1. Securing your A/A* Grade
Exam Technique
Securing your A/A* Grade

2. How to Achieve an A/A*
Follow all exam guidance on how to answer the different types of questions – this is the single most important thing you can do
Use as many direct quotes and teachings as you can – but make sure you relate each to the question
Think about more complex versions of quotes – e.g. rather than “made in the image of God” – “In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”
Contextualise teachings – rather than “Love thy neighbour” – During the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus emphasised the importance of the command to “Love thy neighbour”
Use the names of denominations as much as possible
Use the names of the different types of Jewish scripture
Plan your time – 22 ½ minutes per set of questions – you cannot afford to rush a set of questions and do badly – you can only drop a maximum of 2 marks per set of questions to achieve an A*
Explain all religious points of view (where appropriate) – e.g – Christian views on genetic engineering – some agree to all forms (for curing disease), some agree only with forms which don’t use embryos, some disagree with all forms

3. How to Achieve an A/A* Cont.
If a question asks you to refer to “at least one religion” refer to both Christianity and Judaism
D) part questions – if no reference to religious teachings, you are limited to 3 marks out of 6
Do not “sit on the fence” with B) part answers – choose 1 point of view and give 2 reasons for that view
Aim to include religious teachings/quotes in both parts of D) answers where possible – if there are different Christian/Jewish views on the topic this should be easy – “I think that...because... Some Christians would agree with me because...” “Some people may disagree with me because ... some Christians may also disagree with me because...”
Remember the difference between explaining a point of view and explaining the reasons for a point of view – you do not pick up marks for saying what your view is or what a Christian’s/Jew’s view is, you pick up marks for giving reasons for your view/ a Christian’s/Jew’s view and linking the reason back to their view and the question.
Read D) part statements carefully – usually they are asking you to give arguments for and against a view on a topic we have studied but the way they are worded can seem confusing at first.

4. A Note on C Part Questions
Read C) part questions VERY carefully
If it asks you to “explain Christian attitudes/views to...” aim to include reasons for each of the different views (giving more reasons for the majority view if you know which one it is).
Sometimes it asks you to “explain why some Christians agree with/ do not agree with...” – this means you must only stick to the one point of view the question is asking for.
Every now and then, a c part question does not ask for religious views – e.g. explain the causes of pollution – don’t feel the need to include religious views unless it makes sense to do so

5. B Part Answers
All opinion so no real revision needed (although you obviously need to be aware of the issues we have studied and be prepared to have an opinion)
Too many people are getting 3 out of 4 (or worse) in B part answers
These are easy marks – if you do this throughout that is 8 marks in total lost and could cost you a grade

6. Each of the following B part answers are not 4 out of 4
In your pairs/groups, decide what mark it should get, where they have picked up marks and where they have dropped marks

7. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away. I also think women should have equal rights in religion as if religion were allowed to discriminate against women, the rest of society may also think they can discriminate against women.

8. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away. I also think women should have equal rights in religion as if religion were allowed to discriminate against women, the rest of society may also think they can discriminate against women.
This part gets 2 marks. A reason is given and then developed fully by explaining the importance of the reason given.
This part only gets 1 mark as it is only a reason. It does not go on to explain the importance of the reason at all

9. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away. I also think that women should have equal rights in religion as men and women are equal and women should not be treated differently. I think women should be allowed to do the same things as men including being priests and vicars.

10. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away. I also think that women should have equal rights in religion as men and women are equal and women should not be treated differently. I think women should be allowed to do the same things as men including being priests and vicars.
This part gets 2 marks. A reason is given and then developed fully by explaining the importance of the reason given.
This part would be lucky to get any marks as the reason is so similar to the first (at most 1 mark)

11. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away.
On the other hand I think that religions have old rules based on scripture and we are not really in a position to judge these rules. If a religion feels that men and women should be treated differently in religion because of teachings they believe have come from God, then they should be allowed to do what they think is right without being judged by others who don’t understand.

12. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion, otherwise their human rights are being taken away.
On the other hand I think that religions have old rules based on scripture and we are not really in a position to judge these rules. If a religion feels that men and women should be treated differently in religion because of teachings they believe have come from God, then they should be allowed to do what they think is right without being judged by others who don’t understand.
This part gets 2 marks. A reason is given and then developed fully by explaining the importance of the reason given.
This is a well developed reason BUT it is for the opposite point of view. An examiner may not accept this and may give only 1 mark for this part or none at all – don’t risk it!

13. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)-How it should look
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion.
I also think women should have equal rights in religion as if religion were allowed to discriminate against women, this would send a bad message out to society who may also think they can discriminate against women. This would mean that people could use religion as an excuse to discriminate against women in other aspects of life creating an unequal society.

14. B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion
B) Do you think that women should have equal rights in religion? (4 marks)-How it should look
This part gets 2 marks. A reason is given and then developed fully by explaining the important of the reason given.
Yes I do think that women should have equal rights in religion as Human Rights say that we are all equal and that we should not be discriminated against. This means that women have as much right as men to do any job they want and this should include roles within religion.
I also think women should have equal rights in religion as if religion were allowed to discriminate against women, this would send a bad message out to society who may also think they can discriminate against women. This would mean that people could use religion as an excuse to discriminate against women in other aspects of life creating an unequal society.
This part gets 2 marks. A completely different reason is given for the same point of view and then developed fully by explaining the important of the reason given.

15. C Part Questions Pairs/groups Look at the C part answer
Give it a mark out of 8 by showing exactly where they have picked up marks
Give it a grade:
8/8 = A*
7/8 = A
6/8 = B
5/8 = C
4/8 = D

16. C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony
C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony. (8 marks)
All Christians should try to promote racial harmony. One reason for this is because in the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus taught that Christians should “Love they neighbour” and that neighbour included people from all races. Christians also agree with racial harmony because in the Bible it says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. This means that Jesus considered all people as equally important and therefore Christians should too by promoting racial harmony. Christians should try to promote racial harmony as Jesus also did this, for instance by treating a Samaritan woman as his equal and having a black African helping him to carry his cross. Finally, Christians should try to promote racial harmony as the Christian Church has followers from every country in the world.

