[Frenglish]

Hi, since there isn't a thread about this paper. I thought I'd start one off!

Does anyone have a reasonable idea of what questions could come up with regards to the researched based essay?

I've chosen to focus on two areas, namely the spanish civil war and el laberinto del fauno. Obviously this allows me to keep my options open and simply pick the 'easiest' question on the day.

For B (Estudio histórico) I'm hoping for a question on an important historical event / the role of an influential figure. And for D (La literatura y las artes) I'm hoping for a question on the characters or on the techniques of the director etc.

Does anyone else have any ideas which they think could come up and which would be worth researching prior to the exam?

[flying_ifan]

(Original post by Frenglish)
Hi, since there isn't a thread about this paper. I thought I'd start one off!

Does anyone have a reasonable idea of what questions could come up with regards to the researched based essay?

I've chosen to focus on two areas, namely the spanish civil war and el laberinto del fauno. Obviously this allows me to keep my options open and simply pick the 'easiest' question on the day.

For B (Estudio histórico) I'm hoping for a question on an important historical event / the role of an influential figure. And for D (La literatura y las artes) I'm hoping for a question on the characters or on the techniques of the director etc.

Does anyone else have any ideas which they think could come up and which would be worth researching prior to the exam?

Hey,

I´m doing this exam too, and am basically only going for the literature question, with "Las Bicicletas son Para el Verano" by Fernando Fernán Gómez.

Our teacher has basically told us that there are four questions that can come up: styles, protagonist, society and context and main theme. I haven´t really looked closely at the past papers but a quick look at last year´s should give you a pretty accurate guess of what WON´T come up

[Acqua]

My teacher told me that for the literature/arts one is probably either going to be characters or setting, the themes and style already came up. I'm going to be focusing mostly on the research based one, and see which question I like best :P

[flying_ifan]

Is it me or is there a ridiculously disproportionate amount of time allowed for this exam? We get like an hour per 200 word essay...

[stevop21]

I'm doing this exam... I'm not a fan on the RBE

[BenRedwood]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could clarify what the rules are with regards to the wordcount?

I understand that the rules are 240-270 words in Spanish, but, with regards to the Literature and the Arts option for Section C for example, do quotes or character names count towards the word count? I read somewhere that they don't, and I think it might have been on an examiner's report, but so far I've been unable to find where I read that.

Additionally, do we have to cite the sources of all of the data we use for essays, for example provide the name of the website? And if so, does this take up wordcount?

It hardly seems fair that you have to do this and it counts towards the wordcount if you're writing "Segun el sitio web ___" after everything...

Thanks!

[Kiweefruit]

(Original post by flying_ifan)
Is it me or is there a ridiculously disproportionate amount of time allowed for this exam? We get like an hour per 200 word essay...

Lol so true. But its making me nervous..I guess we get that much time to get good at what we're writing..like every tiny detail..from conjugation, accent to tense and positioning and so on....%

Has anyone picked a movie for their essay question? Also how are you revising/preparing for the essay based question? Particularly if your chosen topic is Literature and Art. I cant find a proper set of guidelines...

What do they mean by style when you refer to literature in a Spanish essay? O.o

[stevop21]

Sources, quotes and names don't count

Yes you have to reference but not in massive detail.
Just stick the name of the article and website after your sentence.

[mf16]

I'm doing this exam too. I've chosen a geographical region - Cataluna. What I am stuck on revising is the discursive essay question. Does anyone have any advice on revising for this??? Thanks

[flying_ifan]

(Original post by Kiweefruit)
Lol so true. But its making me nervous..I guess we get that much time to get good at what we're writing..like every tiny detail..from conjugation, accent to tense and positioning and so on....%

Has anyone picked a movie for their essay question? Also how are you revising/preparing for the essay based question? Particularly if your chosen topic is Literature and Art. I cant find a proper set of guidelines...

What do they mean by style when you refer to literature in a Spanish essay? O.o

I've basically written a model answer for each of the 4 essays and am practically learning them off by heart since they're short and not too hard to remember.

I try to structure them in paragraphs with around 1-2 points per paragraph.

I'm doing a play (from a book) so I can't really help you with the film part.

In terms of style for me it means stage notes, language, structure of scenes etc. I guess for a film it could be filming actions/angles, perhaps also language and generally the way the film is presented?

Any ideas what the potential question could be?

[WillowSummers]

(Original post by stevop21)
I'm not a fan on the RBE

This. Discursive is so much easier.

(Original post by flying_ifan)
Is it me or is there a ridiculously disproportionate amount of time allowed for this exam? We get like an hour per 200 word essay...

Also this.

I'm going to do the historical period question, based on the civil war. I'm fine if it asks to describe a specific even or a specific person, but I'm not really sure what else there might be.

[mf16]

(Original post by WillowSummers)
This. Discursive is so much easier.


Also this.

I'm going to do the historical period question, based on the civil war. I'm fine if it asks to describe a specific even or a specific person, but I'm not really sure what else there might be.

do you have any advice on revising for the discursive???

[WillowSummers]

(Original post by mf16)
do you have any advice on revising for the discursive???

Well, when you get into the essay, work out exactly what you are going to say in the essay. Therefore, it is vitally important to chose one on which you can say a sufficient amount.

Also, if it is something you feel strongly about, feel free to write which position you take in your introduction, but you must state the opposing views and why they are held, before you say why you think they are wrong.

