Law

This video looks at the importance of command words in A-level Law and gives a detailed picture of how question scenarios can be developed for use in examinations and in the classroom.

Transcript

Hello, and thank you for joining me today for a training session on A-level Law Assessment Training. My name is Helena Taylor, and I've taught A-level law for 23 years in FE and sixth-form colleges. I have worked as a senior examiner with AQA for 23 years, and my current role is as Chair of Examiners. The purpose of the training is shown on your screen, and it is hoped that the session will help you to improve your students' exam technique by devising effective practice questions.

Using the most appropriate command word is vital in a successful assessment. AQA Law papers are specifically designed so questions increase in demand, as the student progresses through the question paper. All question papers use identical command words for questions to guide students as to what is required. Therefore, the command words clearly indicate the level of demand of each question. These also reflect the nature of the assessment objectives. So, please bear in mind which command word you are choosing when writing a question. Also, it is important that students are aware of the importance of the command words when answering questions.

Now have a look at Activity 1, where there is a list of all the command words used in the A-level law exam papers. Carry out the tasks and then join me for a discussion of the answers.

I hope you found the task interesting and enjoyable. In reflecting upon the answers, all examples referred to by me here, are on the next slides.

Let's start off with Question Six. This is assessing AO1 - knowledge, and uses the command word, 'Explain'. This topic is always English legal system. An example could be 'Explain three roles of a jury'.

Question Seven is assessing AO1 - knowledge, and AO2 - application of the law to the scenario and uses the command would 'Suggest'. This is encouraging the students to use the question as a conclusion, and work back from that using deductive reasoning. An example could be 'Suggest why Catherine may not have the actus reus of murder'.

Question Eight assesses AO1 - skills and knowledge, which then leads onto AO3 - skills of analysis and evaluation. AO2 skills are being assessed through the application of the law. The command would 'Advise', show students the focus on which is being asked in the question and reach a reasoned conclusion on that. Unlike Question Ten and Question Eleven, the highest band is Level Four, which is good, reflecting the limitations of the command word used. An example would be: 'Advise Catherine on her liability for the murder of Dennis'. Students are not to consider any defences, such as ‘Loss of control’ here.

Question Nine assesses AO1 - skills and knowledge, and then leads on to AO3 - skills of analysis and evaluation of a concept from the nature of law, or a theory of substantive law. For example, theory of criminal law for Paper One. This is shown by the command word 'Examine'. Students then need to analyse and evaluate an aspect of substantive law within the framework of analysis of non-substantive law, in which a logical, sustained, and well-developed line of reasoning is maintained, leading to a valid, relevant, and substantiated conclusion. This again involves AO1 and AO3 skills. An example is: 'Examine the meaning of justice. Discuss the extent to which justice is demonstrated by the law of murder'.

Question Ten and the substantive law part of Question Eleven, 'Assess', the same AO1, AO2, and AO3 content, as in Question Eight. But the question is unstructured. So students have to think for themselves and decide what to write about in terms of offences and defences. The highest band is Level Five - Excellent. An example is: 'Consider the liability of Catherine for the death of Dennis'.

Finally, for the last part of Question Eleven, there is a synoptic element, as this requires students to make links between a concept of law, theory of law, or English legal system, and one or more substantive law topics in the scenario. This part of the question uses the command word 'Assess'. Students need to demonstrate AO1 skills of explanation and AO3 skills of analysis and evaluation. An example is: 'Assess the role of a jury if Catherine was prosecuted for the death of Dennis'.

Here are examples of how the different command words are used in questions Six to Eleven, signposting what students need to do. In answering Questions Ten and Eleven, where there will be two or more areas of law to discuss, and there may be more than one claimant, defendant or victim, students should answer each part of the question in order. The question has been carefully worded to direct the students on the best approach. I hope you've found this activity useful and it's something that you could perhaps do as an activity in class with students.

Following on from this, let us now consider devising a scenario that goes with the question for Questions Eight, Ten or Eleven. It is very useful to write your own scenarios and questions so that students get practice beyond past paper questions. I also find it a good class activity to get students in groups to devise their own scenarios and then swap and answer each other’s.

Here are some tips which I hope you find helpful. I always conjure up an image in my mind of a ski slope when devising a scenario. I plot out on paper the route, so there is a structured slope for students to travel down, with flags pointing the way, so that they can identify and focus on relevant issues. Just like in a skiing competition, the aim is to make sure they get full marks and don't end up off-piste.

