In the AQA Language exams, it’s important to get to grips with the mark scheme. After all, that’s what your examiners will be utterly focused on this summer when they are 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’
Of course, this is massively simplifying things! However, these four words are at the heart of each mark scheme for every Language question across English, Papers 1 and 2.
As a Team 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 English Language GCSE. If your son or daughter might benefit from an hour of English Language revision per day Monday-Thursday, this might just be for them!
Drop me a line on claire@theenglishlab.co.uk for a friendly chat. Also available on WhatsApp: 07411 203282. Drop me a message.
In the meantime, if your child is studying AQA for English 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