Edexcel GCE Advance Subsidiary
In English Literature (8ET0)
Paper 2: Prose
Mark Scheme (Results)
Summer 2023
,General Marking Guidance
* All candidates must receive the same treatment. Examiners must mark
the first candidate in exactly the same way as they mark the last.
* Mark schemes should be applied positively. Candidates must be rewarded
for what they have shown they can do rather than penalised for
omissions.
* Examiners should mark according to the mark scheme not according to
their perception of where the grade boundaries may lie.
* There is no ceiling on achievement. All marks on the mark scheme should be
used appropriately.
* All the marks on the mark scheme are designed to be awarded. Examiners
should always award full marks if deserved, i.e. if the answer matches the
mark scheme. Examiners should also be prepared to award zero marks if
the candidate's response is not worthy of credit according to the
mark scheme.
* Where some judgement is required, mark schemes will provide the
principles by which marks will be awarded and exemplification may
be limited.
* When examiners are in doubt regarding the application of the mark
scheme to a candidate's response, the team leader must be consulted.
* Crossed out work should be marked UNLESS the candidate has replaced it
with an alternative response.
Specific Marking Guidance
The marking grids have been designed to assess candidate work holistically. The grids
identify which Assessment Objective is being targeted by each bullet point within
the level descriptors. One bullet point is linked to one Assessment Objective,
however please note that the number of bullet points in the level descriptor does
not directly correlate to the number of marks in the level descriptor.
When deciding how to reward an answer, examiners should consult both the
indicative content and the associated marking grid(s). When using a levels-based
mark scheme, the 'best fit' approach should be used:
, *
examiners should first decide which descriptor most closely matches the
answer and place it in that level
*
the mark awarded within the level will be decided based on the quality of
the answer and will be modified according to how securely all bullet
points are displayed at that level
*
in cases of uneven performance, the points above will still apply. Candidates
will be placed in the level that best describes their answer according to each
of the Assessment Objectives described in the level. Marks will be awarded
towards the top or bottom of that level depending on how they have
evidenced each of the descriptor bullet points
*
examiners of Advanced GCE English should remember that all
Assessment Objectives within a level are equally weighted. They must
consider this when making their judgements
*
the mark grid identifies which Assessment Objective is being targeted by
each bullet point within the level descriptors
*
indicative content is exactly that - they are factual points that candidates
are likely to use to construct their answer. It is possible for an answer
to be constructed without mentioning some or all of these points, as
long as they provide alternative responses to the indicative content
that fulfils the requirements of the question. It is the examiner's
responsibility to apply their professional judgement to the candidate's
response in determining if the answer fulfils the requirements of the
question.
Question
number
Indicative content
1
Childhood
Candidates may refer to the following in their answers:
* comparison of how writers present marriage, e.g. the unhappy marriages of Celie to
Mr - and Louisa to Bounderby; Jack Tallis' infidelity and the attitudes to adultery
committed by women and men in The Color Purple; failed marriages in What Maisie
Knew and James' treatment of divorce in society that valued respectability
* how writers depict the effects of unhappy marriage, e.g. the loneliness of Emily in
Atonement; Maisie witnesses parents' arguments; Stephen's desperation to escape
marriage in Hard Times; the writers' use of personal experiences to present
acrimonious relationships
In English Literature (8ET0)
Paper 2: Prose
Mark Scheme (Results)
Summer 2023
,General Marking Guidance
* All candidates must receive the same treatment. Examiners must mark
the first candidate in exactly the same way as they mark the last.
* Mark schemes should be applied positively. Candidates must be rewarded
for what they have shown they can do rather than penalised for
omissions.
* Examiners should mark according to the mark scheme not according to
their perception of where the grade boundaries may lie.
* There is no ceiling on achievement. All marks on the mark scheme should be
used appropriately.
* All the marks on the mark scheme are designed to be awarded. Examiners
should always award full marks if deserved, i.e. if the answer matches the
mark scheme. Examiners should also be prepared to award zero marks if
the candidate's response is not worthy of credit according to the
mark scheme.
* Where some judgement is required, mark schemes will provide the
principles by which marks will be awarded and exemplification may
be limited.
* When examiners are in doubt regarding the application of the mark
scheme to a candidate's response, the team leader must be consulted.
* Crossed out work should be marked UNLESS the candidate has replaced it
with an alternative response.
Specific Marking Guidance
The marking grids have been designed to assess candidate work holistically. The grids
identify which Assessment Objective is being targeted by each bullet point within
the level descriptors. One bullet point is linked to one Assessment Objective,
however please note that the number of bullet points in the level descriptor does
not directly correlate to the number of marks in the level descriptor.
When deciding how to reward an answer, examiners should consult both the
indicative content and the associated marking grid(s). When using a levels-based
mark scheme, the 'best fit' approach should be used:
, *
examiners should first decide which descriptor most closely matches the
answer and place it in that level
*
the mark awarded within the level will be decided based on the quality of
the answer and will be modified according to how securely all bullet
points are displayed at that level
*
in cases of uneven performance, the points above will still apply. Candidates
will be placed in the level that best describes their answer according to each
of the Assessment Objectives described in the level. Marks will be awarded
towards the top or bottom of that level depending on how they have
evidenced each of the descriptor bullet points
*
examiners of Advanced GCE English should remember that all
Assessment Objectives within a level are equally weighted. They must
consider this when making their judgements
*
the mark grid identifies which Assessment Objective is being targeted by
each bullet point within the level descriptors
*
indicative content is exactly that - they are factual points that candidates
are likely to use to construct their answer. It is possible for an answer
to be constructed without mentioning some or all of these points, as
long as they provide alternative responses to the indicative content
that fulfils the requirements of the question. It is the examiner's
responsibility to apply their professional judgement to the candidate's
response in determining if the answer fulfils the requirements of the
question.
Question
number
Indicative content
1
Childhood
Candidates may refer to the following in their answers:
* comparison of how writers present marriage, e.g. the unhappy marriages of Celie to
Mr - and Louisa to Bounderby; Jack Tallis' infidelity and the attitudes to adultery
committed by women and men in The Color Purple; failed marriages in What Maisie
Knew and James' treatment of divorce in society that valued respectability
* how writers depict the effects of unhappy marriage, e.g. the loneliness of Emily in
Atonement; Maisie witnesses parents' arguments; Stephen's desperation to escape
marriage in Hard Times; the writers' use of personal experiences to present
acrimonious relationships
