Lesson video

Hi there, my name is Mr. Swaithes and I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

So today's lesson is called "Exam technique and answering the extended answer question" and it's a real nice opportunity to help you with that OCR six-mark question that I know a lot of students really worry about.

So is it time for you to start preparing for that six-mark question? And the answer is yes, definitely.

As long as you've covered a little bit of content from both Paper 1 and Paper 2, because of course this six-mark question requires knowledge from both exam papers.

And I wonder, have you thought about what knowledge you could transfer from perhaps your English lessons about how to tackle extended answer questions? And if so, what would that knowledge be? Okay, so by the end of this lesson, you're gonna be able to plan and construct an answer for the six-mark question on the OCR paper with confidence.

There are a number of important keywords for this lesson, especially describe and explain, which are the most used command words in these extended answer questions.

But you may also come across discuss, analyse, or perhaps some other higher order thinking skill words.

Perhaps the most important, though, is using practical examples.

This is a phrase that will always be used in the six-mark question.

It requires you to apply your understanding through clear, practical examples, so make sure you always do that.

We've broken up today's lesson into three parts.

So the first part we'll explore command words and how to BUGG the question.

And secondly, we'll look at planning your answer.

And finally, writing your essay using the PEEL technique.

Have you ever heard those phrases, BUGG or PEEL, before? And if so, what do they mean to you? Let's get going then with the first section.

So Lucas says, "I've noticed that the six-mark question always includes multiple parts and command words.

The first part tends to focus on content from this paper, but the second part is from the other exam materials." Well, that's correct.

The six-mark extended answer question is synoptic in nature, and that means it includes all parts of the specification, so content from both papers and requirement to provide practical examples.

That extended question will require the skill of determining what the command word is actually asking you and then responding to it.

So Aisha says, "Well, aren't they all the same? You just write everything you know about a topic." Well, no, actually, each command word requires a slightly different skill.

Therefore, understanding and practising these skills will really help answer these questions successfully.

Ah, so that's good to know, isn't it? And Aisha is wondering, "How can I understand the difference between the main command words?" Well, Andeep says, "A good place to start is knowing the difference between describe and explain.

Can you write a sentence to describe a cheeseburger and then a sentence to explain a cheeseburger?" So here we are taking it out of the context of physical education and onto a hot topic that I know many of you enjoy talking about, and that's food.

Have a go at describing a cheeseburger and then write a separate sentence to explain a cheeseburger.

What would you come up with? Well, to describe something, you need to give a detailed account and set out the characteristics.

So a good description of a cheeseburger is a bread bun sandwiching a beef patty that has cheese or a cheese slice on it.

To explain something, you need to set out the purpose, reasons, or causes.

So how would you explain what a cheeseburger is? Here we have an example.

So a cheeseburger has layers of bread providing energy in the form of carbohydrates, whilst the beef is a protein source that supports muscle growth and repair.

So can you see it's adding that bit of extra depth of detail around its purpose? These, combined with cheese, which is a source of protein, fat, and minerals, provides a popular source of fast food.

So again, linking a bit into its function.

Well, let's have a look at the two last command words then.

So these ones aren't used quite as much, but discuss and analyse.

It's important that we understand how to use these just in case they come up in that exam.

So, discuss means to thoroughly explore the different aspects of a subject by looking at advantages and disadvantages.

Meanwhile, analyse means to separate information into components, identify their components, and provide the pros and cons.

So Aisha's back.

"Can you complete the previous task and discuss, and then a separate paragraph to analyse a cheeseburger?" Have a go.

Well, let's try discuss first then.

Is this what you came up with? So, "A cheeseburger is made up of a few key ingredients that have different functions.

The bread provides energy in the form of carbohydrates, whereas the beef is a source of protein that supports muscle growth and repair.

The cheese provides protein, fats, and minerals.

A cheeseburger has the advantage of being fast food that you can eat on the go, but there are much healthier options you might want to consider." So can you see how with this discuss we're going into that greater detail of advantages and disadvantages as well.

And then what about analysis then? So Izzy's gonna have a go at this one.

She suggests, "The layers of bread in a cheeseburger provide energy, but as a simple carbohydrate, it can cause spikes in energy levels." So we're digging into the specifics of it being a simple carb then.

"Meanwhile, the beef is a protein source, but as a processed red meat, it's not as good for you as chicken or fish.

