In the AQA GCSE English Language exams, it’s important to get to understand the mark scheme that your examiners will be focused on when marking the Year 11 papers.
In a nutshell, there are nine grades and the mark scheme is split into four parts:
- Level 1: ‘simple response’
- Level 2: ‘some response’
- Level 3: ‘clear response’
- Level 4: perceptive response’
These four words are at the heart of each mark scheme for every Language question across GCSE English, Papers 1 and 2.
As a GCSE English Leader for both AQA and OCR over the years, part of my role is to exemplify and make explicit the difference between these levels for examiners. I take this knowledge into the classroom and into my tutoring sessions. ALL my students are completely in tune with the mark schemes, and they absolutely understand what each level response looks like and its specific features.
And then we PRACTISE it over and over, comparing our own responses with exam board responses and exemplars I have created.
It is the process of doing, making mistakes, editing and trying again until it is right that reaps rewards in the end.
This Easter I am running a Masterclass programme – 1h per day for 8 days over 2 weeks – that will focus forensically on techniques, tips and hacks for all areas of the GCSE English Language. If your son or daughter might benefit from an hour of GCSE English Language revision per day Monday-Thursday, this might be for them!
Contact me here (subject= Masterclass) or send me an email for a friendly chat
In the meantime, if your child is studying for AQA GCSE English Language and others subjects too, they may find this a useful place to look for past papers and mark schemes:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/find-past-papers-and-mark-schemes