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LITA3 AQA A A2 English Literature exam 15th June 2010

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Reply 40
lekky
Does anyone know how fussed they are about the 'through the ages' part?

I was doing a brainstorm on romantic love and was going to use Sonnet 130 AND Much Ado but realised two Shakespeare texts wouldn't be a great plan. So I changed Much Ado to A Streetcar Named Desire but that left me with 2 post modern texts and 1 elizabethan.
Would they have cared do you think?


The two texts that they will give you will be from two completely different era's which covers the 'through the ages' part. I think it is there to remind you to write about context.

I wrote about A Streetcar Named Desire in my AS exam (got full mark :woo: ). Do you think I'm allowed to write aboput it at A2 as well - It's such a good play and there's so much to say about it.
Reply 41
lekky
Hi! This is down on my 'plan' to do this week so I'll post once I've done it :smile: My teacher says you shouldn't have a generic plan but I find them really helpful. I guess it's really important though just to remember the assessment objects, I have them drilled into my brain now, and summarised

-- understanding/the way you write the essays - I take this to mean things like vocabulary and whether you write well as well

-- Form/Structure/Language

-- Compare/contrasting between different texts

-- Context

Remember that they're all completely equal in terms of weighting!

Thank you! Yeah I find them really useful to. If I don't have a plan, I always think I've missed out something important!
Thanks very much for your help and good luck with your exams :biggrin:
Reply 42
xoxoluv
The two texts that they will give you will be from two completely different era's which covers the 'through the ages' part. I think it is there to remind you to write about context.

I wrote about A Streetcar Named Desire in my AS exam (got full mark :woo: ). Do you think I'm allowed to write aboput it at A2 as well - It's such a good play and there's so much to say about it.

Yes use streetcar! It's perfect for love through the ages :smile:

2 Shakespeare texts would be going too far tho don't you think?
Reply 43
lekky
Yes use streetcar! It's perfect for love through the ages :smile:

2 Shakespeare texts would be going too far tho don't you think?


Yeah I think so. How are you revising?

So far I've tried to narrow down my stack of wider reading so I made a diagram(?) of types of love (e.g Romantic, Illicit, Unrequited - I could only think of like 6 :o: ).

Then looked at what texts fit into which category so I can ignore the less flexible texts and stick to ones that relate to most types of love.

I've got 2 prose, 4 poetry and 2/3 drama. I hope it's enough. I'm not sure how to actually revise since we get unseen extracts. Are there any other practice papers except the specimen and January?
Reply 44
xnatalie01x
I am!!! Major FML :rolleyes: What books are you doing it on?!


Wuthering Heights, Bloody Chamber and Chaucer. You?
Reply 45
xoxoluv
Yeah I think so. How are you revising?

So far I've tried to narrow down my stack of wider reading so I made a diagram(?) of types of love (e.g Romantic, Illicit, Unrequited - I could only think of like 6 :o: ).

Then looked at what texts fit into which category so I can ignore the less flexible texts and stick to ones that relate to most types of love.

I've got 2 prose, 4 poetry and 2/3 drama. I hope it's enough. I'm not sure how to actually revise since we get unseen extracts. Are there any other practice papers except the specimen and January?

Please do more texts I really don't think that's enough, I've done 26 in total will post the full list when I'm not on my phone. Don't mind sending you my notes to help you but I really do think you will need more than that :o:
Reply 46
lekky
Please do more texts I really don't think that's enough, I've done 26 in total will post the full list when I'm not on my phone. Don't mind sending you my notes to help you but I really do think you will need more than that :o:


Why do you think I need more than that? I wouldn't be able to remember any quotes or saying anything really meaningful if I did that many texts. I have about 30 in total but narrowed them down as some are quite similar.

We dont have that long in the exam and the only requirement is to speak about 1 poetry, 1 prose and 1 drama. It's only 30-40% wider reading and its better (IMO) to talk about fewer texts in more detail. In all the practices I've done I've only managed to fit in a maximum of 3 wider reading texts (poetry) and only two for drama and prose.
Reply 47
xoxoluv
Why do you think I need more than that? I wouldn't be able to remember any quotes or saying anything really meaningful if I did that many texts. I have about 30 in total but narrowed them down as some are quite similar.