The cheese layer provides protein, fats, and minerals, but it's important to use high-quality cheese rather than an ultra processed version." So can you see again that's drawing in that extra depth of knowledge and great terminology.

Well, let's just do a quick check then to see.

Which of the following is the best definition of explain? Is it A, give a detailed account and set out the characteristics? Is it B, set out purpose, reasons, or causes? Is it C, give good reasons by offering an opinion? Or is it D, provide the advantages and disadvantages? Well done if you said B.

So yeah, explain means to set out purpose, reasons or causes.

So you're gonna make key points and then add some extra depth to them to explain.

Okay, I said that you need to BUGG the question once you understand the command words.

Well, this is certainly the first job to do before tackling any question, but especially the six marker.

So what do I mean by BUGG then? Well, this will help ensure that you do not miss any of the important information in the question, but it also shows the examiner who is marking your paper that you're well prepared to tackle this question strategically.

So again, you're putting a bit of a psychological thing in their head that you've been well prepared and you're ready for the answer.

So it's well worth BUGGing the question even if you don't think you need to to help your thinking and structuring of an answer.

"But what does BUGG mean?" is the question from Sam.

Well, to BUGG the question, you should, B for bracket the command words, U for underline the specific topic area identified, G for glance at how many marks are available, and the second G is go back and reread the question again.

It's amazing how often under the pressure of exam conditions pupils or candidates miss something important.

So your bracket command words like describe, explain, but also using practical examples is a command word.

Then you underline the important topic specific terms, like short-term effects or respiratory system or principles of training.

And then by glancing at the number of marks available, you make sure that you make enough points for the number of marks available, and actually ideally one more mark, so one more answer than the number of marks available.

And of course this six-mark question that was denoted by the asterisk means that it's also marked for quality of written communication, so you're gonna need to structure your answer with good spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Okay then, so here's an example of a question that's been BUGGed.

So, "Sprinting requires great speed, reaction time and power.

Using practical examples, describe these components of fitness and explain the characteristics of skillful movement you would expect to see in an elite performer." So that's a great example of the sort of six marker you might face and you can see there, ignoring the bold words, which of course are the keywords for this lesson, you can see where we've bracketed and underlined terms accordingly.

Well, how would you BUGG this question then? Have a little read.

Which words would you put in brackets and which would you underline? I'm hoping that you underlined "balanced diet," "recovery," "effects of regular training," and "the muscular system" as the real key areas.

And of course this is another question that's using describe, explain, and practical examples as command words, so they're the bracketed words.

Okay, that brings us to our first practise task of this lesson.

And I'd like you to BUGG the following question.

So the question is, "The golden triangle has turned sport into big business." Describe the positive and negative effects of commercialisation on a named sport of your choice and explain which components of fitness are most important to elite performers in that sport.

And then secondly, after you've BUGGed the question, I'd like you to briefly state what each part of the question is asking you to do.

Pause the video now whilst you do that and come back to me when you're ready.

Well done, so here's my example.

You should have underlined "golden triangle," "positive and negative effects of commercialisation," and "components of fitness." And then we can see, can't we, that describe and explain are the main command words and also using a named sport.

So to briefly state what each part of the question is asking you to do, well, the first part of the question is asking you to select the sport, describe some positives of commercialisation on that sport, and then describe some negatives of commercialisation on that sport.

And then we can link that into the second part of the question where we're using the same named sport and practical examples to name, define, and explain three or four components of fitness that are needed the most to perform well in that sport.

Is that what you came up with? I hope so.

Let's jump into the second part of this lesson then where we're gonna support you to plan your answer.

So, as was once famously said, failing to plan is planning to fail.

If you want to achieve top marks, it's essential to plan out how you intend to structure your six-mark or extended answer question.

A good strategy for this is to create a quick table with a column for each of the main topic areas within the question, so typically there's two areas.

Remember, there'll be one based on the content from the exam paper you're sitting and also one based on the content from the other component or the other exam paper.

And there is only one six-mark question on each exam paper, so you need to think carefully about how you're going to tackle it.

And I suggest you invest two to three minutes in BUGGing the question and creating a short plan to help capture keywords you want to include and structuring the points of your essay clearly.

Here's a quick check.

So spending two to three minutes drawing up a plan with keywords you plan to include in your six-mark answer is wasted time in an exam.

