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Can I still do well if I got badly in my history a level coursework?

I got 20/40 in my history coursework is it possible to still get an a or b?
Original post by Isabelrugrug
I got 20/40 in my history coursework is it possible to still get an a or b?

The answer is almost certainly, "Yes". Which exam board?

Reply 2

Original post by DataVenia
The answer is almost certainly, "Yes". Which exam board?
Edexcel
Original post by Isabelrugrug
Edexcel

Thanks. As you can see from the specification, the coursework represents just 20% of the total qualification, which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).

Grade boundaries are complicated for History, because there are so many different options that candidates can take. However, roughly speaking, you'd have needed about 156 (out of 200) for an A last year, and 133 for a B. You have 20 of those already. So, to gain an A overall, you'd need to gain about 136 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 85%), and for a B overall, you'd need to gain about 113 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 71%).

So the answer to your "is it possible to still get an a or b?" question is a definite, "Yes." :smile:

Reply 4

Original post by DataVenia
Thanks. As you can see from the specification, the coursework represents just 20% of the total qualification, which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).
Grade boundaries are complicated for History, because there are so many different options that candidates can take. However, roughly speaking, you'd have needed about 156 (out of 200) for an A last year, and 133 for a B. You have 20 of those already. So, to gain an A overall, you'd need to gain about 136 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 85%), and for a B overall, you'd need to gain about 113 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 71%).
So the answer to your "is it possible to still get an a or b?" question is a definite, "Yes." :smile:


Hi I got 34/40 on my course work and using the 2019 grade boundaries I need 63 (ish) on each paper for an A* which is 126 since I got 34 on my coursework does that reduce the amount of marks I need to get on each paper, eg would I only need to get 92 over all (126-34)? Which is roughly around 46 per paper? Or is that not how it works and im misunderstanding it completely?? Please help im so confused im so stressed about the exam I just want to know that I have some security

Reply 5

Original post by DataVenia
Thanks. As you can see from the specification, the coursework represents just 20% of the total qualification, which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).
Grade boundaries are complicated for History, because there are so many different options that candidates can take. However, roughly speaking, you'd have needed about 156 (out of 200) for an A last year, and 133 for a B. You have 20 of those already. So, to gain an A overall, you'd need to gain about 136 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 85%), and for a B overall, you'd need to gain about 113 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 71%).
So the answer to your "is it possible to still get an a or b?" question is a definite, "Yes." :smile:


Hi I got 34/40 on my coursework, using the 2019 grade boundaries I need around 63 on each paper so like 126 in total. Since I got 34 does that reduce the amount of marks I need to get on my exams? For example would I only need to get 92 marks in total (126-34) which is like 46 per paper? Or am I misunderstanding it completely and that’s not how it works? Please help im so stressed about this exam and would like to go into the exam knowing I have secured some marks which account for something lol. Btw I do aqa

Reply 6

Hi I got 34/40 on my coursework, using the 2019 grade boundaries I need around 63 on each paper so like 126 in total. Since I got 34 does that reduce the amount of marks I need to get on my exams? For example would I only need to get 92 marks in total (126-34) which is like 46 per paper? Or am I misunderstanding it completely and that’s not how it works? Please help im so stressed about this exam and would like to go into the exam knowing I have secured some marks which account for something lol

Reply 7

Original post by DataVenia
Thanks. As you can see from the specification, the coursework represents just 20% of the total qualification, which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).
Grade boundaries are complicated for History, because there are so many different options that candidates can take. However, roughly speaking, you'd have needed about 156 (out of 200) for an A last year, and 133 for a B. You have 20 of those already. So, to gain an A overall, you'd need to gain about 136 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 85%), and for a B overall, you'd need to gain about 113 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 71%).
So the answer to your "is it possible to still get an a or b?" question is a definite, "Yes." :smile:


Hi I got 34/40 on my coursework, using the 2019 grade boundaries I need around 63 on each paper so like 126 in total. Since I got 34 does that reduce the amount of marks I need to get on my exams? For example would I only need to get 92 marks in total (126-34) which is like 46 per paper? Or am I misunderstanding it completely and that’s not how it works? Please help im so stressed about this exam and would like to go into the exam knowing I have secured some marks which account for something lol
Original post by st4rrfye
Hi I got 34/40 on my course work and using the 2019 grade boundaries I need 63 (ish) on each paper for an A* which is 126 since I got 34 on my coursework does that reduce the amount of marks I need to get on each paper, eg would I only need to get 92 over all (126-34)? Which is roughly around 46 per paper? Or is that not how it works and im misunderstanding it completely?? Please help im so confused im so stressed about the exam I just want to know that I have some security

Your question suggest that you're sitting just two exam papers, as you say "I need 63 (ish) on each paper for an A* which is 126". Is that right?

