2024_AQA: A-level ENGLISH LANGUAGE Paper 2 Language Diversity and Change (Merged Question paper and marking scheme): Friday 7 June 2024 A-level ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2024_AQA: A-level ENGLISH LANGUAGE Paper 2 Language Diversity and Change (Merged Question paper and marking scheme): Friday 7 June 2024 A-level ENGLISH LANGUAGE Paper 2 Language diversity and change Friday 7 June 2024 Materials For this paper you must have:  an AQA 12-page answer book  the Insert for Section B (enclosed). Instructions Morning  Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes  Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7702/2.  There are two sections: – Section A: Diversity and change – Section B: Language discourses.  Answer either Question 1 or Question 2 from Section A.  Answer both Question 3 and Question 4 from Section B.  Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information  The maximum mark for this paper is 100.  The marks for questions are shown in brackets.  There are 30 marks for either Question 1 or Question 2. There are 40 marks for Question 3 and 30 marks for Question 4.  You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice  It is recommended that you use: – 45 minutes writing your Section A answer – 15 minutes preparing the material for Section B – 45 minutes writing your answer to Question 3 – 45 minutes writing your answer to Question 4. A-level English Language Paper 2 – Language Diversity and Change Key Areas to Revise for June 2025 Overview: This paper explores the diversity of language use across different social, geographical, and historical contexts, as well as how language changes over time. It examines the factors that contribute to language variation and how language evolves in response to social, cultural, and technological influences. Key Areas to Revise: 1. Language Diversity:  Social Factors: Study how language varies based on social factors like gender, age, ethnicity, social class, and occupation. Understand how different groups use language in distinct ways.  Geographical Variation: Understand regional dialects, accents, and variations in vocabulary and grammar across different areas.  Ethnolects: Explore how language differs within ethnic groups, including code-switching and the use of non-standard dialects or creoles.  Language and Identity: Review how individuals use language to express identity and how their language reflects their cultural background or social position. 2. Theories of Language Variation:  Labov's Social Stratification of English: Familiarize yourself with William Labov's work on language variation and how it correlates with social class.  Giles’ Accommodation Theory 3. Language Change:  Lexical Change: Review how new words are created, including neologisms, borrowing from other languages, and shifts in meaning.  Semantic Change: Study how the meanings of words evolve over time (e.g., broadening, narrowing, amelioration, pejoration).  Grammatical Change: Understand how grammatical structures change, such as changes in word order, tense usage, or the dropping of auxiliary verbs.  Orthographic Change: Study changes in spelling and punctuation over time, especially due to language standardization or technological influences (e.g., text messaging). 4. The Causes of Language Change:  Social and Cultural Factors: Study how changes in society, such as technological advancement, cultural shifts, and globalization, influence language use and lead to language change.  Technological Influence: Review the impact of technology, social media, and texting on language change, including abbreviations, acronyms, and new forms of communication.  Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism: Understand the debate between prescriptive views (believing in “correct” language use) and descriptive views (observing and recording how language is actually used). 5. Attitudes to Language Change:  Prescriptivism: Review attitudes that advocate for “correct” or traditional language use and the resistance to language change.  Descriptivism: Understand the perspective that embraces language change and variation as a natural part of language development. 7702/2 IB/G/Jun24/G4005/E3 2 Section A Diversity and change Answer one question from this section. Either 0 1 Evaluate the idea that a person’s language use is determined by their identity. [30 marks] or 0 2 Evaluate the idea that language needs to be reformed to remove prejudice and bias. [30 marks] IB/G/Jun24/7702/2 3 Section B Language discourses Answer both Question 3 and Question 4. Text A and Text B are on the Insert. Text A is an article about teaching standard English. It was published by The Guardian in 2021. Text B is an article about the need for standard English in university assessments. It was published by MailOnline in 2021. 0 3 Analyse how language is used in Text A and Text B to present views about the importance of standard English. In your answer you should:  examine any similarities and differences you find between the two texts  explore how effectively the texts present their views. [40 marks] 0 4 Write an opinion article on views about the importance of standard English. In your article you should:  assess the ideas and issues raised in Text A and Text B  refer to ideas from language study  argue your own views. [30 marks] END OF QUESTIONS IB/G/Jun24/7702/2 4 There are no questions printed on this page Copyright information For confidentiality purposes, all acknowledgements of third-party copyright material are published in a separate booklet. This booklet is published after each live examination series and is available for free download from Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team. Copyright © 2024 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. IB/G/Jun24/7702/2 