📖 The Examiner’s Secret Vocabulary List

Part of Mark-Scheme Verb Deployment · Section 1 of 4

IntroductionUnit: Foundation SkillsGCSE

This introduction covers 📖 The Examiner’s Secret Vocabulary List within Mark-Scheme Verb Deployment for GCSE English Language. Revise Mark-Scheme Verb Deployment in Foundation Skills for GCSE English Language with 10 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 1 of 4 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

📖 The Examiner’s Secret Vocabulary List

There is a set of verbs that AQA examiners use to describe the work they reward. Analyses. Evaluates. Methods. Perceptive. Judicious. These are not just description words — they are the vocabulary of the mark scheme itself.

Most students write as if examiners use a different dictionary. They write: “the writer talks about…” or “the writer puts across…” or — the most common of all — “the writer uses imagery here.”

None of these appear anywhere in the mark scheme. The mark scheme rewards analyses, employs, positions, foregrounds. The student who writes in mark-scheme language is not just sounding impressive — they are using the exact words that trigger the examiner’s Level 4 recognition. That is not coincidence. That is strategy.

Practice questions for Mark-Scheme Verb Deployment

Which of these is a craft verb from the AQA mark scheme, used to describe what a writer does?

  • A. employs
  • B. uses
  • C. talks about
  • D. puts across
1 markfoundation

A student wants to explain that the writer placed the most important image at the beginning of the passage to make it stand out. Which verb fits best?

  • A. says
  • B. foregrounds
  • C. shows
  • D. does
1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

What are mark-scheme verbs, and why should you use them in analytical writing?
<strong>Mark-scheme verbs</strong> are the exact words AQA uses to describe what Level 4 students and writers do. Two types:<br><br><strong>Craft verbs</strong> (describe what the writer did): <em>employs, constructs, positions, foregrounds, analyses</em><br><strong>Reward verbs</strong> (describe what you as a student are doing): <em>analyses, evaluates, perceptive, judicious</em><br><br><strong>Why use them:</strong> &lsquo;The writer uses&rsquo; identifies a technique. &lsquo;The writer employs / constructs / foregrounds&rsquo; analyses the purpose of a technique. The mark-scheme verb <em>obligates</em> the explanation &mdash; which is where the marks live.
When should you use 'employs' vs 'constructs' vs 'positions' vs 'foregrounds'?
<strong>Employs</strong> &mdash; when noting that a specific technique is at work: <em>&ldquo;The writer employs a tricolon&hellip;&rdquo;</em><br><br><strong>Constructs</strong> &mdash; when discussing how something is built over time (character, atmosphere, argument): <em>&ldquo;The writer constructs the setting as a form of pressure&hellip;&rdquo;</em><br><br><strong>Positions</strong> &mdash; when discussing how the reader is placed in relation to events or information: <em>&ldquo;The writer positions the reader to know before the character does&hellip;&rdquo;</em><br><br><strong>Foregrounds</strong> &mdash; when a structural or tonal choice brings something into prominence: <em>&ldquo;The writer foregrounds the final image, withholding explanation&hellip;&rdquo;</em>

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