Practice Papers: WJEC L3 Certificate/Diploma in Criminology

What do teachers say about this resource? (11656)

It is fab as is! It is just the sort of resource I would use and would be so useful. The reason this resource is so good: it is so comprehensive so covers so many different answers that could be given.

What I enjoyed most about this resource is the ability to stretch and challenge learners across the content and amplification of the qualification. This resource provides several scenarios which assess students’ knowledge and understanding of several categories of crime. This gave an excellent stretch and ability to push learners’ abilities and skills where they can improve beyond their target grades.

There are several points to consider for the resource
-       The use of the word ‘scenario’ and acknowledgment of its relevance to the specification ensures consistency for both students and teachers who may be using the resource, in class and outside of lessons as part of their wider learning. If students are comparing answers they have drafted with actual past papers or mock papers produced but the examination board itself, this removes any potential confusion. A particular positive and important effort but the author here is worthy of praise.
- The scenarios for the later questions which assess the content of LO3 and LO4 can be challenging for some learners however the author has provided scenarios with questions that make full use of the command words within the specification. This enables students to extend their responses with extended writing practice and build the stamina and skill set required for these more challenging LOs being assessed, which are also worth greater weighting in the mark allowance.
- The mark schemes provided in this resource are very extensive with a great amount of detail. This is unlike the WJEC marks schemes that tend to be bullet-pointed. The author displays excellent subject knowledge that provides learners with the added depth of content that they should be including in their answers here. This is particularly useful when students are self-marking and peer marking each other's work. These resources would therefore make a suitable formative assessment for teachers to use.
- The author indicates throughout the resource ‘students will most likely refer to’… - this indicates to learners the exactions of the exam board for certain ACs that are being assessed in the examination and aid their focus of revision.

Without this resource, students are limited to the past papers and mock papers available with the exam board or those questions provided in the textbook, of which only two exist. This collection of practice papers gives students the extra ability to assess their learning, use key vocabulary and enable them to recognize using the scenarios themselves, questions set and the provided mark schemes to build up practice answers to revise which can aid them in reaching the top mark bands during the examination. Unlike traditional A level or exam boards, the Criminology examination qualification marks are tiered and for marks 4 and above, known as medium and long answer questions, students are awarded marks within a band. This resource supports students' direction to achieve the required depth and prose to their answers here to reach such mark bands.

This is a really useful resource to provide additional practice questions for your classes. It allows you to concentrate on question structure as well as as possible questions to prepare learners for their upcoming exams.

The mark schemes attached to the past papers are comprehensive and include a range of options which could be credited.

They allow for additional examination practice, which can be done in class, as homework etc. So the real past papers can be used for formal assessments. The scenarios are also very useful, as they promote discussion in class.

As the past papers cover a range of assessment criteria which are mapped to the questions well, they interpret the specification so that all areas are assessed for the unit.

The resource is useful, provides much-needed additional examples and practice for learners. As past papers are time consuming to produce, these are a welcome addition to exam preparation for this unit.

This is a good resource at an appropriate level. The content is suitable for this level and accurate. I would be happy to use this.

What do teachers say about this resource? (12136)

Overall a good and useful resource. Teachers can always make use of past papers in their teaching and they can be time consuming to produce. Having ready-made ones with mark schemes is therefore good to have. There are only around five past papers on the WJEC website and some are accessible to all as they are not on the secure part of the site so students may have already accessed them.

The content is of a high quality and suitable for students studying in the WJEC level 3 criminology course.

The points in the mark scheme are accurate and contain up to date statistics and information which is useful as the course approved textbook is now getting out of date.

Past papers are always useful to use with students as they need to practise their exam skills. Unit 4 is often not as well answered as other units. There are a number of papers of the WJEC website but these can be easily exhausted and sometimes accessed by students so having papers they will not have seen will be very useful. Often the exam questions require students to apply their knowledge to the scenario in the question so having new questions to practise with them is invaluable.