GCSE Humanities
Feedback from exams of summer 2012
Unit 1 - Successes
• People and environments
• Patterns and place
• Many candidates have a very
good understanding of
eutrophication.
• Problems of traffic congestion
and possible solutions were
generally described/explained
well
• Candidates showed a good
knowledge of the causes of
rainforest destruction
• Candidates showed a good
understanding of how farming
practices have changed in the UK
• The candidates’ knowledge and
understanding of earthquake
protection measures was
generally good with a range of
examples being given. Many
candidates also clearly
understood that the effectiveness
of these is likely to be different in
different parts of the world.
Unit 1 - Concerns
• Too many candidates confuse damage of the ozone layer with
climate change.
• Few candidates were able to link pollution in rivers to the
effects it had on human life.
• Many pupils wrote about the structure of the rainforest
despite the question being about its climate.
• More candidates would reach L3 on the 6 mark ‘explain’
questions if they linked their answers back to the question
rather than produced a detailed descriptive answer.
• The use of examples and case studies was very rare, even in
the 8 mark questions.
Unit 1 - What could have been better?
• In questions that have a graph or map stimulus [eg Pattern
and Place 1 (c) and 1 (e)] candidates do well when describing
the pattern or trend, but often fail to apply this pattern to
their own knowledge of familiar places.
• In 8 mark questions, many candidates still fail to follow the
scaffold given in the question. Most candidates lose marks
because of a failure to consider a conclusion that goes beyond
repetition of earlier points.
WJEC Humanities 2012 series
FEEDBACK ON UNIT 2 :
USA 1945-1975/UK 1939-1974
Question 1(c) – “How useful is Source B
to an historian studying…”
• COPYING/PARAPHRASING should be avoided
• FOCUS on what the historian is going to use the
source for
• ATTRIBUTION should be used as well the content
• RELIABILITY is not the focus of this question
Question 1(e) – “Why do Sources C and
D have different views about…”
• COPYING/PARAPHRASING should be avoided
• ATTRIBUTION should be given more consideration
than content
• COMPARISON of the content and attributions of
both sources is needed to get the highest marks
Question 1(f)/2(d)/3(d) –
“To what extent do you agree with this
statement?”
• SPECIFIC EXAMPLES should be used to back up
points being made
• RECOGNISING THE DEBATE surrounding the
issue in the question is essential
• A FULLY EXPLAINED JUDGEMENT is necessary
to achieve a top level answer
Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles
Successes
• Candidates demonstrated a generally good
knowledge and understanding of the views of the
Roman Catholic church and the Church of England on
a range of contemporary moral issues.
• There was an improvement in the understanding of
the issue of abortion, candidates generally
understood the dilemma.
• In A1 (e) questions there has been a marked
improvement in technique, with many candidates
referring to both sources and their own knowledge.
Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles
Concerns
• Too many students have limited knowledge of Christian beliefs
and practices. Key vocabulary like ‘rites of passage’ was clearly
not understood by a large number of candidates.
• Too many students confuse the religious with the pastoral
when considering the role of the Minister
• There are still candidates who do not read the questions
carefully, many lost marks on the source based questions as
they did not follow the instructions to use both the source
and their own knowledge, these instructions have been given
in bold type.
Unit 3 Christianity and Contemporary Lifestyles
What could have been better?
• In 6 mark questions where candidates are asked to explain
many of the responses describe. In order to achieve the
higher levels students need to set out the reasons.
• In questions where candidates are asked how far they agree
with a given statement A1 (f), B2 &3 pupils do well to provide
arguments which could support both views, although many
do not complete the question with a conclusion or offer only a
simple agree or disagree. Students should explain their
decision.
Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism
Successes
• A good level of knowledge was shown by many
candidates
• Fewer candidates attempted to answer all of the
questions rather than choosing either question 2 or
3
• Where candidates attempted to use their own
imitative linked to the content and used the sources
provided they tended to achieve higher marks rather
than just repeating the sources
Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism
Concerns
• Some candidates can’t or don’t seem able to
differentiate between festivals and rites of passage
ceremonies
• Where only generalised answers are provided for
more highly marked questions candidates tend not
to do well
• Some candidates are clearly not reading the
instructions carefully enough before beginning their
answers
Unit 3 Judaism, Islam, Hinduism
What could have been better?
• Candidates need to be encourage to ‘use their
own knowledge’ where applicable
• The use of specific subject terms enhance the
quality of the answer
• Using the sources provided on the paper could
be improved