Evaluating Religious and Ethical Arguments

The other half of the marks

In Religious Studies half of the marks come from knowing the material and half from evaluating it. An evaluation question does not ask you to list what people believe. It asks you to weigh points of view about a religious belief, a moral issue or a large question about life, and to reach a judgement you can justify. Command words such as discuss, evaluate, or to what extent do you agree all signal a question of this kind, and so does an instruction to show that you have considered more than one point of view. The most important thing to understand before you go on is this: there is no correct verdict on a moral or religious question, and no examiner is waiting for one particular side. The marks are for the reasoning. A well-argued answer that reaches one conclusion and a well-argued answer that reaches the opposite conclusion score the same. This module teaches the method, and it uses neutral examples so that you can concentrate on the shape of the argument rather than on the issue.

The words the mark scheme uses

Five terms worth knowing before you write. They are the words examiners use when they describe what a top answer does.

What each opening is doing

Which one wants evaluation?

Four exam questions. Which of them is asking you to evaluate rather than to recall?

• Describe two ways in which believers show respect in a place of worship.
• Explain why sources of authority matter to religious believers.
• Giving to those in need is the most important duty a believer has. To what extent do you agree?
• Outline what is meant by the term conscience.

Build the paragraph

Five things a strong evaluation paragraph does. Put them into the order that reads best.

• State the first point of view clearly and say who holds it
• Support it with a teaching, a source of authority or a clear reason
• Give the strongest case on the other side
• Weigh the two against each other
• Reach a judgement and give the reason for it

Thin and strong

Two answers to the same evaluation question. Both know the material. Only one of them is evaluating.

The trap at the end

The mark most often lost is the last one. Many students set out both sides carefully and then finish with a sentence such as: so there are arguments on both sides, or: people must decide for themselves. Neither of those is a judgement. They describe the disagreement instead of settling it, and a description of a disagreement is something you already wrote in the middle of the answer. A judgement names which case you find stronger and gives the reason, like this: the second case is the stronger, because it rests on a teaching that believers treat as binding, while the first rests on how one person happens to feel. Note too that a judgement is not a personal opinion dropped in at the end. If the reason you give was not built earlier in the answer, the examiner has nothing to credit it against. Build the reason as you go, then collect it in the final sentence.

Finish the method

A question that begins with the words to what extent do you agree is asking you to _____. The strongest case against the position you have just put is called a _____. A conclusion that names which side is stronger and writes down the reason for it is a _____. The teaching or reason you use to back a point of view is its _____.

Find the judgement

Five sentences from one answer, in the order they were written. Tap the ONE that reaches a substantiated judgement.

• Many religious believers hold that caring for the natural world is a duty they have been given rather than a choice they make.
• They point to the teaching that the world is entrusted to people to look after rather than to use up.
• Others reply that the choices of one household change almost nothing next to the decisions of governments and large companies.
• There are clearly strong arguments on both sides of this question.
• The first case is the stronger, because a duty a believer has accepted does not stop applying merely because other people carry more of the blame.

A counter-argument worth writing

A counter-argument is the case against the position you have just put. Which THREE of these make one worth the space it takes?

• It is the strongest version of the other side, not the easiest one to knock down
• It is supported by a teaching, a source of authority or a clear reason of its own
• It is answered later in the answer rather than left hanging
• It is longer than the point it opposes
• It names the most shocking thing anyone has ever said about the issue

A worked paragraph

Here is one evaluation paragraph on the statement that believers should give away as much as they can to those in need. Read it for its shape, not for its verdict. Many believers hold that giving generously is a duty rather than a kindness, and they point to teachings that treat wealth as something held in trust to be used for others. Against that, others argue that a believer also has duties to a family and to the people who depend on them, and that giving away what those people need is not generosity but neglect. The second case answers the first rather than ignoring it, because it accepts the duty of generosity and then asks who else has a claim on it. On balance the second is the stronger, since it holds both duties together instead of setting one of them aside. Now notice what the paragraph never does. It does not list everything believers think about money, it does not use a weak version of either side, and it does not end by saying that people must decide for themselves.

Write the weighing sentence

One sentence can do the weighing and the judging together. Choose the option in each gap that makes it work.

Judgement gauntlet

Five quick questions on the evaluation skill. Three lives.

Twelve minutes, twelve marks

You are in the exam. The question reads: religious teaching is the only guide a person needs when making a moral decision. Discuss this statement, showing that you have considered more than one point of view. You have about twelve minutes. Work through three choices.

• You have roughly one minute before you should start writing. What do you do with it?
• You have written the religious case clearly and supported it. What goes next?
• Two minutes are left and both sides are on the page. How do you finish?

Your evaluation paragraph

Write one evaluation paragraph on this statement: a person can be good without following any religion. Discuss it, showing that you have considered more than one point of view. Remember that you are not marked on which side you take, only on how well you argue it.

• Open with one clear point of view and say who holds it
• Support it with a teaching, a source of authority or a clear reason
• Give the strongest case on the other side, not the easiest one to dismiss
• Weigh the two against each other rather than leaving them side by side
• Finish by naming which you find stronger, using a reason you built earlier