Guide
NTCET command terms: what the verb in the question is asking for
The NTCET is the SACE in the Northern Territory, and SACE publishes no glossary — here are the verbs its exams actually use and what each one wants.
The NTCET is the SACE delivered in the Northern Territory: same subject outlines, same performance standards, same external exams set by the SACE Board. That matters for command terms, because the SACE Board is the one senior-secondary authority in Australia that publishes no glossary of them. This guide gives you the verbs that actually open SACE exam questions, a working meaning for each, and the performance-standard language the marker is really using.
Who writes the definitions
Nobody, officially. The SACE Board's Terminology for the SACE document (January 2026) has no verb entries, and subject outlines carry none either. What the NTCET does publish is the assessment design criteria for each subject, with lettered specific features — in Biology, for example, IAE3 'Analysis and interpretation of data and other evidence to formulate and justify conclusions' and KA2 'Application of biological concepts in new and familiar contexts'. Every exam question is written to draw out one of those. The meanings below are Captivate's working definitions, matched to the closest interstate glossary wording and to those specific features; they are not SACE Board definitions.
The verb ladder, low to high
- Recall — state, identify, name, write (the formula), list. One fact or one piece of notation.
- Production — calculate, determine, complete, prepare, balance, draw, sketch, show that. Working, records and diagrams in the standard form. Most SACE science and maths marks live here.
- Reasoning — explain, describe, outline, use/using, hence, comment on. The why and the how, and building on an earlier result.
- Judgement — justify, evaluate, discuss, compare, suggest/recommend/propose. A conclusion with evidence, or a decision with reasons. Fewer questions, higher marks each.
The verbs that carry the marks
Opening verbs counted across the public SACE Stage 2 paper exams (Chemistry, Accounting and Mathematical Methods, 2024 and 2025). Biology, Psychology and the humanities are e-exams, but use the same vocabulary.
| Verb | Working meaning | What a full answer contains |
|---|---|---|
| explain | Give the why and/or how: name the cause, mechanism or reason and link it to the effect. | A chain from cause to effect, one link per mark. Fourteen of the questions in each Chemistry paper open with it — it is SACE's dominant verb. |
| state | Give the fact, value or name asked for, briefly, with no working or reasoning. | One line. Second most common verb across the papers. |
| determine | Establish the answer by working it out — often a chain of steps, or a value read from a graph then used. | The method chosen, the steps, the result. Mathematical Methods' dominant verb; usually two or more marks. |
| calculate | Obtain a numerical answer, showing the working that leads to it. | Working, answer, units, sensible rounding. |
| use / using / hence | Build on the thing named — your answer to the previous part, the table, the diagram. | The earlier result applied, not repeated. 'Hence' means do not start again from scratch. Very common in Methods and Chemistry. |
| show that | Arrive at the printed result with every step visible. | All the working. The answer is given, so the marks are entirely for the method. |
| write (an equation / a formula) | Produce the notation asked for in correct form. | Balanced, with states or charges where they apply, correct formulae. Chemistry. |
| complete / prepare / balance | Finish or produce the record asked for in the standard format. | The ledger, statement, reconciliation or table, correctly classified and totalled. Accounting's production verbs and most of its marks. |
| identify / outline / describe | Identify: recognise and name. Outline: main points in brief. Describe: characteristics or sequence, without the why. | Name → main points → features, increasing in length, none of them needing a reason. |
| justify | Give the reasoning and evidence that make your answer, decision or conclusion right. | A claim, then the evidence — data from the question where it exists. This is the verb behind IAE3's 'formulate and justify conclusions'. |
| evaluate / discuss / comment on | Evaluate: judge the value, quality or effect of something and support it. Discuss: consider the points for and against and reach a view. Comment on: say what the result tells you. | A judgement with evidence, or both sides and a verdict. 'Evaluate' is the verb behind IAE4's 'evaluation of procedures and their effect on data'. |
Traps that cost NTCET students
- Expecting a glossary to settle an argument with a marker. There is none. The marker reads the verb plainly and marks against the performance standards — so learn the specific features for your subject and write answers that show them.
- Skipping the working on 'determine' and 'show that'. In SACE maths and sciences the method marks are most of the marks; a correct final number alone can score one out of three.
- Starting again when the question says 'hence' or 'using your answer to part (b)'. The examiner is handing you the previous result; use it.
- Explaining without a mechanism. SACE Chemistry's 'explain' wants the particle-level or bond-level reason, not a restatement of the observation.
- Treating Accounting's 'complete', 'prepare' and 'balance' as writing tasks. They are production tasks: format, classification and totals carry the marks.
- Giving a conclusion with no evidence when the verb is 'justify' or 'evaluate'. Both are marked against the Investigation, Analysis and Evaluation criteria, which name evidence explicitly.
Using this in Captivate
- When a question opens with a command term, a small chip appears above it. Tap it for the meaning and the depth typically expected before you start writing.
- In a timed sit, read the verb first and the marks second. Together they tell you the shape of the answer — a one-mark 'identify' is a name; a four-mark 'explain' is a chain of reasons.
- When you mark yourself against the solution, check the verb, not just the content. If the question said 'justify' and you only described, mark it down — that is exactly what the examiner does.
NTCET working glossary
The NTCET is the SACE delivered in the Northern Territory, so the same applies: no official glossary exists. These meanings were derived from the verbs that open SACE Stage 2 exam questions and the wording of the subject performance standards; they are Captivate's guidance, not SACE definitions.
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