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Improving your grade

Research Project

• Make sure that you are sticking to the structure expected (see here)
• Are you demonstrating understanding of the research process?
• Ensure there’s no confusion over hypotheses, aim and what actually happens – if you’re doing a correlation make sure that the hypotheses are correlational.
• Be concise.
• Use headings to show the different areas of the report (abstract, methodology, results …)
• Results:
  • Is the inferential test the correct one?
  • Are the graphs necessary and appropriate?
  • No raw data (it all goes in the appendices).
  • Justification for the use of inferential test.
• Keep within the word limit (it’s 1,400 and a limit – you don’t get 10% – you don’t get anything – it’s 1,400!!)
• References: make sure that all studies are referenced properly and not just a bibliography.
• Is everything in the appendices that needs to be?
• In the header/footer: Name, candidate number, centre number, page numbers.

Assignment

• Are the issues actually explicitly raised by the source?
• Is the study / research / theory that you’re applying apposite to the issue or just forced to fit?
• Include the original source or you will receive 0 marks for Issues.
• Make sure that you’ve referenced all your studies
• Stick to the structure of the mark scheme and label as such:
  • Issues: 250/300 words (approx)
  • Evidence: 500 words (approx)
  • Suggestions: 200\250 words (approx)
• Word limit is a limit: 1,000 words! Don’t lie – examiners can tell.

Source Article

• Within the last 24 months – better to be within last 12.
• Not too long – try to keep under 2 sides of A4 – the examiners have to read this too!
• Include the full article, not just a relevant part.
• Include the article with the coursework when sending off (if you don’t you’ll loose all the marks for the first section!).
• Highlight the relevant parts with a pen or highlighter to identify where the issues have come from.

Tags: A2, coursework, methodology, referencing