8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
SPECIMENm MATERIAL
A-level
ENGLISH LITERATURE B(7717/
m m m
1A)
Paperm1A:m LiterarymGenres:m Aspectsmofm Tragedy
Markmscheme
SpecimenmMaterial
Version/Stage:mVersionm3.1
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,8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MarkmschemesmarempreparedmbymthemLeadmAssessmentmWritermandmconsidered,mtogethermwi
thmthemrelevantmquestions,mbymampanelmofmsubjectmteachers.mThismmarkmschememincludesma
nymamendmentsmmadematmthemstandardisationmeventsmwhichmallmassociatesmparticipateminma
ndmismthemschememwhichmwasmusedmbymthemminmthismexamination.mThemstandardisationmpro
cessmensuresmthatmthemmarkmschememcoversmthemstudents’mresponsesmtomquestionsmandmth
atmeverymassociatemunderstandsmandmappliesmitminmthemsamemcorrectmway.mAsmpreparationmf
ormstandardisation,meachmassociatemanalysesmamnumbermofmstudents’mscripts:malternativemans
wersmnotmalreadymcoveredmbymthemmarkmschememaremdiscussedmandmlegislatedmfor.mIf,mafter
mthemstandardisationmprocess,massociatesmencountermunusualmanswersmwhichmhavemnotmbeen
mraisedmtheymaremrequiredmtom refermthesemtomthemLeadmAssessmentmWriter.
Itmmustmbemstressedmthatmammarkmschememismamworkingmdocument,minmmanymcasesmfurthe
rmdevelopedmandmexpandedmonmthembasismofmstudents’mreactionsmtomamparticularmpaper.mA
ssumptionsmaboutmfuturemmarkmschemesmonmthembasismofmonemyear’smdocumentmshouldmb
emavoided;mwhilstmthemguidingmprinciplesmofmassessmentmremainmconstant,mdetailsmwillmchan
ge,mdependingmonmthemcontentmofmamparticularmexaminationmpaper.
FurthermcopiesmofmthismMarkmSchememaremavailablemfrommaqa.org.uk
Copyrightm©m2014mAQAmandmitsmlicensors.m Allmrightsmreserved.
AQAm retainsm them copyrightm onm allm itsm publications.m However,m registeredm schools/colleges m form AQAm arem permittedm tom
copym materialm fromm thismbookletm formtheirm ownm internalm use,m withmthemfollowingm importantm exception:m AQAm cannotm giv
em permissionm tom schools/collegesm tom photocopym anym materialm thatmism acknowledgedm tom am thirdmpartym evenm formintern
alm usem withinm them centre.
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,8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MARKmSCHEMEm–mA-LEVELmENGLISHmLITERATUREmBmPAPERm1Am–m7717/1Am–mSPECIMEN
InformationmformExaminersmmarkingmAspectsmofmTragedy:mClosedmBook
Welcomemtomthismmarkmschememwhichmismdesignedmtomhelpmyoumtomdelivermfairmandm
accuratemassessment.mPleasemreadmcarefullymallmsectionsmandmensuremthatmyoumfollow
mthemrequirementsmthatmtheym contain.
ThemsignificancemofmClosedmBook
ExaminersmmustmunderstandmthatminmmarkingmamClosedmBookmexammtheremaremexamining
mimplications.mCandidatesmdomnotmhavemtheirmtextsminmfrontmofmthem,msomwhilemitmismexp
ectedmthatmtheymwillmusemquotations,mitmismalsomlegitimatemtomusemclosemtextualmreferenc
es.mTheymwillmhavemhadmtommemorisemquotationsmsomtheremmaymbemsomemerrorsmwhich
mshouldmnotmbemover-
mpenalised.mDetailedmdiscussionsmofmparticularmsectionsmofmtexts,mapartmfrommthemprintedm
extracts,maremlessmlikelymheremthanminmOpenmBookmexams.mInstead,mcandidatesmmaymran
gembroadlymacrossmtheirmtextsmasmtheymconstructmtheirmarguments.