We dont have that long in the exam and the only requirement is to speak about 1 poetry, 1 prose and 1 drama. It's only 30-40% wider reading and its better (IMO) to talk about fewer texts in more detail. In all the practices I've done I've only managed to fit in a maximum of 3 wider reading texts (poetry) and only two for drama and prose.

It's just not enough and you need to be doing 3 wider Reading texts tbh for question 1 and 2..I feel harsh saying this but there is no way you have covered enough in that few texts.. I've learnt a minimum of 3 quotes for each text and know them all (26/25).. And English lit is my 4th subject not in my uni offer so I've put less effort into it.. Honestly it's really not enough. Sorry :frown:.. What texts have you done? By not covering enough I mean enough themes/eras to cover yourselfand only two prose!! What will you do if question 1 is two prose!? Of course if you don't want to learn more it's your choice.. Just don't say you weren't warned :o:
Reply 48
lekky
It's just not enough and you need to be doing 3 wider Reading texts tbh for question 1 and 2..I feel harsh saying this but there is no way you have covered enough in that few texts.. I've learnt a minimum of 3 quotes for each text and know them all (26/25).. And English lit is my 4th subject not in my uni offer so I've put less effort into it.. Honestly it's really not enough. Sorry :frown:.. What texts have you done? By not covering enough I mean enough themes/eras to cover yourselfand only two prose!! What will you do if question 1 is two prose!? Of course if you don't want to learn more it's your choice.. Just don't say you weren't warned :o:


I narrowed them down by THEME so I've specifically picked texts that talk about several types of love.

For Prose I've got Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and Emma (thus I cover Post-modernism and late Romanticism) - I studied WHOLE texts and there is plenty to say. I have studied others as well and I know quotes from them but I plan on using the two above texts.

Poetry: Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, The Waste Land, You're and To His Coy Mistress (Renaissance, Modernism, Post-modernism and Renaissance), again various types of love are presented :yep:

Drama: A Doll's House, A Streetcar Named Desire and Othello (Victorian, Post-modern, Renaissance) and basically every type of love except religious presented

Have you done a practice exam yet? How many texts did you manage to fit in in the time frame because I struggled to even get in 3 :s-smilie: . Like I said before its 30-40% wider reading. Meaning the majority of your time should be spend looking at the unseen extracts.
Reply 49
xoxoluv
I narrowed them down by THEME so I've specifically picked texts that talk about several types of love.

For Prose I've got Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and Emma (thus I cover Post-modernism and late Romanticism) - I studied WHOLE texts and there is plenty to say. I have studied others as well and I know quotes from them but I plan on using the two above texts.

Poetry: Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, The Waste Land, You're and To His Coy Mistress (Renaissance, Modernism, Post-modernism and Renaissance), again various types of love are presented :yep:

Drama: A Doll's House, A Streetcar Named Desire and Othello (Victorian, Post-modern, Renaissance) and basically every type of love except religious presented

Have you done a practice exam yet? How many texts did you manage to fit in in the time frame because I struggled to even get in 3 :s-smilie: . Like I said before its 30-40% wider reading. Meaning the majority of your time should be spend looking at the unseen extracts.

I don't have the time or energy to try and convince you to do more texts. I think you're very underprepared by that's your look out, not mine. :p:

I seem to be ok getting 3 comparisons in for each question but I've dine quite a lot of practice papers and got faster the more I did
also I make detailed plans and write fast

with your wider reading, try to make links on thinks other than context. The examiners reports say higher grade candidates make link on form, structure, language - not context
Reply 50
^^ hmm I agree more texts needed =O but If you think you'll be fine then I guess its okay
anyone got any practice questions?
sunshine7
Wuthering Heights, Bloody Chamber and Chaucer. You?