What do you think? That's false, absolutely not.

So as I've explained, investing a few minutes to think through how you will tackle the extended answer question and jotting down keywords you will include improves your answer and helps the examiner to see that you know your stuff and have been well prepared for the exam.

So Alex has got a question.

He says, "I've heard the six-mark question referred to as synoptic, but what does that mean?" Well, Lucas says, "The six-mark question on each exam requires synoptic skills, and that means drawing on knowledge from both components or both papers," so the anatomy and physiology and physical training from Paper 1, but also the sociocultural issues, the sports psychology, and the health and wellbeing from Paper 2.

And on top of that, you'll need to provide some practical application through sporting examples.

Another check then.

So which of the following is the best description of synoptic? Is it A, judge from the available evidence? Is it B, justify with evidence? Is it C, summarise the key points and come to a conclusion? Or is it D, it requires knowledge from multiple components or topic areas? What do you think? That's right, it's D, isn't it? So synoptic means it will draw on knowledge from all areas of the course that you've studied.

So let's do the second task in this lesson then, and I'd like you to plan your answer to that same question that you BUGGed in Task A.

So the question about the golden triangle and commercialisation that then goes into a second part about components of fitness.

So I want you to draw up a quick table, and can you write your plan for how you would answer that question? As I said before, you wanna spend two to three minutes on this maximum jotting down buzzwords that you think will be key on that mark scheme.

Pause the video now whilst you do that and come back to me when you're ready.

Okay, so hopefully you've come up with a little table similar to this.

You probably didn't pick tennis, so whatever activity you've named, you'll need to consider that in comparison with what I've come up with here for tennis as an example.

So in the first half of the question, describing the positive and negatives of commercialisation, well, I'm suggesting that maybe as a positive you want to profile, you know, the profile in the media including role models like Emma Raducanu that might inspire other players to take part.

Sponsorship is another buzzword, so media and sponsorship are keywords you want to get in your answer, and that provides more money to support building facilities, for coaches and funding professional players.

And then in terms of negatives, well, sometimes we have issues, don't we? Because the media dictates what we watch, when we watch it, and money drives changes to the rules.

And then another big potential negative for the sport is that players could be tempted to take drugs in that win-at-all-costs mentality.

Then we move into the second part of this question.

Of course we know there are 10 components of fitness and you could have selected any one of them, and as long as you justified why that was one of the most important components of fitness, you'll be able to earn credits here.

But I've had to think, for tennis, I think perhaps muscular endurance, power, reaction time, and agility are four of the most important to perform well at tennis.

Within the explanations of these, so probably moving now more into the essay, trying to capture the definitions and then apply that to why it's important in the game context is what will happen in this second part.

And bear in mind, you've got to achieve this table in three minutes.

You're gonna find ways to use shorthand and just capture buzzwords that you know you can elaborate on in your essay.

So how did you get on, how does yours compare with this one? And then into the third and final part of this lesson then, writing your essay using the PEEL technique.

And notice I put the L in brackets there.

Have you ever come across this PEE technique perhaps in English? And what does it mean there, where are there some differences to how we apply it in PE? Well, questions and exams are split up into the following bits.

So AO1, which require basic knowledge and understanding to be stated.

AO2, which require application of knowledge through practical examples.

And AO3, which requires deeper explanations, analysis, and/or evaluation.

And this question requires a combination, so the six-mark question requires a combination of all three of those.

So you've gotta get some keywords and buzzwords in your answer, you've got to use practical examples to bring them to life, and you've got to dig deeper under the surface to really explain why that's of importance.

So you're gonna need to narrow the focus of your response to the specific questions being asked, hence the importance of that BUGGing the question to narrow in on what is this question specifically asking about, what part of the spec is of most relevance? Then secondly, you're gonna need to capture key or buzzwords from the specification or the mark scheme that you're gonna include in your answer.

So hear the word principles of training and that should trigger some keywords that you're gonna want to include in your answer.

Or short-term effects of exercise on the muscular system, what does that trigger? Or the different components of the diet, what does that trigger? And you've got to be quick and ready to capture those buzzwords that you'll include and explain in greater detail as part of your answer.

So there we go, we'll elaborate on each of those keywords to demonstrate you've got depth of knowledge.

