OCR A-Level Computer Science
Explore your course, one topic at a time.
Course H446
Course version · H446Version from Sept 2017Change version
Choose the version your school teaches. Your teacher can confirm which one, including for resits.
Explore your topics
48 topics
Course topics48 topics
- Thinking abstractly
- Software and software development
- Testing to inform evaluation
- Thinking concurrently
- Evaluation
- Problem identification
- Describe the final product
- Applications Generation
- Compression, Encryption and Hashing
- Computing related legislation
- Data types, data structures and algorithms
- Databases
12 of 48 shown
Assessment and exam guidance
What Gets Top Grades
A*/Grade 9
Knowledge & Understanding
Demonstrates comprehensive and accurate knowledge
- Uses correct subject-specific terminology
- Shows detailed understanding of concepts
- Makes accurate connections between topics
- Demonstrates depth beyond surface-level knowledge
Application
Applies knowledge effectively to new contexts
- Selects relevant knowledge for the question
- Adapts understanding to unfamiliar scenarios
- Uses examples appropriately
- Shows awareness of context
Analysis & Evaluation
Develops sophisticated analytical arguments
- Constructs logical chains of reasoning
- Considers multiple perspectives
- Weighs evidence to reach justified conclusions
- Acknowledges limitations and nuances
Key Command Words
OCR
State
1 mark
Give a single fact or term
Identify
1 mark
Name or select
Describe
2-4 marks
Account of process or features
Explain
3-6 marks
Give reasons with BUSINESS-FACING outcomes
Analyse
6-9 marks
Examine methodically showing cause→effect→outcome
Evaluate
9-12 marks
Judge, weigh up evidence, reach SYNOPTIC conclusion
Tips and common mistakes
Common Exam Mistakes
Pitfalls to avoid in your exams
- •Failing to distinguish between the abstract model and the actual real-world implementation
- •Providing overly simplistic models that lack necessary detail for the specific problem
- •Confusing abstraction with decomposition
- •Confusing the roles of linkers and loaders
- •Misunderstanding the difference between paging and segmentation
- •Failing to justify the choice of a specific software development methodology for a given scenario
- •Incorrectly identifying the stages of compilation in the correct order
- •Confusing object-oriented concepts like inheritance and polymorphism
Top Examiner Tips
Expert advice for exam success
- •When asked to devise an abstract model, ensure you clearly identify which details are included and which are omitted, and justify why.
- •Use real-world examples to illustrate your understanding of how abstraction simplifies complex systems.
- •Focus on the 'why'—explain the benefits of using abstraction in a computational context.
- •Be prepared to compare different scheduling algorithms in terms of efficiency and fairness
- •Ensure you can explain the purpose of virtual machines in executing intermediate code
- •Practice tracing assembly language programs using the Little Man Computer (LMC) instruction set
- •Use clear, technical terminology when describing the stages of the compilation process
- •When discussing software development, focus on the relative merits and drawbacks of each methodology
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