📝 Section B — Set Phrase · 6a.1
What Section B asks you to do
Exam guide · The marking ladder · PEE & PP-EE-EE · The golden rule
📚 What you'll learn on this page
- Understand exactly what Section B asks and how it's marked
- Use the marking ladder to identify Level 1, 2 and 3 answers
- Structure a response using Method 1: PEE
- Structure a response using Method 2: PP-EE-EE
Every time you step into the rehearsal room, you're making choices. How sharp is your focus during the turns? Are you generating enough core stability to send that left leg into arabesque cleanly on count 8? How do you use the energy you've built so it doesn't collapse before the ending? Section B is your chance to tell the examiner about those choices. Not about a professional company — about you, your skills, and your phrase.
6a.1.1 The exam at a glance
📋 Section B: what you're facing
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3
Questions in Section B
6
Marks per question
18
Total marks for Section B
~8
Minutes per question
All three questions are about your own Component 1 performance work — not a professional work. Typically, one question comes from the set phrase, one from the duet or trio, and one from your own choreography.
Did you know? Not all five question pools appear on one paper. AQA selects the pools that appear — but for the set phrase question, any one of the five could come up. You need to be ready for all of them.
For the set phrase, questions are drawn from one of these five skill pools:
Physical Skills
Strength, stamina, balance, flexibility, control…
Expressive Skills
Phrasing, facial expression, spatial awareness…
Technical Skills
Alignment, timing, rhythmic accuracy, dance style…
Mental Skills
Focus, confidence, responding to feedback…
Safe Working Practices
Warm-up, cool-down, safe execution, environment…
Solo performance — one skill excluded Because you perform the set phrase solo and unaccompanied, the expressive skill of sensitivity to other dancers cannot be applied to your set phrase. Similarly, technical relationship skills don't apply here.
6a.1.2 The marking ladder
🪜 How answers are marked: the three levels
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Every Section B question is marked against a three-level marking ladder. Click each level to see the full descriptor and an example answer.
Level 3 · 5–6 marks
Specific, analytical, evaluative
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The student names specific skill(s), describes a precise moment from their phrase in enough detail for the examiner to visualise it, and clearly explains why using that skill made the performance effective or what impact it had. Evaluation of effectiveness is present — not just description.
✅ Level 3 example (physical skills in Shift)
"On count 8 of the third section in Shift, I send my left leg into arabesque from a deep bent right leg, facing downstage right. I used core stability and strength to achieve full extension while keeping my torso upright. This is effective because the sudden shape creates a powerful visual contrast after the fast floor work that precedes it."
Level 2 · 3–4 marks
Descriptive with some context
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The student identifies skill(s) and gives some description of their performance, with limited explanation. There's a reference to their own work but it lacks the precision or analytical depth needed for Level 3. The examiner can get a partial picture — but not a complete one.
🟡 Level 2 example
"I used strength and core stability in the set phrase Shift. At the end of the floor section I need to push up and extend my left leg into an arabesque. I needed core stability to hold this position and keep my balance."
Level 1 · 1–2 marks
Names skills, little or no description
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The student names one or more skills but makes only general statements. There's little or no reference to a specific moment in their own performance. The examiner cannot picture anything in particular. Often reads like a definition rather than an answer.
❌ Level 1 example
"I used good strength and balance in my performance. These are important physical skills for a dancer to have."
Click each level above to expand the full descriptor and example.
🎯 Which Level?
Read each answer snippet below. Click the level you think it scores, then reveal the verdict.
"During the set phrase Breathe, on count 6 of the fourth section, I smile and suspend into a falling run downstage right. The expressive skill of facial expression here is crucial — my smile and upward focus signal joy and release to the audience, creating the sense that the dancer is finally letting go of tension. This contrasts with the contracted, inward quality earlier in the phrase and gives the ending emotional lift."
"I used focus and spatial awareness in my performance. These expressive skills helped make my performance look better and more professional."
"In the set phrase Shift, during the turn sequence in bar 2, I used rhythmic accuracy to ensure I stepped precisely on the beat. I transferred my weight cleanly to each foot on counts 2, 3 and 4, spotting as I turned. This technical accuracy meant the sequence had a clear, confident quality."
6a.1.3 The golden rule
🌟 Specific enough for the examiner to visualise
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Every Section B answer needs to pass what we call the close-your-eyes test. If the examiner closes their eyes and reads your example, can they see the exact moment you're describing? Not a vague arabesque somewhere — a specific arabesque, in a specific section, at a specific count, facing a specific direction.
❌ Fails the test
"During the arabesque section of the phrase, I used strength and balance to hold my leg up."
✅ Passes the test
"On count 8 of the third section in Shift, I send my left leg into arabesque from a deep right knee bend, facing downstage right. I used core stability and strength to extend fully into this shape without my torso collapsing forward."
