AQA A Level English Literature A Paper 2 (7712/2A and 2B) 8 June 2023 [Exam Chat]

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How did your AQA English Literature A Paper 2 exam go ?

AQA A Level English Literature A Paper 2 (7712/2A and 2B) - Thursday 8th June 2023 [Exam Chat]

Welcome to the exam discussion thread for this exam. Introduce yourself! Let others know what you're aiming for in your exams, what you are struggling with in your revision or anything else.

Wishing you all the best of luck.

General Information
Date/Time: Thursday 8th June 2023/AM
Length: 2h 30m

Resources
AQA A Level English Literature

Congratulations on finishing your exam!

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

22

This thread is for the following topics and texts:

WW1 and its aftermath
Pat Barker Regeneration
Sebastian Faulks Birdsong
Joan Littlewood Oh! What a Lovely War
R.C. Sherriff Journey’s End
ed. Brian Gardner Up the Line to Death
ed. Catherine Reilly Scars Upon My Heart
Rebecca West The Return of the Soldier
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Susan Hill Strange Meeting
Ernest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms
Robert Graves Goodbye to All That
Sebastian Barry A Long, Long Way
Ben Elton The First Casualty
Pat Barker Life Class
Peter Whelan The Accrington Pals
Richard Curtis and Ben Elton Blackadder Goes Forth
David Haig My Boy Jack
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman The Wipers Times
ed. George Walter The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
ed. Jon Stallworthy The Oxford Book of War Poetry
ed. Jon Stallworthy The War Poems of Wilfred Owen

Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale
Graham Swift Waterland
Caryl Churchill Top Girls
Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire
Carol Ann Duffy Feminine Gospels
Owen Sheers Skirrid Hill
Michael Frayn Spies
Ken Kesey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things
Kathryn Stockett The Help
Alice Walker The Color Purple
Jeanette Winterson Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Richard Yates Revolutionary Road
Brian Friel Translations
Arthur Miller All My Sons
Timberlake Wertenbaker Our Country’s Good
Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Tony Harrison Selected Poems 2013 Edition
Seamus Heaney New Selected Poems 1966–1987
Ted Hughes Birthday Letters
Sylvia Plath Ariel

Reply 2

McDonaldsEmploy

17

Please tell me how many poems you need for a Blake Question?

Reply 3

fig451

9

Original post by McDonaldsEmploy

Please tell me how many poems you need for a Blake Question?

What do you mean by a Blake Question?

Reply 4

McDonaldsEmploy

17

haha thought this was Spec B, but the principle behind the question should be the same across Specs

In a 25 marker question specifically about a poem anthology or collection.
How many individual poems from the anthology do you need to mention for the essay?

Reply 5

fig451

9

Original post by McDonaldsEmploy

haha thought this was Spec B, but the principle behind the question should be the same across Specs

In a 25 marker question specifically about a poem anthology or collection.
How many individual poems from the anthology do you need to mention for the essay?

In Spec A for 25 marks, you need to compare a novel with 2 other poems from an anthology

Reply 6

McDonaldsEmploy

17

Original post by fig451

In Spec A for 25 marks, you need to compare a novel with 2 other poems from an anthology

very alike to Spec B, we compare a drama to a collection of Poems.

I'm guessing 2 poems chosen need to be very similar in language, structure and themes?

Reply 7

fig451

9

Original post by McDonaldsEmploy

very alike to Spec B, we compare a drama to a collection of Poems.

I'm guessing 2 poems chosen need to be very similar in language, structure and themes?

Not necessarily, sometimes I choose one poem to be very different. For example, if the question was on the presentation of love, you can choose a poem that presents a lack of love etc. And then just make sure you draw comparisons and highlight differences between the 2 poems and the texts.

OP

Original post by fig451

Not necessarily, sometimes I choose one poem to be very different. For example, if the question was on the presentation of love, you can choose a poem that presents a lack of love etc. And then just make sure you draw comparisons and highlight differences between the 2 poems and the texts.

I agree with this, I think that sometimes comparing things that are very similar is actually more difficult. It's better if you have the option to contrast as well :smile:

Reply 9

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

22

Updated post #2 with a list of texts and topics :smile:

Reply 10

gea05

5

Does anyone have any essay plans or notes for The Color Purple and The feminine Gospels

And the same for streetcar, please?

