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aqa eng lit spec b AS bad marking??

All year I have been getting very close to full marks in all my english essays. For my english lit mock exam I got 77/84 marks so I was so on track to get an A in the actual exam. However, in the exam I only got a low B (which must have been something like 43 marks) - most people in my college seem to have got lower than they expected and I wasn't sure if AQA have been really harsh with marking? I know it isn't that my teachers are bad markers because they marked all out courseowkr essays pretty bang on and they have never had major issues like this is the past. It's lucky that my courseowkr (which was 2 marks off full makrs) pulled my grade up so I still got an A, but it just means my UMS isn't strong enough now to make an application to Cambridge. thanks
(edited 8 years ago)
Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown: Are you sure you’ve posted in the right place? Posting in the specific Study Help forum should help get responses. :redface:

I'm going to quote in Tank Girl now so she can move your thread to the right place if it's needed. :h: :yy:

Spoiler

Hi there! I've moved this to the English forum now- you should get a few more replies here :smile:
Reply 3
yeah AQA have just been harsh. I was the same as you however predicted a bit lower and was getting B's constantly all year and ended up with an average C. Should be very easy to boost up next year though, there is a lot more time to cover the content.
Yeah I got an A in the coursework and a C in the exam after getting consistent As... I'm getting a remark but not holding out much hope. I was hoping to apply to Cambridge as well I can empathise :frown:

It really makes me worry about next year though!
A similar thing happened to me last year - I was predicted an A and kept getting good marks in the mock exams, and then received a low B in the exam. I felt quite disappointed because I'd put so much work in - there was even someone I know who got a D despite being predicted an A. Apparently we had a harsh examiner, but even when people's papers were sent back, the examiners refused to change the marks. So although it's worth trying for a remark, sometimes nothing will change and you'll just have to resit, which is what I decided to do. I know it's not ideal because it means an extra exam alongside the A2 ones, but for me it was a good decision. I didn't send last year's paper in for a remark because no one else's marks were changed, so I kept the B (which is still good and you can still get an A overall anyway) - doing this also meant there wasn't a risk of the paper being marked down, and I could only gain from a resit (since the best mark counts). I came out with 120/120 UMS, which was a huge shock! With an extra year to develop your essay skills, you should be able to get significantly more marks than if the paper was remarked.

However I understand your disappointment regarding the score you need for Cambridge. :frown: What do they require? I know they're quite specific about UMS marks so in your case a remark could be worth it, rather than in my case where it made more sense to keep the B and try and improve through resitting.
Original post by Dougieowner
A similar thing happened to me last year - I was predicted an A and kept getting good marks in the mock exams, and then received a low B in the exam. I felt quite disappointed because I'd put so much work in - there was even someone I know who got a D despite being predicted an A. Apparently we had a harsh examiner, but even when people's papers were sent back, the examiners refused to change the marks. So although it's worth trying for a remark, sometimes nothing will change and you'll just have to resit, which is what I decided to do. I know it's not ideal because it means an extra exam alongside the A2 ones, but for me it was a good decision. I didn't send last year's paper in for a remark because no one else's marks were changed, so I kept the B (which is still good and you can still get an A overall anyway) - doing this also meant there wasn't a risk of the paper being marked down, and I could only gain from a resit (since the best mark counts). I came out with 120/120 UMS, which was a huge shock! With an extra year to develop your essay skills, you should be able to get significantly more marks than if the paper was remarked.

However I understand your disappointment regarding the score you need for Cambridge. :frown: What do they require? I know they're quite specific about UMS marks so in your case a remark could be worth it, rather than in my case where it made more sense to keep the B and try and improve through resitting.


Hi,

I don't think I can get into Cambridge because my other UMSs weren't incredible, just solid As, although I'm retaking a couple of exams to bump these up higher.

I got my English remarked and it still came out as 2 UMS off of a B :frown: I'm so annoyed because I know I was capable of an A in that exam! I'm not sure whether to drop it or not as I want to do Philosophy at uni and have History, Art and Religious Studies (Philosophy and Ethics modules) as my AS other subjects... I'm also doing an EPQ so I don't know if I'd have enough essay-focused choices even if I took Art for A2.

This is so stressful I wish I could've just got the marks I'd been hoping for... ahh
Original post by Dougieowner
A similar thing happened to me last year - I was predicted an A and kept getting good marks in the mock exams, and then received a low B in the exam. I felt quite disappointed because I'd put so much work in - there was even someone I know who got a D despite being predicted an A. Apparently we had a harsh examiner, but even when people's papers were sent back, the examiners refused to change the marks. So although it's worth trying for a remark, sometimes nothing will change and you'll just have to resit, which is what I decided to do. I know it's not ideal because it means an extra exam alongside the A2 ones, but for me it was a good decision. I didn't send last year's paper in for a remark because no one else's marks were changed, so I kept the B (which is still good and you can still get an A overall anyway) - doing this also meant there wasn't a risk of the paper being marked down, and I could only gain from a resit (since the best mark counts). I came out with 120/120 UMS, which was a huge shock! With an extra year to develop your essay skills, you should be able to get significantly more marks than if the paper was remarked.