A-level ENGLISH LANGUAGE 7702/2 Paper 2 Language diversity and change Mark scheme June 2024 Version: 1.0 Final MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are required to refer these to the Lead Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. No student should be disadvantaged on the basis of their gender identity and/or how they refer to the gender identity of others in their exam responses. A consistent use of ‘they/them’ as a singular and pronouns beyond ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ will be credited in exam responses in line with existing mark scheme criteria. Further copies of this mark scheme are available from Copyright information AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Copyright © 2024 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 2 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 English Language Mark Scheme How to Mark Aims When you are marking your allocation of scripts your main aims should be to:  recognise and identify the achievements of students  place students in the appropriate mark band and in the appropriate part of that mark band (high, low, middle) for each Assessment Objective  record your judgements with brief annotations and comments that are relevant to the mark scheme and make it clear to other examiners how you have arrived at the numerical mark awarded for each Assessment Objective  put into a rank order the achievements of students (not to grade them  that is done later using the rank order that your marking has produced)  ensure comparability of assessment for all students, regardless of question or examiner. Approach It is important to be open-minded and positive when marking scripts. The specification recognises the variety of experiences and knowledge that students will have. It encourages them to study language in a way that is relevant to them. The questions have been designed to give them opportunities to discuss what they have found out about language. It is important to assess the quality of what the student offers. Do not mark scripts as though they were mere shadows of some Platonic ideal (or the answer you would have written). The mark schemes have been composed to assess quality of response and not to identify expected items of knowledge. Assessment Objectives This component requires students to: AO1: Apply appropriate methods of language analysis, using associated terminology and coherent written expression AO2: Demonstrate critical understanding of concepts and issues relevant to language use AO3: Analyse and evaluate how contextual factors and language features are associated with the construction of meaning AO4: Explore connections across texts, informed by linguistic concepts and methods AO5: Demonstrate expertise and creativity in the use of English to communicate in different ways. The marking grids The specification has generic marking grids with a hierarchy of performance characteristics for each Assessment Objective that are customised with indicative content for individual tasks. These have been designed to allow consistent assessment of the range of knowledge, understanding and skills that the specification demands across all tasks. 3 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Within each Assessment Objective there are five broad levels representing different levels of achievement. Do not think of levels equalling grade boundaries. You will be giving a mark to each separate Assessment Objective tested by a task. Depending on the question, the levels will have different mark ranges assigned to them. This will reflect the different weighting of Assessment Objectives in particular tasks and across the examination as a whole. You may be required to give different marks to bands for different Assessment Objectives. There is the same number of marks in each level for an individual Assessment Objective. The number of marks per level will vary from two to four across different Assessment Objectives depending upon the number of marks allocated to the Assessment Objective in a particular question. Step 1 Using the grids and annotating scripts These levels of response mark schemes are broken down into five levels, each of which has descriptors. On the left-hand side of the mark scheme, in bold, are the generic descriptors that identify the performance characteristics at five distinct levels. These are designed to identify clearly different levels and types of performance. On the right-hand side are statements of indicative content. These give examples of the kind of things students might do that would exemplify the level. They are neither exhaustive nor required – they are simply indicative of what would appear at this level. Having familiarised yourself with the descriptors and indicative content, read through the answer and annotate it (as instructed below) to identify the qualities that are being looked for and that it shows. As you mark a script, use annotations to identify exactly where the student shows the performance characteristics noted in the mark scheme. You should note where they give evidence of the indicative content you have been given. Remember they may do things not mentioned in the indicative content but of similar quality – reward these too. You can now check the levels and award a mark. Step 2 Writing a comment to determine a level Look back at the script. If you have made precise, full and accurate annotations it should be easy to see what level to award the answer. When you look at a first script, it is useful to start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see how far the answer can go up the scale. The descriptors for a level indicate the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. Good scripts will not necessarily be characterised by the descriptors in lower bands because they