12 Mark Essays
There are two types of 12 mark questions:
- Evaluate
- Analyse
Evaluate... Questions
In this type of question you must come to a judgement on the main point of the question. Again you should make use of evaluative language.
An example would be, Evaluate the success of the Government in tackling a socio-economic issue.
For this you need to judge if the Government has been mostly successful or not successful in dealing with the issue. You can make this judgement at the beginning and go on to prove it or as a summing up at the end after proving your point. Whatever way you do it you must make an evaluative judgement on the main point of the essay question.
Analyse... Questions
In this type of question you must explain an issue in detail and identify the main points within it. If different points are connected you must explain that as well as detailing the implications of these different points.
Essentially you must explain in detail the issue identified, for example: Analyse the opportunities that exist for people to influence decision making. You need to explain what those opportunities are, give examples and say how effective they are.
How are 12 mark essays marked?
There are eight marks for knowledge and understanding which includes description, explanation and exemplification.
There are four marks for analysis and evaluation but if you achieve more than four then the marks can be counted as knowledge and understanding marks if you have not achieved full marks in that category. This does not apply the other way around.
