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ENGLISH EXAM 22ND MAY - I THINK I MESSED UP - Conflict Poetry

So I have a target of an A star and realistically, that should be ok for me to achieve. Now in the exam, I chose the mametz wood question - compare the effects of conflicts - and constructed a good answer comparing it with the yellow Palm. I wasn't to keen on the unseen poem but I gave that a good attempt to - although I only managed to write 2 pages on it.
It was only after the exam that I realised that the question has subtly hidden in it the word *place*. The question was *Compare the effects of conflict in Mametz Wood and one other poem in places*. I never read that and so I don't really have any references to places that much at all - do you think it'll be a huge mistake I've made and consequently I'm going to lose a hell of a lot of marks. I mentioned how conflict disrupts nature in Mametz wood, which is apparent through the extended metaphor of A bird and that the *Earth stands sentinel*. Furthermore, I mentioned how the refrain in Yellow Palm captures the size of the street and also appears innocuous and mundane, showing how conflict manifests itself in to people's everyday lives. But in neither of them did I link that to the question, I just mentioned it.
I know the grade boundaries are low but if I wrote a answer that isn't directly answering the question then surely there's only going to be a limited amount of marks I can pick up. I know a lot of friends who have done the same mistake, surely the wording of the question is a bit sneaky. That's AQA for you.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by TrueDAN
So I have a target of an A star and realistically, that should be ok for me to achieve. Now in the exam, I chose the mametz wood question - compare the effects of conflicts - and constructed a good answer comparing it with the yellow Palm. I wasn't to keen on the unseen poem but I gave that a good attempt to - although I only managed to write 2 pages on it.
It was only after the exam that I realised that the question has subtly hidden in it the word *place*. The question was *Compare the effects of conflict in Mametz Wood and one other poem in places*. I never read that and so I don't really have any references to places that much at all - do you think it'll be a huge mistake I've made and consequently I'm going to lose a hell of a lot of marks. I mentioned how conflict disrupts nature in Mametz wood, which is apparent through the extended metaphor of A bird and that the *Earth stands sentinel*. Furthermore, I mentioned how the refrain in Yellow Palm captures the size of the street and also appears innocuous and mundane, showing how conflict manifests itself in to people's everyday lives. But in neither of them did I link that to the question, I just mentioned it.
I know the grade boundaries are low but if I wrote a answer that isn't directly answering the question then surely there's only going to be a limited amount of marks I can pick up. I know a lot of friends who have done the same mistake, surely the wording of the question is a bit sneaky. That's AQA for you.


Don't worry. So many people did that in ours too and I know lots of people from other schools who made the same mistake. I only realised halfway through writing it so I had to try and link my points to the question which didn't really work haha. I'm sure AQA will have to make some kind of exception of something because it tricked so many people + by the sounds of it, your analysis was great anyway (also you've got the unseen poem, novels and controlled assessment to take into account:wink:
Reply 2
Original post by Oscar1602
Don't worry. So many people did that in ours too and I know lots of people from other schools who made the same mistake. I only realised halfway through writing it so I had to try and link my points to the question which didn't really work haha. I'm sure AQA will have to make some kind of exception of something because it tricked so many people + by the sounds of it, your analysis was great anyway (also you've got the unseen poem, novels and controlled assessment to take into account:wink:


Thank you so so much! Gave me some reassurance and confidence - I'm sure you would have done really well and I wish you the very best in your exams :smile:
Original post by TrueDAN
Thank you so so much! Gave me some reassurance and confidence - I'm sure you would have done really well and I wish you the very best in your exams :smile:


Haha no problem. Thanks + you too
Original post by TrueDAN
So I have a target of an A star and realistically, that should be ok for me to achieve. Now in the exam, I chose the mametz wood question - compare the effects of conflicts - and constructed a good answer comparing it with the yellow Palm. I wasn't to keen on the unseen poem but I gave that a good attempt to - although I only managed to write 2 pages on it.
It was only after the exam that I realised that the question has subtly hidden in it the word *place*. The question was *Compare the effects of conflict in Mametz Wood and one other poem in places*. I never read that and so I don't really have any references to places that much at all - do you think it'll be a huge mistake I've made and consequently I'm going to lose a hell of a lot of marks. I mentioned how conflict disrupts nature in Mametz wood, which is apparent through the extended metaphor of A bird and that the *Earth stands sentinel*. Furthermore, I mentioned how the refrain in Yellow Palm captures the size of the street and also appears innocuous and mundane, showing how conflict manifests itself in to people's everyday lives. But in neither of them did I link that to the question, I just mentioned it.
I know the grade boundaries are low but if I wrote a answer that isn't directly answering the question then surely there's only going to be a limited amount of marks I can pick up. I know a lot of friends who have done the same mistake, surely the wording of the question is a bit sneaky. That's AQA for you.