will be doing better things. You may find yourself thinking: no, better than that. If so, look to the level that begins to describe what it does. 4 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 As you go up the levels with good scripts you will find they do the things characterised by the descriptors. You need to keep going up through the levels to see what descriptors capture what the script has done. If it meets all the descriptors for the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptors and the answer. With practice and familiarity, you will find that for better answers you will be able to skip through the lower levels of the mark scheme quickly. When assigning a level, you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best-fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within the level; ie if the response fulfils most but not all of level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material, it would be placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content. Step 3 Determine a mark Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. It is often best to start in the middle of the level’s mark range and then check and adjust. If there is a lot of indicative content fully identifiable in the work, you need to give the highest mark in the level. If only some is identifiable or it is only partially fulfilled, then give the lower mark. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will also help. These scripts will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer with the exemplar to determine if it is of the same standard, better or worse. You can then use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the exemplar. You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate. 5 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Annotating scripts It is vital that the way you arrive at a mark should be recorded on the script. This will help you with making accurate judgements and it will help any subsequent markers to identify how you are thinking, should adjustment need to be made. Where?  In the left-hand margin.  In the body of the script.  At the end of the answer. What annotations? 1 Ticks  Used for AO1 and AO5.  Placed in the body of the script.  At a point of credit.  Single for up to Level 3 credit –  Double for Level 4 credit –  Triple for Level 5 credit – 2 Stamps  L1 L2 L3 L4 L5.  Used for AO2 and AO3 in the body of the script.  Used for AO4 in the left-hand margin.  At a point of credit. 3 Question marks  Used in the body of the script.  To indicate questionable points. 4 Written comments  A comment box at the end of the answer for each Assessment Objective.  Choose the right colour: – AO1 red – AO2 blue – AO3 green – AO4 purple – AO5 red.  Begin by writing AO1, AO2 etc to identify further.  Don’t just copy out grid statements – interpret them in the light of what the script does. Please do not write negative comments about students’ work or their alleged aptitudes. This is unprofessional and it impedes a positive marking approach. 6 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Distribution of Assessment Objectives and Weightings The table below is a reminder of which Assessment Objectives will be tested by the questions and tasks completed by students and the marks available for them. Assessment Objective AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4 AO5 Total Question 1/2 10 20 30 Question Question 4 20 10 30 100 Section A – Diversity and change Questions 1 and 2  Award a mark out of 10 for AO1, place in the left-hand mark box.  Award a mark out of 20 for AO2, place in the left-hand mark box. Section B – Language discourses Question 3  Award a mark out of 10 for AO1, place in the left-hand mark box.  Award a mark out of 15 for AO3, place in the left-hand mark box.  Award a mark out of 15 for AO4, place in the left-hand mark box. Question 4  Award a mark out of 20 for AO2, place in the left-hand mark box.  Award a mark out of 10 for AO5, place in the left-hand mark box. E-marker2 will total the marks for you and submit them when you have saved your work. 7 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Section A: Diversity and change 0 1 Evaluate the idea that a person’s language use is determined by their identity. [30 marks] 8 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 AO1: Apply appropriate methods of language analysis, using associated terminology and coherent written expression Level/ Marks PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS Level 5 9‒10 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology, identifying patterns and complexities  guide the reader. Level 4 7‒8 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology with precision and detail  develop a line of argument. Level 3 5‒6 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology consistently and appropriately  communicate with clear topics and paragraphs. Level 2 3‒4 Students will:  use linguistic methods and terminology inappropriately and / or inconsistently  express ideas with organisation emerging. Level 1 1‒2 Students will:  quote or identify features of language without linguistic description  present material with limited organisation. 0 Nothing written about the text or topic. 