A* @ A Level
Rob Morris, Shrewsbury School
[email protected]
Contents:
• The Current Situation
• Understanding the A* Grade
• Improving Students Essay Writing
• Improving Students Synoptic
Understanding
• Toolkit of Ideas
• Conclusions
The Current
Situation
Trends in A-level geography entry between 2006 and 2013
Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications
Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications
2013 % A Level Grades by Board
A* A B C D E U
Edexcel 4 22 29 25 14 5 1
OCR
7 27 31 21 11 3 1
AQA
7 23 29 24 13 4 1
Source: University of Buckingham
National percentage figures for A level grades
Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications
Percentage of A* Grades by Subject –2013
Art and Design
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry
Classics
Economics
English
French
Geography
German
History
Maths
Further Maths
Physics
Political Studies
Psychology
2010 2011 2012 2013
13.3 14.2 13.1 12.2
8.0
8.8
7.9
8.0
3.7
3.8
3.3
3.0
9.2
9.4
8.8
8.3
9.6 10.8 10.7 10.3
8.8
8.6
7.8
7.0
7.4
7.1
6.8
6.2
7.7
7.7
6.8
6.5
6.8
7.1
6.3
5.6
9.9
9.1
7.9
8.2
7.0
7.2
6.9
6.5
17.2 17.8 17.4 16.8
29.9 27.5 28.6 28.0
10.3 10.4 9.9
9.2
8.7
8.8
7.0
6.7
5.2
4.3
4.2
4.0
Religious Studies
Spanish
Sport/PE
6.0
8.5
4.2
5.5
8.3
4.4
5.0
6.8
3.8
4.9
6.7
3.7
All subjects
8.1
8.2
7.9
7.6
A* Grades by
Subject
Source:JointCouncilforGeneralQualifications
A* Grades in Geography, Biology and Economics 2010-2013
9
8
7
% A* Grades awarded
6
5
Edexcel
OCR
4
AQA
3
2
1
0
2010
2011
2012
A* Grades by Board 2010 -2013
2013
Understanding the
A* Grade
To achieve an A* you must:
• Achieve a grade A overall for the A level
qualification i.e. more than 320 ums – 80%
• AND achieve an average of 90% of the
combined uniform mark total for the A2 units.
• In order to achieve 90% of the ums for A2, the
candidate will need to achieve the top level of
the mark schemes in Unit 3 and Unit 4 of the
A2 exam.
• This means directly addressing the specific
command word in the question (e.g. ‘assess’,
‘evaluate’) and ensuring that answers meet
requirements in terms of range, balance, use
of examples and quality of written
communication.
Improving Students Essay
Writing
What do you do to improve your student’s essay writing?
Improving
Synopticity
What do you do to
improve your
student’s synopticity?
Engaging and
challenging gifted
students
Reading – Books
The GA Post 16 Phase Special Interest Group approved reading list is in your
resources
Reading – Periodicals
Reading – Newspapers
Reading – Principal Examiners Reports
Watching TV and Video
Podcasts
Social Media – Twitter
Inspirational Fieldwork
School Resources – VLE?
Competitions
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
• Become more critical, reflective and independent
learners;
• develop and apply decision-making and problemsolving skills;
• increase their planning, research, analysis,
synthesis, evaluation and presentation skills;
• learn to apply new technologies confidently;
• demonstrate creativity, initiative and enterprise.
Thinking like a
Geographer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIPcOSNwVjw
Annex1:
Essay Writing:
A Checklist
For the student
• Structure i.e. a logically organised, coherent
answer
• Evaluation i.e. the ability to weigh up different
arguments and form a supported view
• Balance i.e. not a one sided view
• Exemplification i.e. detailed use of relevant
examples
• QWC accuracy
Structure
• Does the essay have a clear, logical and welldefined structure? (e.g. is there an introduction,
middle and a conclusion?)
• Does the introduction show a sound grasp of the
question, provide key definitions and display a
clear outline of what the essay is all about?
• Is the main part subdivided into sections or
paragraphs?
• Does the conclusion draw together the various
important points made in the main body of the
essay?
Answering the question
• Does the essay clearly answer the
question set?
Readability
• Is there evidence of a planned structure?
• Is it generally clear, readable and well
presented?
• Does it make the reader want to read it?
• Is there a high level of the correct use of
spelling, punctuation and grammar
throughout?
Originality and thought
• Does the student demonstrate
originality, thought and imagination
such as using case studies not in the
‘text book’?
• Does the essay make you sit up and
think, 'Wow! I've never thought of
that before, good point!'
Argument and content
• Does the student sustain a well-reasoned and
supported argument?
• Does the student use relevant and useful
examples to illustrate the argument?
• Are all the main issues explored, evaluated and
the conclusions made justified?
• Are there obvious signs of evaluation through the
use of suitable connective words and phrases?
Referencing and sources*
• Are the sources of supporting material
properly acknowledged?
• Is the essay clearly and properly referenced
using a recognised system (e.g. Harvard or
footnotes)? (Edexcel Unit 4)
• Does the essay draw upon a wide range of
relevant literature?
• Does the author present material in a critical
manner?