The big idea: Six marks for findings, not for a diary.
The criterion asks you to identify and outline the significant findings, explain how they relate to the research question, and discuss the rationale and plan in light of them.
A diary
- "I arrived at 10am and was met by…"
- Everything that happened, in order
- The reader has to work out what mattered
- Scores poorly however careful it is
Findings
- "Three of the four people interviewed described the practice in terms of obligation rather than personal meaning."
- Only what bears on the question
- Each one labelled as significant, and why
- "Significant" is the criterion's own word
The third bullet is the one that gets skipped: Criterion C also asks you to discuss the rationale and plan of study in relation to the significant findings.
In other words: did the study you designed turn out to be the study you needed? Say so here, and criterion D has somewhere to start.
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Ten marks — the largest criterion: A third of the IA. And the four things it asks for are quite specific.
The five criteria drawn to scale. D alone is a third of the internal assessment.
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What criterion D asks for
Reflect critically on the findings
Against the research question, not in general. What do these findings actually show about what you asked?
Show how the study deepens understanding
Of religious experiences and/or beliefs. This is where the preliminary reading returns: what did the fieldwork let you see that the reading alone did not?
Identify misconceptions and inconsistencies
Your own, produced by the research plan and the materials used. A study that found nothing surprising usually means a question that could not be surprised.
Judge how far it succeeded
Did the research produce significant findings for analysis? Where it did not, say why — and justify what future research would do differently.
What it shows, what it added, what it got wrong, and how far it worked.
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Three marks you cannot argue about: Word limit, references, format. Nothing here depends on an examiner's judgement — which makes these the easiest three marks in the whole course to lose.
Word limit
- 1,500–1,800 words, and no more than 1,800
- Over it, assessment is based on the first 1,800 — and criterion E penalises you as well
- Significantly under is likely to score low
References
- A comprehensive list reflecting wide preliminary reading
- Every source referenced consistently, including interviews
- Any referencing system, used the same way throughout
Format
- The prescribed format of the written analysis
- Titles, citations, references and appendices excluded from the count
- Appendices are where interview questions belong
Interviews get referenced too: "All sources must be referenced consistently, including interviews."
A study with a careful bibliography and three unreferenced conversations in it has lost marks it did all the work for.
How this is tested. 1,800 words and 30 marks. The marks are not spread evenly, so the words should not be either.
| Section | Marks | Rough words | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rationale and preliminary research (A) | 8 | ≈ 450–500 | The largest section after reflection, and it is all pre-fieldwork work |
| Plan for study (B) | 3 | ≈ 150–200 | Short by design — a sprawling plan costs marks elsewhere |
| Summary of significant findings (C) | 6 | ≈ 350–400 | Findings only; the narrative of the day belongs nowhere |
| Critical reflection and evaluation (D) | 10 | ≈ 600–650 | A third of the marks. Most students under-write this and over-write C |
| References and format (E) | 3 | 0 | Excluded from the word count entirely |
The commonest shape mistake: A long, vivid account of the visit and a short reflection at the end.
That is criterion C at 800 words and criterion D at 300 — spending the words on the 6-mark criterion and starving the 10-mark one.