Topic Two (0.2): The Assessment Criteria and Mark Schemes Explained
Introduction
To perform well in your assignments and in the final exams, it’s really important that you have an overview of the key assessment criteria, i.e. what is being tested in each type of task you will encounter. If you understand the assessment objectives (AOs), you will be able to see exactly what the examiners are looking for in each kind of essay and understand how the mark schemes are used. Every assignment you complete on this course will be marked using a CAIE mark scheme.
Different subjects have different approaches to essay writing, and you need to be aware of what each subject requires, just as each subject has its own technical terminology. English Literature is no exception. Whilst everyone has their own way of writing and their own ‘voice’, there are some common guidelines you can follow to maximise your chances of success in your English Literature exams.
Exam Preparation
The documents provided throughout this module form a complete guide to writing English Literature essays – a Style Guide – so we recommend that you print each of them out now and put them in your folder so you can annotate them and, most importantly, keep returning to them as you work through the course.
- The following document explains in simple terms what the assessment criteria are and how to demonstrate these skills in your writing. Read through this carefully now, and even if you have already used it at AS, pay particular attention to the explanation of AO5, which is new for AL:
PRINT OUT & READ – A Level English Literature Assessment Criteria Explained Download PRINT OUT & READ – A Level English Literature Assessment Criteria Explained
- Unlike the AS, there are no unseen texts at AL. Every question you answer will be on set texts and will therefore follow the same mark scheme. You can see a generic mark scheme for all questions here:
PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Papers 3 & 4 Download PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Papers 3 & 4
- You can also read an overview of the assessment objectives from Cambridge on page 10 of the CAIE Learner Guide:
READ – CAIE Learner Guide Download READ – CAIE Learner Guide