Extended Response practice questions.

A 12-mark extended response is assessed against markbands rather than by point marking. The practical consequence for a candidate is that

• each valid claim adds one mark until the twelve marks have been used up
• only the final paragraph, in which the judgement appears, is read by the examiner
• a mark is deducted whenever a claim is made without a supporting source reference
• the quality of the reasoning as a whole fixes the band, not the number of claims

Answer: the quality of the reasoning as a whole fixes the band, not the number of claims

Markbands describe a whole response, so a fourteenth example cannot lift an answer that never weighs anything. Point marking rewards accumulation; markbands reward argument, which is why the same revision strategy does not serve both.

An extended response argues that content moderation law protects users, supports this with Germany's NetzDG of 2017 and the EU Digital Services Act applicable from February 2024, and closes with a clear judgement. No opposing position appears anywhere. The band is limited because

• two named laws fall below the minimum number of examples that is required
• a judgement may only be stated once material from a source has been quoted
• the highest band requires counter-claims to be raised and then answered
• European legislation may not be used as evidence in a globally set examination

Answer: the highest band requires counter-claims to be raised and then answered

Evidence and a judgement are necessary but not sufficient: the top band asks what the strongest objection is and why it does not overturn the conclusion. An answer with no opposition has not shown that the judgement survived a test.

A 12-mark answer on interventions against online misinformation describes five separate measures in equal detail and stops there. Under AO3 markbands this response

• stays low because nothing has been weighed against anything else
• reaches a high band, since breadth of knowledge is the leading criterion
• receives no credit at all, because description is examined only in Paper 2
• is capped at half marks, because five measures exceed the number expected

Answer: stays low because nothing has been weighed against anything else

AO3 credits synthesis and evaluation, so an inventory of measures is AO1 material submitted to an AO3 question. The repair is not more measures but fewer, each set against criteria such as reach, cost and enforceability.

Two candidates conclude that a right-to-repair rule is the better intervention against electronic waste. One writes that it 'feels fairer to consumers'. The other writes that it acts at the use stage of the device lifecycle, is enforceable through product standards, and also reaches devices that have already been sold. The second scores higher because

• the second answer names more stages of the device lifecycle than the first does
• the judgement is justified against stated criteria rather than against preference
• consumers are named as an affected stakeholder group only in the second answer
• evaluative wording such as 'fairer' is not permitted in an examination answer

Answer: the judgement is justified against stated criteria rather than against preference

A judgement earns its marks from the criteria it is measured against, not from its confidence: effectiveness, enforceability, reach, cost incidence, unintended consequences and time horizon. Preference is unexaminable, because no evidence could ever count against it.

A 12-mark question instructs candidates to use the supplied source together with their own knowledge. An answer that paraphrases the source accurately and adds nothing beyond it

• is treated by the examiner as an instance of academic misconduct
• is fully acceptable, provided every figure in the source is quoted exactly
• earns the AO1 marks in the question but none of the AO3 marks available
• cannot demonstrate the synthesis that the higher bands describe

Answer: cannot demonstrate the synthesis that the higher bands describe

The source is the case, not the answer: the course supplies the concept that explains it and the candidate supplies a second example showing the pattern is not local. A faithful summary proves comprehension and leaves synthesis untested.

In a 12-mark response on facial recognition at airport borders, which sequence of moves is most likely to reach the top band?

• definition of each key term, then a list of benefits and of drawbacks
• description of how the technology works, then a summary of the source
• claim with a named case, counter-claim, weighing, justified judgement
• an introduction, three paragraphs of description, then the question restated

Answer: claim with a named case, counter-claim, weighing, justified judgement

The top band is reached by the weighing step, which the other three sequences never arrive at. Note that a list of benefits and drawbacks looks balanced but never compares the two, so it stops in the middle bands.