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OCR AS Philosophy and Ethics Exam 16th May 2012

oconnell95

Anyone doing this exam?

Haven't seen any threads about it so I thought I might start one :smile:

Anyone got any good revision tips and hunches on what may come up on the paper?

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Reply 1

okonomiyaki

Hey!

I'm only doing the Ethics (Did Philosophy back in January, phew 8D)

Apparently there hasn't been anything on Preference Utilitarianism for a while....*strokes imaginary beard*.

I'm revising like I did for January; get the specification and all the work/notes you've made in class and make flashcards of all the facts. Tick bits off on the spec when you've learnt the flashcards. Keep going over them until you get it all...hopefully 8D

Pro (or not) tips:
.The Philosophy will take longer to revise than the Ethics ):
. For each unit, pick a philosopher or theologian who wasn't on the spec and get a quote from them- the examiners like that BD
. However- if you get a Biblical question, don't do what I did and just vomit a load of quotes into the answer. It's no help D:
. I found I had more time than I expected for the Philosophy paper, so it's ok to spend time at the beggining picking out the best questions to answer! :smile:

I was doing late night cramming back in January. But I've learnt my lesson, and I'm starting revision now for the Ethics paper, which I am told, thankfully is easier.

le end!

Reply 2

okonomiyaki

This is such a great resource and place to find examples! THANK YOU, YOU LIFESAVER. :biggrin:

Reply 3

britash

Does anyone have the January 2012 paper for Philosophy of Religion?
Really struggling to find it (and also New Testament).. My sixth form doesnt do ethics :frown:

Reply 4

okonomiyaki

Original post by britash

Does anyone have the January 2012 paper for Philosophy of Religion?
Really struggling to find it (and also New Testament).. My sixth form doesnt do ethics :frown:

My teacher will probably have the list so I'll try and get it for you :smile:

Reply 5

britash

Original post by okonomiyaki

My teacher will probably have the list so I'll try and get it for you :smile:

If you have that would be awesome :smile:

Thanks! xoxo

Reply 6

VictoriaL

Original post by okonomiyaki

Apparently there hasn't been anything on Preference Utilitarianism for a while....*strokes imaginary beard*.

A whole question came up, asking to "Explain the Preference Utilitarianism of Peter Singer." [25] in the June 2011 paper, though apparently it was done quite badly.

In January the questions were along the lines of:
1. Differences between Bentham and Mills Utilitarianism
2. The effect of personhood on abortion
3. Religious ethics applied to genetic engineering
4. Natural Law

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 7

Clareicles

Original post by okonomiyaki

Hey!

I'm only doing the Ethics (Did Philosophy back in January, phew 8D)

Apparently there hasn't been anything on Preference Utilitarianism for a while....*strokes imaginary beard*.
le end!

It came up last Summer, I believe

Reply 8

britash

Original post by okonomiyaki

My teacher will probably have the list so I'll try and get it for you :smile:

Any luck yet?
I'm going to fail Philosophy of Religion if Aristotle/Plato doesnt come up :3 haha

Reply 9

ManPowa

Original post by britash

Does anyone have the January 2012 paper for Philosophy of Religion?
Really struggling to find it (and also New Testament).. My sixth form doesnt do ethics :frown:

Here You go :smile:

Reply 10

jaya44

Can some please send me the mark scheme of ethics jan 2012

Reply 11

britash

Original post by ManPowa

Here You go :smile:

You star! Thanks so much :smile:

Also noticed your doing the same a levels as me!!
Never seen anyone doing chemistry, biology and r.s as a combination before! :smile:

Reply 12

okonomiyaki

I find the applied ethics so much more difficult than the philosophy- it's one thing speculating and explaining philosophical theories, but applying ethical ones to real life? :confused:

Reply 13

alicerosemcl

Original post by anniema

anyone worried about what if a part a question is about something really small- like mill's criticism of the teleological, or something :s

That is exactly how i'm feeling. I'm so worried about the philosophy exam our teacher hasn't finished the syllabus yet and isn't helping us with our essays. For some of the past paper A questions i literally have a paragraph of notes !

How much are you all writing for the A and B ?

Reply 14

okonomiyaki

Original post by anniema

anyone worried about what if a part a question is about something really small- like mill's criticism of the teleological, or something :s

I doubt it :smile:

I think the most specific question on my philosophy paper was outlining the Russel/Coplestone argument.

Reply 15

pbaron

Hi!

Thank you for recommending my philosophicalinvestigations website! The predictions for this year's AS level in the blog section are made on the basis of past trends. It's highly unlikely preference utilitarianism will appear this summer - teachers made such a fuss last time, and it is a difficult area anyway!

I am going to try and show you how to give your answers an A grade twist in my next blog, but meantime, go to my opening paragraphs under Exam syllabuses and revision tips and you'll get a flavour of how to launch an A grade answer.

Notice also I have put special whizz thru powerpoints on all aspects of ethics both AS and A2 - you can whizz through these in five minutes and they give you the essence of that area. They are the first item in each section.

Peter Baron

Reply 16

ManPowa

Original post by pbaron

What a wonderful site you have. I've just been on that for the past few weeks. :smile:

I was wondering, whether they will be any A2 Ethics predictions for the coming May exam.

Thanks

Reply 17

okonomiyaki

Original post by pbaron

Thank you for the resources! And oops with he preference utilitarianism on my part :colondollar:

Reply 18

liam1994

For philosophy, I'm hoping the moral argument comes up.
Or Plato's cave. If not, I may as well give up now!

Reply 19

oconnell95

Original post by pbaron

Thank you Peter for your predictions for the AS OCR Ethics exam but is it possible to do predictions for the Philosophy AS OCR Exam as well?

Much appreciated