TheremaremspecificmissuesmformAO2m–
mhowmmeaningsmaremshapedminmtexts.mTheremis,mwithmClosedmBook,mthemexpectationmthat
mcandidatesmwillmnotmhavemthemtextsminmfrontmofmthem,msomalthoughmtheymwillmsometimes
mbemablemtommakemspecificm referencesmtomstructuralmandmorganisationalmissues,matmother
mtimesmtheymwillmbemmoremgeneral.
ArrivingmatmMarks
1. AllmquestionsmaremframedmtomaddressmallmthemAssessmentmObjectivesm(AOs).mWeight
ingsmaremgivenmabovemthemgenericmmarkmscheme.mAnswersmaremmarkedmholistically
mbut,mwhenmdecidingmuponmammarkminmamband,mexaminersmshouldmbearminmmindmt
hemrelativemweightingsmofmthemassessmentmobjectivesm(seempagem6)mandmbemcareful
mnotmtomover/undermcreditmamparticularmskill.mInmallmquestions,mmoremweightmshouldm
bemgivenmtomAO1,mAO2mandmAO3mthanmtomAO4mandmAO5.mThismwillmbemexemplifi
edmandmreinforcedmasmpartmofmexaminermtrainingmandmstandardisation.mExaminersmne
edmtomreadmthemwholemanswer,mtakingmintomaccountmitsmstrengthsmandmweaknesses,m
andmthenmplacemitminmthemappropriatemband.
2. Examinersmshouldmavoidmmakingmearlymsnapmjudgementsmbeforemthemwholemanswe
rmhasmbeenmread.mSomemcandidatesmbeginmtentativelymbutmgomonmtommakemreleva
ntmpoints.
3. Examinersmshouldmbempreparedmtomusemthemfullmmarkmrangemandmnotm‘bunch’msc
riptsminmthemmiddlemformsafety.mTopmmarksmaremattainablemifm candidatesmcouldmno
tmbemexpectedmtomdommoreminmthemtimemandmundermthemconditionsminmwhichmthe
ymaremworking.
4. Examinersmshouldmmarkmpositively.mAlthoughmthemmarkmschememprovidesmsomemin
dicatorsmformwhatmcandidatesmaremlikelymtomwritemabout,mexaminersmshouldmbemwill
ingmtomrewardmwhatmismactuallym therem –
m provided,m ofmcourse,m thatm itmismrelevantm tomthemquestionmbeingmasked.
5. Examinersmshouldmremembermthatmtheremaremnomrightmanswers.mCandidates’mviews
mwhichmaremrelevant,mwell-
arguedmandmsupportedmbymappropriatemtextualmevidencemmustmreceivemcreditmwheth
erm themexaminermagreesmwithmthemviewsmormnot.mItmismimportantmtomtrymtomremain
mflexiblemifmamcandidatem introducesmunusualmormunorthodoxmideas.
6. Examinersmshouldmremembermthatmlengthmandmqualitymaremnotmsynonymous.mSome
mbriefmanswersmmaymbemrelevantmandmconcise.mEqually,mlongmanswersmmaymbemdi
ffusemandmrepetitive.
7. Ifmanswersmaremshortmormincomplete,mexaminersmcanmrewardmonlymwhatm ismther
emandmassessmaccordingly.mSomemfurthermcreditmmaymbemgivenmtomanswersmfini
shedminmnotemform.
3mofm32
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, 8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MARKmSCHEMEm–mA-LEVELmENGLISHmLITERATUREmBmPAPERm1Am–m7717/1Am–mSPECIMEN
UsingmthemMarkmBands
8. Whenmplacingmanswersminmmarkmbands,mexaminersmneedmtomlookmcloselymatmthemd
escriptorsmandmthemdetailedmgenericmmarkmbandsmonmpagem7.mThemkeymwordsmform
thembandsmaremimportantmandmaremprintedmbelow.
