In this blog I am going to summarise the key points across different questions types on Paper 3.

Don't forget that last year AQA started to include exemplar answers with commentary highlighting good and weak answers which is really useful for your own or departmental CPD.

Section A - Issue Evaluation

MCQs

What was done well?

• The MCQ was answered correctly by the majority of students

Areas for improvement

• Some students need to look at the graphs more carefully - and then check their answers to these quick questions at the end

Point marked questions

Two-mark questions in Paper 3 can assess AO2, AO3, or AO4, and they vary in style depending on the assessment objective and the nature of the question...

• Some questions ask students to identify changes, often based on data or a graph - usually one mark for identifying the change and another for describing or explaining it
• Some questions need students to engage with a key idea expressed in the question - the first mark is awarded for addressing the idea, and the second mark for developing or explaining it further
• Some questions ask for two distinct points - two separate and different observations

What was done well?

• Students were able to extract correct data from graphs - there was a high success rate with these questions
• 60% of students completed the pie chart accurately

Areas for improvement

• Some students didn't understand that they needed to develop their answers for the second mark, despite clearly understanding the question (as demonstrated by their answer gaining 1 mark)
• Some students missed out these questions - which adds up to a significant number of marks across a paper

4 markers

Question about how the scheme is multi-use - tested AO3 - only about 30% got into Level 2.

Weaker answers...

• just focused on energy development and transport links with limited development

Better answers...

• talked about the wider impacts of the development beyond energy development and transport links
• talked about the multiplier effect and how the development would encourage future development
• talked about how the development could reduce regional inequalities

6 markers

Question about how energy security is important for social and economic well-being - tested AO2/AO3 - half of students achieved Level 2 or 3.

Weaker answers...

• identified some aspects of energy use
• offered a simple judgement about how energy impacts daily life, e.g. household energy use (heating/cooking), transportation
• copied text from the resource booklet without development

Better answers...

• analysed the importance of energy for both social and economic well-being (with developed points)
• considered how social and economic well-being were interconnected
• developed the social theme by linking energy use to good health, e.g. cooking food, heating homes and supporting healthcare and hospitals

Question about the impact of renewable energy on the environment - tested AO3/AO4 - this was answered less well than the previous question with 20% of students achieving no credit.

Weaker answers...

• gave generic descriptions about impacts on the environment
• largely copied chunks of text from the resource without developing them
• focused on fossil fuels and their impact on pollution and climate change - not answering the question
• talked about how fossil fuels had a greater impact - again, not answering the question

Better answers...

• developed their ideas about different types of renewable sources and their impacts, backing up with evidence from the resource
• considered the relative impact of different renewable energy sources (addressing the stem 'All types of...')

9 marker (+ 3 SPaG)

Question about whether the social and economic benefits of the proposed tidal barrage outweighed the environmental costs - tested AO1, AO2 and AO3 - the majority of students gained Level 2.

Weaker answers...

• identified and largely copied information from Figure 3 (sometimes almost word for word), without discussion
• focused on the advantages of the project and ignored the debate between social/economic and environmental impacts
• showed a very basic understanding of social, economic and environmental factors

Better answers...

• drew on a wider range of points from the booklet (not just Figure 3) and developed them
• evaluated evidence to consider the complexity of balancing social, economic and environmental factors
• had a conclusion that synthesised the main points and linked back to the question, and often mirrored the opening statement
• distinguished between short- and long-term impacts
• suggested where the money could be spent more effectively
• considered how the project might enhance the environment and lead to greater social and economic benefits

Fieldwork

MCQs

What was done well?

• More than half of students were able to identify the correct data presentation method

Areas for improvement

• Many students are not fully familiar with some of the presentation methods listed in the specification

Point marked questions

What was done well?

• Most students answered the 1 mark questions correctly
• Most students could identify relationships from a graph - identifying a positive relationship
• Most students could suggest two separate things when the question stem asked

Areas for improvement

• Only a third of students developed the idea about river width and depth for a second mark - they need to use evidence from the graph
• Some students gave two very similar suggestions when asked to suggest two ways to improve their river investigation
• Some suggestions for improving the river investigation were very generic
• Many students have a very limited understanding of sampling strategies - only 5% of students gained full marks on the familiar fieldwork sampling question, and over half got no marks
• Students need to know how to link sampling to their own fieldwork
• Students need to be familiar with all strands of the fieldwork process

Unfamiliar fieldwork 4 marker

Question about to what extent students are able to make reliable conclusions about the quality of two shopping centres - tested AO3 and AO4 - this was answered well overall.

Weaker answers...

• made a simple judgement that one shopping centre was 'better'.
• offered very basic observations and didn't back them up with data
• only considered one data set (usually car parking, which had the more obvious differences)

Better answers...

• made a judgement about the extent to which the data allowed a reliable conclusion to be drawn
• made a judgement about the extent to which the methodology allowed reliable data to be collected
• backed up their points with clear evidence from the table of data
• talked about how the sample size was too small to produce reliable data, and was distorted by extremes
• considered the limited categories, which might encourage respondents to default to the middle option
• talked about how the category descriptions were quite vague and subjective

Familiar fieldwork 6 marker

Question about justifying the use of one or more data collection methods used in the Human Geography enquiry - tested AO3 - answered poorly with around 70% of students gaining Level 1.

Weaker answers...

• identified data collection methods but didn't develop the justification
• just described data collection methods without explanation
• got confused between data collection and data presentation
• wrote about their physical enquiries instead

Better answers...

• justified their choice of data collection methods
• talked about the usefulness of the data collected
• talked about how effective the method was at collecting data, often referring to accuracy
• talked about how the data helped them reach a conclusion
  

Familiar fieldwork 9 marker (+ 3 SPaG)

Question about how effective the enquiry was and how it could be improved - tests AO1, AO2 and AO3 - answered much better than previous fieldwork 9 markers.

Weaker answers...

• showed a basic awareness of effectiveness - generalised statements, e.g. 'we collected lots of data'
• included simple improvements, e.g. 'collect more data', 'repeat on a different day'
• didn't say how the suggested improvements would actually improve the enquiry
• offered a narrative account of their fieldwork

Better answers...

• offered clear evaluative judgements about the effectiveness of their enquiry
• identified and justified improvements that would improve the enquiry
• were well balanced between talking about effectiveness and improvements
• linked the two requirements together by explaining where aspects of their enquiry were less effective and suggesting targeted solutions
• talked about the reliability of their conclusions based on the data collected