OCR A-Level Philosophy Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Philosophy answers at A-Level reward two things above all: precise terminology and structured argument. For terminology, build a glossary of the central technical terms organised by topic: ontological, cosmological, teleological, theodicy, soul-making, dualism, monism, religious experience, verification principle, falsification, language game, Wittgensteinian fideism. Each term needs a thirty-word definition you can reproduce verbatim. For argument structure, every essay should follow Steve Kreis's three-step pattern: state the position, attack it with the strongest possible critic, defend it (or yield to the critic) with a third-stage philosopher. For ontological arguments, this means Anselm → Gaunilo's island → Plantinga's modal version. For the problem of evil, Augustine's free-will defence → Hick's soul-making → Plantinga's free-will defence revisited. For mark band 5 (the highest), examiners require a clear personal judgement supported by reasoning, not a non-committal summary. Always end essays with 'I find X most persuasive because…' Memorise four extended quotations per topic from the named philosophers: Plato Republic, Aristotle Metaphysics, Aquinas Summa Theologiae, Descartes Meditations, Hume Dialogues, Wittgenstein Philosophical Investigations.