June 2024: Paper 3

Mark scheme

Examiner's comment

This question was a challenge for some students. Many did not really mention punishment, and answers were vague, for example referencing displacement. There was a need to know about types of punishment and why they wouldn’t control crime, which was the latter part of the question. Students did write some very good answers about prison being a university of crime. Many had some sensitive and thoughtful things to write about rehabilitation. The most popular answer was about the cost benefit analysis, and in lots of cases this was done well. There was a tendency to overwrite this question. A focus should be on writing one word or statement for the identification (1 mark) and a short development of this.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• 2 marks for each of two reasons clearly outlined, 1 if partial (e.g. labelling and deviant careers, prisons as universities of crime, high reoffending, root causes such as inequality untouched, CJS bias, rational choice where gains outweigh penalties)
• many never mentioned punishment and wrote vaguely (e.g. displacement)
• cost-benefit was the most popular answer
• over-writing common, a short identification plus brief development is enough

Mark scheme

Examiner's comment

This question was in large part answered well, although it is worth noting that despite the vast variety of material a student could present there was some repetition. This was mainly when students had used racist police practices or the family as an explanation, and these could not be credited twice. As with Question 1, there was a tendency to overwrite this question. A focus should be on writing one word or statement for the identification (1 mark) and a short development of this.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• 2 marks for each of three reasons clearly outlined, 1 if partial (e.g. marginalisation, crime as protest, police racism and stop and search, court bias, social control in families, material deprivation, victimisation)
• answered well
• repeated reasons (racist policing, family) credited only once
• over-writing common

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

This question was answered well by students. Most students were able to use the item effectively to find the “hooks”, and many were able to use theory such as Pollack to develop their answer. A focus is needed on referring to all parts of the question to avoid drift, in this case onto general patterns of gender and offending. The focus needed to be on social control.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• two developed applications from Item A (informal control through role expectations
• formal control by the CJS), e.g. women confined to the home, chivalry thesis and lenient treatment (Pollak)
• drift into general explanations of gender and crime not tied to social control = 1–3
• answered well

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

This question presented a variety of marks, demonstrating that this question differentiated appropriately. Many students were able to name realist thinkers and discuss realist crime prevention and reduction strategies. Given this was a theory-based question it opens itself up more for juxtaposition in the form of evaluation. Some students wrote lengthy paragraphs about alternative theory such as ‘functionalism’ with no link or focus on the question set. Students must be encouraged to evaluate the points they have made using appropriate theory. Note lengthy introductions are not required for this question; students are under time constraints.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• top band debates left and right realism (and other theories with a clear line of argument) or whether crime is real or socially constructed
• drift into unrelated crime theories (e.g. long functionalism paragraphs) = 7–12
• good use of realist thinkers and prevention strategies
• evaluation often juxtaposition
• long introductions unnecessary

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

This question was not accessed well. Students found it hard to stick to just two reasons, and often one reason would list others or drift into others. This meant they found it hard to develop points and in turn access the highest level of the mark scheme. Students also found it challenging to apply examples. Examples of statistics could have included the census, the crime survey for England and Wales, health or education statistics.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• no marks for evaluation in this question type
• two reasons each developed (e.g. positivist search for correlations, large readily available data, only source on some topics such as suicide, trends over time, cheap, few ethical issues)
• drift into advantages of quantitative data in general = 1–3
• students blurred several reasons into one and rarely gave examples (census, Crime Survey for England and Wales)

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

This was answered well, and it was clear students were well prepared. There were different approaches in answering the question; some chose to go down a classical theory route; students developed mainly the work of Popper, Kuhn and Durkheim; some were able to develop the ideas of these thinkers and provide appropriate evaluation. Many students referenced positivism and interpretivism and linked this to research methods. Both approaches worked well when examples were given and ideas were developed with examples, such as ‘falsification’ or ‘objectivity vs subjectivity’ The evaluation skill was the weakest area for students although the question meant there were hooks in the item for evaluation. Many students were able to use the hooks and develop them. This meant evaluation was better than in the other questions. Note lengthy introductions are not required for this question; students are under time constraints.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• top band debates positivism, interpretivism, Marxism, feminisms and postmodernism on sociology as science
• drift into features of science in general = 5–8
• well prepared, using Popper (falsification), Kuhn (paradigms) and Durkheim
• evaluation weakest skill though the item's hooks helped
• long introductions unnecessary