MARKmBANDmDESCRIPTORS
Bandm5 perceptive/assured
Bandm4 coherent/thorough
Bandm3 straightforward/relevant
Bandm2 simple/generalised
Bandm1
largelymirrelevant,mlargelymmisunderstood,mla
rgelyminaccurate
9. Answersmplacedmatmthemtopmofmthembandmwillmsecurelymaddressmthemdescriptors;ma
nswersmatmthemlowermendmofmthembandmwillmsecurelymaddressmthemdescriptorsmbel
owmandmbeginmtomshowmthemqualitiesmofmthembandmintomwhichmyoumaremplacingmth
em.m Carefulmjudgementsmneedmtombemmademaboutmmarksminmthemmiddlemofmthemr
ange;mheremitmismlikelymthatmthemkeymdescriptorsmwillmbemmoremintermittentmbutmstil
lmclearlymevident.
10. Theremwillmbemoccasionsmwhenmanmanswermaddressesmdescriptorsminmdifferentmban
ds;minmsuchmcases,mthem‘best-
fit’mmodelmapplies.mHeremexaminersmwillmneedmtomexercisemamdifferentmkindmofmjud
gement,mlookingmtomseemwheremthemanswermcanmbemmostmfairlymandmappropriately
mplaced,minmtermsmofmitsmquality,magainstmthemdescriptors.
11. Examinersmmustmremembermthatmthemmarkmbandsmaremnotmequivalentmtomgrades:
mgradesmaremdecidedmbymthemawardingmcommitteematmthemendmofmeachmsession.
Advicem aboutm markingmeachm section
SectionmA
12. Examinersmneedmtombearminmmindmthemfollowingmkeympointsmwhenmmarkingme
xtractmbasedmquestions:
• doesmthemcandidatemhavemanmoverviewmofmthemextract?
• hasmthemcandidatemwrittenmaboutmdramaticmmethod?
• hasmthemcandidatemseenmthemsignificancemofmthemextractminmrelationmt
omthemoverallmtragedy?
• hasmthemcandidatemquotedmfrommthemextractmtomsupportmideas?
• themcandidate’smAO1mcompetence.
4 ofm32
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SPECIMENm MATERIAL
A-level
ENGLISH LITERATURE B(7717/
m m m
1A)
Paperm1A:m LiterarymGenres:m Aspectsmofm Tragedy
Markmscheme
SpecimenmMaterial
Version/Stage:mVersionm3.1
about:blank 1/32
,8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MarkmschemesmarempreparedmbymthemLeadmAssessmentmWritermandmconsidered,mtogethermwi
thmthemrelevantmquestions,mbymampanelmofmsubjectmteachers.mThismmarkmschememincludesma
nymamendmentsmmadematmthemstandardisationmeventsmwhichmallmassociatesmparticipateminma
ndmismthemschememwhichmwasmusedmbymthemminmthismexamination.mThemstandardisationmpro
cessmensuresmthatmthemmarkmschememcoversmthemstudents’mresponsesmtomquestionsmandmth
atmeverymassociatemunderstandsmandmappliesmitminmthemsamemcorrectmway.mAsmpreparationmf
ormstandardisation,meachmassociatemanalysesmamnumbermofmstudents’mscripts:malternativemans
wersmnotmalreadymcoveredmbymthemmarkmschememaremdiscussedmandmlegislatedmfor.mIf,mafter
mthemstandardisationmprocess,massociatesmencountermunusualmanswersmwhichmhavemnotmbeen
mraisedmtheymaremrequiredmtom refermthesemtomthemLeadmAssessmentmWriter.
Itmmustmbemstressedmthatmammarkmschememismamworkingmdocument,minmmanymcasesmfurthe
rmdevelopedmandmexpandedmonmthembasismofmstudents’mreactionsmtomamparticularmpaper.mA
ssumptionsmaboutmfuturemmarkmschemesmonmthembasismofmonemyear’smdocumentmshouldmb
emavoided;mwhilstmthemguidingmprinciplesmofmassessmentmremainmconstant,mdetailsmwillmchan
ge,mdependingmonmthemcontentmofmamparticularmexaminationmpaper.