Before we start to think more about writing problem questions. It would be useful to think about indicative contact groups or ICGs. You will see these on the AQA law mark schemes, for Questions Nine, Ten and Eleven. These provide guidance to examiners about the potential content that may be expected in an answer. Some examples from the 2022 exams shown this slide. Questions Ten and Eleven will typically have between two and four areas of law or ICGs that will be assessed in a question. Although marking is holistic, the quality of each of these ICGs will be considered in the marking process in terms of the band descriptors. So, it is important in devising a program question, to consider how many ICGs you are going to include.

Here are some ideas to help you in your scenario writing. Firstly, write the sort of scenario students would expect to see in an exam, to give them practice. It is tempting to make a theme or try to make it amusing, but this distracts from the purpose of practising. Next, reflect the number of lines and the numbers of ICGs in the question. So, tailor your scenario and ICGs according to the paper, and whether it is a scenario for Question Eight, Ten, or Eleven. And do look through papers to get a good idea of what is needed. In writing your scenario, avoid any unnecessary detail as you are not writing a story. Keep the number of people to the minimum necessary people and think about the names. Similar-sounding names can be confusing. A recommended approach is making the initials alphabetical. Use accessible language and keep sentences short. The aim is to assess knowledge of law and not English language. It can be hard to devise your own scenario. Some ideas include adapt an existing scenario from past paper. There are lots of these, including legacy ones if you have access to these. The question paper style may look different, but the scenarios and what is expected is unchanged. There are cases every day in the news that can also be adapted.

Next, if you want to make your own from scratch, base your scenario around the facts of one or two key cases, as this helps students to make associations and further embeds learning. Include one or two issues through each ICG. It is not meant to be an opportunity for students to write all they know. They need to learn to identify where the flags are to focus upon. Include an issue that is similar to, but not identical to a precedent or so that a different conclusion should be reached. Consider it deliberately omitting a key piece of information. For example, in Paper One, the defendant may be diabetic, but the scenario is silent as to whether the cause was an internal or external factor, leaving it to students to think about this. Include something on defences, for Papers One and Two, and remedies for Paper Two and Three. In general, keep it chronological so that there are flags in place to steer students to consider the events in the order they occur. An exception to this might be a defence, as this then draws a student to notice from the outset that this needs to be considered as well. For example, a reference to a character drinking alcohol might be at the start, but students need to learn not to consider this until after discussing the relevant offence or right that is being considered. Following on from that, do give students the opportunity to keep practicing defences and remedies, depending on the paper. Finally, students have a habit in mocks and exams of missing out the last part of Question Eleven, or not answering it to the best of their ability. So, devise a 23-mark scenario on substantive law and add an aspect of ELS, or nature of law, or theory of law, to give them practice.

The paper production team for law at AQA take equality, diversity, and inclusion very seriously. Applying EDI in assessment is about ensuring none of our assessment content or practices discriminate against, or prejudice people on the basis of any characteristics. It is also about ensuring that our assessments are representative of our students, teachers, and wider society. Assessments that follow good EDI practice should enable all students, regardless of their characteristics, equal opportunity to access the assessment content and demonstrate their abilities. Therefore, the choice of language used in question papers is very important.

Have a look at these scenarios from the 1990s. What issues can you identify and how could the scenarios be adapted to reflect EDI principles today? Firstly, the scenario setting and language in this first scenario has features that may disadvantage some learners. The representation of featured content should be asked accessible as possible. For example, by not focusing on middle socioeconomic status, is important to make scenarios as accessible as possible. Also, there is language that may be unfamiliar to students, for example, 'orchids' and the 'bearer', that could put up unnecessary barriers to students answering this theft question.

In the second scenario, a diverse and varied approach should be taken as to what kinds of protected and other characteristics are mentioned in scenarios. In producing scenarios, it's important to be mindful of not including information that may be emotionally disturbing to students or use language that may be offensive. In Scenario Three, the reference to frail elderly ladies with handbags is an example of a scenario reinforcing a negative stereotype. It is important to not use stereotypes or imply that a particular group is more or less able in scenarios. You may have also noticed that these scenarios lack diversity, in terms of the names used.

In today's session, we have focused on the importance of command words, assessment objectives, best practice in scenario writing and use of language, and good EDI practices. Thank you for taking part in this training session. I do hope that you have found it interesting and useful. Goodbye.

Questions you may want to think about

• How can you use these insights to prepare your learners for exams?
• Do your internal assessments reflect the approach of the exam? To what extent do you want them to?
• What’s the most important or surprising thing that you’ve learned? How might it influence your teaching?