How long should an English Literature essay be in the exam?

I've been doing some practice questions for my English Literature exam where I have to answer 2 questions in a space of an hour and a half. I'm not really sure how much I should write for one question because I don't want to write too much and run out of time but I don't want to write too little and not gain many marks because my essay isn't detailed enough. I know the quality of the written work is very important too.

Thanks :smile:

Also, sorry if someone's already asked a similar question - I tried searching for one but couldn't find it.

Reply 1

EvaSCM

1

I can only get to a page and a half, two if I've got a good question

Reply 2

chickencurry786

i think you should do about 45 minutes on Section A and about 30 minutes on Section B. It says it in AQA

Reply 3

mythicalsophie

8

i say aim for FOUR paragraphs in section A but don't bother trying to make up another point that will bring your overall essay down- three good ones would be more than acceptable (five points would be good, too; make sure they're detailed and you zoom in on key words and give alternative interpretations of a point). section B i say, again, aim for four paragraphs but three would be perfectly okay. make sure they make sense and are original, leave a few minutes at the end to check over your work or you'll lose SPaG marks which will probably bring you down far lower than you would if you were to carry on writing another paragraph. include a short intro to section A and a conclusion to both, too.

Reply 4

TheTruthTeller

18

Original post by mythicalsophie

i say aim for FOUR paragraphs in section A but don't bother trying to make up another point that will bring your overall essay down- three good ones would be more than acceptable (five points would be good, too; make sure they're detailed and you zoom in on key words and give alternative interpretations of a point). section B i say, again, aim for four paragraphs but three would be perfectly okay. make sure they make sense and are original, leave a few minutes at the end to check over your work or you'll lose SPaG marks which will probably bring you down far lower than you would if you were to carry on writing another paragraph. include a short intro to section A and a conclusion to both, too.