diff --git a/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtil.java b/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtil.java
index 88c2d795f56..cac573c4a71 100644
--- a/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtil.java
+++ b/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtil.java
@@ -340,4 +340,25 @@ public static Module parseModule(String code, Optional<String> name) throws Pars
                 : Optional.empty();
         return new Module(moduleCode, moduleName);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Parses a {@code String args} and returns first word if it is one of mod, lesson, or exam.
+     * If args is invalid, returns a ParseException with the provided errorMessage.
+     * Note that we only allow exact lowercase matches for now.
+     *
+     * @throws ParseException if the args string is invalid.
+     */
+    public static Type parseFirstArg(String args, String errorMessage) throws ParseException {
+        String firstArg = args.split(" ", 2)[0];
+        switch (firstArg) {
+        case "mod":
+            return Type.MOD;
+        case "lesson":
+            return Type.LESSON;
+        case "exam":
+            return Type.EXAM;
+        default:
+            throw new ParseException(errorMessage);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/Type.java b/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/Type.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..51ece51fc2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/Type.java
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+package seedu.address.logic.parser;
+
+public enum Type {
+    MOD, LESSON, EXAM
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtilTest.java b/src/test/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtilTest.java
index 6ffb6217379..58e8c21ba28 100644
--- a/src/test/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtilTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/seedu/address/logic/parser/ParserUtilTest.java
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ public class ParserUtilTest {
     private static final String INVALID_LESSON_NAME = " ";
     private static final String INVALID_MODULE_CODE = "C2030S";
     private static final String INVALID_MODULE_NAME = " ";
+    private static final String INVALID_FIRST_ARG = "shez";
 
     private static final String VALID_NAME = "Rachel Walker";
     private static final String VALID_PHONE = "123456";
@@ -67,6 +68,9 @@ public class ParserUtilTest {
     private static final String VALID_LESSON_NAME = "Lecture";
     private static final String VALID_MODULE_CODE = "CS2103T";
     private static final String VALID_MODULE_NAME = "Software Engineering";
+    private static final String VALID_FIRST_ARG_MOD = "mod";
+    private static final String VALID_FIRST_ARG_EXAM = "exam";
+    private static final String VALID_FIRST_ARG_LESSON = "lesson";
 
     private static final String WHITESPACE = " \t\r\n";
 
@@ -485,4 +489,21 @@ public void parseModule_validValues_returnsModule() throws Exception {
         Module expectedModule = new Module(moduleCode, Optional.of(moduleName));
         assertEquals(expectedModule, ParserUtil.parseModule(VALID_MODULE_CODE, Optional.of(VALID_MODULE_NAME)));
     }
+
+    @Test
+    public void parseFirstArg_null_throwsNullPointerException() throws Exception {
+        assertThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> ParserUtil.parseFirstArg(null, null));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void parseFirstArg_validValues_returnsValidResults() throws Exception {
+        assertEquals(Type.MOD, ParserUtil.parseFirstArg(VALID_FIRST_ARG_MOD, null));
+        assertEquals(Type.LESSON, ParserUtil.parseFirstArg(VALID_FIRST_ARG_LESSON, null));
+        assertEquals(Type.EXAM, ParserUtil.parseFirstArg(VALID_FIRST_ARG_EXAM, null));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void parseFirstArg_invalidValue_throwsParseException() throws Exception {
+        assertThrows(ParseException.class, () -> ParserUtil.parseFirstArg(INVALID_FIRST_ARG, null));
+    }
 }