Reply 11

kittycat2

4

Original post by gea05

Does anyone have any essay plans or notes for The Color Purple and The feminine Gospels

And the same for streetcar, please?

here's some key feminine gospels themes/clusters:
Identity
Motherhood
Work
The elegies
Women's writing
Female suffering/ discrimination
Women and power or strength
Women are ignored by history/ non existent voice
Modern Women have advantages
Women are dangerous or destructive
Isolation and loneliness
Women fail to bring about change
Deception

- Happy to help further if you need it :smile:

x

Reply 12

slayquee

3

hey guys. finally looking at this after finishing paper one! wondering if anyone has any predictions for the handmaids tale?

Reply 13

kaxxxxc2

13

Original post by slayquee

hey guys. finally looking at this after finishing paper one! wondering if anyone has any predictions for the handmaids tale?

probably won't be Nick, Commander, Serena or Moira since those have come up recently. last year was a theme i think, so maybe this year it'll be a character. maybe something to do with offred, or maybe the significance of the aunts. if it is a theme, it won't be about resistance or rebellion - those have come up a few times already. what other texts do you do?

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 14

Fire dude

10

anyone have any predictions/ practice questions for the contextual linking questions (modern times)? i know the previous questions have been opposing ideas and values, inequality, cultural differences and conflict (they are all basically the same??)

Reply 15

Fire dude

10

Original post by Fire dude

anyone have any predictions/ practice questions for the contextual linking questions (modern times)? i know the previous questions have been opposing ideas and values, inequality, cultural differences and conflict (they are all basically the same??)

also anything for Streetcar as a set text?

Reply 16

kaxxxxc2

13

Original post by Fire dude

anyone have any predictions/ practice questions for the contextual linking questions (modern times)? i know the previous questions have been opposing ideas and values, inequality, cultural differences and conflict (they are all basically the same??)

maybe fragility of relationships, or identity?

Reply 17

fig451

9

Anyone doing WW1 and it's aftermath - Journey's End, A Long Long Way and Wilfred Owen poems?

Reply 18

slayingasavet

10

Can anyone give me some support with the unseen prose question? I really need it. it drags my grade down every time and i’d love some help! like, what AO2 should i aim to always put in? is comparing the two enough for AO4 marks without bringing in other texts? how should i lay out my writing, like Intro, 2 or 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion? how do I implement AO5 critical analysis when i dont know what to look for before hand? should i just say ‘from a feminists viewpoint’ etc.
Stuck at a C on this question and i’d love a B or A like I get in the rest
honestly paper 2 is not my strong suit ! if anyone can help it would be much appreciated

Reply 19

fig451

9

Original post by slayingasavet

Can anyone give me some support with the unseen prose question? I really need it. it drags my grade down every time and i’d love some help! like, what AO2 should i aim to always put in? is comparing the two enough for AO4 marks without bringing in other texts? how should i lay out my writing, like Intro, 2 or 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion? how do I implement AO5 critical analysis when i dont know what to look for before hand? should i just say ‘from a feminists viewpoint’ etc.
Stuck at a C on this question and i’d love a B or A like I get in the rest
honestly paper 2 is not my strong suit ! if anyone can help it would be much appreciated

For AO2 I always use MITSL (Meaning, Imagery, Tone, Structure and Language). I would recommend reading through the passage and annotating the simple things that jump out eg alliteration, similes metaphors etc. And then also adding comments in your essay on how the tone changes or the structure of it (sentence lengths, cyclical structure etc) . The passage will say what type of novel it is from and when it was written, you can use this info to draw inferences such as what literary period it belongs too, and gain AO3 marks. For AO4 you don't need to bring in another text, perhaps you can make general comments on how typical the theme is in this extract compared to presentations of this theme in wider literature. AO5 I believe comes from just interacting with the question and making your own critical viewpoints on how the theme is presented.

AQA A Level English Literature A Paper 2 (7712/2A and 2B) 8 June 2023 [Exam Chat]

How did your AQA English Literature A Paper 2 exam go ?

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