A-level Religious Studies RSS10 World Religions 2: Christianity OR Judaism OR Islam 1 The Way of Submission Report on the Examination 2060 June 2014 Version: 1.0
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RSS10: World Religions 2 General Comments As in previous years the majority of students entered for this unit were entered for the Islam section. Once again there were some very high quality responses. Many students had been well prepared for this examination and displayed some excellent knowledge and understanding throughout. For the second year running, there seemed to be some better scripts (and more uptake too) of the Christianity section, which is pleasing to see. The paper seemed accessible to all and students are being much better prepared for their AO2 responses than in previous sessions of this exam. Section A: Christianity There were more students for this section of the paper this year and Questions 1 and 4 were the most popular. Question 1 Some beliefs about God: Trinity and salvation 01 Answers to this question were varied. Some very good ones dealt successfully with the idea of God as three in one and some of the stronger responses were able to focus on the doctrine of the Trinity summing up the breadth of the Christian experience of God. Some of the weaker responses tended to be more vague and generalised. Very few students reached level 7 as depth and detail are vital for the higher level marks. 02 Students generally suggested that the statement was nonsense and reflected a misunderstanding of the concept of the Trinity and these argued well accordingly. Some of the stronger responses did refer to Christian theologians and scholars over the years reconciling their belief in three fully divine persons whilst still claiming a commitment to monotheism and this provided for an interesting debate by some students centred on the claim. Some students scored well with their responses to this AO2 question. Question 2 Christian scriptures: nature and purpose 03 This was not a popular question, though there were a few reasonably high scoring responses. Very few who responded to this question covered any literary, canonical, historical or even authoritative signs resulting from knowledge of the Christian scriptures and just tended to generalise too much. 04 The key to a good response with this question was the understanding of Christian scriptures and though some students considered this aspect of the evaluative statement, not many did, and very few explored the actual AO2 statement in its entirety. 3 of 7
Question 3 Aspects of Christian worship 05 This question was another less popular question on the Christianity section of the paper. The few who did tackle the question responded fairly well looking at both the use of music as well as the use of ceremony. Students could only score a maximum of level 5 marks if they did not cover both aspects of the question and some did not score as highly if they did not focus on Christian worship, which was also asked in the question. 06 Some students seemed to ignore the vital phrase in the statement more important whilst other responses considered how music glorified God and this in itself was far more important than any ceremony, despite ceremony arguably being a central aspect of the Christian practice. Question 4 A Christian way of life; initiation, marriage and death 07 This was the second most popular question on the Christianity section of the paper and many students addressed both aspects of practices associated with baptism as well as trying to explain their significance. Both aspects were, of course, a key part of this AO1 question. Some of the stronger responses focused not just on infant baptism but on believers baptism too and this allowed a greater pursuing of the significance of baptism. Students could have taken practices and significance in succession or outline and explain particular practices in turn. It did not matter as either way was credited. 08 Some students argued well regarding what is the most important way of showing commitment to the Christian faith. Some discussed ideas associated with baptism as a very important rite since New Testament times as well as being unrepeatable and unique and then went on to contrast this with regular church attendance and in particular confirmation. Section B: Judaism Question 5 was again the most popular in this section of the paper with few attempting Question 6. Question 5 God and his people 09 The majority of students who answered this question responded very well and were extremely competent in their responses about Jewish ideas on God as being loving and merciful but also as a God who will punish. Many comprehensive responses looked into how God rescued his people from slavery, the concept of redemption and as God the sustainer but recognised, equally, that God judges people and how significant the commandments are in this process. Observations from the stronger students meant that they handled their material maturely and thoughtfully, often commenting on ways in which punishment is seen as part of the loving and merciful nature of God within Jewish thought. 4 of 7
10 The evaluative responses to this question were mostly sound with almost all incorporating aspects of the Holocaust in their responses. Some students discussed how Jews have been exiled from various lands, pogroms as well as how God rescued Jews from slavery in Egypt. Almost all scored well because they evaluated strongly, however a few responses were a little formulaic, simply listing points on either side. Question 6 Scripture 11 Only a small number of students attempted this question but they kept the focus on the authority in the main, so they scored fairly well. It was good to see the variety of scriptures being discussed where students revealed a good grasp of the material. 12 Better evaluation responses clearly looked at a compare and contrast angle and almost all who responded to this question scored well. Some students argued that though the Torah was still relevant for Jews as a scripture and always has been, maybe Judaism can be maintained by studying the Tanak and the Talmud. Question 7 Aspects of worship and beliefs: Shabbat, Yom Kippur and Pesach 13 This was the second most popular question on the Judaism section of the paper. Most wrote at length about the significance of the Shabbat though not all commented on the significance of the service for Jews. Those that did responded well with good reference material on aliyot, and amidah and stronger responses drew out the differing significance for Orthodox and Reform as well as for men and for women. 