How do I plan and write the 25-mark Section C essays on the areas of study?
The Section C extended essay: answering two essays on two different areas of study, structuring an argument with named musical evidence, evaluating, and meeting the quality-of-extended-response criterion within the timing of H543/05.
A focused answer to the Section C extended essays in OCR A-Level Music. Covers answering two essays on two different areas of study, structuring an argument by theme with named musical evidence, evaluating rather than describing, meeting the quality-of-extended-response criterion, and managing the timing of the H543/05 paper.
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What this dot point is asking
Section C of the Listening and Appraising paper is the extended essay section: you write two essays, on two different areas of study, each worth 25 marks on the paper. This dot point sets out how to plan and write them, structuring an argument with named musical evidence, evaluating rather than describing, and meeting the quality-of-extended-response criterion, within the paper's timing.
What Section C asks
Structuring the argument
Evidence and evaluation
Timing and the two essays
How Section C is examined
Section C is the extended-essay section, two essays on two different areas of study, each 25 marks, with the asterisked essays also assessing extended-writing quality. The marks reward a sustained, evidenced, evaluative argument answering the question, organised by theme, with specific musical detail, not narrative description or a list. It is the section where your depth in your chosen areas, and your ability to argue, pay off most.
Try this
Q1. How many Section C essays do you write, on how many areas, and for how many marks each? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Two essays, on two different areas of study, each worth 25 marks on the paper.
Q2. What three things should each body paragraph of a Section C essay contain? [Short explanation]
- Cue. A point (advancing the argument), specific named musical evidence (features, devices, works), and evaluation (how and why, and how effectively), all tied to the question.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 2021 (H543/05 Section C, style)20 marksDiscuss how composers in one of your areas of study use [a named element, e.g. harmony or texture] expressively, with reference to specific styles or works. (Section C extended essay; on the paper this carries 25 marks)Show worked answer →
A Section C essay (the real paper tariff is 25 marks). Open with a clear line of argument answering the question, then organise the essay by theme or style (not piece by piece at random), giving each paragraph a point, named musical evidence (specific features, devices and works), and evaluation (how and why the element is used expressively, and how effectively). Cover the development across the area where relevant, and conclude with a judgement. Markers reward a sustained, evidenced argument with evaluation and accurate detail; the asterisked essays also assess the quality of extended response (coherent, well-organised writing). They penalise narrative description, a list of names, or an answer that drifts from the question.
OCR 2020 (H543/05 Section C, style)20 marks'The most important development in [your area of study] was [X].' How far do you agree? (Section C extended essay; on the paper this carries 25 marks)Show worked answer →
A Section C essay (the real paper tariff is 25 marks). This is an evaluative question, so take a clear position and argue it: weigh the named development against others in the area, supporting each point with specific musical evidence and judging its importance, before reaching a justified conclusion on "how far". Organise by argument, not chronology for its own sake. Markers reward a balanced, evidenced evaluation with a clear judgement and the quality of extended writing. They penalise a one-sided list, pure narrative, or failing to address "how far" with an actual judgement.
Related dot points
- The Section A unfamiliar-listening skill: describing extracts you have never heard against the elements, identifying style and features, and comparing an unfamiliar extract with the prescribed work or another extract, within the printed number of playings.
A focused answer to the Section A unfamiliar-listening skill in OCR A-Level Music. Covers describing extracts you have never heard against the elements, identifying the style and signature features of your areas of study, comparing an unfamiliar extract with the prescribed work, and managing the printed number of audio playings in the H543/05 paper.
- Melodic and rhythmic dictation: hearing and notating pitch (contour, intervals against the key) and rhythm (metre, beat subdivision, bar-counting), the score-completion skill of Section B and the wider aural demands of the paper.
A focused answer to melodic and rhythmic dictation in OCR A-Level Music. Covers hearing and notating pitch (contour, intervals against the key, using anchor notes) and rhythm (fixing the metre, subdividing the beat, counting the bar), the order to work in, and a reliable method for the score-completion dictations in Section B and the paper's aural demands.
- Harmonic dictation and chord recognition: hearing the bass line, chord quality and cadences, and completing missing chords or a bass on a printed extract, the harmonic aural skill of the Listening and Appraising paper.
A focused answer to harmonic dictation and chord recognition in OCR A-Level Music. Covers hearing the bass line, judging chord quality and sevenths, using cadence logic at phrase ends, and completing missing chords or a bass on a printed extract, the harmonic aural skill underlying Section B and the listening questions in H543/05.
- Choosing at least one of the five optional areas of study (Popular Song, Instrumental Jazz, Religious Music of the Baroque, Programme Music, Innovations) and a transferable method for learning its styles, context and signature features for Section A and Section C.
A focused answer to choosing and studying an optional area of study in OCR A-Level Music. Explains the five options, how the chosen area is examined in Section A (unfamiliar listening) and Section C (extended essays), and a transferable method for mastering a style's context, development and signature musical features.
- Relating the prescribed work to its Classical context and to unfamiliar Section A extracts: using the set work as a reference point to identify and compare the style, structures and devices of Classical music heard cold.
A focused answer to placing the prescribed work in context for OCR A-Level Music. Covers using the set work as a reference point for the Classical style, distinguishing its typical and distinctive features, and applying that knowledge to identify and compare unfamiliar Section A extracts and to argue Section C essays on Classical instrumental music.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Music (H543) specification — OCR (2016)
- OCR H543/05 Listening and Appraising mark scheme — OCR (2024)