EFFECT across a passage). Here, the task is narrower and more precise: given one word or short phrase, say exactly what it means in that sentence.
What is the difference between a question that says "identify/find" a word or phrase and one that says "explain" it?
