Scheme of assessment
Find past papers and mark schemes, and specimen papers for new courses, on our website at aqa.org.uk/pastpapers
This specification is designed to be taken over two years.
This is a linear qualification. In order to achieve the award, students must complete all assessments at the end of the course and in the same series.
A-level exams and certification for this specification are available for the first time in May/June 2019 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
All materials are available in English only.
Our A-level exams in Law include questions that allow students to demonstrate their ability to:
- draw together their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full course of study
- provide extended responses.
Aims
Courses based on this specification must encourage students to:
- develop their knowledge and understanding of the English legal system and areas of both private and public law within the law of England and Wales
- develop an understanding of legal method and reasoning as used by lawyers and the judiciary
- develop and apply the techniques of legal method and reasoning to analyse and offer answers to problems, based on legal principles, legislation and case law
- develop the ability to construct conclusions and communicate legal arguments by reference to appropriate legal authorities
- develop the ability to communicate persuasive legal arguments by reference to appropriate legal authorities
- be able to demonstrate critical awareness of the influence and operation of the law in society.
Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all A-level Law specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
- AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the English legal system and legal rules and principles.
- AO2: Apply legal rules and principles to given scenarios in order to present a legal argument using appropriate legal terminology.
- AO3: Analyse and evaluate legal rules, principles, concepts and issues.
Assessment objective weightings for A-level Law
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | ||
| AO1 | 13.33 | 13.33 | 13.33 | 40 |
| AO2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| AO3 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 33 |
| Overall weighting of components | 33.33% | 33.33% | 33.33% | 100 |
Assessment weightings
The marks awarded on the papers will be scaled to meet the weighting of the components. Students’ final marks will be calculated by adding together the scaled marks for each component. Grade boundaries will be set using this total scaled mark. The scaling and total scaled marks are shown in the table below.
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 100 | x 1 | 100 |
| Paper 2 | 100 | x 1 | 100 |
| Paper 3 | 100 | x 1 | 100 |
| Total scaled mark: | 300 | ||
