Source 4 has statements from people who disagree, each trying to persuade you that they are right. They speak from different perspectives, and you have to say which of them makes the stronger argument.
The Q3 essay question tests whether you have learned to accept well made claims while rejecting arguments based on faulty reasoning, weak evidence, or bias. This is such an important life skill – the world is full of politicians, salespeople, and professional advisors offering different opinions, and we have to judge whose suggestions to follow.
Skills and approaches
This 15-mark essay question gives you far more choice about what to mention than the narrowly controlled questions that lead up to it. It’s important to realise that you aren’t looking for the right answer. There are many good points you could mention – and far more than you could write in the available time and space. The mark scheme instructs examiners to give marks to anything that is well argued – two students might argue for opposite sides but get equally good marks. So to bridge the gap between closely guided practice and this broader discussion, use your imagination to put yourself in the situations that the people mention. Engage your “common sense”, and imagine what you’d say back to these people if you were having this discussion with them.
If you’re looking for this question in past papers it’ll be Q3(c) or Q3(d) – it depends how many short questions precede it. It’s worth 15 marks (far more than the earlier questions), so please leave enough time for it.
Typical Phrasing
| Which argument is more convincing, [Person 1’s] or [Person 2’s]? Your answer should consider both arguments, and you should support your point of view with their words. You should also consider: – the strength of their reasoning and evidence – their use of language – different types of information. |
As with any exam question, you should underline the key words to make sure you don’t miss something important. Something like this:
| Which argument is more convincing, [Person 1’s] or [Person 2’s]? Your answer should consider both arguments, and you should support your point of view with their words. You should also consider: – the strength of their reasoning and evidence – their use of language – different types of information. |
Marking policy
The mark scheme tells us that a top-band response makes clear, credible and well supported points about which argument is most convincing. It has coherent, structured evaluation of both arguments with clear comparison.
Preparing for the exam
Preparing to write essays in an exam is like learning to play a piece of music on a musical instrument. First there is the study phase where you learn what all the notes are and where to put your fingers. This has to be done slowly and carefully, or you’ll waste a lot of time tripping over yourself. Later, near the time of your performance, you’ll practice doing it faster, until you can do it well at full speed.
So first, here’s the slow practice.
| Example Question Study Source 4. (d) Which argument is more convincing, Jack’s or Eve’s? Your answer should consider both arguments and you should support your point of view with their words. You should also consider: – the strength of their reasoning and evidence – their use of language – the different types of information used. |
We can use a preparation table to work through the two statements from all the angles the examiners are interested in. Here is an example for the question we are doing:
Now we’re ready to write. We may not be able to fit in everything we made notes on above, but we should try to include a variety of points from different rows of the table.
STEP 1: Write a single-sentence opening statement.
Whose argument do you find more convincing overall? Include mention of their topic of disagreement (solving violent crime), and ideally a brief overall reason for your judgement.
I find Eve’s suggestions about solving violent crime more persuasive than Jack’s, because her reasoning is stronger and her suggestions are more likely to be effective.
STEP 2: Evaluate the argument of Person 1.
Write one or two developed points per person (you need three or more overall to enter the top band). Ideally, a developed point is a PEE paragraph of about 50-70 words.
POINT (convincing or not?) Make sure it clearly matches up with the opening statement.
EVIDENCE (refer to specific words and claims)
EXPLANATION (making use of your vocabulary of critical concept words)
Try to include at least one point of comparison to the other speaker in each paragraph.
Unlike Eve, I agree with Jack that crime arises from underinvestment in society, and he cites persuasive evidence from the WHO to support this claim. The WHO are a reputable global agency who base their claims on social science, so this is a strength of Jack’s argument.
However, along with his recommendations to reduce inequality and support the disadvantaged, Jack slips in a suggestion to spend more on policing, which is not supported by his WHO evidence. As a policeman he should have good understanding of the resources required to fight crime, but he also has a vested interest in increasing funding for his industry. He implies a correlation between fewer police and more crime, but this does not prove causation – he already mentioned other contributing causes, and he needs to explore which are more/less significant.
STEP 3: Write another, similar section evaluating the argument of Person 2.
Eve supports her argument with claims that are clear, specific and relevant, even though she doesn’t give detailed figures. As a lawyer, she must value accuracy and understand that evidence is essential, so I believe she could give us citations to support her facts if we ask her. If her suggested policy has already proved effective in Portugal, this is good evidence to support trying it here (although a global perspective would strengthen this further).
Her suggestions to target drugs, guns, and gangs seem likely to make a substantial impact on rates of violent crime, but they would leave the social causes which Jack mentions unsolved, which is a limitation of her approach.
STEP 4: Make a one-sentence closing statement to reinforce your overall judgement.
Notice that the judgement is nuanced because it’s likely that both statements will have both strengths and weaknesses – however, it is a judgement. You can’t sit on the fence at the end: you have to say who gets your vote!
Nevertheless, for immediate results I would support Eve’s suggestions, then I’d consider Jack’s social concerns for further long-term improvements.
How much should you write?
The example above is 297 words. The exam paper normally gives you 2 blank lines per mark, which would make 30 lines, suggesting a maximum of 300 words. However, this is the only question that doesn’t follow this pattern; it only gives you 23 lines! Perhaps this is the examiner’s way of telling you that if you write concisely you can make 3 developed points and get a top band score with a response of only 230 words, but on this question you might consider writing a little more (if you have time!)
If you’re practising by typing, keep a close eye on your word count as it’s easy to go over. In fact, it’s better to handwrite your exam practice.
If you include three or more successful developed points (perhaps with some undeveloped points as well), you should be in line for a top-band score on this question.
How long should you spend on this question?
Practising slowly and thoroughly like this is essential to learn the skills, but If you are handwriting this as exam practice, you need to work to a time limit of 15 minutes for this question. If you spend about 5 minutes on prep you should be able to write the answer in 10 minutes. If you really get to know the prompts from the prep table well, by the time you get to the exam you should be confident enough to prepare just by writing a few notes in the margin of the sources.
Now use the writing template to help you compose a practice essay. Here is a new question for you to try:
| Study Source 4. (d) Which argument is more convincing, Maria’s or Juan’s? Your answer should consider both arguments and you should support your point of view with their words. You should also consider: – the strength of their reasoning and evidence – their use of language – the different types of information used. |
When you finish, use the colour coding key to analyse your content, to make sure you’ve considered a good range of aspects. You can post your answer in the comments section. Make sure you don’t go over 300 words.
Then on to the final section!