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Cie igcse english literature (0486)

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Original post by metellaest
Oh gosh I didn't know you had to do that for English Language! To be honest, it sounds like it is a fairly picky thing for them to fuss over. So long as you clearly indicate each new line of the poem in your quotation, I can't imagine it would be an issue.

But anyway:

The poet uses the phrase:
. "her eyes fixed on the shadows overhead /
. Tossed up like flotsam from a former passion."
To describe the...
(Imagine the dots are indents)
Is that what you mean?


I think it means something like this:
https://jwmanus.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/para1.jpg
Original post by TheBirder
I think it means something like this:
https://jwmanus.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/para1.jpg


Ah okay!

So:

The poet describes the nature of the person he loves:

------------> Thou art more lovely and more temperate

This is in response to the first line of the poem, when... etc

(Ignore --->)
What are the grade boundaries? My teacher always said 90% for an A* but I've looked on the website and all I can find is 70/100 as the highest boundary
Original post by metrochrome
What are the grade boundaries? My teacher always said 90% for an A* but I've looked on the website and all I can find is 70/100 as the highest boundary


Yep - definitely not 90%! (I hope).

It's marked quite harshly, I think, but as a result the boundaries are low. Do your best and I'm sure you'll be fine :smile:
Does anyone know what the questions were for the January exam? Particularly Hardy Poems/Silas Marner/Merchant of Venice?
Surely they wouldnt repeat the same question within 6 months?
So I just checked the syllabus and was looking at the 'AO1/2/3/4'. It says for one of them that you must make reference to the language in the text. As I normally pick the essay question for the prose, I normally discuss characters/themes/intentions/changes etc, making generalised comments about language but without making super-close reference to analysing the specific intention behind language. Will this get me marked down? Should I definitely try to include one very detailed close analysis of language (I'm doing Spies, and there's only one I think that I can do off the top of my head)?
Original post by metrochrome
What are the grade boundaries? My teacher always said 90% for an A* but I've looked on the website and all I can find is 70/100 as the highest boundary

Yep you don't need anything like 90% for an A*- 70% is the usual boundary which is about 17 or 18 in each section.
Original post by metellaest
So I just checked the syllabus and was looking at the 'AO1/2/3/4'. It says for one of them that you must make reference to the language in the text. As I normally pick the essay question for the prose, I normally discuss characters/themes/intentions/changes etc, making generalised comments about language but without making super-close reference to analysing the specific intention behind language. Will this get me marked down? Should I definitely try to include one very detailed close analysis of language (I'm doing Spies, and there's only one I think that I can do off the top of my head)?


I don't do spies I do Northanger Abbey, but my teacher has never given me the top marks without language analysis- for the essay question you should probably include 3+ quotes or detailed references to the text.
Original post by B1uescorpion
I don't do spies I do Northanger Abbey, but my teacher has never given me the top marks without language analysis- for the essay question you should probably include 3+ quotes or detailed references to the text.


Okay - thanks! I always do quotes, but normally to back up 'content' type questions... :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by metellaest
Okay - thanks! I always do quotes, but normally to make up 'content' type questions... :smile:


Yeah- I usually write about connotations or the ambiguity of words and then link it back to the character or theme in the question :smile:
Original post by B1uescorpion
Yeah- I usually write about connotations or the ambiguity of words and then link it back to the character or theme in the question :smile:


Yes, definitely :smile:

Just realised I meant 'back up' not 'make up'

Best of luck tomorrow :smile:
Reply 91
Any predictions for Silas Marner questions? :smile:
Last June's extract was on Molly and essay was on Nancy so I'm assuming those won't come up..
Reply 92
Original post by Crème brûlée
I'm doing Merchant of Venice, Silas Marner and Hardy poetry :smile:

For mofv i plan to do the essay question, I made 4 really detailed mind maps on Shylock, Portia, Antonio and Bassanio, and included important quotes and detailed analysis. I helped me a LOT- it pushed my typical mark of 18/25 to 24/25, and my teacher is a very harsh marker.

