“Summarise” — what the examiner wants
How to answer a Cambridge Computer Science question that starts with Summarise (9618): Cambridge's definition, what a full-mark answer contains, the mistake that loses the mark.
Cambridge's definition
“select and present the main points, without detail”
What earns full marks
The key points only, in your own words, briefly.
What loses the mark
Copying detail from the question or writing at length.
A question that uses it
Summarise the purpose of the transport layer in the TCP/IP protocol suite.
In real past papers
None of the current-syllabus questions in the bank opens with this word yet — it is in the syllabus list, so it can still be set.
Don't confuse it with
- Describe“state the points of a topic / give characteristics and main features”1 mark per feature, usually 2–4
- Explain“set out purposes or reasons / make the relationships between things clear / say why and/or how, and support with relevant evidence”2 marks per point, usually 2–6
- Outline“set out the main points”1 mark per point
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.