GCSE RE SPEC b How do I answer the questions

2. EXAMINATIONS
In the exam you will complete 3 exam papers:
• Paper 1 – Catholic Christianity – 1hr 45 mins and its
worth 50%
• Paper 2 – Judaism – 50 mins and its worth 25%
• Paper 3 – Philosophy and Ethics – 50 mins and it is
worth 25%
When you see * in the exam paper – you are marked on
SpaG

3. HOW DO I ANSWER EACH
QUESTION?
• Each question is split into 4 sections:
• a) 3 marks
• b) 4 marks
• c) 5 marks
• d) 12 marks

4. • A a) question will ask you to STATE or OUTLINE.
• You do not have to answer in full sentences, rather give an example.

5. A) 3 MARKS
a) State three parables of the Kingdom
Parable of the Sower
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Parable of the Sheep and Goats
This answer would get FULL MARKS as you have
identified correct answers

6. • A b) question will ask you to EXPLAIN.
• You have to write in full sentences.
• You need to give TWO reasons that are developed to get the four marks.

7. B) 4 MARKS
b) Explain two reasons why incarnation is important for Catholics
Incarnation is important for Catholics as incarnation is when God became flesh
in Jesus. This means that we can relate to Jesus as he is human like us, for
example with his temptation in the desert.
Another reason why incarnation is important for Catholics is because through
Jesus being human he died on the cross for our sins. This shows God’s love for
us and we can relate to his pain and suffering.
This answer would get FULL MARKS as you have given
TWO DEVELOPED answers.

8. • A c) question will ask you to EXPLAIN.
• You have to write in full sentences.
• You need to give TWO reasons that are developed
• You must refer to sources of wisdom and authority for 5 marks.

9. Sources of Wisdom and
Authority The Bible
 Catechism
 Magisterium
(authorities teaching of the Pope, Bishops in letters,
documents and homilies)
 Doctors of the Church – Eg St. Thomas
Aquinas
 Torah
 Tenakh
 Talmud
 Rabbinic teaching
Christianity Judaism

10. C) 5 MARKS
c) Explain two reasons why Catholic’s should support the work of CAFOD. Refer to
sources of wisdom and authority.
Catholic’s should support the work of CAFOD for many reasons. CAFOD is a
charity that helps people who are living in poverty. Catholics should support
there work because they would be living out the parable of the Good
Samaritan as stated in Luke 10 by helping others.
Another reason why Catholic’s should support CAFOD’s work is because there
would be following Jesus’ teaching to ‘love your neighbour’ from Mark 12. By
donating money to CAFOD you are loving your neighbour.
This answer would get FULL MARKS as you have given TWO
DEVELOPED answers AND referred to sources of wisdom.

11. • A d) question will ask you to EVALUATE and give a BALANCED ARGUMENT.
• You have to do a piece of extended writing.
• You need to give THREE reasons that are developed for each side
• You must refer to sources of wisdom and authority
• Use PEE
Introduction
In this
question, I am
going to
evaluate the
Paragraph 1
Agree
Paragraph 2
Disagree
Paragraph 3
Catholic
Viewpoint
Conclusion
Your opinion,
reach a
conclusion

12. d) Forgiveness is a waste of time
Some people would support this statement that forgiveness is a waste of time.
This is because sometimes you forgive someone but they just do it again. Also, to
forgive doesn’t mean anything as you might not be able to move on. Finally,
some things can not be forgiven like murder and rape.
Some people would disagree as they might believe that forgiveness is not a waste
of time. This is because it is important to forgive as you would want to be forgiven
also. It is also not a waste of time as you are able to move with the person if you
forgive them. Finally, forgiveness is important if the person is truly sorry for what
they have done, otherwise it would be a waste of time.
Support
Against
D) 12 MARKS

13. d) Forgiveness is a waste of time.
However, for Catholic’s they believe that forgiveness is important and is not a
waste of time. This is because in the Our father (Matthew 25) that Jesus taught us
it teaches us to ‘forgive others as we forgive those’. It is also not a waste of time as
Catholics will want God to forgive them of their sins. Finally, Jesus taught us to
forgive 70 x 7 which means we should always forgive.
In conclusion, I believe that forgiveness is not a waste of time but it depends on
the actually act. For example, I think it would be hard to forgive a murderer who
killed my brother, which is what Anthony Walker’s family did. But I can see that if
you forgive it allows you to move on.
Catholic
Conclusion
This answer would get FULL MARKS as you have given THREE POINTS
for each side, evaluated the statement AND referred to sources of
wisdom.

14. Grade Marks
9 24
8 23
7 22
6 18
5 16
4 12
3 8
2 5
1 4
0 3 or less