Transcript Slide 1
GCSE Humanities Feedback from exams of summer 2012 Unit 1 - Successes • People and environments • Patterns and place • Many candidates have a very good understanding of eutrophication. • Problems of traffic congestion and possible solutions were generally described/explained well • Candidates showed a good knowledge of the causes of rainforest destruction • Candidates showed a good understanding of how farming practices have changed in the UK • The candidates’ knowledge and understanding of earthquake protection measures was generally good with a range of examples being given. Many candidates also clearly understood that the effectiveness of these is likely to be different in different parts of the world. Unit 1 - Concerns • Too many candidates confuse damage of the ozone layer with climate change. • Few candidates were able to link pollution in rivers to the effects it had on human life. • Many pupils wrote about the structure of the rainforest despite the question being about its climate. • More candidates would reach L3 on the 6 mark ‘explain’ questions if they linked their answers back to the question rather than produced a detailed descriptive answer. • The use of examples and case studies was very rare, even in the 8 mark questions. Unit 1 - What could have been better? • In questions that have a graph or map stimulus [eg Pattern and Place 1 (c) and 1 (e)] candidates do well when describing the pattern or trend, but often fail to apply this pattern to their own knowledge of familiar places. • In 8 mark questions, many candidates still fail to follow the scaffold given in the question. Most candidates lose marks because of a failure to consider a conclusion that goes beyond repetition of earlier points. WJEC Humanities 2012 series FEEDBACK ON UNIT 2 : USA 1945-1975/UK 1939-1974 Question 1(c) – “How useful is Source B to an historian studying…” • COPYING/PARAPHRASING should be avoided • FOCUS on what the historian is going to use the source for • ATTRIBUTION should be used as well the content • RELIABILITY is not the focus of this question Question 1(e) – “Why do Sources C and D have different views about…” • COPYING/PARAPHRASING should be avoided • ATTRIBUTION should be given more consideration than content • COMPARISON of the content and attributions of both sources is needed to get the highest marks Question 1(f)/2(d)/3(d) – “To what extent do you agree with this statement?” • SPECIFIC EXAMPLES should be used to back up points being made • RECOGNISING THE DEBATE surrounding the issue in the question is essential • A FULLY EXPLAINED JUDGEMENT is necessary to achieve a top level answer Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles Successes • Candidates demonstrated a generally good knowledge and understanding of the views of the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England on a range of contemporary moral issues. • There was an improvement in the understanding of the issue of abortion, candidates generally understood the dilemma. • In A1 (e) questions there has been a marked improvement in technique, with many candidates referring to both sources and their own knowledge. Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles Concerns • Too many students have limited knowledge of Christian beliefs and practices. Key vocabulary like ‘rites of passage’ was clearly not understood by a large number of candidates. • Too many students confuse the religious with the pastoral when considering the role of the Minister • There are still candidates who do not read the questions carefully, many lost marks on the source based questions as they did not follow the instructions to use both the source and their own knowledge, these instructions have been given in bold type. Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles What could have been better? • In 6 mark questions where candidates are asked to explain many of the responses describe. In order to achieve the higher levels students need to set out the reasons. • In questions where candidates are asked how far they agree with a given statement A1 (f), B2 &3 pupils do well to provide arguments which could support both views, although many do not complete the question with a conclusion or offer only a simple agree or disagree. Students should explain their decision. Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism Successes • A good level of knowledge was shown by many candidates • Fewer candidates attempted to answer all of the questions rather than choosing either question 2 or 3 • Where candidates attempted to use their own imitative linked to the content and used the sources provided they tended to achieve higher marks rather than just repeating the sources Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism Concerns • Some candidates can’t or don’t seem able to differentiate between festivals and rites of passage ceremonies • Where only generalised answers are provided for more highly marked questions candidates tend not to do well • Some candidates are clearly not reading the instructions carefully enough before beginning their answers Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism What could have been better? • Candidates need to be encourage to ‘use their own knowledge’ where applicable • The use of specific subject terms enhance the quality of the answer • Using the sources provided on the paper could be improved