You'll then need to provide practical examples, so that's where the AO2 mark comes in, to apply your knowledge.

And you need to utilise specialist terminology wherever possible to prove that you really understand your stuff.

Remember to write in consent, sorry, concise sentences with good quality of written communication, or QWC.

So this is the only question on the OCR GCSEP exam paper that is marked for quality of written communication.

So you can't use bullet points in your answer, but they should be short, snappy statements.

Okay, so provide practical examples, or AO2, to apply your knowledge is something that you're gonna need to improve your skills with.

So let's walk through a little example.

So, "Commercialisation has led to a mixture of positive and negative effects on the game of tennis.

The increased profile in the media, i.

e.

on TV, in newspapers, and the internet, has led to positive role models like Emma Raducanu who inspires others to take up the sport of tennis." Can you see there where I'm using that specific context of tennis and the idea of role models to provide that added layer of practical application, so an example.

It doesn't necessarily need to be a named person, but something specific from that sport.

So this example uses tennis as that practical example, doesn't it? And it incorporates athletes from that sport to provide further examples of role models.

Let's do a quick check.

Being able to provide specific practical examples is an AO1 skill.

What do you think? That's right, that's false, isn't it? And why is that, can you remember? Well done, so an AO1 skill is when you demonstrate knowledge and understanding by describing a keyword, whereas providing sporting examples requires application, which is an AO2 skill.

And let's remember that an AO3 skill is where you analyse or evaluate to explain in greater depth.

And that's where this PEEL technique comes in as an ideal strategy to tackle the six-mark question.

Here we've got it.

So the P stands for point, the E for explain, the second E for example, and then I've put in brackets link, alpha link.

And this might be slightly different to what you've studied in English where it might have been, you sometimes use PEA actually, point, explain, analyse.

So just a reminder in the PE context, P for point, so that's where you capture the key term that relates to the specific topic area of the question.

Then you explain it, you elaborate on that key point to add greater depth.

And when we're marking it, we put the code DEV next to where you've explained something well.

And then the second E is for providing a sporting example.

And actually it doesn't matter which way round you do that, you might make your point, give an example first and then explain it, or sometimes it feels better to make the point, explain it or describe that in greater detail, and then provide your sporting example.

And where possible you should provide a linking statement that connects the knowledge in the first part of the question or the first first part to this question to the second part of the question.

But that's not always that easy to do, so don't worry too much about that bit, which is why the L is in brackets.

Let's do another quick check then.

So which of these students is using the PEE technique for a question about flexibility? So Laura says, "Flexibility is your ability to change direction quickly.

A gymnast needs it to control their balances." Meanwhile, Jun is saying, "Flexibility is needed to, sorry, in gymnastics, to get into aesthetically pleasing positions to earn more marks from judges." And then Sam says, "Well, flexibility is the range of movement possible at a joint.

A tennis player needs it to lunge in to reach a shot." Which one of those do you think is the best example of making a point, explaining it, and then providing an example? That's right, it's Sam, isn't it? So makes the point, explains it, so movement possible or range of movement possible at a joint, and then provides an example, lunging to reach the shot in tennis.

Okay, so examiners use different annotations as they mark your work, and I think understanding these will help you to access top marks.

But it's also important to remember that the six marker is assessed holistically.

And what that means is when we're marking it, we mark it once and we annotate it for key knowledge, examples and development points.

But then we read back through it again and almost re-mark from a sense of how well that whole answer hangs together to come up with a final band to mark within.

So few of these annotations that you need to get used to.

BOD means benefit of the doubt.

You've got lucky here, you've got the mark awarded, but only just.

TV means too vague, so no mark is awarded for that.

You might want to where you see TV, perhaps if your teacher's been marking your work, where you're gonna need to add more detail there to ensure that you get the mark in the future.

KU means that the knowledge and understanding, the AO1 keyword has been captured from the mark scheme, so well done on those KUs.

Then the EG is where you provide a specific example and that earns that AO2 recognition.

And DEV means that the point has been developed, it's been explained more fully.

And actually what you want in this six-mark question is it to be littered with KUs, EGs, and DEVs down the margin to show that it's very punchy where you're hitting key points, explaining in detail, and providing examples of them.

And interestingly, you will also see that the letter S sometimes put in these six-mark questions where the sub max has been reached.

