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Home · KS3 · iLowerSecondary English · Question types · Short answers
These are the 1- and 2-mark questions that begin “Why…?”, “How does…?” or “What does X mean…?”. They look easy, and they are — if you say one precise thing and stop. Most lost marks here are not lost to ignorance but to vagueness, padding and answering a question that was never asked.
Short retrieval items sit under RAO1 — identify and retrieve ideas and information from a range of texts. Short inference items sit under RAO2 — deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts. The first asks you to find something the text states; the second asks you to work out something the text implies.
Format: Short open response - one or two lines.
How to answer: Locate the exact place in the text. Answer in your own words or with a precise short quotation. Mark schemes reward a clear, specific reference, not a vague gist.
Format: Short open response.
How to answer: Read beyond the literal. State the implied reason clearly; a single accurate inference earns the mark.
1.Match the length to the marks
A 1-mark item wants one precise piece of information; a 2-mark item wants that, plus a short development. One or two lines is enough. Extra sentences do not earn extra marks - they only cost you time you need for the high-tariff comparison and the writing task.
2.Answer the actual stem
Underline the question word. "Why…?" wants a reason. "How does…?" wants a method. "What does X mean…?" wants a meaning in your own words. If the answer you have written would not finish the sentence the question started, you have answered a different question.
3.Be specific, not vague
A general gist - "because it was bad" or "to make it interesting" - is not creditable. Name the exact reason, detail or idea the text gives. Specificity is what separates a mark from no mark on these items.
4.Quote or paraphrase deliberately
A short, exact quotation is fine for a retrieval point. For a meaning or inference, put it in your own words: a lift copied out without expansion shows nothing about your understanding and is not credited.
| Aspect | 1-mark answer | 2-mark answer |
|---|---|---|
| What it wants | One precise, correct piece of information or one accurate inference. | A correct point plus a short development, or two separate creditable details. |
| Length | A phrase or one short sentence. | One to two short sentences - no more. |
| Quote or paraphrase | A precise lift can be enough for retrieval; paraphrase for meaning. | Brief evidence and an explanation in your own words. |
| How marks are lost | Vague gist; wrong detail; answering the wrong stem. | Same, plus stopping at the point with no development, or an unexplained lift. |
The jump from one mark to two is not “write more” — it is “say a second creditable thing”. Padding a 1-mark answer never reaches the second mark; a precise, developed sentence does.
Mark schemes for these items repeatedly say do not accept vague references and do not credit unexplained lifts. This is not the examiner being harsh — it follows from what the question assesses:
Every extract below is an original text written for this page — no past paper material is reproduced. For each, compare the weak answer with the credited model answer and read the mark note, which is written in the style Pearson examiners use.
Morag had kept the light for thirty winters, and not once had she let it fail. The lamp did not care that her hands were slower now, or that the stairs to the lantern room took her twice as long. Each evening she climbed them anyway, counting the steps aloud so the climb would feel shorter, and each evening the beam swung out across the water exactly when the boats expected it.
Why did Morag count the steps aloud? 1 mark
Weak answer
“Because she was old and the stairs were hard.”
Why it fails: Vague. The text gives a specific reason; "old" and "hard" are a general gist, not the point the writer makes.
Credited model
“So that the climb would feel shorter.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the specific reason given in the text (the climb feeling shorter / to make the climb feel easier). Do not accept vague references to age or tiredness alone.
How does the writer show that Morag is reliable? Use two details. 2 marks
Weak answer
“She is reliable because she is a good keeper and people trust her.”
Why it fails: No textual detail. The stem asks for two details from the extract; the answer offers opinion instead.
Credited model
“She had kept the light for thirty winters and "not once" let it fail, and the beam swung out "exactly when the boats expected it".”
Mark note: 1 mark for each appropriate detail showing reliability (e.g. thirty winters without failure; the beam appearing exactly on time), to a maximum of 2. Lifts are acceptable here as they are the relevant details.
I had read that the market only came alive after dark, but I did not believe it until I arrived. By six the square was half-empty; by nine you could not move. Stallholders who had looked half-asleep an hour earlier were now calling out their prices over each other, and the smell of frying onions had replaced the dust of the afternoon.
Why did the writer not believe the market came alive after dark? 1 mark
Weak answer
“Because markets are usually busy in the day.”
Why it fails: Invented reasoning. The text gives the reason - the writer had only read it, not seen it.
Credited model
“Because they had only read about it and had not seen it for themselves.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the reason the text supplies (it was something read, not witnessed / not believed until seen). Do not accept general comments about markets.
What does the phrase "you could not move" suggest about the square by nine? 2 marks
Weak answer
“It means it was busy.”
Why it fails: Minimal. "Busy" restates without explaining what the phrase implies, so it cannot reach 2 marks.