The answer I gave above was for Edexcel's A level History which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).

Which exam board are you with?

Reply 9

Original post by DataVenia
Your question suggest that you're sitting just two exam papers, as you say "I need 63 (ish) on each paper for an A* which is 126". Is that right?
The answer I gave above was for Edexcel's A level History which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).
Which exam board are you with?


I do aqa the course is out of 200 inc coursework and each paper is out of 80 I have two exam papers
Original post by st4rrfye
I do aqa the course is out of 200 inc coursework and each paper is out of 80 I have two exam papers

Thanks. Depending on exactly which options you've taken within History, in 2019 you'd have needed about 155 out of 200 for an A* (but the range was huge: 146 to 169). Which options are you taking?

As you already have 34 marks, you need to gain about 121 of the remaining 160 marks from the two exams. So about 60 out of 80 in each.

Edited to add a link to the AQA 2019 A level grade boundaries to justify some of the numbers above: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-RL-GDE-BDY-JUN-2019.PDF.
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 11

Original post by DataVenia
Thanks. As you can see from the specification, the coursework represents just 20% of the total qualification, which is marked out of 200 (60 from Paper 1, 40 from Paper 2, 60 from Paper 3, and 40 from the coursework).
Grade boundaries are complicated for History, because there are so many different options that candidates can take. However, roughly speaking, you'd have needed about 156 (out of 200) for an A last year, and 133 for a B. You have 20 of those already. So, to gain an A overall, you'd need to gain about 136 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 85%), and for a B overall, you'd need to gain about 113 from the remaining 160 marks (that's about 71%).
So the answer to your "is it possible to still get an a or b?" question is a definite, "Yes." :smile:

thank you so much, my other question was that i got an overall of 22/40 in my english literature coursework (OCR) is it still possible to get and A or B?????
Original post by Isabelrugrug
thank you so much, my other question was that i got an overall of 22/40 in my english literature coursework (OCR) is it still possible to get and A or B?????

As I'm sure you know (as as it explains in the specification), OCR A Level English Literature is assessed via Component 1 (a 60-mark exam), Component 2 (a 60-mark exam) and Component 3 (a 40-mark piece of coursework). However, the components are weighted 40%:40%:20%. So a mark in Components 1 and 2 is worth more than a mark in Component 3, for example. What they actually do is multiple the Component 1 and Component 2 marks by 4/3 so each is out of 80, and then total them to then 200 (80 + 80 + 40). A bit messy, but that's what they do.

Grade boundaries move around every year, so using past grade boundaries to predict future grades is always an approximation. Last year, for an A you'd have needed 175 out of 200, and for a B you'd have needed 152 out of 200. (See this PDF.)

You already have 22 of those marks, so you'd have needed 153 out of the remaining 160 marks for an A. In terms of exam marks (rather then the "weighted" marks) that's 115 out of 120 (96%). I think we can safely rule that out, unfortunately. :frown:

For a B you'd have needed 130 out of 160 (98 out of 120), or 82%, across the two exams - on average. Is that achievable, do you think?