Examiner's Eye The markers who read your paper have never seen you perform. Your example is the only image they have. Give them counts, section names, direction, body part, and action. The more precise, the more marks you earn.
Helpful details to include in your example:
- Which phrase — Shift or Breathe?
- Which section / bar — first section, bar 4, the floor phrase…
- Which count — on count 3, on count 8, on the &…
- Which body part — left leg, right arm, the torso…
- Which action — arabesque, step-hop, ronde jambe turn…
- Which direction — downstage right, facing front, to stage left…
Analogy Anchor Think of your example like a GPS pin, not a town name. "I went to London" tells the examiner nothing. "I was at 51.5°N, 0.1°W, in the downstage-right corner at count 8" gives them your exact location. The specificity is the mark.
6a.1.4 Method 1 — PEE
🔵 PEE: Point → Example → Explain
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Method 1 works best when the question focuses on one specific skill category and you want to write a single, tightly structured response. It has three layers — each one builds on the last.
POINT
Name the skill(s) you used
EXAMPLE
Describe the specific moment
EXPLAIN
Why it made it effective
Watch how a full answer builds step by step. Click Add next layer to see each part added.
🗒️ Exam question
"Explain how you used physical skills in your performance of the set phrase."
POINT
EXAMPLE
EXPLAIN
Your answer will build here…
Examiner's Eye Notice how the POINT alone earns almost nothing. It's the EXAMPLE — specific counts, phrase name, body part, action — that starts bringing in marks. The EXPLAIN ties it together by showing you understand why the skill matters, not just what it is.
6a.1.5 Method 2 — PP-EE-EE
🟣 PP-EE-EE: two skills, full development
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Method 2 is ideal when a question asks you to write about more than one skill, or when you want to cover more ground in your 8-minute window. Instead of completing each skill one at a time, you name both skills first, then give both examples, then explain both. This keeps the answer focused and avoids repetition.
Point 1
Point 2
Example 1
Example 2
Explain 1
Explain 2
Here's a full PP-EE-EE answer building step by step, using Breathe as the example. Click Add next layer.
🗒️ Exam question
"Explain how you used expressive skills in your performance of the set phrase."
POINT 1
POINT 2
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXPLAIN 1
EXPLAIN 2
Your answer will build here…
PEE vs PP-EE-EE — which to choose? Use PEE when the question specifies a single skill or when you want maximum depth on one thing. Use PP-EE-EE when you have two strong examples ready and want to show breadth. Under time pressure, PP-EE-EE is usually more efficient.
6a.1.6 What has come up — 2018–2025
📊 Past paper history: set phrase questions
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All five question pools have come up for the set phrase in past papers. Use this to spot which pools have appeared more recently or more than once — and to make sure you're not leaving any of them unprepared.
| Pool | How often | What it tends to focus on |
|---|---|---|
| Physical skills | Appeared in past papers | How physical skills such as strength, balance or stamina were demonstrated |
| Expressive skills | Appeared in past papers | How expressive skills contributed to the effectiveness of your performance |
| Technical skills | Appeared more than once, including recently | How technical skills — timing, alignment, rhythmic accuracy — were applied |
| Mental skills | Appeared more than once, including recently | Mental skills in preparation and performance, including responding to feedback |
| Safe working practices | Appeared in past papers | How safe practice was applied during learning, rehearsal and performance |
Examiner's Eye Technical skills and mental skills have each appeared more than once across past papers. Every pool has come up — which means no pool is safe to ignore. Prepare examples from Shift and Breathe for all five before your exam.
🧠 Revision Check
10 questions · Select one answer per question · Submit when you're ready
1. How many marks is Section B worth in total?
2. How many questions will you face in Section B?
3. A student writes: "I used good balance and control in my performance." Which level is this most likely to score?
4. In PEE, what should the 'E' for Example contain?
5. Which expressive skill is excluded when writing about a solo unaccompanied set phrase?
6. How many marks can you earn on a single Section B question?
7. How many question pools could a set phrase Section B question come from?
8. When is PP-EE-EE especially useful compared to PEE?
9. A student describes a specific moment from their set phrase — they name the count, the section, the body part and the direction they were facing. This description is most likely to reach:
10. In which year did safe working practices appear as the set phrase question in Section B?
Take a screenshot of your score now and paste it into your ePortfolio document so your teacher can see your progress.
⚡ Revisit This — 6 key facts
Section B marks3 questions × 6 marks = 18 marks total (~8 minutes per question)
Five question poolsPhysical · Expressive · Technical · Mental · Safe Working Practices
Level 3 requiresSpecific detail — counts, section, body part, action — plus clear evaluation of effectiveness
Method 1: PEEPoint (name skill) → Example (specific moment) → Explain (why effective)
Method 2: PP-EE-EEName both skills first, then both examples, then both explanations
Watch outSensitivity to other dancers and relationship skills don't apply to a solo set phrase