As part of the examination marking process the Markers and Chief Examiners give feedback on the written papers and, therefore, although we are unable to teach to students directly, as this would be in breach of our governance as an Awarding Body, we have prepared the following to offer feedback, suggestions and, hopefully, clarification in any cases of confusion.

However, please remember, there are fully trained Approved Dance Centres and Distance Learning Tutors, who are available to train and suport candidates throughout the qualifications.


Promotion of Health and Safety in Dance and Lifespan Development and Learning in Dance Examinations

• Plan your time carefully i.e. allow longer for questions with higher marks

• Use the points to guide you; if a question asks for 3 points and has 3 marks allocated, it is likely that the Marker will be looking for three points in the answer

• Questions can be answered in any order; however, please ensure you identify the question numbers clearly on the mark sheet

• For Part A of the FDI exam paper, short, bullet-point answers are acceptable, for Part B and the whole of the CDE, a fuller essay style answer is required

• Spelling, grammar and handwriting are not marked, however, the Marker must be able to understand the answer so please be as clear as possible

• Past papers are available from the Education and Training Department on request

Background to the Chosen Dance Genre

• In order to help with the selection of topics and titles, and ensure the topic is along the right lines, we are offering a title approval service. Click here for further information

• The topic you choose, whether person, com pany, aspect of style or historic period, must demonstrate an influence on your chosen genre. For example; although Contemporary Dance cannot be used as a genre in itself, as it is not a dance genre the ISTD offers, it can be used to demonstrate the development of an ISTD genre and therefore allow you to show its influence on the genre itself

• The essay must be based on the influence of the topic on your genre and should not be a straight historical or biographical account

• Each essay you are required to complete must be written about the individual genre you are registered and submitting it for. It should not be an amalgam of all your genres

• If you need to complete an essay for FDI and CDE, it is recommended that Unit 6 is used to analyse sources and gather evidence to use as the basis for the Unit 8 essay

• Your choice of topic should be well thought out and defined. It should not be so wide that it is unmanageable and the selection of appropriate material difficult and, conversely, it should not be so narrow that there is too little material to substantiate the question you pose

• Spelling and grammar are not assessed, however, the Marker must be able to read and understand what you are trying to say. It is therefore highly recommended that the essay is typed

Structure:

• The introduction should explain the topic, advising why it has been chosen, your motivation and reasoning

• The critical evaluation of each source in the FDI should be shown individually after the source has been listed. The conclusion should then list the most important sources along with your reasons why you believe this to be the case. These decisions should be backed up by your individual analysis of the sources listed in the main assignment

• The conclusion for the CDE should answer your self-formulated question and, as with the FDI, be drawn from the evidence shown in the main assignment