“Identify” — what the examiner wants
How to answer a Cambridge Computer Science question that starts with Identify (2210, 0478 & 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 324 current-syllabus past-paper questions.
Cambridge's definition
“name / select / recognise”
What earns full marks
Pick out the correct term, component or line — often from a diagram, table or piece of code. Use the exact name.
What loses the mark
Describing the thing instead of naming it. "The part that does calculations" is not "the ALU".
A question that uses it
Identify the line of pseudocode that contains a syntax error.
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.
324
questions
365
parts open with it
2
median marks a part
By paper
- 2210 / 0478 Paper 172 of 210 questions · 34%
- 2210 / 0478 Paper 254 of 262 questions · 21%
- 9618 Paper 190 of 270 questions · 33%
- 9618 Paper 267 of 251 questions · 27%
- 9618 Paper 341 of 353 questions · 12%
Typical marks per part: 2 marks (36%), 1 mark (34%), 3 marks (18%), 4 marks (10%).
Topics where “Identify” comes up most
- AS LevelProgramming34 questions
- O Level / IGCSEAlgorithm Design and Problem-Solving25 questions
- O Level / IGCSEHardware24 questions
- O Level / IGCSEProgramming23 questions
- AS LevelProcessor Fundamentals19 questions
- AS LevelData Types and Structures15 questions
- AS LevelCommunication14 questions
- AS LevelSoftware Development14 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 “Identify”, b = the whole question.
Don't confuse it with
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.