Credited model
“It suggests the square had become extremely crowded - so packed with people that there was no space to walk - which contrasts sharply with it being half-empty at six.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the implied meaning (extremely crowded / no room to move); 1 mark for development (the contrast with the half-empty earlier square). Do not accept an unexplained lift of the phrase.
A glacier looks still, but it is always moving. Snow falling near the top is slowly pressed into ice, and the weight of all that ice forces the whole mass to creep downhill - sometimes only a few centimetres a day. Scientists push thin stakes into the surface and return months later to measure how far each stake has travelled.
Why do scientists return months later to measure the stakes? 1 mark
Weak answer
“To check on the glacier.”
Why it fails: Too vague to match the point. It does not say what the measurement shows.
Credited model
“To measure how far each stake - and so the ice - has moved.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the specific purpose (to measure how far the ice/stake has moved/travelled). Do not accept vague references such as "to check the glacier".
How does the writer make clear that a glacier is moving even though it looks still? Use the text. 2 marks
Weak answer
“The writer says it moves a lot every day.”
Why it fails: Inaccurate - the text says only a few centimetres a day. A wrong detail cannot be credited.
Credited model
“The writer states it is "always moving" and explains the weight of the ice "forces the whole mass to creep downhill", even if only a few centimetres a day.”
Mark note: 1 mark for identifying the explanation (weight forces it to creep downhill); 1 mark for accurate supporting detail (always moving / a few centimetres a day). Accept precise lifts as the relevant evidence.
Dear Aunt Priya, I promise the food here is better than I made it sound on the phone. The first week I lived on bread because I was too shy to ask where anything was. Then a girl in my corridor took me to the canteen, pointed at everything, and named it for me. Now I eat with her every evening.
Why did the writer live on bread in the first week? 1 mark
Weak answer
“Because the food was bad.”
Why it fails: Contradicts the text - the writer says the food is good. The reason given is shyness.
Credited model
“Because they were too shy to ask where anything was.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the stated reason (too shy to ask / did not know where things were). Do not accept references to the food being bad.
What does the letter suggest has changed for the writer? Give two things. 2 marks
Weak answer
“Things are better now.”
Why it fails: Unspecified. "Better" is a gist; the stem asks for two specific changes.
Credited model
“They no longer eat only bread but eat properly in the canteen, and they now have a friend they eat with every evening rather than being alone and shy.”
Mark note: 1 mark for each appropriate change (eating properly in the canteen; having a companion / no longer isolated), to a maximum of 2.
On the final bend Dele heard the crowd before he saw them. His legs had stopped feeling like his own a hundred metres ago. He did not look at the runner beside him; he had learned, the hard way, that looking sideways was how you lost. He fixed his eyes on the line and let everything else fall away.
Why did Dele not look at the runner beside him? 1 mark
Weak answer
“Because he was concentrating.”
Why it fails: Partly relevant but not the point. The text gives a precise reason: looking sideways is how you lose.
Credited model
“Because he had learned that looking sideways was how you lost.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the specific reason from the text (looking sideways causes you to lose). Do not accept a vague reference to "concentrating".
What does "His legs had stopped feeling like his own" suggest about Dele? 2 marks
Weak answer
“His legs were tired.”
Why it fails: A bare lift-and-restate. "Tired" does not explain what the image implies, so it stays at 1 at best.
Credited model
“It suggests he is so exhausted that his legs feel numb and detached from him, as though he is no longer in control of his own body in the final effort.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the implied meaning (extreme exhaustion / numbness); 1 mark for development (loss of control / pushing past his limit). Do not accept an unexplained lift.
The shop does not advertise. It does not need to. People bring in clocks that other repairers have already given up on, because word has spread that Mr Owusu will not return a clock until it keeps perfect time. He says a clock that is "nearly right" is just a clock that is wrong more slowly.
Why does the shop not need to advertise? 1 mark
Weak answer
“Because it is a good shop.”
Why it fails: Vague. The text gives a specific cause: its reputation has spread by word of mouth.
Credited model
“Because its reputation has spread by word of mouth.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the specific reason (word has spread / reputation brings customers in). Do not accept vague references to it being "good".
What does Mr Owusu mean by "a clock that is nearly right is just a clock that is wrong more slowly"? 2 marks
Weak answer
“He means the clock is a bit wrong.”
Why it fails: Surface only. It repeats "wrong" without explaining the standard he is setting.
Credited model
“He means that "nearly right" is not good enough - a clock that is slightly inaccurate is still inaccurate, just less obviously, so he insists on perfect accuracy before returning it.”
Mark note: 1 mark for the core meaning (nearly right still counts as wrong/inaccurate); 1 mark for development (he therefore demands perfect accuracy). Do not credit an unexplained restatement.
Re-read your answer against the question word. Does it finish the sentence the question started? Is it specific enough that it could only be true of this text? Is it the right length for the marks? If yes to all three, move on — the marks you save here are the marks you spend on the comparison and the writing task.