FurthermcopiesmofmthismMarkmSchememaremavailablemfrommaqa.org.uk
Copyrightm©m2014mAQAmandmitsmlicensors.m Allmrightsmreserved.
AQAm retainsm them copyrightm onm allm itsm publications.m However,m registeredm schools/colleges m form AQAm arem permittedm tom
copym materialm fromm thismbookletm formtheirm ownm internalm use,m withmthemfollowingm importantm exception:m AQAm cannotm giv
em permissionm tom schools/collegesm tom photocopym anym materialm thatmism acknowledgedm tom am thirdmpartym evenm formintern
alm usem withinm them centre.
about:blank 2/32
,8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MARKmSCHEMEm–mA-LEVELmENGLISHmLITERATUREmBmPAPERm1Am–m7717/1Am–mSPECIMEN
InformationmformExaminersmmarkingmAspectsmofmTragedy:mClosedmBook
Welcomemtomthismmarkmschememwhichmismdesignedmtomhelpmyoumtomdelivermfairmandm
accuratemassessment.mPleasemreadmcarefullymallmsectionsmandmensuremthatmyoumfollow
mthemrequirementsmthatmtheym contain.
ThemsignificancemofmClosedmBook
ExaminersmmustmunderstandmthatminmmarkingmamClosedmBookmexammtheremaremexamining
mimplications.mCandidatesmdomnotmhavemtheirmtextsminmfrontmofmthem,msomwhilemitmismexp
ectedmthatmtheymwillmusemquotations,mitmismalsomlegitimatemtomusemclosemtextualmreferenc
es.mTheymwillmhavemhadmtommemorisemquotationsmsomtheremmaymbemsomemerrorsmwhich
mshouldmnotmbemover-
mpenalised.mDetailedmdiscussionsmofmparticularmsectionsmofmtexts,mapartmfrommthemprintedm
extracts,maremlessmlikelymheremthanminmOpenmBookmexams.mInstead,mcandidatesmmaymran
gembroadlymacrossmtheirmtextsmasmtheymconstructmtheirmarguments.
TheremaremspecificmissuesmformAO2m–
mhowmmeaningsmaremshapedminmtexts.mTheremis,mwithmClosedmBook,mthemexpectationmthat
mcandidatesmwillmnotmhavemthemtextsminmfrontmofmthem,msomalthoughmtheymwillmsometimes
mbemablemtommakemspecificm referencesmtomstructuralmandmorganisationalmissues,matmother
mtimesmtheymwillmbemmoremgeneral.
ArrivingmatmMarks
1. AllmquestionsmaremframedmtomaddressmallmthemAssessmentmObjectivesm(AOs).mWeight
ingsmaremgivenmabovemthemgenericmmarkmscheme.mAnswersmaremmarkedmholistically
mbut,mwhenmdecidingmuponmammarkminmamband,mexaminersmshouldmbearminmmindmt
hemrelativemweightingsmofmthemassessmentmobjectivesm(seempagem6)mandmbemcareful
mnotmtomover/undermcreditmamparticularmskill.mInmallmquestions,mmoremweightmshouldm
bemgivenmtomAO1,mAO2mandmAO3mthanmtomAO4mandmAO5.mThismwillmbemexemplifi
edmandmreinforcedmasmpartmofmexaminermtrainingmandmstandardisation.mExaminersmne
edmtomreadmthemwholemanswer,mtakingmintomaccountmitsmstrengthsmandmweaknesses,m
andmthenmplacemitminmthemappropriatemband.
2. Examinersmshouldmavoidmmakingmearlymsnapmjudgementsmbeforemthemwholemanswe
rmhasmbeenmread.mSomemcandidatesmbeginmtentativelymbutmgomonmtommakemreleva
ntmpoints.
3. Examinersmshouldmbempreparedmtomusemthemfullmmarkmrangemandmnotm‘bunch’msc
riptsminmthemmiddlemformsafety.mTopmmarksmaremattainablemifm candidatesmcouldmno
tmbemexpectedmtomdommoreminmthemtimemandmundermthemconditionsminmwhichmthe
ymaremworking.
