“Complete” — what the examiner wants
How to answer a Cambridge Computer Science question that starts with Complete (9618): Cambridge's definition, what a full-mark answer contains, the mistake that loses the mark, and how often the word has come up in 481 current-syllabus past-paper questions.
Cambridge's definition
“add information to an incomplete diagram or table”
What earns full marks
Fill every gap — trace-table rows, truth-table columns, missing pseudocode lines, mark-scheme grids.
What loses the mark
Leaving a cell blank. A guess can score; an empty cell never does.
A question that uses it
Complete the trace table for the algorithm when the input is 6.
In real past papers
Current-syllabus questions only (2210 / 0478 from 2023, 9618 from 2021); a question set under both 2210 and 0478 counts once.
481
questions
543
parts open with it
4
median marks a part
By paper
- 2210 / 0478 Paper 159 of 210 questions · 28%
- 2210 / 0478 Paper 291 of 262 questions · 35%
- 9618 Paper 1120 of 270 questions · 44%
- 9618 Paper 2117 of 251 questions · 47%
- 9618 Paper 394 of 353 questions · 27%
Typical marks per part: 4 marks (32%), 2 marks (20%), 5 marks (18%), 3 marks (15%).
Topics where “Complete” comes up most
- AS LevelProgramming63 questions
- AS LevelData Types and Structures34 questions
- A2 LevelHardware and Virtual Machines28 questions
- O Level / IGCSEAlgorithm Design and Problem-Solving27 questions
- A2 LevelComputational Thinking and Problem-Solving26 questions
- O Level / IGCSEDatabases26 questions
- AS LevelHardware24 questions
- AS LevelProcessor Fundamentals24 questions
Recent questions that use it
Open any one to read it and mark your answer against the official mark scheme.
Marks shown as “a / b”: a = marks in parts that open with “Complete”, b = the whole question.
Don't confuse it with
- Write“write an answer in a specific way”3–8 marks (algorithms) or more (Paper 4 code)
- Draw“draw a line to match a term with a description”1 mark per correct line
- Sketch“make a simple freehand drawing showing the key features, taking care over proportions”2–3 marks
- Develop“take forward to a more advanced stage or build upon given information”2–6 marks
The definition follows the command-word table in the Cambridge syllabus; the guidance is ZAK's. Statistics come from the real past-paper question bank (command words are read from each question's wording). Command words and past papers are © Cambridge Assessment International Education.