AS-LEVEL GENERAL STUDIES B

Transcription

1 AS-LEVEL GENERAL STUDIES B Unit 2 Space (GENB2) Report on the Examination 2765 June 2017 Version: 1.0

2 Further copies of this Report are available from aqa.org.uk Copyright 2017 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 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.

3 General comments Most students who scored high marks on individual questions showed some evidence of planning and structure to their arguments. This was especially important for 3(a) and 3(b) which are marked on the quality of argument, not on the number of points made. Overall, very few students failed to attempt all the questions and it seems that the paper was both accessible and manageable in the time allowed with little evidence of students not completing the paper. Question 1 Students are clearly familiar with the revised format and this meant that the majority found the constituent parts to 1(a) to 1(d) accessible. In 1(a)(i) & (ii), a significant number of students misread the question change in all rented accommodation and answered instead change in each rented accommodation. The mark scheme was amended so that students were not penalised by the alternative interpretation. The recession and the 2008 credit crunch were frequently cited as explanations but relatively few explained why. In 1(b)(ii), many students lost a mark by their inability to round up the answer correctly. In 1(b)(iii), there was some misinterpretation of the data and had not understood that it represented dwellings rather than occupants. There were some unfortunate stereotypical answers about 'council estates being hotbeds of crime and drug use, which were irrelevant to the question asked. In 1(c) & (d) there were some misunderstandings by students about what is meant by repossessions, and also the difference between mortgage repossessions and landlord repossessions, resulting in the reasons given in 1(c)(iii) & 1(d)(iii) being sometimes quite confused. Question 1(e) was generally well attempted and many students were able to present a balanced discussion which considered the moral duty of government to ensure that its citizens were not homeless, against the arguments about housing benefit scroungers or that people should take responsibility for themselves. It was gratifying that very few gave us the tabloid mantra of immigrants coming over and taking our houses. Most provided a reasonably balanced debate, coming to a conclusion, which generally favoured the humanitarian view that the less well-off should be provided with shelter. Question 2 There were some excellent answers to 2(a), presumably from Business or Economics students who were in their element explaining about global business and its impact. Many were able to comment upon the potential significance of this area of the economy post-brexit and the position of the City of London as a global hub. Some picked up on the banking and insurance prompt and gave answers which focused on High Street banking and price comparison websites for insurance, whilst others went off on a tangent, perhaps because Source D identified the Nissan factory which led them to write about the government developing this area of the economy because we all need car insurance. Business is not every candidate s strong point and some revealed a real lack of understanding of this area of the specification. Question 2(b) produced some good answers showing knowledge of the UK s manufacturing history, its decline in the later part of the 20 th century and the impact that this had on many regions 3 of 5

4 and towns. These students were usually able to explain how investment in manufacturing would not only create direct employment (sometimes unskilled) but would also have a multiplier or trickledown effect which would rejuvenate parts of Britain. The potential bonus of fewer imports and more exports, particularly again post-brexit, was also referenced. On the other hand, weaker students exhibited several misunderstandings. Some thought Nissan was owned by the British government; others that its location was Washington, DC and was therefore American. Others interpreted redeveloping the manufacturing base too literally and wrote about demolishing factories like the one in Source D and replacing them with modern air-conditioned buildings which would be more pleasant in which to work. For Question 2(c), the majority offered the balanced discussion required. There were many varied examples given, mostly in the UK, although contrasts were made with warmer holiday destinations, notably Spain and the USA. Most could explain that leisure and tourism had potential benefits for the UK economy as a whole and also for seaside towns (Blackpool was often mentioned). The jobs effect was often developed with examples of hotels, restaurants and other establishments that would benefit from more tourism. Good students often considered the downsides (overcrowding, litter congestion) and the fact that most jobs in this sector are low-paid and frequently seasonal. Some took the view that the government should invest its money into other things, occasionally referring back to 2(a) and 2(b), particularly in the light of competition from countries like Germany, China and India. Many advocated investment in security or the NHS but this was largely uncredited as the question was about generating income and wealth. Many students were good at describing the how but focused less on the why. Consequently, there were descriptions of the various attractions of London, the Lake District and Cornwall amongst others, but no detailed explanation of how development in these areas might or might not benefit the economy. The prompt on leisure in the question was seized upon by some who wrote about the government opening more gyms and leisure centres to tackle the obesity epidemic. Again, this was often not applied to the question. Question 3 The Source was clearly understood and students did generally get to grips with the issues. A lot were reliant on it and, whilst they had clear knowledge and understanding about why the countryside needed to be protected and developed, far too many for 3(a) in particular, wrote generically about conservation and not about the Government s role. Good responses in 3(a) stated that the government has the power, authority and funding available to have an impact on protection of the countryside and could also act in the overall interest of the country rather than individual groups. There were some misunderstandings, for example that the government owns the land in National Parks. However, the answers were generally quite reasonable with the best responses able to refer to their own local examples and well as drawing on the source. Weaker responses either re-wrote the Source or wrote about the need for conservation per se. 3(b) was better done on the whole. Most were able to say something along the lines of it s their job, and refer to expert knowledge and specialist input, sometimes using examples of government mistakes such as the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (Source E) to show that care of the countryside is best left to experts. There were weaker answers which instead of focusing on the countryside and the farmers and environmentalists, simply said that the government has got more important things to worry about such as the NHS and terror threats, which were not relevant to the question. A small minority of presumably city-dwellers, suggested that they were not interested in the countryside, and therefore it should be left to the farmers. Interest groups are still only rarely 4 of 5

5 mentioned explicitly in both 3(a) & 3(b) the Countryside Alliance being an exception. When they were identified, AO3 marks were awarded. Use of statistics Statistics used in this report may be taken from incomplete processing data. However, this data still gives a true account on how students have performed for each question. Mark Ranges and Award of Grades Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics page of the AQA Website. 5 of 5