JCQ Regulations

A. Regulations – Make sure you understand the rules

1. Be on time for all your exams. If you are late, your work might not be accepted.

2. Do not become involved in any unfair or dishonest practice during the exam.

3. If you try to cheat, or break the rules in any way, you could be disqualified from all your subjects.

4. You must not take into the exam room: (a) notes; (b) an iPod, a mobile phone, a MP3/4 player or similar device, or a watch.

Any pencil cases taken into the exam room must be see-through.

Remember: possession of unauthorised material is breaking the rules, even if you do not intend to use it, and you will be subject to penalty and possible disqualification.

5. If you have a watch, the invigilator will ask you to hand it to them.

6. Do not use correcting pens, fluid or tape, erasable pens, highlighters or gel pens in your answers.

7. Do not talk to or try to communicate with, or disturb other candidates once the exam has started.

8. You must not write inappropriate, obscene or offensive material.

9. If you leave the exam room unaccompanied by an invigilator before the exam has finished, you will not be allowed to return.

10. Do not borrow anything from another candidate during the exam

B. Information – Make sure you attend your exams and bring what you need

1. Know the dates and times of all your exams. Arrive at least ten minutes before the start of each exam.

2. If you arrive late for an exam, report to the invigilator running the exam.

3. If you arrive more than one hour after the published starting time for the exam, you may not be allowed to take it.

4. Only take into the exam room the pens, pencils, erasers and any other equipment which you need for the exam.

5. You must write clearly and in black ink. Coloured pencils or inks may only be used for diagrams, maps, charts, etc. unless the instructions printed on the front of the question paper state otherwise.

C. Calculators, dictionaries and computer spell-checkers

1. You may use a calculator unless you are told otherwise.

2. If you use a calculator: (a) make sure it works properly; check that the batteries are working properly; (b) clear anything stored in it; (c) remove any parts such as cases, lids or covers which have printed instructions or formulae; (d) do not bring into the exam room any operating instructions or prepared programs.

3. Do not use a dictionary or computer spell checker unless you are told otherwise

D. Instructions during the exam

1. Always listen to the invigilator. Always follow their instructions.

2. Tell the invigilator at once if: (a) you think you have not been given the right question paper or all of the materials listed on the front of the paper; (b) the question paper is incomplete or badly printed.

3. Read carefully and follow the instructions printed on the question paper and/or on the answer booklet.

4. Do not start writing anything until the invigilator tells you to fill in all the details required on the front of the question paper and/ or the answer booklet before you start the exam. Do not open the question paper until you are instructed that the exam has begun.

5. Remember to write your answers within the designated sections of the answer booklet.

6. Do your rough work on the proper exam stationery. Cross it through and hand it in with your answers. Make sure you add your candidate details to any additional answer sheets that you use, including those used for rough work.

E. At the end of the exam

1. If you have used more than one answer booklet and/or any supplementary answer sheets, place them in the correct order. Place any loose additional answer sheets inside your answer booklet. Make sure you add your candidate details to any additional answer sheets that you use.

2. Do not leave the exam room until told to do so by the invigilator.

3. Do not take any stationery from the exam room. This includes the question paper, answer booklets used or unused, rough work or any other materials provided for the exam

Preparing your work — good practice

If you receive help and guidance from someone other than your teacher, you must tell your teacher who will then record the nature of the assistance given to you.

If you worked as part of a group on an assignment, for example undertaking field research, you must each write up your own account of the assignment. Even if the data you have is the same, you must describe in your own words how that data was obtained and you must independently draw your own conclusions from the data. 

You must meet the deadlines that your teacher gives you. Remember – your teachers are there to guide you. Although they cannot give you direct assistance, they can help you to sort out any problems before it is too late. 

Take care of your work and keep it safe. Do not leave it lying around where your classmates can find it or share it with anyone, including posting it on social media. You must always keep your work secure and confidential whilst you are preparing it; do not share it with your classmates. If it is stored on the computer network, keep your password secure. Collect all copies from the printer and destroy those you do not need.

Do not be tempted to use pre-prepared or generated online solutions and try to pass them off as your own work – this is cheating. Electronic tools used by awarding bodies can detect this sort of copying.

You must not write inappropriate, offensive or obscene material.

Research and using references

In some subjects you will have an opportunity to do some independent research into a topic.

The research you do may involve looking for information in published sources such as textbooks, encyclopedias, journals, TV, radio and on the internet.

You can demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a subject by using information from sources or generated from sources which may include the internet and AI. Remember though, you must take care how you use this material - you cannot copy it and claim it as your own work.

Using information from published sources (including the internet) as the basis for your assignment is a good way to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a subject. You must take care how you use this material though – you cannot copy it and claim it as your own work.

The regulations state that:

‘the work which you submit for assessment must be your own’; ‘you must not copy from someone else or allow another candidate to copy from you’.

When producing a piece of work, if you use the same wording as a published source, you must place quotation marks around the passage and state where it came from. This is called ‘referencing’. You must make sure that you give detailed references for everything in your work which is not in your own words. A reference from a printed book or journal should show the name of the author, the year of publication and the page number, for example: Morrison, 2000, p29.

For material taken from the internet, your reference should show the date when the material was downloaded and must show the precise web page, not the search engine used to locate it. This can be copied from the address line. For example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/28/newsid_2621000/2621915.stm, downloaded 5 February 2024.

Where computer-generated content has been used (such as an AI Chatbot), your reference must show the name of the AI bot used and should show the date the content was generated. For example: ChatGPT 3.5 (https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/), 25/01/2024. You should retain a copy of the computer-generated content for reference and authentication purposes. The regulations state that: ‘the work which you submit for assessment must be your own’; ‘you must not copy from someone else or allow another candidate to copy from you’. In some subjects you will have an opportunity to do some independent research into a topic. The research you do may involve looking for information in published sources such as textbooks, encyclopedias, journals, TV, radio and on the internet. You can demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a subject by using information from sources or generated from sources which may include the internet and AI. Remember though, you must take care how you use this material - you cannot copy it and claim it as your own work. Using information from published sources (including the internet) as the basis for your assignment is a good way to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a subject. You must take care how you use this material though – you cannot copy it and claim it as your own work. Research and using references 4

You may be required to include a bibliography at the end of your piece of written work. Your teacher will tell you whether a bibliography is necessary. Where required, your bibliography must list the full details of publications you have used in your research, even where these are not directly referred to, for example: Curran, J. Mass Media and Society (Hodder Arnold, 2005). If you copy the words, ideas or outputs of others and do not show your sources in references and a bibliography, this will be considered as cheating.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism involves taking someone else’s words, thoughts, ideas or outputs and trying to pass them off as your own. It is a form of cheating which is taken very seriously.

Don’t think you won’t be caught; there are many ways to detect plagiarism.

• Markers can spot changes in the style of writing and use of language.

• Markers are highly experienced subject specialists who are very familiar with work on the topic concerned — they may have read the source you are using, or even marked the work you have copied from!

• Internet search engines and specialised computer software can be used to match phrases or pieces of text with original sources and to detect changes in the grammar and style of writing or punctuation.

Penalties for breaking the regulations

If it is discovered that you have broken the regulations, one of the following penalties will be applied:

• the piece of work will be awarded zero marks;

• you will be disqualified from that component for the examination series in question;

• you will be disqualified from the whole subject for that examination series;

• you will be disqualified from all subjects and barred from entering again for a period of time.

The awarding body will decide which penalty is appropriate.

REMEMBER – IT’S YOUR QUALIFICATION SO IT NEEDS TO BE YOUR OWN WORK