14 Most students scored well and were able to evaluate the only meaningful aspect of the statement. On the whole students did consider exactly what happens in the home at Shabbat whilst acknowledging that the Torah reading can only take place in the synagogue. This provided for some thoughtful and well-focused analysis and evaluative comment. Question 8 Styles of Judaism: Orthodox and Reform beliefs and practices 15 This area of the Judaism section was not as popular with students as in some previous papers though many of the students who responded clearly knew their material quite well and were able to respond with accuracy and authority. Not all students explored the state of Israel being established and the belief in the temple restoration only happening in Jerusalem but the stronger responses covered Zionist movements as well as the contrasting views of Orthodox with Reform Jews. 16 This evaluation question asked whether a belief in the centrality of the land of Israel is relevant or not to Jews today and some of the responses were impressive, showing that students in the main understood that God chose the land of Israel and Jerusalem as its spiritual focus whilst contrasting 5 of 7
this with Jews who live in the diaspora who have no intention of living in Israel. This evaluation question provided for some mature discussion and analysis. Section C: Islam This was by far the most popular section of the paper, with Questions 9 and 10 being the most popular two questions for students. Question 9 The Qu ran 17 This question was very popular and produced some good responses. There appeared to be no problems with understanding the question and students seemed to identify the need to write about the importance of the Qur an rather than mere narration. This they did in some depth. Some students produced very knowledgeable responses on the Qur an being a complete code of Muslim conduct as well as law and as the final arbitrator on disputes. Students also gave, in the main, some very good examples to support what they wrote. Some students focused on the story of how the Qur an began which was not part of the question. 18 This question produced a variety of responses but overall there was some good discussion. Arguments showed promise and often appropriate examples were given. Most students disagreed with the statement, which meant that arguments in favour of the statement by some tended to be weaker and more generalised. Some students focused on the word commandments from the statement itself which provided for some thoughtful discussion. Question 10 The Five Pillars 19 The area on the Five Pillars tends to be well received and this year was particularly so with a question related to the Hajj. Some students merely retold events on the Hajj and though the weight of the question is on the significance, some produced a general significance response without detailing any outline of the Hajj itself. There were two commands to the question and students needed to deal with both before they could achieve Level 5 or above. Schools / colleges should note that in an outline and explain/examine question, the weight of the credit will be given to the explain/examine part which is a higher order demand, although the outline part needs adequate attention and should not be dismissed in a mere few lines. Some of the better responses went on to successfully link some of the other Pillars through the Hajj to the significance of the whole events for Muslims. Stronger responses tended to focus on the ihram alongside the concepts of forgiveness and sacrifice. 20 This question produced some good, well-reasoned responses and particularly so for the students who debated the word good at least to some extent. Some of the better responses focused on the concept of iman and how the Hajj mostly exemplified this compared to other Pillars, though many saw all the Pillars as having equal weight. It was rewarding to see the concept of niyyah (intention) and the importance attributed to this in Islam no matter what Pillar of faith is being fulfilled and this provided the basis for some mature responses and evaluative discussion. 6 of 7
Question 11 The doctrine of God 21 Many students achieved good overall scores because they showed a good understanding of the concept of Tawhid, though this question was not as popular as the two previous ones. Good examples were given to highlight the meaning of Tawhid but again, there were two commands to this question and students needed to address both in some way to gain Level 5 and above marks. Schools / colleges should note that in an outline and explain/examine question, the weight of the credit will be given to the explain/examine part which is a higher order demand, although the outline part needs adequate attention and should not be dismissed in a mere few lines. Weaker responses did not discuss Tawhid fully and the implications often provided for vague responses that had a variety of examples from this life to the next. Living the Muslim life as the question asked seemed too broad an area for some to pursue fully. 22 There were a variety of responses to this question and the nature of the question statement allowed for this. It was clear that some students did not feel confident in the handling of the statement itself and most who responded agreed without giving much evidence as to why they agreed. For some of the stronger responses the discussion of free will came into play which offered some good analysis and exemplar material to support what was being said. Question 12 Key beliefs 23 A question on this topic often produces very factual and detailed responses which again, as in previous sessions, occasionally miss the dual focus of the question on role and authority of the prophets. Those that did pursue both areas either combined them or treated them separately and the stronger responses gave good evidence for their answers so the thrust of the question seemed to work well. Many responded with examples of different prophets and related these to honourable and trustworthiness as two qualities which would give the prophets a natural authority. Virtually all students mentioned in their discussion of the role of the prophets, the idea of God s intermediaries as well as the messenger being a main means of communication. 24 This question produced some solid answers, mostly in full agreement with the statement set. A good number of students missed the seal of the prophets part of the statement which was a pity and is a timely reminder for students to read and digest all of the question statement on the AO2 part of the paper. Mark Ranges and Award of Grades Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics page of the AQA Website. Converting Marks into UMS marks Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below. UMS conversion calculator 7 of 7