However I understand your disappointment regarding the score you need for Cambridge. :frown: What do they require? I know they're quite specific about UMS marks so in your case a remark could be worth it, rather than in my case where it made more sense to keep the B and try and improve through resitting.


oops I didn't mean to reply to your post!! sorry, was just a contribution to the chat :smile: :')
Reply 8
Original post by Dougieowner
A similar thing happened to me last year - I was predicted an A and kept getting good marks in the mock exams, and then received a low B in the exam. I felt quite disappointed because I'd put so much work in - there was even someone I know who got a D despite being predicted an A. Apparently we had a harsh examiner, but even when people's papers were sent back, the examiners refused to change the marks. So although it's worth trying for a remark, sometimes nothing will change and you'll just have to resit, which is what I decided to do. I know it's not ideal because it means an extra exam alongside the A2 ones, but for me it was a good decision. I didn't send last year's paper in for a remark because no one else's marks were changed, so I kept the B (which is still good and you can still get an A overall anyway) - doing this also meant there wasn't a risk of the paper being marked down, and I could only gain from a resit (since the best mark counts). I came out with 120/120 UMS, which was a huge shock! With an extra year to develop your essay skills, you should be able to get significantly more marks than if the paper was remarked.

However I understand your disappointment regarding the score you need for Cambridge. :frown: What do they require? I know they're quite specific about UMS marks so in your case a remark could be worth it, rather than in my case where it made more sense to keep the B and try and improve through resitting.

I've decided to order a photocopy of my script so my teacher can go through it and then we can decide whether I have a chance at getting more marks with a remark or not.

Cambridge ask for at leats 85% UMS but I think most of their applicants have closer to 90%. I got 97% overall for my History (dropped one mark in unit 1 and 2 marks in unit 2) and 94% in Theatre. English should have been my strongest subjects and, going on what my previous essay marks were, I should have got around 95% but unfortunately I was only awarded with 82% so I wouldn't be called for an interview with that. Hopefully I can get a remark which can bump up my marks but who knows; I am considering that I may have simply just flunked that exam!
Hiii! This happened to me too! All year I've been getting As in all of my essays and I studied so hard for the exam but only got a C??? I was so upset but thankfully I got full marks in the coursework so my overall grade was brought up to a B. Still disappointing, but it could've been worse!
It also happened to a lot of my friends who were predicted Bs/Cs but they only got Ds and Es - it must've been super harsh marking.:frown:
Original post by eddso
All year I have been getting very close to full marks in all my english essays. For my english lit mock exam I got 77/84 marks so I was so on track to get an A in the actual exam. However, in the exam I only got a low B (which must have been something like 43 marks) - most people in my college seem to have got lower than they expected and I wasn't sure if AQA have been really harsh with marking? I know it isn't that my teachers are bad markers because they marked all out courseowkr essays pretty bang on and they have never had major issues like this is the past. It's lucky that my courseowkr (which was 2 marks off full makrs) pulled my grade up so I still got an A, but it just means my UMS isn't strong enough now to make an application to Cambridge. thanks


The exact same thing happened to me, but at A2. I got 80/80 for the coursework, but 84/120 for the exam?! Luckily I got my A and met my Oxford offer, but still.

AQA are notorious for bad marking, and English is particularly badly done. Every year there are threads on this topic.

Not sure what to suggest to be honest. Ask the admissions team for Cambridge (there's a thread currently going here on TSR)
Original post by eddso
All year I have been getting very close to full marks in all my english essays. For my english lit mock exam I got 77/84 marks so I was so on track to get an A in the actual exam. However, in the exam I only got a low B (which must have been something like 43 marks) - most people in my college seem to have got lower than they expected and I wasn't sure if AQA have been really harsh with marking? I know it isn't that my teachers are bad markers because they marked all out courseowkr essays pretty bang on and they have never had major issues like this is the past. It's lucky that my courseowkr (which was 2 marks off full makrs) pulled my grade up so I still got an A, but it just means my UMS isn't strong enough now to make an application to Cambridge. thanks



Your situation is EXACTLY the same as mine last year. With that in mind, please take reassurance from the fact that I'm going to Cambridge in October, with an A* now in English Literature from a low B at AS.

Same story - all year As, full marks in mock, then plummet to a low C in the exam which I remarked to get a D - luckily my coursework got me a B. I moaned all throughout Year 13 about teaching/examiners but I can tell you that the crucial element to this exam is the method. You need to hit all of those assessment objectives methodically and explicitly, I know as an English student that is incredibly frustrating given the creative nature of the subject, but the 'aspects of narrative' need to be addressed throughout your entire essay, which I did this year and got full marks.

Please resit this exam, because as an A2 student you will develop so much more and be so much more equipped to tackle this harsh exam, and in actual fact the A2 exam compliments the AS as its a similar format - constantly acknowledging the gothic/pastoral elements - just with LITB1 its all about the writer's craft to shape a narrative. If you make that resit an A, which is achievable, and get your teachers to explicitly tell Cambridge that on your UCAS, they could be forgiving as they were with me.

If you want any essays I did (the ones I wrote in Year 12 vs the resit ones to compare) let me know, and my stats if you want (UMS percentage, GCSEs) I want to reassure you that Cambridge is still possible - I'm so glad I realised that, and you never know, you could be too.
(edited 8 years ago)

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