SECTION C: ARGUMENTATIVE

As no audience is specified, the examiner is assumed to be the audience.

Candidates are free to agree or disagree with the statement and may present a variety of arguments.

Content may include references to: examples of lost opportunities; the reasons for not taking chances; the ability to look back on previous decisions; that we should live in the moment; people should have no regrets; there may be good reasons why we do not take risks; we should all be more adventurous.

Examiners should be open to a wide range of interpretation.

There was evidence of some good preparation and teaching in this section.

There was evidence of planning which is to be encouraged. However, the use of very long plans or draft essays is to be discouraged as they are not a good use of time. Candidates should be encouraged to plan their response in the answer booklet rather than on separate additional sheets.

Some examiners commented positively on evidence that candidates had proofread their work, but other examiners observed that candidates would have benefitted from proofreading their work more carefully.

Examiners commented as always on how much they enjoyed reading the responses in this section. Examiners did not see many responses to this question.

AO4

Some examiners commented positively on candidates’ responses to this question. However, other examiners thought that some candidates struggled to develop and sustain a response. The majority of candidates focused on issues like education, career aspirations, marriage and financial planning, discussing why it is important to plan, but also the disadvantages of over-planning. According to some examiners COVID-19 and how it might impact future plans was a popular topic.

Most candidates were able to write in the appropriate discursive style, offering a range of points on the benefits and drawbacks of planning. Most considered that planning was essential for a successful life although some recognised that well-organised planning would not necessarily deliver the expected outcome without fail. They were generally able to construct an argument or discussion – some presented one side of the argument only, whereas others considered both sides in some detail.

More able candidates adopted a persuasive and argumentative tone and had clearly been prepared to write this kind of response. They wrote in an engaging and lively manner, offering strong arguments with some balance where they considered both sides of the discussion before completing with a strong conclusion. Their arguments showed maturity. They wrote about the balance between planning and having fun and the need for spontaneity, often using examples effectively.

Less able candidates had problems with both maintaining a clear argument and structuring their responses. Their answers were often quite long but tended to repeat points and struggled to advance a clear point of view. These candidates sometimes wrote long sections about themselves and their futures, without the discursive element.