AS Aspects of narrative exam 16th May 2012

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Can't believe Goblin Market came up in Section A. Really was hoping for Jessie Cameron or Winter My Secret. Was surprised because my teacher says they're retiring Winter: My Secret from the syllabus. I think I did an ok job though.

Did the climax/anti-climax question for section B. Kinda wished we could talk about Rossetti again because I felt I really knew a lot that I could say for that one but I think it went ok. Gatsby was really easy with the whole reveal of Gatsby's character and his death. Kite Runner I wrote loads but I can't actually remember most of it! Exam amnesia! Only one I struggled with was Ancient Mariner. I was running out of time though because I went a bit OTT on section A(b). Only had about 45 minutes after planning.

I did the climax/anti-climax question too. There was so much to say, especially with the Kite Runner, I just can't believe it slipped my mind (coming back to me 1 minute before time was up, of course :mad:

) to mention the interpretation of Hassan's rape symbolizing the politics and corruption of Afghanistan. :s-smilie:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 361

Ra Ra Ra

Original post by Tweak6

I did Gastby in section A, and said that it is a tragedy only to an extent, because the lack of morals of the characters could indicate they almost deserved their deaths. For some reason I used the words 'karmic justice' :colondollar:

Not my wisest decision

I did Speech for part B, but I think I went in completely the wrong direction! In Hardy I talked about the significance of the lack of speech in The Voice and the fish talking in Convergence of the Twain. For Tennyson I said Mariana's refrain humanizes her and allows us to sympathise with her. Enduring Love I completely made up and started rambling about the letters :s-smilie:

I did a similar thing with the Gatsby question. I said that although the events of the novel are tragic, there are no tragic heroes or villains in the Shakespearean sense because none of their deaths are down to hubris or whatever...or something along those lines :biggrin:

I quite liked that question actually, as it tied in with the coursework.

Section B, though? Dear. God. :colonhash:

Reply 362

Groat

Original post by ttoomm

Was it bad to talk about Aristotle's theory of tragedy in 1) b How appropriate is it to describe Great Gatsby as a tragedy? I think I've failed. :frown:

As long as you set up a clear line of argument and define tragedy, I think that'll be fine.

Reply 363

lucyburns

safe to say i hated that exam so much! so glad part 4 of the rime of the ancient mariner had come up though its what i prediceted and revised thoroughly for! section b was hellish. if i get a grade it will be a miracle! :frown:

Reply 364

NicoleMae

I honestly have mixed emotions regarding this exam , I think section A was better than section B seeing as I completely ran out of time and did not finish it . I was doing the question about speeches and managed to talk about Browning , Fitzgerald and a bit about McEwan's Enduring Love.
Now I'm getting a bit worried because I'm not really sure how they assess the overall exam. Does anyone know if they actually mark an answer which is not fully complete?

Reply 365

JakeAReynolds

It was a pretty nasty exam... :frown:

I spoke about Gatsby in section A and I did the section B speech question where I basically said the following...

Enduring Love (the hardest to talk about!)

•

Jed's speech is used by McEwan to develop his character and show the worsening effects of his syndrome

•

Example: difference between the street scenes in chapters 7 and 10

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Chapter 7: Jed's manners and whining language, chapter 10: profanity and threat

Tennyson

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The Lady of Shalott - lack of speech shows her isolation in the tower, when she says 'I am half-sick of shadows' it is therefore made all the more interesting speech-wise

•

Mariana - Mariana's isolation is shown differently to the Lady of Shalott, and she has regular speech in a refrain that develops along with her state of mind

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

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The Wedding Guest's speech brings the reader back to 'reality'

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The lack of speech from the sailors in part 2 suggests that perhaps Coleridge is using them as the voice of common, rational man

•

The voices of the Spirits in part 6 help continue the narrative when the Mariner is in a 'swound', and also act as a weird parody of the traditional Christian morality story

No idea if I did it right or if I worded it well...also I felt like I only managed to get AO3 in Tennyson/Coleridge :s-smilie:

ah well, only time will tell!

Reply 366

daisi

Original post by NicoleMae

Hi Nicole Mae. I asked someone about something similar to this because I was a bit worried about the paper I turned in and didn't quite finish everything up and apparently they only mark what's there, not what isn't. If what's there is good enough for an A, you get an A. You can apparently lose marks for not having a decent conclusion in section A(b) but it's apparently less of an issue in Section B. You don't not get a science paper marked just because you didn't finish all the questions so I suppose an English paper is no different.

Reply 367

ktlaurenroe

I'm so worried about this exam :cry2:

it's the only one I feel like I genuinely messed up on - as well as that, AQA often being questionable in their marking is worrying me too. Teachers marked my coursework as an A, assuming it doesn't get moderated down, hopefully I've got at least a C in the exam (unlikely thinking about it :colonhash:

) so it averages as a B. Hopefully? :sad:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 368

MirrorPixie

How did everyone do? The grade boundaries were.... urghhhhh

Reply 369

Flyteryder

Original post by MirrorPixie

How did everyone do? The grade boundaries were.... urghhhhh

120/120

Reply 370

ktlaurenroe

Original post by MirrorPixie

How did everyone do? The grade boundaries were.... urghhhhh

They were really low!

I got an A, not sure about how many marks exactly though - I'm really surprised because I felt like it was my worst exam.

Reply 371

fxyz

CHUFFED! Did this exam in A2 and flopped really badly and got 120/120 this year!! My teacher was so proud of me she told me the amount of effort I put into getting my grade up has made me a student to remember for her cos I gave her like 2-3 practise essays a week to mark!
ALL THE HARD WORK PAID OF WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

Reply 372

eawilliams

Original post by fxyz

Hi!
Could you please advice me then? Because I'm really unsure if I should continue (I'm already only doing 3 AS levels)

Reply 373

Alexander94

I got 30/120 last year in this... 118/120 this year :O

Reply 374

Ra Ra Ra

84/120. I'll probably resit to boost it up some marks, as I got an A in the coursework...anyway, I'm not surprised. Section A was beautiful but I ****ed up Section B badly :s-smilie:

Reply 375

fxyz

Original post by eawilliams

Hi!
Could you please advice me then? Because I'm really unsure if I should continue (I'm already only doing 3 AS levels)

Heya.. Well I loved A2 we studied Gothic Literature and I enjoyed every minute of it but I put in a lot of effort into essay writing since I lacked on that and it brought me down on my AS. Unfortunately yesterday we found out the entire sixth form did pretty rubbish in the A2 exam and no one rocked up more than a C... Some of the papers are going in for a remark because teachers think it is impossible that pupils predicted A*s got D's.
What did you get for AS? It totally depends on how much effort you're willing to put it IF English isn't your strongest subject. It was my weakest but I had to up it significantly (2-3 essays a week for practise) to pull out with an overall B (also I blame the A2 exam for doing me over - it looked easy). If its a good subject for you and if you enjoyed AS, go for A2 :smile:

Reply 376

PeaceLoveKindness

Got a B in the exam (missed an A by 2 UMS) and an A in my coursework! A Overall!! So happy especially seeing as I didn't even read the great gatsby *guilty* I'm dropping English Lit, going to miss it though...

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