One of the most consistent patterns across VCE Accounting Examiner’s Reports from 2019 through to 2023 is that students often demonstrate relevant knowledge, correct calculations, or accurate procedures, yet still fail to earn full marks because they have not responded to the command term of the question. This issue cuts across practical tasks, written explanations, and justification questions, and it affects students at all performance levels.
The VCAA uses command terms deliberately. They are not interchangeable, and they are not stylistic choices. Each command term signals a different type of thinking, and therefore a different marking focus. When students treat all questions as if they require the same type of response, marks are lost even when the content itself is sound.
“Identify” and “state”: precision without explanation
Questions that use command terms such as identify or state are typically low-mark questions that reward accuracy and concision. Examiner’s Reports consistently note that students over-answer these questions by providing explanations, examples, or calculations that are not required.
For example, in several exams students were asked to identify a principle or assumption relevant to a scenario. Many responses included a definition or justification. While this may seem harmless, it often introduces incorrect or irrelevant information that prevents the response from being marked as fully correct.
High-performing students recognise that these command terms require a single, precise response. Anything beyond that carries risk rather than reward.
“Explain”: effect, not process
The command term explain is one of the most frequently misunderstood in VCE Accounting. Examiner’s Reports repeatedly note that students describe procedures instead of explaining effects.
For instance, when asked to explain the effect of a balance day adjustment, many students describe how the adjustment is recorded in the General Journal. This does not address the task. The VCAA expects students to explain the impact on accounting elements, such as assets, expenses, liabilities, and owner’s equity.
In the 2022 and 2023 Examiner’s Reports, assessors explicitly noted that responses were capped when they failed to link the adjustment to changes in financial position or performance. An explanation must answer the question “what does this change, and why does that matter”, not “what was done”.
“Justify”: appropriateness, not outcome
Justification questions are among the most discriminating in the Accounting exam. The Examiner’s Reports consistently show that students confuse justification with preference or outcome-based reasoning.
For example, when asked to justify the use of a particular depreciation method, many students argue that it produces higher profit or lower expenses. These responses are routinely capped. The VCAA is not asking which option looks better. It is asking which option is more appropriate, given the nature of the asset and the pattern of economic benefits.
High-mark responses justify decisions by referring to accounting principles such as faithful representation, consistency, and relevance, and by linking these principles to the scenario provided. Outcome-based arguments do not satisfy this requirement.
“Evaluate”: judgement supported by accounting reasoning
Evaluation questions require students to make a judgement and support it with accounting reasoning. Examiner’s Reports note that students often provide either description without judgement, or judgement without explanation.
In evaluation questions involving ethics, inventory valuation, or accounting policies, weaker responses often state that a decision is good or bad without explaining the accounting consequences. Strong responses identify the decision, explain its impact on reports or stakeholders, and then assess whether that impact aligns with accounting objectives.
Evaluation is not opinion. It is judgement grounded in accounting logic.
“Calculate” versus “record”
Another common issue highlighted in Examiner’s Reports is students failing to distinguish between calculation tasks and recording tasks. In several exams, students correctly calculated figures but lost marks because they were then required to record those figures in accounts or reports and did so incorrectly.
The command term calculate assesses numerical accuracy. The command term record assesses classification, structure, and correct account usage. Students who treat these as the same task often lose marks unnecessarily.
High-performing students recognise when the exam has moved from calculation to application and adjust their focus accordingly.
Why command terms matter so much in Accounting
The Accounting exam is structured so that many marks are allocated not for difficulty, but for alignment. Students are rewarded for doing exactly what the question asks, no more and no less.
Examiner’s Reports consistently show that misinterpretation of command terms leads to partial answers, overwritten responses, or answers that are correct but irrelevant. These errors accumulate quietly across the paper.
How ATAR STAR trains command term awareness
At ATAR STAR, Accounting preparation explicitly teaches command term literacy. Students practise identifying the command term before attempting a question and matching their response to the marking focus that term implies.
This approach helps strong students eliminate careless losses and helps developing students understand why their answers are being capped, even when they feel confident.