Reply 13

Original post by DataVenia
As I'm sure you know (as as it explains in the specification), OCR A Level English Literature is assessed via Component 1 (a 60-mark exam), Component 2 (a 60-mark exam) and Component 3 (a 40-mark piece of coursework). However, the components are weighted 40%:40%:20%. So a mark in Components 1 and 2 is worth more than a mark in Component 3, for example. What they actually do is multiple the Component 1 and Component 2 marks by 4/3 so each is out of 80, and then total them to then 200 (80 + 80 + 40). A bit messy, but that's what they do.
Grade boundaries move around every year, so using past grade boundaries to predict future grades is always an approximation. Last year, for an A you'd have needed 175 out of 200, and for a B you'd have needed 152 out of 200. (See this PDF.)
You already have 22 of those marks, so you'd have needed 153 out of the remaining 160 marks for an A. In terms of exam marks (rather then the "weighted" marks) that's 115 out of 120 (96%). I think we can safely rule that out, unfortunately. :frown:
For a B you'd have needed 130 out of 160 (98 out of 120), or 82%, across the two exams - on average. Is that achievable, do you think?

at this rate not really, but thank you this was extremely helpful do you have any tips or advice on retaining knowledge and translating that into an essay?

Reply 14

Original post by DataVenia
Thanks. Depending on exactly which options you've taken within History, in 2019 you'd have needed about 155 out of 200 for an A* (but the range was huge: 146 to 169). Which options are you taking?
As you already have 34 marks, you need to gain about 121 of the remaining 160 marks from the two exams. So about 60 out of 80 in each.
Edited to add a link to the AQA 2019 A level grade boundaries to justify some of the numbers above: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-RL-GDE-BDY-JUN-2019.PDF.
For AQA A Level history (so two papers each worth 40%, and coursework worth 20%), would it still be possible to secure a B overall despite getting something like 30/80 on paper 1, and 23/40 on coursework, but doing considerably well on paper 2?
Original post by Heisnavaoapa
For AQA A Level history (so two papers each worth 40%, and coursework worth 20%), would it still be possible to secure a B overall despite getting something like 30/80 on paper 1, and 23/40 on coursework, but doing considerably well on paper 2?

The grade boundaries move around each year and also depend on which options you're doing. Looking at the 2019 AQA boundaries (which I linked to above), for some options you needed 102/200 for a B but for others you needed 121/200. Glancing down the data, 112/200 looks like it might be about average across the options.

Right now you have 30/80 plus 23/40, or 53/120. So you'd need to get about 59/80 on paper 2 for a B. So yes, it's mathematically possible. (But you'd need to do twice as well on paper 2 as you did on paper 1.)

The above is full of approximations and estimations, obviously.

Reply 16

Original post by DataVenia
As I'm sure you know (as as it explains in the specification), OCR A Level English Literature is assessed via Component 1 (a 60-mark exam), Component 2 (a 60-mark exam) and Component 3 (a 40-mark piece of coursework). However, the components are weighted 40%:40%:20%. So a mark in Components 1 and 2 is worth more than a mark in Component 3, for example. What they actually do is multiple the Component 1 and Component 2 marks by 4/3 so each is out of 80, and then total them to then 200 (80 + 80 + 40). A bit messy, but that's what they do.
Grade boundaries move around every year, so using past grade boundaries to predict future grades is always an approximation. Last year, for an A you'd have needed 175 out of 200, and for a B you'd have needed 152 out of 200. (See this PDF.)
You already have 22 of those marks, so you'd have needed 153 out of the remaining 160 marks for an A. In terms of exam marks (rather then the "weighted" marks) that's 115 out of 120 (96%). I think we can safely rule that out, unfortunately. :frown:
For a B you'd have needed 130 out of 160 (98 out of 120), or 82%, across the two exams - on average. Is that achievable, do you think?
How would it work for someone who needs a B and has got 34/40 in their coursework for OCR English Lit? Im not confident Ive got over 35/60 in my Paper 1
Original post by imtii205
How would it work for someone who needs a B and has got 34/40 in their coursework for OCR English Lit? Im not confident Ive got over 35/60 in my Paper 1

It works in exactly the same way as in the explanation you replied to. Let's assume you got 35/60 in Paper 1. We multiply that by 4/3, to get 47/80, as Paper 1 and Paper 2 are weighted more that the coursework. We then add that to the 34/40 you got for your coursework to get 81/120.

Last year for a B you needed 152/200. So you need to get 71/80 on Paper 2 (assuming the grade boundary stays exactly the same - which it won't.) We need to scale that number down to get out of 60, so that'd be about 53/60 (88%). Mathematically possible, but not at very easy. :frown:

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