PSYA 3 paper: General comments for
answering essay questions
The 1 hour 30 minutes PSYA3 paper requires you to answer THREE essay questions from the eight in the
paper, so the first thing you need to be sure of is which sections you have covered! Never, ever, try to
answer a question unless you have been taught the topic —the question may seem to be about things in
your experience, but the answer must focus on psychological research and knowledge, not on anecdotal
material.
Each question is out of 25 marks, making a mark total for the paper of 75. The time allowed for each is just
under 30 minutes, as finding and reading your chosen questions will take a minute or two. This means that
you need to write quite a lot! If you have no idea of how much 30 minutes of writing is, then, during your
revision, practise writing something, anything, for 10 minutes and then work out what three times this
amount would be.
Marks are given in three areas as follows:
AO1: There are 9/25 marks allocated just for knowledge and understanding of psychology as a science and
the “how science works” criteria, as described in the specification.
AO2: There are 12/25 marks for applying knowledge and understanding of psychology and how science
works to the essay subject, which includes: analysing and evaluating your knowledge and psychological
processes; applying this scientific psychological knowledge to new situations, new contexts; and assessing
the validity, reliability and credibility of such scientific information.
AO3: There are 4/25 marks for “how science works” issues, such as: describing safe, skilful, and ethical
practical techniques and processes; showing knowledge of how to make, record and communicate reliable
and valid observations and measurements; and demonstrating how the methodology, results and impact of
your own and others' investigations and research can be analysed, interpreted, explained, and evaluated.
One good way to gain credit in AO2 and AO3 is to include relevant references to issues, debates, and
approaches (such as ethics, gender bias, nature or nurture) and the different psychological approaches and
perspectives. Just make sure that you show how your choices are relevant to the question you are
answering.
Take time to think about what the question is actually asking you to do, then plan how to do what it wants.
A couple of minutes spent jotting down ideas can save a lot of wasted time and missed marks.
Finally, do be sure to use appropriate words, such as correct psychological terms, as this is an A-level
Psychology exam!