A level psych 16 markers.

Does anyone know an effective structure for the 16 markers on AQA Psychology? How many A01 paragraphs and A03 paragraphs should I be writing, as I have been told 2 A01 and 6 A03, but that seems a bit too much, so I'm not sure. How many evaluation paragraphs should I be writing for the questions, which say "Discuss at least two explanations for....". Any help will be appreciated!

Reply 1

ALEreapp

21

Hey!
I’ve just finished year 13 and am aiming for an A* in psychology so I should be able to help...
The structure I swear by is one chunky A01 paragraph (or two smaller ones depending on the question) and 4 A03 paragraphs (possibly 3 if you really extent them).
If there is a stem at the top then you also have A02 so do a small paragraph of that or you can imbed it into the A01. But if there is A02 I’ve never done more than 3 A03 paragraphs.
When I talk about an extended paragraph I mean for example if you had an essay on how past attachment effects future relationships, you can use Harlow for research support then you can criticise Harlow for being an animal study but then you could use Quinton et al to say although it’s an animal study, studies on institutionalised women actually support the findings. That is very high level and takes a lot of practise hence why it’s often better to just stick to 4 more simple A03 (if there’s no A02).
So in the question example you have if there is a stem I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs, a small A02 paragraph and then 3 A03 (one for one explanation and two for another). If there isn’t a stem then I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs and 4 A03 paragraphs (2 for each).
The mark breakdown is as allows
No stem: A01=6 marks A03= 10 marks
Stem: A01=6marks A02=4 marks A03= 6 marks

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 2

Grace Appleby

OP

12

Original post by Wannabevet133

Hey!
I’ve just finished year 13 and am aiming for an A* in psychology so I should be able to help...
The structure I swear by is one chunky A01 paragraph (or two smaller ones depending on the question) and 4 A03 paragraphs (possibly 3 if you really extent them).
If there is a stem at the top then you also have A02 so do a small paragraph of that or you can imbed it into the A01. But if there is A02 I’ve never done more than 3 A03 paragraphs.
When I talk about an extended paragraph I mean for example if you had an essay on how past attachment effects future relationships, you can use Harlow for research support then you can criticise Harlow for being an animal study but then you could use Quinton et al to say although it’s an animal study, studies on institutionalised women actually support the findings. That is very high level and takes a lot of practise hence why it’s often better to just stick to 4 more simple A03 (if there’s no A02).
So in the question example you have if there is a stem I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs, a small A02 paragraph and then 3 A03 (one for one explanation and two for another). If there isn’t a stem then I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs and 4 A03 paragraphs (2 for each).
The mark breakdown is as allows
No stem: A01=6 marks A03= 10 marks
Stem: A01=6marks A02=4 marks A03= 6 marks

Thank you!
So if I got a question, on the lines of "Discuss two explanations for why people resist social influence", could I structure it like this:
One A01 paragraph describing social support and locus of control.
An A03 paragraph evaluating locus of control (ie. Rotter, Schurz)
Two A03 paragraphs evaluating social support (ie. one on Milgram and the other on Asch).

Reply 3

SupposedlyIronic

21

I usually write one long paragraph for AO1 (6 marks so 6 points maybe), then maybe four developed paragraphs for AO3 (10 marks) using the PEEL structure. Obviously if AO2 is involved (takes 4 marks from the AO3) then add a small paragraph between AO1 and AO3, and reduce the number of AO3 paragraphs.

I have a thread here if that helps :smile:

Reply 4

ALEreapp

21

Original post by Grace Appleby

Thank you!
So if I got a question, on the lines of "Discuss two explanations for why people resist social influence", could I structure it like this:
One A01 paragraph describing social support and locus of control.
An A03 paragraph evaluating locus of control (ie. Rotter, Schurz)
Two A03 paragraphs evaluating social support (ie. one on Milgram and the other on Asch).

If you really develop the three paragraphs that should be fine however if you want to be 100% safe I would do another paragraph on locus of control!

Reply 5

millsr

11

For a standard question that only asks about one thing (for example, 'Discuss Asch's research into conformity'), 1 AO1 paragraph with roughly 5-6 points is fine (in this example, a couple on the procedure, a couple on findings and a couple on the variations). I'd follow that with 3-4 AO3 evaluation points. If you're only going for three, try and make them developed points (for example, counterargue them or link to issues & debates, which you'll do in year 13).

For a question that covers more than one topic (for example, the one you mentioned about resistance to social influence), do one AO1 paragraph about one of the topics, then add your AO3 for that topic, then do the same for the next topic. The number of AO3s per topic depends on how many topics you're covering (you still want about 4 AO3s overall).

You can also use a structure where you talk about one AO1 point and then one relevant AO3 point throughout the essay, for example, using the Asch question I mentioned:
One short AO1 paragraph about the procedure used, then one AO3 about the ethical issues it raises
One AO1 about the findings, then one AO3 about the limited application of them, and one about the fact that the findings are less relevant in the modern day than they were at the time
One AO1 about the variations, then one AO3 about the artificial nature of the task

I found that once I learnt how to structure essays well, they were a lot easier to write and it was easier to figure out what was and wasn't worth including. I hope this helps!

Reply 6

johnnycoll1

1

Original post by ALEreapp

Hey!
I’ve just finished year 13 and am aiming for an A* in psychology so I should be able to help...
The structure I swear by is one chunky A01 paragraph (or two smaller ones depending on the question) and 4 A03 paragraphs (possibly 3 if you really extent them).
If there is a stem at the top then you also have A02 so do a small paragraph of that or you can imbed it into the A01. But if there is A02 I’ve never done more than 3 A03 paragraphs.
When I talk about an extended paragraph I mean for example if you had an essay on how past attachment effects future relationships, you can use Harlow for research support then you can criticise Harlow for being an animal study but then you could use Quinton et al to say although it’s an animal study, studies on institutionalised women actually support the findings. That is very high level and takes a lot of practise hence why it’s often better to just stick to 4 more simple A03 (if there’s no A02).
So in the question example you have if there is a stem I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs, a small A02 paragraph and then 3 A03 (one for one explanation and two for another). If there isn’t a stem then I would do 2 smaller A01 paragraphs and 4 A03 paragraphs (2 for each).
The mark breakdown is as allows
No stem: A01=6 marks A03= 10 marks
Stem: A01=6marks A02=4 marks A03= 6 marks

very helpful

A level psych 16 markers.

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