So that suggests that perhaps you've achieved all the marks you can in the first half of the question, but you need to get a good balance of answering both parts to this six-mark question.

So that brings us into our last practise task for this lesson.

So in Task A, you BUGGed a question, in Task B, you turned that into a plan, and now in Task C I want you to turn that plan into an essay and I want you to limit yourself to eight minutes of writing time.

So set your stopwatch.

You've spent three minutes planning this and now I want you to spend eight minutes writing it.

Just a quick reminder, the question is, "The golden triangle has turned sport into business." You've gotta describe and then you've got to explain.

Pause the video now whilst you have a go at that and come back to me when you are ready.

Well done, so let's have a little look at what I came up with for the tennis example.

So, "Commercialisation has led to a mixture of positive and negative effects on the game of tennis." So a quick introduction sentence to focus in on the answer.

Then earning this first batch of KU, DEV, and EG marks, we've got, "The increased profile in the media, i.

e.

on TV, newspaper, and the internet, means more people follow the game and might be tempted to give it a try." We go on to say, "Positive role models like Emma Raducanu inspire others to take up the sport of tennis.

This is good as it increases participation.

Meanwhile though, the sponsorship money that comes from big televised events like Wimbledon provides more money to support building facilities, better coaches and funding.

As a consequence of this, players can turn professional and play full-time, rather than having to have a job as well as playing sport." So they're the positives.

Moving next into the negatives then.

So, "Unfortunately, however, commercialisation is such big business that it's also led to TV companies being able to dictate what we watch, when, and the money even drives rule changes.

So for example, tennis now has Hawk-Eye to support the umpire in deciding if shots are in or not, and players have three appeals per match to challenge the decisions, which enhances that spectator appeal." So that rule has been introduced to make it more fun for the spectator.

It's perhaps not better for the sport or the players or the umpires in some circumstances, but it makes it more exciting to watch.

"In addition, players can be tempted to take drugs to win at all costs, which is another negative effect of commercialisation.

And if, like me, you follow sport quite heavily, you'll see that the world number one, Sinner, received a three-month ban in 2025 from the World Anti-Doping Agency." So again, sharing a real specific example to demonstrate that you're clued in to sport.

Then we move into the second part of the question.

So, "For someone to become an elite tennis player, they will need some components of fitness more than others and that will enable them to play at the top level, consequently benefiting from commercialisation." Can you see how it links the second part of the question to the first? So, "Muscular endurance is the ability of muscles to repeatedly contract for a long period of time, and tennis players definitely need that to hit balls using their upper body and run around the court using their leg muscles for the whole of the match." And we know a tennis match can go on for hours, can't it? Then we use the example of power.

So, "Power is the combination of speed times strength.

So tennis players also need power to serve and hit returns hard enough to reduce the chances of their opposition returning them.

And then reaction time, well, that's the time needed to respond quickly to a stimulus.

A tennis player needs good reaction time to see where their opponent hits the ball and initiate movement to retrieve it.

Finally, I selected the fourth one of agility, so that's the ability to change direction at speed.

Now, tennis players need to lunge back and forth across the court to reach every shot and return to the middle." Now of course you probably didn't pick tennis and you may not have picked the same four components of fitness as I have, but just make sure for each of the components of fitness you selected, you added a definition of what that component of fitness is and then gave an example that applies why that component of fitness is so important for the named sport that you chose.

Well done for that, so hopefully this has done a good job of preparing you for that six-mark question and a clinical approach to it.

So we've just got time to do a quick summary of today's lesson.

So I shared, didn't I, that BUGGing the question helps you better understand and focus in on what is specifically being asked of you, but also to illustrate to whoever's marking the paper that you've really been well prepared for it, so you get a psychological edge there.

Secondly, six-mark questions will always require application through practical examples, and typically use two of the following command words and skills.

They typically use describe, where you need to give a detailed account and main characteristics, and we use explain, where you set out the purpose, reasons, or causes.

You may also use command words like discuss where you provide advantages and disadvantages, or analyse, where you identify components and provide the pros and cons.

Make sure you invest time in a plan and then use the PEEL technique to structure your answer, and that will improve your chances of scoring top marks.

I really hope this lesson's helped you prepare for that extended answer question that I know a lot of students worry about, and this will help you do better in that part that's worth 10% of your final mark.

Good luck and I'll see you next time.