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Closed book English Lit exam!!!

I'm really struggling to learn quotes for my exam in June and am starting to stress out that I won't remember any come the exam. Has anyone got any good techniques?

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Reply 2
Hey! I study English Lit A2. What books are you doing? I can help you :smile:

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Reply 3
Original post by Soph97
Hey! I study English Lit A2. What books are you doing? I can help you :smile:

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Thanks! I'm doing Wuthering Heights, Macbeth & The Bloody Chamber :smile:
Reply 4
For my books I've done different things:
For Frankenstein and Dr Faustus, I organised them into themes- isolation, transgression ect.
For Bloody Chamber, I split them up into the different stories
For White Devil, I separated them into character's quotes/ones about them and themes.
I have about 40-50 quotes per text, I suggest picking them out of the books yourself rather than copying online ones, as this helps you to remember them.
I wrote them all down on lined paper initially and then cue carded them and I regularly test myself by looking at a past question and saying what quotes I would use.
REPITITION IS KEY.
Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 5
I'm doing Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein and Dr. Faustus.

Firstly, I would look at past paper questions and find quotes for them, e.g any evidence of "dangerous" or "obsession" etc, so that way you know what sort of quotes you should be learning and you're prepared for possible ones.

Also, paraphrase! E.g Heathcliff, "I cannot live without my life", say if you forgot the first bit, you could just say 'Heathcliff calls Cathy "[his] life" etc, that way don't panic if you can't remember massive sentences, only little pieces even will do :smile: Hope this helps :smile:
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Reply 6
do as Olsena suggests, then also read the quotes aloud. Then you are getting more bits of your brain involved, so more bits having a chance of recall. You could even record yourself reading the quotes aloud, and listen while doing other things.
Reply 8
Original post by olsena
For my books I've done different things:
For Frankenstein and Dr Faustus, I organised them into themes- isolation, transgression ect.
For Bloody Chamber, I split them up into the different stories
For White Devil, I separated them into character's quotes/ones about them and themes.
I have about 40-50 quotes per text, I suggest picking them out of the books yourself rather than copying online ones, as this helps you to remember them.
I wrote them all down on lined paper initially and then cue carded them and I regularly test myself by looking at a past question and saying what quotes I would use.
REPITITION IS KEY.
Hope this helps :smile:


That's really helpful, thanks! I've just started splitting The Bloody Chamber into the different stories and trying to pick out 3 themes for each and then find quotes for each theme. Hopefully this will work!! :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by Soph97
I'm doing Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein and Dr. Faustus.

Firstly, I would look at past paper questions and find quotes for them, e.g any evidence of "dangerous" or "obsession" etc, so that way you know what sort of quotes you should be learning and you're prepared for possible ones.

Also, paraphrase! E.g Heathcliff, "I cannot live without my life", say if you forgot the first bit, you could just say 'Heathcliff calls Cathy "[his] life" etc, that way don't panic if you can't remember massive sentences, only little pieces even will do :smile: Hope this helps :smile:
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Ah, okay! Yeah I think themes are a definite way to go for me haha I will definitely try and learn some in relation to the questions that have been coming up :smile:
Reply 10
Original post by 24rose
do as Olsena suggests, then also read the quotes aloud. Then you are getting more bits of your brain involved, so more bits having a chance of recall. You could even record yourself reading the quotes aloud, and listen while doing other things.


Thanks! That's really helpful I might get someone to test me on reading them aloud so they really sink in hahah
Macbeth should be quite easy for you as it is very lyrical and rythymic. Just read it aloud to yourself. Make quotation banks on key themes such as Concealment, Darkness, Guilt, Ambitiom and Blood.

Learn the soliloquies! Lady Macbeth's, Macbeth's and Banquo's.
Stick the quotes up on pieces of paper around your home, rather than filling your bedroom. Use different colours for different characters' speech.
Open book exams are very over-rated, as you tend to spend your entire time rifling through and locating stuff, and there's a far higher set of expectations of your script.
Original post by DrSocSciences
Stick the quotes up on pieces of paper around your home, rather than filling your bedroom. Use different colours for different characters' speech.
Open book exams are very over-rated, as you tend to spend your entire time rifling through and locating stuff, and there's a far higher set of expectations of your script.


I'm doing Shakespeare othello and poetry - closed

Gatsby and persuasion -open book exam
I'm finding it hard to revise because I don't really know how:frown:



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Original post by goal101
I'm doing Shakespeare othello and poetry - closed

Gatsby and persuasion -open book exam
I'm finding it hard to revise because I don't really know how:frown:
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Usual techniques: mapping out themes, supported by evidence, and characterisation profiles of principals etc. You must have had some guidance.
Original post by DrSocSciences
Usual techniques: mapping out themes, supported by evidence, and characterisation profiles of principals etc. You must have had some guidance.


I see, & what do you mean by "characterisation of some principles" ?

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I have a closed book exam too. For WJEC? I'm doing Hamlet, Chaucer and Revenger's Tragedy and an unseen poem. I haven't even started revising for English yet
Original post by goal101
I see, & what do you mean by "characterisation of some principles" ?

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Principals, not principles: so assembling profiles of the key characters.
Anybody got bloody chamber notes?
Reply 19
Original post by ivybridge
Macbeth should be quite easy for you as it is very lyrical and rythymic. Just read it aloud to yourself. Make quotation banks on key themes such as Concealment, Darkness, Guilt, Ambitiom and Blood.

Learn the soliloquies! Lady Macbeth's, Macbeth's and Banquo's.


Yeah, that's a good idea thanks

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