Pseudocode Writing Conventions

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which is the correct VCAA way to close an if block?

A end if

B endif

2. How many statements should appear on one line in VCAA pseudocode?

A One statement per line

B Multiple statements are fine

3. What does indentation show in VCAA pseudocode?

A Nothing — it is just a style preference

B That lines belong inside a nested block

4. Which correctly closes a for loop in VCAA pseudocode?

A end loop

B end for

5. Does VCAA pseudocode use semicolons to end statements?

A No — statements end at the end of the line

B Yes — semicolons are required

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1end if		AThe closing keyword for an if block in VCAA pseudocode; end is always followed by a space and the keyword that opened the block
2if temp > 30 then print "hot" else print "cold" end if		Bx <- 5 y <- x + 1 print y
3One statement per line is a core VCAA pseudocode writing convention		Cfor i from 1 to 5 print i end for
4Indentation shows which lines belong inside a nested block such as a loop or if statement		DWrong — VCAA pseudocode requires one statement per line. Semicolons are not used. `x <- 5` and `print x` must each be on their own line
5if age > 18 then print "ok" endif		EA snippet showing all three VCAA conventions: one statement per line, the body indented inside each block, and end if closing the construct
6x <- 5; print x if x > 0 then print "ok" end if		FWrong — VCAA pseudocode writes this as two words: `end if`. The closing keyword always separates end from the block name with a space

Definitions

end if

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

if score > 50 then print score ___ if

while count < 10 print count end _____

for i from 1 to 5 print i end ___

if x > 5 ____ print x end if

if a > b then print a end __

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A if score > 50 then

B print score

C end if

Question 2

A x <- 5; print x

B if x > 0 then

C print "positive"

D end if

Question 3

A if age >= 18 then

B print "Adult"

C endif

Question 4

A if x > 5:

B print x

C end if

Question 5

A while count < 10

B print count

C count <- count + 1

D endwhile

Answer Key

Pseudocode Writing Conventions

Section A: Quick Questions

A — end if

A — One statement per line

B — That lines belong inside a nested block

B — end for

A — No — statements end at the end of the line

Section B: Match the Pairs

end if → The closing keyword for an if block in VCAA pseudocode; end is always followed by a space and the keyword that opened the block

if temp > 30 then print "hot" else print "cold" end if → A snippet showing all three VCAA conventions: one statement per line, the body indented inside each block, and end if closing the construct

One statement per line is a core VCAA pseudocode writing convention → x <- 5 y <- x + 1 print y

Indentation shows which lines belong inside a nested block such as a loop or if statement → for i from 1 to 5 print i end for

if age > 18 then print "ok" endif → Wrong — VCAA pseudocode writes this as two words: `end if`. The closing keyword always separates end from the block name with a space

x <- 5; print x if x > 0 then print "ok" end if → Wrong — VCAA pseudocode requires one statement per line. Semicolons are not used. `x <- 5` and `print x` must each be on their own line

Section C: Definitions

end if — A closing keyword in VCAA pseudocode that ends an if block; every nested construct uses end followed by its matching keyword: end if, end while, end for

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

if score > 50 then
    print score
end if

while count < 10
    print count
end while

for i from 1 to 5
    print i
end for

if x > 5 then
    print x
end if

if a > b then
    print a
end if

Section E: Spot the Error

B — The body of an if block must be indented to show it is inside the block. Line 1 should be ` print score` with leading spaces. Line 1 is wrong.

A — VCAA pseudocode requires one statement per line. `x <- 5` and `print x` must each appear on their own separate line. Semicolons are not used in VCAA pseudocode. Line 0 is wrong.

C — The closing keyword must be written as two words: `end if`, not `endif`. VCAA pseudocode always separates end from the block keyword with a space. Line 2 is wrong.

A — VCAA pseudocode uses `if condition then`, not a colon. Colons are Python syntax and have no place in VCAA pseudocode. The correct line is `if x > 5 then`. Line 0 is wrong.

D — The closing keyword for a while loop must be written as two words: `end while`, not `endwhile`. VCAA pseudocode always separates end from the block keyword with a space. Line 3 is wrong.