10 Markers

[burbs]

So not entirely sure on marking schemes for tenners. Is it 1 per point, so a q about strengths and weaknesses of parliament as a law maker would need, for example, 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses? Is there something that essays have that differ them from just being a really long short answer?

[schnappy]

I've been told not to approach them as essays. Just do 3-4 linish responses per point, then you will get another mark for a counter point. Depending on the question you might get one or two marks for giving an opinion of some sort ('evaluate' etc), but I'm too a bit at ends about how to go about it.

[eeps]

I presumed it was 4 corresponding strengths/weaknesses worth 2 marks each; totaling 8 marks. Then, the other 2 marks would come from stating whether you partially/totally agree or disagree with the statement. For a 10-mark question like "Parliament is the supreme law-maker, and has no major flaws." Discuss. (10 marks)", I would have 5 paragraphs in total; 4 paragraphs - each outlining a corresponding strength and weakness of Parliament as a law-maker, then one paragraph stating whether you agree/disagree with the statement. I tend to keep it simple with these types of questions.

[burbs]

Cheers guys, that's what I did. Is an introduction necessary a la BM last year or straight Into it?

[nacho]

You have to be careful to address all elements of the question.
Look at some of the previous examiner's reports and how they marked responses. It's not necessarily a 5 strengths/5 weakness requirement, the question will try to be broad and i doubt they'll ask for it just one particular thing

[eeps]

Cheers guys, that's what I did. Is an introduction necessary a la BM last year or straight Into it?

I would generally give an "introduction paragraph", then go on to talk about the strengths and weakness of Parliament. Something like this (for the example question I gave above); "Parliament overall is an effective law-maker as it can make laws whenever the need arises, it has the resources to do so (time and money) and is a democratically-elected body, hence should represent the views of the people. However, there are weaknesses to Parliament as a law-maker, this includes; MPs may vote on party lines, it's a lengthy process through parliament, and it can't supervise all delegated legislation."

[flash36]

I usually gave just a line or two as an intro, probably just one sentence.

[werdna]

Wow, you guys have started essays already!