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 marks are awarded. Every assignment you complete on this course will be marked using a CAIE mark scheme.

Different subjects have different approaches to essay writing, just as each subject has its own technical terminology, and you need to be aware of what each one requires. 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:

PRINT OUT & READ – A Level English Literature Assessment Criteria Explained Download PRINT OUT & READ – A Level English Literature Assessment Criteria Explained

• Every question on your set texts will follow the same mark scheme. You can see a generic mark scheme for set text questions here:

PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Set Texts: Paper 1 (Sections A and B) and Paper 2 (Section A) Download PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Set Texts: Paper 1 (Sections A and B) and Paper 2 (Section A)

• The mark scheme used for unseen texts is very slightly different to the one for questions on set texts, because you are not expected to refer to contextual factors when addressing an unseen text. You can see a generic mark scheme for unseen text questions here:

PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Unseen Texts: Paper 2 (Section B) Download PRINT OUT & READ – Generic Mark Scheme for Unseen Texts: Paper 2 (Section B)

• 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