9 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 AO2: Demonstrate critical understanding of concepts and issues relevant to language use Level/ Marks PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS INDICATIVE CONTENT These are examples of ways students’ work might exemplify the performance characteristics in the question above. They indicate possible content and how it can be treated at different levels. Level 5 17‒20 Students will:  demonstrate a synthesised, conceptualised and individual overview of issues  evaluate and challenge views, approaches and interpretations of linguistic issues. Students are likely to:  show a conceptualised and synthesised overview of influences on language use  explore ideas of language as performative of or creating identity  evaluate effects of social and cultural contexts and attitudes on language use  evaluate and challenge linguistic approaches and methodologies, eg quantitative sociolinguistic approaches, biological determinism. Level 4 13‒16 Students will:  identify and comment on different views, approaches and interpretations of linguistic issues. Students are likely to:  explore the effect of context on language use: purpose, topic, audience, genre and mode  explore accommodation and code-switching behaviour  explore effects of social networks  explore the interplay of a variety of social identities: ethnicity, region, age, class, gender, occupation. Level 3 9‒12 Students will:  show detailed knowledge of linguistic ideas, concepts and research. Students are likely to:  show knowledge of research on language and class  show knowledge of research on language and gender  show knowledge of research on dialectal variation  show knowledge of research on language and occupation / group identity. Level 2 5‒8 Students will:  show familiarity with linguistic ideas, concepts and research. Students are likely to:  outline a view language is affected by aspects of identity  identify aspects of a person’s identity that affect language use  identify and label features of a person’s language use  identify researchers and ideas by name only and general or confused reference. Level 1 1‒4 Students will:  discuss issues anecdotally without specialist linguistic knowledge. Students are likely to:  discuss a person’s language use without linguistic comment (4)  give examples of a person’s language use (3)  discuss a person’s language use without examples (2)  discuss personal identity (1). 0 Nothing written about the text or topic. 10 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 0 2 Evaluate the idea that language needs to be reformed to remove prejudice and bias. [30 marks] 11 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 AO1: Apply appropriate methods of language analysis, using associated terminology and coherent written expression Level/ Marks PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS Level 5 9‒10 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology, identifying patterns and complexities  guide the reader. Level 4 7‒8 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology with precision and detail  develop a line of argument. Level 3 5‒6 Students will:  apply linguistic methods and terminology consistently and appropriately  communicate with clear topics and paragraphs. Level 2 3‒4 Students will:  use linguistic methods and terminology inappropriately and / or inconsistently  express ideas with organisation emerging. Level 1 1‒2 Students will:  quote or identify features of language without linguistic description  present material with limited organisation. 0 Nothing written about the text or topic. 12 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 AO2: Demonstrate critical understanding of concepts and issues relevant to language use Level/ Marks PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS INDICATIVE CONTENT These are examples of ways students’ work might exemplify the performance characteristics in the question above. They indicate possible content and how it can be treated at different levels. Level 5 17‒20 Students will:  demonstrate a synthesised, conceptualised and individual overview of issues  evaluate and challenge views, approaches and interpretations of linguistic issues. Students are likely to:  explore social and cultural contexts, examining debates about PC, language reform and being ‘woke’  explore ideas and concepts such as gate-keeping, change from above / below, dominant and muted groups  explore ideas and concepts such as irony, intentionality, reclamation, euphemism treadmill, social vs linguistic judgements  evaluate and challenge views about how important language reform might be in removing prejudice and bias. Level 4 13‒16 Students will:  identify and comment on different views, approaches and interpretations of linguistic issues. Students are likely to:  identify and explain views of language’s reflection of social values  identify and explain views of language’s ability to shape thoughts and behaviour  identify and explain prescriptivist or descriptivist views of language reform  identify and explain arguments for and against reforming language. Level 3 9‒12 Students will:  show detailed knowledge of linguistic ideas, concepts and research. Students are likely to:  explain ideas / purposes of language reform projects  show knowledge of concepts like accentism and linguicism and research on attitudes  show knowledge of concepts like pejoration, amelioration and semantic derogation, lexical gaps and lexical over-representation  label features of language needing reform, eg metaphors, suffixes, pronouns. Level 2 5‒8 Students will:  show familiarity with linguistic ideas, concepts and research. Students are likely to:  outline a view of why reform is needed  identify specific examples of language reform  identify specific examples of language in need of reform  identify researchers and ideas by name only and general or confused reference. 13 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 7702/2 – JUNE 2024 Level 1 1‒4 Students will:  discuss issues anecdotally without specialist linguistic knowledge. Students are likely to:  discuss language reform without linguistic comment (4)  give general examples of language reform (3)  discuss language reform without examples (2)  discuss social reform with no language focus (1). 0 Nothing written about the text or topic.