How to tackle essay-style questions - AQATackling essay style questions
Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. They test not only understanding, but whether or not your knowledge and understanding can be put into a coherent argument.
Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. Not only do they test knowledge and understanding, but they also assess whether you can apply these successfully in a coherent argument.
This type of question is often based around legal, ethical or environmental issues, and also programming. It usually involves some kind of discussion. For example, a question may ask you to discuss the impact of a new technology, or to discuss why legislation is necessary. Another question might require you to discuss standards in programming and why they should be adhered to.
The examiner will be assessing knowledge, how this relates to the question and how well you can communicate it. You should include relevant technical terms.
The next two pages include two sample questions with ideas about how you might tackle them.