Exams group Cambridge Assessment has sought to offer a definitive answer by investigating the links between length of answer and exam outcomes in a GCSE English literature essay question.
While the research confirmed that at the lower grades, if you don’t write enough, you won’t be able to earn enough marks, it also concluded that “length of response alone is not sufficient to achieve a high mark”.
In fact, beyond a certain length, the relationships between the essay word count and scoring more marks flattens off.
Researcher Tom Benton used computer processing of digital images of 5,000 handwritten exam scripts from a 2014 OCR GCSE English literature exam.
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday
Already have an account? Sign in here