We can learn a lot from previous exam feedback such as patterns, gaps and common mistakes. I could not recommend studying the examiner’s reports enough, as they are practically the mind of the examiner directly instructing students what to do and what to avoid. If you then go into your exams and make one of those mistakes (which have been highlighted previously) well that’s just silly and unprepared. So this blog summary, taken from previous blog posts, has all the relevant information for the 2022 exam in one place.

General comments (2017-2020):

Good points:

• Evaluation throughout
• Focus directly on question not general topic
• Outlined line of argument at the beginning (often in introduction) and followed this throughout answer (AO2 driven). Those that added evaluation near end of each paragraph often did not score into higher brackets.
• Relevant material used
• Showed knowledge from other topics (synoptic links) suggesting an understanding of the holistic nature of the A level.

Bad points:

• Lack of focus on exact wording of the Q
• Long introductions, summaries better left until the end
• Most of essay spent on A01 with A02 added at the end – resulting in insufficient depth
• Write everything I know on that topic (pre prepared formulaic answers)
• Evaluate through juxtaposition of different views. In other words, putting one name against another name and thinking this is evaluation. You need to say which view is stronger/ more convincing etc.
• Lack of planning leading to long rambling answers- paragraphs are your friend!
• Few students showed signs of having undertaken research.

Specific Comments

Philosophy:

Ethics:

Last week, I joined other RS teachers (virtually) for a Q/A session with Ewan Brady (from OCR) who tried to shed some light on the final weeks ahead. Here is a summary of what was said: 

Evidence: 

• Use a ‘range’ of different types of evidence from various parts of the course. Be “consistent as possible” – apply the same across all students (including setting the same questions if a student misses original assessment). 
• “Most recent evidence is most accurate” – Holistic view at end.  A “greater weight to the more recent.”  
• There is no minimum or maximum amount of evidence “not a specific number.”  Provide enough for a “clear picture” but essentially it is based on what each individual teacher/ centre “class as sufficient.” There is no “hierarchy of evidence.” 

Setting and marking assessments: 

• Do not use 2020 grade boundaries as the exam was “set to a different standard”. 
• No expectation that your grades should be capped. Not based on previous years (historical data). 
• Be cautious of grading individual essays. 
• If you have adapted your own questions following “Ofqual centre devised tasks” guidelines, whilst this is an “added complication” as you have to use your own mark schemes, apply the levels of response and remain fair and consistent to all your students. 
• Final grading is based on an “overall impression [of] what you have actually seen in front of you.”  

Key message repeated throughout is that it is “up to you how you organise it [and] what you include.” Grading should be based on “performance over range and time and professional judgement.”  

Provided by the exam board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHnkck3V0TA 

I left the meeting feeling supported by OCR but I still have a few concerns: