Exam Tips from an Examiner

I’m currently marking some sociology exam scripts and I just thought I’d share some ideas with you all.

The scripts I’m marking aren’t AS or A level, but nevertheless, my experience so far has been that many people don’t follow the basics, even if they are obvious.

So here goes:

Please do remember to mark the questions clearly and write your name clearly on the script.

It doesn’t matter if you do questions in the ‘order’ e.g. part e first, then b, then d, etc. But do ensure that all are clearly labelled.

Do make your effort appropriate to the number of marks - i.e. don’t write a side for 4 marks and half a side for 8 marks.

Please try to write legibly.

Do revise.

You must know at AS/A and other levels - the names of sociologists, a few empirical facts, and the names of key concepts and theories.

If you can do all those things, your chances of success are very good. And your examiner will be very happy. Contrary to what some people may think, examiners want to find answers they can shower with ticks and award high marks to - but you do have to do your part and make that easy for them.