AQA English Lit Love Through the Ages June 2012 EXAM

Didn't the question say the separation of lovers and the CONSEQUENCES? It didn't say the consequences had to relate to lovers, hence why extract C focused on the strain in relationship between Mary and her father. A consequence of the separation...

I feel I will drop a lot of marks on Byron's poem as I ran out of time and didn't get to analyse it correctly. This appears to be a good analysis, very different to what I wrote (I didn't even mention rhyme scheme!!)
http://www.gradesaver.com/lord-byrons-poems/study-guide/section2/

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Hi, sorry to bother you but I'm desperate to know how I did yesterday - basically in Q2 I forgot to mention a novel in my WR references, but mentioned 2 poems. How much do you reckon this penalise me by? Also, in Q1 I sort of lost my way and decided to compare the plays individually (in the latter half of my essay) - again, how will this impact on my final mark,in your opinion?

Thanks in advance.

Firstly, try to calm down and not catastrophise. I doubt that things are as bad as you are thinking - they rarely are. It's probably not a good idea to hang around on this thread if you're in a shaky frame of mind. Other people are also seeking to reassure themselves that they have done well and this sometimes has the effect of making others feel worse.

As far as missing the wider reading novel out, this is what the mark scheme from last year has to say about the matter:

Wider reading
Note
References to wider reading in any genre should be credited. Do check that, by the end of
the second answer, the candidate has included (across both answers) at least one reference
to wider reading from prose, drama and poetry. If a reference to a genre is not included,
take this into account when you award the mark.
Note that it doesn't say anything about how much weight is given to the fact. The rule we apply at our school, based on information gleaned over the years from various chief examiners, is that the mark drops to the bottom of the band the answer is in. It will depend on what the examiner thinks of the rest of your answer, I think, and no one on here can say anything about that because we have not and can not read it.

As far as Q1 goes, I assume that you mean you stopped comparing the extracts to each other and analysed them on their own. Once again, it will depend on the quality of that analysis as to how much you lose. Here's last year's mark scheme again:

How to mark
Examiners assess each answer out of 40. Remember that in this subject you will find that
candidates often have varying profiles across the skill areas – a Band 4 candidate may well
write a Band 2 paragraph, just as a Band 1 candidate may produce a glimmer of a
conceptualised approach in one sentence. You should use the criteria across the four
assessment objectives to determine which band best fits the answer.
Having identified the band, refine the mark. Begin in the middle of the band, then move up or
down according to the candidate’s achievement. When you have the total mark, conduct a
review to ensure that the whole answer has been given sufficient credit.
Examiners should be open-minded as they read the candidates’ responses. Although the
mark scheme provides some indicators for what candidates might write about, examiners must
be willing to reward what is actually there – this mark scheme does not pretend to be all inclusive.
No candidate should be penalised for failing to make certain points.
While examiners should note glaring factual errors and gross misreadings, they should be
open to the candidates’ individual interpretations. Well-argued and well-substantiated views
must receive credit, whether or not the examiner agrees with those views. Remain flexible
when a candidate introduces unusual or unorthodox ideas.

Whilst it doesn't mention the comparison failing to be maintained throughout specifically, I think what is clear is that the tenor of the piece is very much to reward what is there, not to penalise what is not. That is certainly the way we have always found the marking to be at our school, and it is definitely the atmosphere you find at coursework standardisation meetings. The examiners know you are under pressure and are not undergraduates. I am not saying that you can write any old rubbish and do well, but it's not the kind of paper where one or two slips will hole it below the waterline. I know you'd like me to give you a concrete ruling on what will happen to you, and of course I can't do that, but I will say that you are very probably worrying over nothing. The full mark answers we have had back from the examiners have been very far from perfect. Try to put it out of your mind. It won't be as bad as you think.

I've talked to my teachers about seeing an E/D grade paper in order to compare its quality to the answer I gave, but they won't take me seriously as I don't think that they understand just how badly I feel I've done. Do you know of any sites where I can get access to example essays as it would really help to put my mind at rest. Thanks in advance!

Firstly, try to calm down and not catastrophise. I doubt that things are as bad as you are thinking - they rarely are. It's probably not a good idea to hang around on this thread if you're in a shaky frame of mind. Other people are also seeking to reassure themselves that they have done well and this sometimes has the effect of making others feel worse.