4. Examinersmshouldmmarkmpositively.mAlthoughmthemmarkmschememprovidesmsomemin
dicatorsmformwhatmcandidatesmaremlikelymtomwritemabout,mexaminersmshouldmbemwill
ingmtomrewardmwhatmismactuallym therem –
m provided,m ofmcourse,m thatm itmismrelevantm tomthemquestionmbeingmasked.
5. Examinersmshouldmremembermthatmtheremaremnomrightmanswers.mCandidates’mviews
mwhichmaremrelevant,mwell-
arguedmandmsupportedmbymappropriatemtextualmevidencemmustmreceivemcreditmwheth
erm themexaminermagreesmwithmthemviewsmormnot.mItmismimportantmtomtrymtomremain
mflexiblemifmamcandidatem introducesmunusualmormunorthodoxmideas.
6. Examinersmshouldmremembermthatmlengthmandmqualitymaremnotmsynonymous.mSome
mbriefmanswersmmaymbemrelevantmandmconcise.mEqually,mlongmanswersmmaymbemdi
ffusemandmrepetitive.
7. Ifmanswersmaremshortmormincomplete,mexaminersmcanmrewardmonlymwhatm ismther
emandmassessmaccordingly.mSomemfurthermcreditmmaymbemgivenmtomanswersmfini
shedminmnotemform.
3mofm32
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, 8/25/23, 7:26 PM AQA-77171 A-SMS - aqa
MARKmSCHEMEm–mA-LEVELmENGLISHmLITERATUREmBmPAPERm1Am–m7717/1Am–mSPECIMEN
UsingmthemMarkmBands
8. Whenmplacingmanswersminmmarkmbands,mexaminersmneedmtomlookmcloselymatmthemd
escriptorsmandmthemdetailedmgenericmmarkmbandsmonmpagem7.mThemkeymwordsmform
thembandsmaremimportantmandmaremprintedmbelow.
MARKmBANDmDESCRIPTORS
Bandm5 perceptive/assured
Bandm4 coherent/thorough
Bandm3 straightforward/relevant
Bandm2 simple/generalised
Bandm1
largelymirrelevant,mlargelymmisunderstood,mla
rgelyminaccurate
9. Answersmplacedmatmthemtopmofmthembandmwillmsecurelymaddressmthemdescriptors;ma
nswersmatmthemlowermendmofmthembandmwillmsecurelymaddressmthemdescriptorsmbel
owmandmbeginmtomshowmthemqualitiesmofmthembandmintomwhichmyoumaremplacingmth
em.m Carefulmjudgementsmneedmtombemmademaboutmmarksminmthemmiddlemofmthemr
ange;mheremitmismlikelymthatmthemkeymdescriptorsmwillmbemmoremintermittentmbutmstil
lmclearlymevident.
10. Theremwillmbemoccasionsmwhenmanmanswermaddressesmdescriptorsminmdifferentmban
ds;minmsuchmcases,mthem‘best-
fit’mmodelmapplies.mHeremexaminersmwillmneedmtomexercisemamdifferentmkindmofmjud
gement,mlookingmtomseemwheremthemanswermcanmbemmostmfairlymandmappropriately
mplaced,minmtermsmofmitsmquality,magainstmthemdescriptors.
11. Examinersmmustmremembermthatmthemmarkmbandsmaremnotmequivalentmtomgrades:
mgradesmaremdecidedmbymthemawardingmcommitteematmthemendmofmeachmsession.
Advicem aboutm markingmeachm section
SectionmA
12. Examinersmneedmtombearminmmindmthemfollowingmkeympointsmwhenmmarkingme
xtractmbasedmquestions:
• doesmthemcandidatemhavemanmoverviewmofmthemextract?
• hasmthemcandidatemwrittenmaboutmdramaticmmethod?
• hasmthemcandidatemseenmthemsignificancemofmthemextractminmrelationmt
omthemoverallmtragedy?
• hasmthemcandidatemquotedmfrommthemextractmtomsupportmideas?
• themcandidate’smAO1mcompetence.
4 ofm32
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