Paper 2 technique
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How is paper 2 structured?
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All Flashcards in Topic 8.2
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8.2.17 cards
How is paper 2 structured?
Fourteen essay questions in two sections: two on each in-depth religion plus one open-ended question per section. Answer two, one from each section. 1 h 30 min, 30 marks, 45%.
What is the open-ended question?
Question 7 and question 14, answerable on any of that section's three religions. It requires specific examples contextualized by denomination, culture and geography; broad generalizations earn no credit.
Name the guide's AO3 command terms.
Compare; compare and contrast; contrast; discuss; evaluate; examine; justify; to what extent.
What does Discuss ask for?
Several sides presented with supporting evidence, then a balanced conclusion. It is the most common term on this paper.
What does To what extent ask for?
An argument about how far the statement holds, both ways, closing on a degree supported by the evidence — not a simple yes or no.
Give the four-move shape of a paper 2 essay.
Set up the question and define terms; build the strongest case with specific examples; give the other side its best run, usually from inside the tradition; conclude by answering, with a supported degree.
How should 90 minutes be split on paper 2?
Forty-five minutes per essay — roughly five planning and forty writing — and start the second at the halfway mark whatever state the first is in.
8.2.27 cards
How many paper 2 markbands are there, and what is each essay worth?
Five levels, A–E, evenly spread over 15 marks per essay, from May 2017. Before that: six levels A–F over 20 marks.
Name the four levers the paper 2 markbands turn on.
Accurate terminology; an argument supported by the analysis; connections between beliefs, concepts, practices and teachings that are developed rather than identified; a developed evaluation.
Distinguish connections identified from connections developed.
Identified: you notice two things are related and say so. Developed: you show how the connection works and what follows from it. That is the 7–9 / 10–12 boundary.
What does only the 13–15 band require?
A developed evaluation — weighing the argument itself, its limits and assumptions, as part of the argument. The 10–12 band has a partially developed evaluation.
What is best-fit marking?
The examiner finds the band the response most closely matches overall, compensating where it falls between two, rather than requiring every descriptor.
What did May 2017 change, and what did it not?
Changed: paper 1 part (b) 7→6 marks and total 50→45; paper 2 essays 20→15 and total 40→30; markbands A–F→A–E. Unchanged: the weightings (30/45/25), the IA, and the curriculum.
What does a 1–3 band conclusion look like?
Superficial, anecdotal or common-sense — following a descriptive response with minimal knowledge and little relevant terminology.
Topic 8.2 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Paper 2 technique
World Religions exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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