1. A2 SociologySY3 feedback2010Principal ExaminerJanis Griffiths

2. Statistical screening • Purpose of screening • Impact of screening on the distribution of grades and grade boundaries

3. January series • Larger entry for SY 3 • Mostly first time candidates • Many very good responses.

4. January series - Options • Understanding Crime most popular option • Few attempted Politics, but generally good • Very few attempted Health and Disability

5. General observations • Fewer rubric errors • Better at time planning • Misreading of questions apparent • Misunderstanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ • Tendency to lose the plot and revert to ‘all I know about ...’

6. January series SY3 Qu 1 • Some excellent answers with a range of different crimes • Many focused on white collar and corporate crime • Some wandered into long discussions of the validity and reliability of the BCS and lost their way

7. January series SY3 Qu 2 • Those who knew their theory did very well on this, but many did not • Limited evaluation of Marxism per se. • Tended to run through all theories and say at the end what they thought of Marxism • Many wrongly attributed theorists

8. January series SY3 Qu 3 • Many wrote explanations of theories of the link between ethnicity and crime without considering the nature of that link in any way. • Stephen Lawrence biographies appeared. • Limited mention of White crime, Black on Black or of victimisation of ethnic minorities

9. January series SY3 Qu 4 • Those who knew what pressure groups do wrote very clear accounts. • There was some confusion of pressure groups with political parties

10. January series SY3 Qu 5 • Again, understanding of Marxism was very weak in some cases. • Limited reference to either ideology or power • Often only linked to voting • The choice of weaker candidates?

11. January series SY3 Qu 6 • Very well handled. • Limited evidence from studies, but lots of examples of recent political activity and reference to different social groupings • Choice of better candidates?

12. June series • Larger entries for SY3 but weaker on whole. (Re-sit effect?) • Larger entry than for previous series, so centres new to WJEC coming on board. • More English centres attracted to specification

13. January series - Options • Understanding Crime most popular option • Fewer attempted Politics, but generally good • Bigger entry for Health and Disability

14. Knowledge • Some candidates were not able to think on their feet so answers are tangential to question. • Some odd interpretations of theory were offered, especially for crime and deviance.

15. Structuring answers • Some weaknesses in the organisation and planning of answers • Not defining key terms • Limited deployment of paragraphs • Repetition • Limited use of evidence and AO 1 • Dated studies

16. June series SY3 Qu 1 • Some excellent answers outlining the three ways crime data is collected – BCS, OCS and self-report • Some wandered into long discussions of research methods and failed to address the question – missed the significance of the term data.

17. June series SY3 Qu 2 • Those who knew their theory did very well on this, but many did not and added long descriptions of other theories justified by a quick reference to Realisms. • Limited evaluation of Realism (especially strengths) – tendency to describe and then leave evaluation as a final paragraph

18. June series SY3 Qu 3 • Polarisation of answers – some excellent, many weak. • Feminism not understood. • Many wrote ‘ Why do men commit crime?’ • Some uncritical accounts of the increasing violence of women

19. June series SY3 Qu 4 • Very few understood the notion of devolution or even decentralisation. • Those who did, described it well and gained good marks

20. June series SY3 Qu 5 • Those who knew and understood pluralism did well. • Tendency to leave evaluation to final paragraph

21. June series SY3 Qu 6 • Few takers • Most knew the features of a democracy but there was little assessment or application of that knowledge to the UK

22. June series SY3 Qu 7 • Very well handled by those who knew and understood the notion of the sick role. • The role of the doctor in allocating sick role was not always appreciated

23. January series SY3 Qu 8 • Very well handled by those who understood the debate. • Choice of better candidates?

24. June series SY3 Qu 9 • This was very much the preferred choice. • Wide range of answers of different standards • Technical language used well. • Limited reference to question of whether the medical profession is a threat to health.

25. Improving performance • Learn key terms – these are the focus of questions • Read the questions carefully, noting commands and debates. • Choose the appropriate question – recognise that there is usually a theory/debate dichotomy. • Don’t leave evaluations to the end of the essay

26. Special plea • Computer written answers – many are very difficult to read (small cramped fonts etc) • Please – double spacing and size 12 or 14 fonts. Serif fonts tend to be easier than sans-serif for extended writing.

27. For further information, please contact the subject officer at the WJEC Joanna Lewis 245 Western Avenue Cardiff CF5 2YX joanna.lewis@wjec.co.uk