However, if you don't feel all that strongly about any of them, just have a general intro, saying something along the lines of "this is a very debatable topic, because some people are in favour, and some are against." of course, it will sound better than that in the exam (and also be in Spanish). The write a point in favour and a point against (repeat until you have about 30 words left) then write a conclusion saying which side you take and why.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps!

[mf16]

(Original post by WillowSummers)
Well, when you get into the essay, work out exactly what you are going to say in the essay. Therefore, it is vitally important to chose one on which you can say a sufficient amount.

Also, if it is something you feel strongly about, feel free to write which position you take in your introduction, but you must state the opposing views and why they are held, before you say why you think they are wrong.

However, if you don't feel all that strongly about any of them, just have a general intro, saying something along the lines of "this is a very debatable topic, because some people are in favour, and some are against." of course, it will sound better than that in the exam (and also be in Spanish). The write a point in favour and a point against (repeat until you have about 30 words left) then write a conclusion saying which side you take and why.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps!

Great, Thanks!!

[stellz]

(Original post by flying_ifan)
Hey,

I´m doing this exam too, and am basically only going for the literature question, with "Las Bicicletas son Para el Verano" by Fernando Fernán Gómez.

Our teacher has basically told us that there are four questions that can come up: styles, protagonist, society and context and main theme. I haven´t really looked closely at the past papers but a quick look at last year´s should give you a pretty accurate guess of what WON´T come up

Hey! I'm doing "Como Agua Para Chocolate" for the literature question, and I was wondering whether we have to provide the background of our books for the examiner? As in explain which characters we are talking about and their relation to each other, as if the examiner doesn't know the book we are talking about? Thanks!!

[WillowSummers]

(Original post by stellz)
Hey! I'm doing "Como Agua Para Chocolate" for the literature question, and I was wondering whether we have to provide the background of our books for the examiner? As in explain which characters we are talking about and their relation to each other, as if the examiner doesn't know the book we are talking about? Thanks!!

I believe so, but not in any great detail.

[Kiweefruit]

(Original post by flying_ifan)
I've basically written a model answer for each of the 4 essays and am practically learning them off by heart since they're short and not too hard to remember.

I try to structure them in paragraphs with around 1-2 points per paragraph.

I'm doing a play (from a book) so I can't really help you with the film part.

In terms of style for me it means stage notes, language, structure of scenes etc. I guess for a film it could be filming actions/angles, perhaps also language and generally the way the film is presented?

Any ideas what the potential question could be?

Most of the guidance notes strongly recommend that you don't memorize, so you don't have a breakdown if its off track. So Im thinking of making framework notes for each element or theme of the film, for example there are film guides on the net, like one is especially for A level GCE students for the film I've chosen.

Wow! A spanish play sounds like fun!!

Potential questions...hmmm...one of the past papers says comment on style?
It will probably be a "comment on.." characterization, setting, social/cultural context and how they contribute to the film I guess. I mean what else could you possibly ask and expect an answer worth 45 marks?! %

[Kiweefruit]

(Original post by stellz)
Hey! I'm doing "Como Agua Para Chocolate" for the literature question, and I was wondering whether we have to provide the background of our books for the examiner? As in explain which characters we are talking about and their relation to each other, as if the examiner doesn't know the book we are talking about? Thanks!!

I think you do, so the examiners can actually believe that you read the book and stuff around it..:O Plus it extra writing material! :P

[flying_ifan]

(Original post by Kiweefruit)
Most of the guidance notes strongly recommend that you don't memorize, so you don't have a breakdown if its off track. So Im thinking of making framework notes for each element or theme of the film, for example there are film guides on the net, like one is especially for A level GCE students for the film I've chosen.

Wow! A spanish play sounds like fun!!

Potential questions...hmmm...one of the past papers says comment on style?
It will probably be a "comment on.." characterization, setting, social/cultural context and how they contribute to the film I guess. I mean what else could you possibly ask and expect an answer worth 45 marks?! %

In theory these are the four questions they can ask you (I believe they are listed in the specification):


• ¿Cuál es el tema principal de la obra que has estudiado? ¿Qué relevancia tiene para nosotros hoy en día?

• Describe cómo es la sociedad y el contexto cultural que aparece reflejado en el texto

• Escribe sobre un protagonista en tu libro. Explica su papel y su importancia y da tu opinión sobre la eficacia del autor en crear ese personaje.

• Evalúa las técnicas estilísticas del libro hasta el punto que contribuyen al éxito de la obra.

The "theme/tema" question appeared last year, so that's the only one I'm pretty much going to ignore.

[stevop21]

(Original post by flying_ifan)
In theory these are the four questions they can ask you (I believe they are listed in the specification):


• ¿Cuál es el tema principal de la obra que has estudiado? ¿Qué relevancia tiene para nosotros hoy en día?

• Describe cómo es la sociedad y el contexto cultural que aparece reflejado en el texto

• Escribe sobre un protagonista en tu libro. Explica su papel y su importancia y da tu opinión sobre la eficacia del autor en crear ese personaje.

• Evalúa las técnicas estilísticas del libro hasta el punto que contribuyen al éxito de la obra.

The "theme/tema" question appeared last year, so that's the only one I'm pretty much going to ignore.

They can ask about el mensaje aswell, but I believe it came up in Jan.