In terms of Silas I want to do the extract question because i have absolutely no idea how to do the essay question. Any tips on that? :redface:

Anyone else doing Hardy? I really want During Wind and Rain or Drummer Hodge :tongue:


My teacher said that for the extract question in the prose exam 3/4 of your essay should be focussed on the extract given and 1/4 should be on the wider issues / the whole novel
Hiya! I'm doing
Songs of ourselves part 1
No longer at ease by Chinua Achebe
Inspector Calls

Just wondering do we get a choice of one or two poems? It would be nice if they gave us a choice of two.

Oh and to answer other people's questions, the grade boundaries are almost always 17 per paper so son't worry about getting 90% or 23/25 for each question or anything like that. :smile:
Original post by amjam441
Hiya! I'm doing
Songs of ourselves part 1
No longer at ease by Chinua Achebe
Inspector Calls

Just wondering do we get a choice of one or two poems? It would be nice if they gave us a choice of two.

Oh and to answer other people's questions, the grade boundaries are almost always 17 per paper so son't worry about getting 90% or 23/25 for each question or anything like that. :smile:


Hey :smile:

I'm doing a different poetry set, but our teacher said there would be two questions to pick from: one where they give you a poem with a question and you write an essay, and one where they give you two poems and ask you to compare something in them, but they don't really mean compare? It's confusing, so I'm planning on going with the straightforward one-poem-one-answer thing...
Reply 95
to what extent do we have to refer to the wider text when doing extract questions? usually i might write a few sentences in the conclu or during the essay
im doing northanger abbey btw
Err so I feel completely unprepared for this exam tomorrow and panicking....Our teacher didn't even give us any practice questions or show us a past paper for poetry and prose questions and I haven't actually written an answer or anything...

How would you plan your answer to poems and the prose questions? And what sort of questions would they be like?

Any help would be fab and would relieve me immensely....
Original post by Vio1999
Does anyone know hot to analyse shall I compare thee? I've tried so many times and if it comes up I will probably cry I can only analyse one quote and the sonnet structure 😫😫


that poppedup last year, so its unlikely it will be on the paper this year
Original post by GreenDucks
Err so I feel completely unprepared for this exam tomorrow and panicking....Our teacher didn't even give us any practice questions or show us a past paper for poetry and prose questions and I haven't actually written an answer or anything...

How would you plan your answer to poems and the prose questions? And what sort of questions would they be like?

Any help would be fab and would relieve me immensely....



Which prose and poetry are you doing?

Poetry: do the question where a single poem is printed and you answer a question based on (I'd recommend)

Discuss the themes of the poem, stylistic structures, sound devices, literary device, etc...

Write four-five paragraphs, each with a topic sentence: eg, "The writer uses the structure of the extended metaphor in 'To Marguerite' to discuss the human condition" etc

I'd say base each paragraph on a theme/idea, but that's up to you

Make sure you have a shortish, snappy, concise introduction that sets the tone for your answer, and a compelling conclusion.

Prose: two choices - generalised essay question based on a theme or a character, or an in depth analysis of an extract printed for you.
In my personal experience, go for the generalised essay question, but you do have to know some quotes!

Pretty much the same structure as poetry, just explore things like motivations, themes, characters, interactions, events in the novel instead...

Hope that helped!

(Spend 45 mins on each)
Reply 99
Original post by GreenDucks
Err so I feel completely unprepared for this exam tomorrow and panicking....Our teacher didn't even give us any practice questions or show us a past paper for poetry and prose questions and I haven't actually written an answer or anything...

How would you plan your answer to poems and the prose questions? And what sort of questions would they be like?

Any help would be fab and would relieve me immensely....


Usually for the poem questions the questions are 'How does [the poet] make this poem so moving/express emotion/portray the relationship'
Basically just analyse the poem in the same way but relate it to the question.

For prose, I'm doing Jekyll and Hyde, and the extract question is normally something like 'How does Stevenson make this such a dramatic moment in the novel' or 'How is tension built in this scene?'

Hope that helps!

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