17. C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony
C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony. (8 marks) – 5/8 – Grade C
This part gets 1 mark. A viewpoint is given with a reason but the reason is not developed
All Christians should try to promote racial harmony. One reason for this is because in the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus taught that Christians should “Love they neighbour” and that neighbour included people from all races. Christians also agree with racial harmony because in the Bible it says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. This means that Jesus considered all people as equally important and therefore Christians should too by promoting racial harmony. Christians should try to promote racial harmony as Jesus also did this, for instance by treating a Samaritan woman as his equal and having a black African helping him to carry his cross. Finally, Christians should try to promote racial harmony as the Christian Church has followers from every country in the world.
This part gets 2 marks. A viewpoint is given with a reason which is then developed and linked back to the question
This part gets 1 mark. A viewpoint is given with a reason but the reason is not developed
This part gets 1 mark. A viewpoint is given with a reason but the reason is not developed

18. C Part Answers See C part answers as 4 sets of 2 marks
For each set of 2 marks, you need to give a:
Viewpoint
Reason
A development linking the reason to the viewpoint/question

19. C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony
C) Explain why Christians should try to promote racial harmony. (8 marks) – 8/8 – Grade A*
All Christians should try to promote racial harmony. One reason for this is because in the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus taught that Christians should “Love they neighbour” and that neighbour included people from all races. This means that Christians should follow Jesus’ teaching and promote racial harmony for all groups. Christians also agree with racial harmony because in the Bible it says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. This means that Jesus considered all people as equally important and therefore Christians should too by promoting racial harmony. Christians should try to promote racial harmony as Jesus also did this, for instance by treating a Samaritan woman as his equal and having a black African helping him to carry his cross. As Jesus treated people of all races as equals, Christians should do the same by promoting racial harmony. Finally, Christians should try to promote racial harmony as the Christian Church has followers from every country in the world. Therefore, Christians should promote racial harmony because they have a duty to their fellow Christians from different races who may suffer from racism.
2 marks
2 marks
2 marks
2 marks

20. De-coding D) Part Answers
Remember – they are basically asking for arguments for and against a topic we have studied – mixture of non-religious and religious arguments
For example “Christians should use the Bible when making moral decisions” means “give 3 arguments for and against using the Bible to make moral decisions.”

21. De-coding D) Part Answers
“Men and women should have equal roles in life”
Give arguments for and against men and women having equal roles (including C &J views)
“Women should have equal roles in Christianity”
Give arguments for and against women having equal roles in Christianity (including C views)
“Women should have the same rights as men in religion”
Give arguments for women having the same rights as men in religion (including C & J views)
“If everyone were religious there would be no racism”
Give arguments for and against religious people being less racist than non religion people (including C & J views)
“If everyone were religious there would be no injustice”
Give arguments for and against religious people being more just than non-religious people (including C & J views)
“Capital punishment is a fair punishment”
Give arguments for and against capital punishment (including C & J views)
“You can’t be a religious and support capital punishment”
“You can still be a good Christian and drink alcohol”
Give arguments for and against drinking alcohol (including C views)

22. Now…
You cannot get more than 3 marks if you don’t include religious reasons.
Need to read the question carefully to see which religion(s) you need to include
Underneath the question it will say:
You must refer to Christianity in your answer (Christianity only)
You must refer to one religion other than Christianity in your answer (Judaism only)
You must refer to at least one religion in your answer (best answers will discuss Christianity and Judaism)

23. D Part answers
How you build in the religious views depends on the question
1 possible structure could be:
One non-religious reason
One Christian/Jewish reason

24. “Capital punishment is a fair punishment” – You must refer to at least one religion in your answer
I disagree with this statement as I think we can never really be sure if someone is guilty and once they have been killed, there is nothing that can be done if they are later found to be innocent. Some Christians would agree with me as Jesus wanted to reform sinners and people can’t be reformed once they have been killed. Some Jews would also agree with me as they believe in the Sanctity of Life which means that only God has the right to give and take life and therefore we should not use capital punishment as this is taking over God’s role.
Some people will disagree with me as they think that capital punishment is a good form of retribution and would feel like justice for the victim’s family. Some Christians would also disagree with me as they follow the teaching in the Bible “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” which is about revenge meaning a murderer should also be killed. Some Jews will also disagree with me as the death penalty is used as a valid punishment in the Torah and as they believe the Torah is the word of God, they will also think it is fair.

25. But this approach won’t always be possible for all questions – it really depends on the wording.
E.g.:
“If everyone were religious there would be no racism”
“If everyone were religious there would be no injustice”
There aren’t really any teachings for racism or injustice in Christianity or Judaism and I wouldn’t advise you to try and think of any non-religious arguments for these issues either

26. Instead – D) “If everyone were religious there would be no racism” – you must refer to at least one religion in your answer
I disagree with this statement as there are many atheists who fight against racism and it is unfair to imply that religious people care more about racism than non-religious people. Also, there are examples of racism in the history of religion such as the Christian crusades which shows religious people do not always fight against racism. Also, I think the government is more effective than religion in fighting racism as they are the one’s who can pass stricter laws against it.
Some people may disagree with me as all Christians are against racism because of the teaching “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. Christians are also against racism because there are Christian followers around the world and being racist could mean discriminating against a fellow Christian. All Jews are also against racism as the believe we are all “made in the image of God” meaning God created people of all races equally and so they should not be racist.