exam breakdown
Rime of the ancient marinerPosted by Year 12 Thu, February 20, 2014 12:01:12
Section A - Question 1
This question is out of
21 and will be a question along the lines of 'How does Author X
tell the story in Chapter/Part ___?'
The key thing to note
with this question is you are marked only for AO2 - which
essentially is about analysing how the author uses structure,
form and language to shape meanings. Therefore, logically it makes
sense to structure your answer so that you have a paragraph or so
dedicated to each of these three components of the AO2. This
question is not about writing what 'something could mean, but
on the other hand what others may think it means', it is about
detailing to the examiner the different literary techniques or the
aspects of narrative used by the author.
Before you
delve into this though, I would advise to include a short
introductory paragraph which outlines what happens in chapter X.
This only needs to be two, maybe three sentences long at most, just
so it puts your answer into context, and demonstrates to the
examiner that you know what happens in this chapter.
So, the
way to structure your answer to this question is as follows:
1.
Short introductory paragraph which outlines the main events that
happen in the chapter/part.
2. Paragraph on the author's
form/language.
Other things to comment on could be the language used in relation
to the narrator's feelings. Is the narrator happy or melancholic?
Then comment on how this is significant. Does the narrator's
language change during the chapter/part, or does his tone change? If
so then comment on this and say how it adds significance to the
chapter. Further, you can comment on any of the above then relate it
to its purpose/destination, does the component you talk about affect
anything later on in the novel/poem?
3. Paragraph on the
structure of the chapter. You should use this paragraph to
talk about whether the chapter/part is told chronologically or not,
and how does this then shape the reader's view of the novel/poem?
Comment on whether the author has purposely created gaps in this
chapter or missed out a certain time period, or suddenly gone from
Spring to Summer in the chapter, etc. Commenting on time and how it
passes in the chapter can sometimes be quite a unique, but effective
thing to talk about in the question. These are all significant
components of how the author tells the story - if these are present,
then pull them out and comment explicitly on how they shape
meanings. Is there a cyclical structure to how the chapter is told?
How does the structure of this chapter go on to affect other
chapters later on or previously in the novel/part? Obviously, you
don't need to comment on all of these ideas, the best way is
to just pull out one or two of these points then expand on them.
4. Paragraph on the narrative perspective. This is
something that will vary quite a lot dependant on the text you are
doing. Aspects to include in this paragraph are things like what
form of narration is present - is it first person, what different
voices are present? etc. It is best to state what type of narration
is featured at the start of your paragraph. Then, you can comment on
whether the narrator is reliable, or if he is biased. Comment on how
the narrator deals with integrating with other secondary characters,
and the effect this might have on his narration/storytelling.
Comment on any use of different view points during the narration,
and how this is significant to the story, and what implication might
come about because of this. Always link these back to the
'overarching' story - how they give effect to the rest of the
novel/part
5. Paragraph on setting. Commenting
firstly on where the narrator has started off in this chapter/part
and where he ends up (in context of the setting) and why this may be
significant. Remember, you don't get marked for AO4 in this
question, so don't waste your time talking about context, as that is
used in the next question.
Section A - Question
2
Again, this question is out of 21, however the type
of question asked here will vary immensely, so it is hard to detail
a specific structure to your answer. This question will be linked
to the previous question in section A - although it may not seem
like it. The examiners choose this question carefully with the view
that it has a relation to an event or something specific from the
question asked on telling the story in chapter X. Therefore,
you should try and make some sort of small connection in your answer
that links to the chapter you previously spoke about.
Typical
questions asked will be along the lines of: “How far do you agree
with..” “What is your view of author X's use of..” "To
what extent is.." just to give you a rough idea of what you may
encounter.
Now for this question, you get most of
your marks for AO3 - which is analysis and evaluation of different
interpretations of carefully selected references (e.g quotes). So
here you need to make sure that rather then saying 'Author X
does this because..' you should say things like 'It could be seen
that author x does this because... however, others may be of
the view that author x does this due to...' Those aiming for
the top marks may include an evaluation point following that, so
something like 'Overall, the more fitting view is that...' or 'The
latter is more likely/has more weight as...' What you really get
marks for is saying why the author has included this, what effect it
may give, what effect it may not give, etc.
Something I
saved from reading through the examiners report on past papers for
this exam is this: Strongest candidates are those who agree with
the statement and give alternative interpretations on meaning and
give both sides to arguments. This underlines what I have said.
The bad answers will be those that just outline a balanced argument,
which leaves the examiner in limbo until you finally conclude it,
thus letting the examiner know whether or not you agree/disagree
with the question. The best answers will be those who have a strong
view at the foundation of their argument, one where the examiner
knows whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with the question
throughout your answer, rather than having to leave it to the end to
find out. You can do this and still give alternative interpretations
which go against what you are arguing, just make sure that it is
clear.
A final thing to comment on in this question, you
are marked on AO4 - Context. This is in my opinion the hardest
thing to do well in this exam, as you have to be able to think up
your own relevant piece and apply it to a certain part of your
answer. What can work is to make a list of different context
sentences, and try to remember core parts to these, and then use 2/3
of these in your answer to the question. Context needs to be worked
into your answer well, it will make the examiners cringe if they see
context which has been evidently forced into your essay, just so you
can 'tick the AO4 box'. So, the best way to do this is to try
memorise 4/5 context sentences, which you can adapt and apply to
your answer.
Section B
This
question is out of 42 and is the big one of this exam. Here you must
write about a minimum of three texts and write a piece on
them.
This answer is assessed on everything except AO4 -
context, so again there is no point including specific contextual
references as there are no marks gained for them. Focus on writing
in this answer about things like imagery, symbolism, themes,
structure, form, language, contrast, any foreshadowing,
juxtaposition, use of narrator and these different aspects of
narrative and literary devices in your answer. Talk about how these
narrative methods shape meanings, add significance to the text, why
they may have been used, what the reader thinks as a result of them
and the like. Make sure you really utilise your AO3 again here
giving a variety of interpretations, but also evaluate these to make
it clear which you think has more strength to it.
Your
answer here again is hard to structure beforehand as the variety of
questions asked is so vast, but if you focus on the above and apply
them to the question you are given then you should gain good
marks.
Something you might want to consider, although it is
by no means essential, is to include a critical quote. If done well
and seamlessly, it will demonstrate further reading and
understanding to the examiner, and will look very impressive. The
best way to do this is to research these beforehand, perhaps finding
say three and try to memorise them. If you are clever in your
research then you will pick three that are quite versatile so you
are able to apply them no matter what the question is. The bottom
line is that something like a critical quote, worked well into your
answer will look great, so I would advise you dedicate some time to
finding two or three, with the view of using only one, maybe two in
the real thing.
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