Pseudocode reference

Worked programs

Four complete exam-style programs with explanations and sample runs: counting marks, validating a menu, searching an array, and using subroutines.

updated November 2, 2026

Program A: count passes and find the average

Read 5 marks, count how many are passes (50 or more), and output the average.

There are exactly 5 marks, so a count-controlled FOR loop fits.
Total adds up every mark; PassCount only goes up when the IF condition is true.
The average is worked out once, after the loop ends.

Pseudocode

DECLARE Index : INTEGER
DECLARE Mark : INTEGER
DECLARE Total : INTEGER
DECLARE PassCount : INTEGER
DECLARE Average : REAL

Total <- 0
PassCount <- 0

FOR Index <- 1 TO 5
    OUTPUT "Enter mark ", Index
    INPUT Mark
    Total <- Total + Mark

    IF Mark >= 50
      THEN
        PassCount <- PassCount + 1
    ENDIF
NEXT Index

Average <- Total / 5
OUTPUT "Passes = ", PassCount
OUTPUT "Average = ", Average

Sample run

Mark	Total	PassCount
42	42	0
50	92	1
74	166	2
21	187	2
90	277	3

Step 1 / 5

Output: Passes = 3, Average = 55.4

Program B: accept only a valid menu choice

Keep asking until the user enters a choice from 1 to 4.

REPEAT ... UNTIL fits because the user must see the menu at least once.
The condition says what a valid choice is, not what an invalid one is.
AND checks the lower and upper bounds together.

Pseudocode

DECLARE Choice : INTEGER

REPEAT
    OUTPUT "1.View 2.Add 3.Delete 4.Exit"
    INPUT Choice
UNTIL Choice >= 1 AND Choice <= 4

OUTPUT "Accepted choice: ", Choice

Sample run

Input	Valid?	What happens
8	No	Asks again
0	No	Asks again
3	Yes	Outputs `Accepted choice: 3`

Program C: search an array with a flag

Find out whether a name the user enters is in the array StudentNames.

Found starts as FALSE and becomes TRUE when a name matches.
This version checks every item. Examiners usually accept it because it is clear.
The final IF uses the flag to output one message. Enter Ali and the output is Found.

Pseudocode

DECLARE StudentNames : ARRAY[1:5] OF STRING
DECLARE Index : INTEGER
DECLARE Target : STRING
DECLARE Found : BOOLEAN

StudentNames[1] <- "Mia"
StudentNames[2] <- "Tom"
StudentNames[3] <- "Ali"
StudentNames[4] <- "Zoe"
StudentNames[5] <- "Sam"

INPUT Target
Found <- FALSE
FOR Index <- 1 TO 5
    IF StudentNames[Index] = Target
      THEN
        Found <- TRUE
    ENDIF
NEXT Index

IF Found = TRUE
  THEN
    OUTPUT "Found"
  ELSE
    OUTPUT "Not found"
ENDIF

Program D: a procedure and a function together

Use a procedure to display a line and a function to do a calculation.

A procedure call is a statement on its own, so it starts with CALL.
A function returns a value, so its call goes inside an expression.
PrintLine(10) outputs 10 dashes, and SumSquare(3, 4) returns 25, so the last line is Answer = 25.

Pseudocode

PROCEDURE PrintLine(Count : INTEGER)
    DECLARE Index : INTEGER
    FOR Index <- 1 TO Count
        OUTPUT "-"
    NEXT Index
ENDPROCEDURE

FUNCTION SumSquare(A : INTEGER, B : INTEGER) RETURNS INTEGER
    RETURN A * A + B * B
ENDFUNCTION

DECLARE Answer : INTEGER
CALL PrintLine(10)
Answer <- SumSquare(3, 4)
OUTPUT "Answer = ", Answer

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