A few weeks ago BOHS announced that from November the 1st all module examinations will have a new format.
The exam will still be in two parts but from 1st November
- Part A will consist of 40 short answer questions rather than 60 multiple choice questions. There are pros and cons for candidates, but the biggest advantage is that there will no longer be any negative marking.
- Part B will changed so that candidates will be required to answer 5 "micro-essay" questions from a choice of 8.
- The pass mark will remain at 50%
Personally I think the change to part A will be beneficial. As there is no negative marking it will be advisable to try to answer all the questions. Currently some candidates hesitate on some questions where they are not 100% confident, even though they may know the answer. And it will only be necessary to get 20 out of 40 right. Another benefit is that as each question is worth 4 marks, some answers may gain partial marks. This will be particularly helpful with calculation questions where marks can be gained providing an appropriate method is used even if the final answer is incorrect due to a slip in the calculation (working will need to be shown to ensure this happens). Currently a small slip results in a negative mark for an incorrect answer even where the candidate understands the principles involved.
For Part B, instead of one long question from a choice of two, candidates will be required to answer 5 out of 8 "micro-essay" questions. BOHS have now released some example questions which can be accessed here.
Given the time available for the exam hasn't changed (2 hours 15 minutes total) with 45 minutes meant to be devoted to Part B, they are expecting no more than 15 minutes to be devoted to answering each of these "micro-essay" questions, so candidates answers will need to be concise, while ensuring that the key points are included. Experience will show how easy it is to achieve this.
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