Bloody Chamber, Macbeth and Dracula
lekky
Anyone done Hamlet? Please tell me someone has done Hamlet. :p:


I have! Tell me what you would like to know. :wink:
Right, here's my list of wider reading texts:

Prose
Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Hardy
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Sons & Lovers - D.H. Lawrence

And extracts from The Age of Innocence, Pride and Prejudice, and Wuthering Heights.

Drama
A Doll's House - Ibsen
A Woman of No Importance - Wilde
She Stoops to Conquer - Goldsmith
Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

And extracts from The Glass Menagerie, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and View from a Bridge.

Got a handful of poems by Duffy, John Donne, Sylvia Plath, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Marvell and William Blake.

That has to be enough, surely?
Reply 54
unknownpleasures
Right, here's my list of wider reading texts:

Prose
Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Hardy
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Sons & Lovers - D.H. Lawrence

And extracts from The Age of Innocence, Pride and Prejudice, and Wuthering Heights.

Drama
A Doll's House - Ibsen
A Woman of No Importance - Wilde
She Stoops to Conquer - Goldsmith
Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

And extracts from The Glass Menagerie, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and View from a Bridge.

Got a handful of poems by Duffy, John Donne, Sylvia Plath, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Marvell and William Blake.

That has to be enough, surely?

I think that's like the perfect amount :smile:

STILL not ben on my laptop but when I do I'll post my list.. When I go online on my laptop I get so easily distracted :p: ("ooh new glee episode" etc) :p: so I'm avoiding it ad just using my phone which gets really irritating very fast so I don't get distracted :p:
Reply 55
I really think that it is a case of quality..I have read quite widely for this exam and sometimes have to limit to texts that I 'really know', so ensuring that you have covered a few literary periods, on each theme should be fine. the majority is on the unseen texts! Good luck everybody. Timing is always quite scary eeeeek!
Reply 56
Hey does anybody know any poetry that would link in with the them of 'love at first sight' as a wider reading resource?
I can see me failing this exam miserably !! :frown:
Lekky, I have no idea what you're talking about, and stop scaring people!

You really don't need any more than 2 texts per genre if you know them in good depth.

If oyu're just doing extracts then yes, more are needed, but otherwise it is absolutely fine.
Reply 58
alecangeltess
Lekky, I have no idea what you're talking about, and stop scaring people!

You really don't need any more than 2 texts per genre if you know them in good depth.

If oyu're just doing extracts then yes, more are needed, but otherwise it is absolutely fine.

This is ridiculous. What if it's a prose for question 2? Firstly you should e using 2-3 extracts in question 1 and you'll have to pray your texts link in.. Remembering that higher grade candidates DONT make links on content. And if you've only used 2 in question 1 then you really should not use the same text for question 2 as your prose.. It just looks really bad and considering the questions seem to be on a similar theme you may end up repeating the same points. It's absurd for you to think that knowing 6 texts is enough, and more importantly WTF have you been doin all year, conisdering this exam is worth 60%?! ... I really do hope you guys are ok and that by some luck you get ok extracts that fit the theme (a dolls house was mentioned as one of three someone learnt - very weak example of illicit love, filial love, romantic love etc. Yes these conections could be made, eg illicit - dr rank, but the examiner will know you're clutching at straws).. So I genuinely hope that it works for you...

but for anyone Reading this thread I DO NOT RECOMMEND doing this, far too risky. I would be feleling very underprepared It is not hard to learn more, personally a bit extra work for me being confident of getting an A or B is a fair deal, but everyone has diff priorities I guess

anyway English is my 4th subject, not in my offer, so I'm doing 1 more practice question and then leaving revision until I just skim over my note cards and quotes next week.. Such a shame cos I'd far rather revise English (dare I admit that Ive really enjoyed english lit a level?).. Maths is so tedious in comparison. Hope revision goes well for you all :smile: NOt long now :eek:

oh and I'm not going to get drawn into the number of texts thing again, if you feel confident, good for you. I genuinely hope that I'm proved wrong.
Reply 59
I mean prose for question 1.. Sorry phone is ****.

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