I’m busy writing a guide to this question.
It’s taking me a long time as marks are awarded by the examiners in very subjective ways.
Can we be more objective?
I’ve asked what is the best predictor of a mark. Is it the number of:
Explanations
Methods
References and/or quotations
Points made
Words written
YouTube Poll
I polled my viewers on YouTube.
They thought the most clear predictor would be the number of explanations.
And they believed the least important would be the number of words written.
They were wrong!
Here’s a table of all the exam answers I’ve included in the guide:
So, What is the Best Predictor?
The most accurate predictor appears to be the number of words you write (so long as you are answering the question).
There is a very consistent pattern of 1 mark being awarded for every 26 words.
The more you write, the higher your mark.
What should you write to get most marks?
The evidence is clear: the more explanations you write, the more marks you get, and these are more closely matched to your actual score.
In other words having 10 explanations makes it more likely to get 10 marks than if you had 10 quotes or 10 methods, or 10 points.
However, the more quotes you use, and the more points you make, the higher your mark is going to be.
But, if we want to summarise all this as a method, it is this:
WRITE AS MANY EXPLANATIONS AS YOU CAN!
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