17. Appendix D - Form of Questions

Each question will be marked out of 25 and should be divided into two to four parts. An indication of the raw marks available for each part of each question should be given on the question paper.

Checklist for Setters and Checkers

The examiners should provide those who are asked to supply draft questions with a checklist of important considerations.

  1. Is the question on the syllabus (as in the Examination Regulations or Course Handbook including the lecture course synopsis)?
  2. Is the mathematics correct?
     
  3. Is the notation and terminology standard/obvious/defined?  (Standard usage from the course is acceptable without explanation but phrases such as ‘as in the lectures' should be avoided.)
     
  4. Is the question unambiguous?  Is it clear what may be assumed, what detail is required, and what would constitute a complete answer?
     
  5. Is the form of presentation familiar/inviting/readable?
     
  6. Does each question have an easy start, worth around 10 marks, which might be readily and routinely completed?  This should not wholly be testing memory of previous material explicitly seen.
     
  7. Is there material designed to differentiate at the class borderlines?
    (i) To achieve a USM of 60, is there a part that tests understanding of standard concepts/techniques (whilst still being rather straightforward) which tests whether a candidate can do any more than merely reproduce the bookwork verbatim? 
    (ii) To achieve a USM of 60, is there is there a part for which a full solution requires truly excellent understanding and skill?
     
  8. Would a candidate with a USM of 60 on average achieve around 13/25 marks for the question? Is a mark of 20+ unlikely to be achieved by a significant number of candidates who are not of first-class standard?
     
  9. Is it the case that only exceptional first-class students are capable of gaining full marks? Note that a USM of under 50 on a paper means an academic fail of that paper at Part C. This alone will not entail overall failure at Part C but a student who fails one paper may not be awarded a distinction or merit overall.
     
  10. Is each question overall of a straightforward character?
     
  11. Are the questions as a whole fairly spread across the syllabus?
     
  12. Are the questions of comparable difficulty to one another?
     
  13. Are the questions sufficiently different from those set in recent years?
     
  14. Is the question formatted using the oxmathexam.cls file? 
     
  15. Does the question, adequately spaced, fit on a single page?
Marking Schemes and Model Solutions

Assessors setting questions should be asked to provide complete model solutions indicating everything that a candidate would be expected to write to answer the question fully.  The model solutions and marking scheme need to be sufficiently clear and comprehensive to be meaningful to an external examiner.  Those setting questions should be aware that solutions may be released to students in the future. 

The model solution for each question should be accompanied by a marking scheme out of 25.  The marking scheme should aim to ensure that the following qualitative criteria hold (see also the class descriptors given in appendix K):

20-25 marks A completely, or almost completely, correct answer, showing excellent understanding of the concepts and skill in carrying through the arguments and/or calculations; minor slips or omissions only.

13-19 marks A good though not complete answer, showing understanding of the concepts and competence in handling the arguments and/or calculations, and some evidence of problem-solving ability. Such an answer might consist of an excellent answer to a substantial part of the question, or a good answer to the whole question which nevertheless shows some flaws in calculation or in understanding or in both..

7-12 marks Standard material has been substantially and correctly answered with some possible minor progress on to other parts of the question.

0-6 marks Some progress has been made with elementary, accessible material.

Assessors should classify the parts of each question under the headings: 

B1: bookwork material: explicitly seen before;
B2: routine material: easily synthesized from material explicitly seen before;
S: similar to material seen before;
N: new rider, demanding good command of concepts and/or methods.

Approval of Papers and Marking Schemes

The papers and marking schemes are reviewed by the whole examination board, including the external examiners (see further below).  Minor edits may be made to a paper in consultation with the assessor. Once approved a camera ready copy of the paper should be produced.  Assessors should be asked to check carefully and `sign-off' the camera ready copy of their paper.

Review by External Examiners

The external examiners should be consulted according to the agreed timetable, and provided with stable draft papers; full annotated solutions indicating what is bookwork and standard material, and with the proposed marking scheme. Comments from the external examiners on each paper will be sent to each respective setter. The examiners should not finalise any paper without taking into account the comments of the external examiners. External examiners should be informed of action taken in response to their comments.