You’ll need this later - though it is ok to skip it now!
Mark Scheme
Perceptive evaluation. 16-20 marks.
This means the writing:
· Shows perceptive and detailed evaluation:
· Evaluates critically and in detail the effect(s) on the reader
· Shows perceptive understanding of writer’s methods
· Selects a range of judicious textual detail
· Develops a convincing and critical response to the focus of the statement
Clear and relevant evaluation. 11-15 marks.
This means the writing:
· Shows clear and relevant evaluation:
· Evaluates clearly the effect(s) on the reader
· Shows clear understanding of writer’s methods
· Selects a range of relevant textual references
· Makes a clear and relevant response to the focus of the statement
Some evaluation. 6-10 marks.
This means the writing:
· Shows some attempts at evaluation:
· Makes some evaluative comment(s) on effect(s) on the reader
· Shows some understanding of writer’s methods
· Selects some appropriate textual reference(s)
· Makes some response to the focus of the statement
Student Answer for You to Grade
1. I mostly agree with this statement because, from line 32 to the end, Hardstop is cruel and domineering to Albert.
2. Firstly, Hardstop is strict and domineering, which is revealed in the imperative “Take it and find the shark, before it sinks”.
3. Perhaps he believes that the value of the shark is higher than the importance of Albert’s safety
4. Perhaps ordering Albert into the incessant rain, rather than go himself, reveals that Hardstop is not manly.
5. In addition, the verb “yelled” reveals Hardstop’s lack of control and his anger.
6. This perhaps suggests that he is so poor that the loss of the shark could damage the survival of his family.
7. However, we feel sympathy for Albert as he must row alone in the darkness and rain.
8. He appears to accept this.
9. The use of violent verbs like “pummelled” and “smacked” also makes us sympathetic.
10. These two verbs portray the wind as overpowering and cruel.
11. They suggest Albert may be too weak to cope.
12. The use of short sentences at the end also suggests Hardstop’s cruelty.
13. This explains why Albert makes no response.
So, decide on your grade, before we see what Artificial Intelligence graded it. I have put the explanations into italics so you get a sense of the answer’s level of skill.
ChatGPT
I asked ChatGPT to grade this, without any criteria:
“This piece of writing is well-written and shows a clear understanding of the passage being analyzed. The writer presents a clear argument that Hardstop is cruel and domineering towards Albert, and supports this argument with specific examples from the passage. The writer also effectively uses literary techniques such as verb choice to convey the tone and atmosphere of the scene. The writer also shows a good understanding of the characters' motivations and feelings. Overall, this is a well-written and thoughtful analysis that demonstrates a good understanding of literary techniques and the passage being analyzed.”
That sounds pretty good. How far do you agree? Now, what grade would it be worth?
So next, I gave ChatGPT some very brief criteria:
The Criteria
· Perceptive evaluation. 16-20 marks. This means the writing shows perceptive and detailed evaluation:
· Clear and relevant evaluation. 11-15 marks. This means the writing evaluates clearly the effect(s) on the reader
· Some evaluation. 6-10 marks. This means the writing shows some understanding of writer’s methods
ChatGPT Assessment
“I would give this piece of writing a grade of 16-20 marks for "Perceptive evaluation." The writer shows a perceptive and detailed evaluation of the passage and effectively uses literary techniques to support their argument. The writer also demonstrates a good understanding of the characters' motivations and feelings. Overall, the writing presents a clear and relevant evaluation of the passage.”
Do you agree?
Maybe I didn’t give it enough of the criteria to be sure? So I pasted in the full assessment criteria at the top of this post.
New ChatGPT Assessment
“Based on this criteria, I would give this piece of writing a grade of 16-20 marks for "Perceptive evaluation." The writing shows a perceptive and detailed evaluation of the passage, evaluating critically and in detail the effect(s) on the reader. The writer also shows a perceptive understanding of the writer's methods, selecting a range of judicious textual detail, and develops a convincing and critical response to the focus of the statement.”
Senior Examiner Assessment
Senior examiners gave this answer a mark of 12!
So, is ChatGPT lacking in intelligence? Well, did you disagree with the comments it made? Did you disagree with the mark range?
I didn’t. I thought ChatGPT made the right judgements. So, why is it wrong?
Because the exams are not marked with this criteria. What is ‘judicious’, ‘convincing’, ‘detailed’, ‘perceptive’? Ask 5 English teachers and you will probably get 5 different answers.
But it’s more than that.
There is a secret method, a secret mark scheme. It isn’t written down, but it is what is going on inside the head of the examiner. Even when the examiner is not even aware of it.
I call it The Mr Salles Method - well, I would, wouldn’t I? I know it works, because I use it to successfully predict the examiners’ marks. I wrote a guide about it so that you can see why it always works.
It starts with an incredibly simple idea: there are 20 marks, so you must explain 20 points.
The Mr Salles Method
1. State whether or not you agree with the statement. (It is easiest to mostly agree)*.
2. Give 20 explanations which show how the examples make us think or feel or predict that the statement is mostly correct.
3. Give up to 20 examples. (Often you will be able to give more than one explanation from one quotation, so you can get away with far fewer examples).
4. Write each example and explanation in one sentence, not a PEE paragraph. PEE paragraphs stop you giving enough explanations and getting enough points. They take too long.
5. Just say what the writer is doing. Only name a technique if you know it. “Imagery” or “emphasises” scores just as highly as “imperative verb” or “asyndetic list”. You don’t need to be fancy, just make sense. You don’t need to go looking for techniques, as everything will be “imagery” or used to “emphasise”. And the same, bog standard techniques will always come up, “simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration and sibilance”.
6. Use words like perhaps, might, could, may, however to show that you are evaluating.
*Later on you will see that only partially agreeing makes it easy to get extra marks, even if you don’t have enough points.
We can summarise the method in one sentence:
Write 20 points, including words like perhaps, might, could, may, however to explain what each one makes us think, feel or predict.
(You will notice others in bold italic which also evaluate, but these are the main ones).
My Commentary as to why it scored 12 marks
a) The student sets out a qualified view of the statement (this means they partially agree, or partially disagree). This tells the examiner that they are going to evaluate why they mostly, but not totally, agree.
b) Although this partial agreement doesn’t get a mark on its own, it means the examiner already wants to give it at least 11 marks (as that is where ‘clear … evaluation’ starts).
c) The next 12 points all include a reference to the text and an explanation, so score 1 mark each.
d) Using words like ‘perhaps’ and ‘however’ also helps the examiner see that the student is evaluating.
e) Clear, relevant evaluation 11-15 marks