Social and Cultural Anthropology subject report · May 2015

May 2015 extended essay reports Page 1 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Overall grade boundaries Grade: E D C B A Mark range: 0-7 8-15 16-22 23-28 29-36 The range and suitability of the work submitted The range and suitability of the work submitted this session has provided exam ples of essays at varying levels of achievement. Many candidates were successful in producing their arguments by referring to anthropological concepts, readings or sources and applying appropriate theories and methodologies. A precise, anthropologically fr amed, research question is of crucial importance to accomplish a successful investigation in the subject. Candidates who are familiar with anthropology tend to do well and achieve the higher marks, whereas those candidates without any experience in the dis cipline tend to produce weaker results. A significant number of essays submitted were not anthropologically grounded, nor did the students present an anthropological approach. Most of the weaker essays do not present evidence of a background in the discipl ine. Too many students are misguided and write about anything that interests them without the proper understanding of the subject. Hence, their chances to sustain a good essay are limited. Too often an essay which shows evidence of hard work and sincere ef fort receives significantly lower marks than might have been expected by both the candidate and supervisor. The lack of a specific anthropological focus hinders an essay’s possibility of attaining high levels of achievement. Still, despite past warnings, i t remains clear that many schools continue to permit candidates who do not take the course as their group 3 choice, to write essays on the subject. A considerable proportion of essays should have been submitted under a different subject. As has been written in past reports, it is evident this session again, that some essays appear to have been submitted with the assumption that the subject is a ‘catch all’ category for essays that would have a difficult time fitting anywhere else. Social and cultural anthr opology is a discipline with its own standards, and common sense cannot replace solid