I don't know what term papers are, but what I took were the actual examination papers - three questions on each of the texts, three hours per paper. And yes, true essays, for example, discussion the treatment of marriage and relationships in restoration comedy, that sort of thing. Oh, and I should clarify, I didn't mean that I wasn't familiar with those texts - I should have said (and will edit) that I hadn't been familiar with them before I read and studied them for the exam.
It wasn't that I didn't expect to get a good grade - I know I write well and I have a good understanding of the subject; it's just that when I did my A levels back when I was 18, (in 1982) getting a mark that high was practically unheard of. Seriously, getting an A was a real achievement back then (I got one in music, but not in the other subjects I took!)
I don't know how our two systems would compare, but it definitely seems as though the exams here are easier now than they were twenty, thirty years ago. I can only go on my own experience - having taken and taught Music A level, and listening to the experiences of friends and colleagues.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-08-14 11:16 pm (UTC)Oh, and I should clarify, I didn't mean that I wasn't familiar with those texts - I should have said (and will edit) that I hadn't been familiar with them before I read and studied them for the exam.
It wasn't that I didn't expect to get a good grade - I know I write well and I have a good understanding of the subject; it's just that when I did my A levels back when I was 18, (in 1982) getting a mark that high was practically unheard of. Seriously, getting an A was a real achievement back then (I got one in music, but not in the other subjects I took!)
I don't know how our two systems would compare, but it definitely seems as though the exams here are easier now than they were twenty, thirty years ago. I can only go on my own experience - having taken and taught Music A level, and listening to the experiences of friends and colleagues.