you couldn't have done as bad as me :frown: . i picked At the Border to compare with Mametz wood and i had gone to far to go change poem before i realised there were very few points that went together :frown:
I did the OCR exam board and I completed three full paragraphs on the unseen. I think unseen is easy because you cannot go wrong with the bullet points etc...
Reply 6
Original post by BENPLAYER
you couldn't have done as bad as me :frown: . i picked At the Border to compare with Mametz wood and i had gone to far to go change poem before i realised there were very few points that went together :frown:


I'm sure you'll still pick up a lot of marks tho! Remember your other English exams can hugely improve your mark - don't worry :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by Oscar1602
Don't worry. So many people did that in ours too and I know lots of people from other schools who made the same mistake. I only realised halfway through writing it so I had to try and link my points to the question which didn't really work haha. I'm sure AQA will have to make some kind of exception of something because it tricked so many people + by the sounds of it, your analysis was great anyway (also you've got the unseen poem, novels and controlled assessment to take into account:wink:


Can you remember the exact wording of the question ?
I made the exact same mistake (but thankfully realised halfway through writing and changed some words) and essentially everyone I spoke to after the exam who did that question did too. You get marks for things other than direct answer to the question (such as analysis of language, structure and form) - plus, about 33% of the paper's marks are for the unseen poem - so I wouldn't stress too much.
OP don't worry, I chose the exact same question and the exact same poem to compare it to SA you but I did compare it to places, but the scope of how to relate it to places is a great one. You could compare it to a country, city (Bagdad (YP) ) or even the earth as a place (as you said in your original post) English lit is all about intepretations and if you included any reference to place that makes the examiner think "Wow this kid has thought outside of the box" then I am sure that you will get the grades you need. Also, make sure that in future, you read the question and answer exactly what it wants, not what you think it is asking for.

Good luck!
Original post by Trotter65
Can you remember the exact wording of the question ?


It was "Compare the way the poets use place to present ideas about Conflict in Mametz Wood and one other poem" [36 marks]
Reply 11
Not sure if this is helpful to anyone but I managed to get an A* in Literature GCSE from comparing two poems that have few themes in common (Out of the Blue and Mametz wood.) The examiners often like it when candidates come up with their own interpretations so don't lose confidence :smile:
I think I forgot to write a conclusion for the comparative piece ;-; O---O
Ugh I think I failed too >>......>>
But I liked the unseen
Original post by TrueDAN
So I have a target of an A star and realistically, that should be ok for me to achieve. Now in the exam, I chose the mametz wood question - compare the effects of conflicts - and constructed a good answer comparing it with the yellow Palm. I wasn't to keen on the unseen poem but I gave that a good attempt to - although I only managed to write 2 pages on it.
It was only after the exam that I realised that the question has subtly hidden in it the word *place*. The question was *Compare the effects of conflict in Mametz Wood and one other poem in places*. I never read that and so I don't really have any references to places that much at all - do you think it'll be a huge mistake I've made and consequently I'm going to lose a hell of a lot of marks. I mentioned how conflict disrupts nature in Mametz wood, which is apparent through the extended metaphor of A bird and that the *Earth stands sentinel*. Furthermore, I mentioned how the refrain in Yellow Palm captures the size of the street and also appears innocuous and mundane, showing how conflict manifests itself in to people's everyday lives. But in neither of them did I link that to the question, I just mentioned it.
I know the grade boundaries are low but if I wrote a answer that isn't directly answering the question then surely there's only going to be a limited amount of marks I can pick up. I know a lot of friends who have done the same mistake, surely the wording of the question is a bit sneaky. That's AQA for you.


Just from reading the few responses you have had it is clear many others made the same mistake as yourself. This will no doubt be picked up by the examination board, and because there is no intention to mislead or trick you they will soon conclude the question should have been presented in a clearer fashion and will compensate you for it. You come over in the few lines you have written as being a well qualified student deserving of an A*....what I would do is mention what happened to your tutor and encourage others to do the same if it applies, so that if you are marked down the tutor can contextualise your lower than expected grade to a the poorly worded and confusing question.
Dw conclusion doesnt county for any of your overall marks neither does the intro tbh
Reply 15
Original post by BrainDrain
Just from reading the few responses you have had it is clear many others made the same mistake as yourself. This will no doubt be picked up by the examination board, and because there is no intention to mislead or trick you they will soon conclude the question should have been presented in a clearer fashion and will compensate you for it. You come over in the few lines you have written as being a well qualified student deserving of an A*....what I would do is mention what happened to your tutor and encourage others to do the same if it applies, so that if you are marked down the tutor can contextualise your lower than expected grade to a the poorly worded and confusing question.



Thank you so much for the kind words and advice! :smile:

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