As far as missing the wider reading novel out, this is what the mark scheme from last year has to say about the matter:

Wider reading
Note
References to wider reading in any genre should be credited. Do check that, by the end of
the second answer, the candidate has included (across both answers) at least one reference
to wider reading from prose, drama and poetry. If a reference to a genre is not included,
take this into account when you award the mark.
Note that it doesn't say anything about how much weight is given to the fact. The rule we apply at our school, based on information gleaned over the years from various chief examiners, is that the mark drops to the bottom of the band the answer is in. It will depend on what the examiner thinks of the rest of your answer, I think, and no one on here can say anything about that because we have not and can not read it.

As far as Q1 goes, I assume that you mean you stopped comparing the extracts to each other and analysed them on their own. Once again, it will depend on the quality of that analysis as to how much you lose. Here's last year's mark scheme again:

How to mark
Examiners assess each answer out of 40. Remember that in this subject you will find that
candidates often have varying profiles across the skill areas – a Band 4 candidate may well
write a Band 2 paragraph, just as a Band 1 candidate may produce a glimmer of a
conceptualised approach in one sentence. You should use the criteria across the four
assessment objectives to determine which band best fits the answer.
Having identified the band, refine the mark. Begin in the middle of the band, then move up or
down according to the candidate’s achievement. When you have the total mark, conduct a
review to ensure that the whole answer has been given sufficient credit.
Examiners should be open-minded as they read the candidates’ responses. Although the
mark scheme provides some indicators for what candidates might write about, examiners must
be willing to reward what is actually there – this mark scheme does not pretend to be all inclusive.
No candidate should be penalised for failing to make certain points.
While examiners should note glaring factual errors and gross misreadings, they should be
open to the candidates’ individual interpretations. Well-argued and well-substantiated views
must receive credit, whether or not the examiner agrees with those views. Remain flexible
when a candidate introduces unusual or unorthodox ideas.

Whilst it doesn't mention the comparison failing to be maintained throughout specifically, I think what is clear is that the tenor of the piece is very much to reward what is there, not to penalise what is not. That is certainly the way we have always found the marking to be at our school, and it is definitely the atmosphere you find at coursework standardisation meetings. The examiners know you are under pressure and are not undergraduates. I am not saying that you can write any old rubbish and do well, but it's not the kind of paper where one or two slips will hole it below the waterline. I know you'd like me to give you a concrete ruling on what will happen to you, and of course I can't do that, but I will say that you are very probably worrying over nothing. The full mark answers we have had back from the examiners have been very far from perfect. Try to put it out of your mind. It won't be as bad as you think.

Thanks for that, although the first examiner comment is a bit worrying as it was probably a high band 3 essay at best - but if its reduced to low band 3 all chances of getting an A* are probably gone.

Can I say, on behalf of everyone on this thread, thank you for the consistent help and support you've given; despite having your own cohort of students to guide through this tricky exam you've given many people on this site (including myself) words of reassurance which really help at such a stressful time for all! Good luck to your students and everyone on this site!

I've talked to my teachers about seeing an E/D grade paper in order to compare its quality to the answer I gave, but they won't take me seriously as I don't think that they understand just how badly I feel I've done. Do you know of any sites where I can get access to example essays as it would really help to put my mind at rest. Thanks in advance!

i linked to the glass menagerie too! but i only did one wider reading link on the first question and that was it. oops

I don't think it's a huge deal, they prefer you to focus on the extracts. Most people think that AO3 is Wider Reading, when in fact it's not exclusively - comparison actually means between the two extracts, Wider Reading should just be brought in to 'illuminate' the extracts.

Hi, sorry to bother you but I'm desperate to know how I did yesterday - basically in Q2 I forgot to mention a novel in my WR references, but mentioned 2 poems. How much do you reckon this penalise me by? Also, in Q1 I sort of lost my way and decided to compare the plays individually (in the latter half of my essay) - again, how will this impact on my final mark,in your opinion?

Thanks in advance.

Really worried about the results of this, as in question one I made a comparison claiming the Iago's love for Othello was unrequited, and thus they might penalise me for claiming he was homosexual as he's married, but many critics have suggested Iago was gay :/

It's a common interpretation. You will have to try really, really hard to shock English examiners.

Thanks for the reaasurance, you've been a real help with this exam. What/where do you study by the way?