AQA English Literature A - Love Through the Ages June 2011 Exam :D

Original post by Rachel_Leah

In Forster's 'A Room with a View' he uses a lot of water imagery, but only uses the word 'water' once as a verb. Would this be 'Forster creates a lexis of water...' or 'Forster's water lexis'? x

Semantic field of water would be your best bet.

Reply 242

Original post by ~Elle~

Sorry if I caused you to be angry!

You're right I should have thought about my answer before answering so quickly because, thinking back to my past essays, I actually use structure to talk about the voices within the text too.

I guess I've gotten so used to writing essays that I forget these things.

I wasn't deliberately labelling things, I think it's because I've generally been taught what I'm supposed to analyse for each area. It doesn't hold me back from making innovative points, it just helps me to remember what I should be looking out for, e.g. to give a simplified version:

Form - voice, who's talking, tone of the voice, what does it reveal about attitude towards love etc

Structure - development of ideas

Lang - techniques used.

But yes, within each area when you make a point it can easily bring in other details.

Thank you for making your point for other students!

I hope everybody does well.

I'm not angry - sorry if you thought I was! :colondollar:

I just pasted it in to save myself typing it out again. I think it was originally addressed to someone else, so the comments might sound a bit odd.

Reply 243

JustinBobby

AQA recommend on learning 6 wider reading extracts, 2 from each genre. Therefore wider reading is not as important, the analysis of the unseen extracts should be the main focus.

How you approach this i am not so sure?

Also a little unsure on how many pages to write for each 40 marker?

Reply 244

Original post by Pthaos

EDIT - I was thinking of doing a revision session at sometime during the day on Wednesday, the day before the exam. Would anyone be interested in joining me to chat about the exam/how we're preparing for it whilst revising purely English stuff? We can either get it going here or I was thinking of creating a new thread for a revision drop-in thing at a specific time (We can organise when people are available/want to revise) We can chat while we work, compare/swap notes, etc. Would anyone be interested in this?

VERY late but that sounds amazing if it hasn't happened already! I had an exam today so I have been revising for that rather than browsing this site.
Hopefully you haven't had it??!

Reply 245

Original post by JustinBobby

AQA recommend on learning 6 wider reading extracts, 2 from each genre. Therefore wider reading is not as important, the analysis of the unseen extracts should be the main focus.

How you approach this i am not so sure?

Also a little unsure on how many pages to write for each 40 marker?

Always quality, not quantity. There's nothing about quantity in the spec. Literary criticism isn't measured by the metre; just say as much as you can that is relevant and accurate and pace yourself to leave time for a proper conclusion.

Reply 246

pianofluteftw

14

Original post by ojl2283

VERY late but that sounds amazing if it hasn't happened already! I had an exam today so I have been revising for that rather than browsing this site.
Hopefully you haven't had it??!

See this thread: (now many, many pages long!)
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1675717

Reply 247

Lucygator

Does anyone have any good quotes for friendship in poetry? I am struggling to find one and it would be very useful!

Reply 248

Original post by pianofluteftw

See this thread: (now many, many pages long!)
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1675717

Thank you! Slowly working my way through it :smile:

Good luck to everyone and thank you for making a really useful thread; especially

Original post by carnationlilyrose

...

Original post by Pthaos

...

Original post by Cast.Iron

...

Whose posts have not only answered any possible questions I have had for the exam/tips etc but also calmed me down a bit!

One of my teachers is an examiner for this and that may be why I feel like I lack all confidence in myself, she isn't the most pleasent of creatures in terms of teaching style... :confused:

One question I do want to know, a girl in my class did an essay and got something like 36/40 - I asked to see it so I could see what I could do to get to that level and basically she didn't get the wider reading right (I know the essay isn't based on WR!) the extracts was a play and a poem but she used prose and a play. Following the substance found in the AQA spec, info off the site and the textbook itself she hadn't followed the criteria of doing the right wider reading... the comment of the teacher being if she included the poem it would have got full marks. I thought that if you got the wrong 'mix' of WR and didn't cover the three genres in the entire paper you wouldn't do so well :s-smilie:

Reply 249

Original post by ojl2283

Thank you! Slowly working my way through it :smile:

Good luck to everyone and thank you for making a really useful thread; especially

Whose posts have not only answered any possible questions I have had for the exam/tips etc but also calmed me down a bit!

One of my teachers is an examiner for this and that may be why I feel like I lack all confidence in myself, she isn't the most pleasent of creatures in terms of teaching style... :confused:

One question I do want to know, a girl in my class did an essay and got something like 36/40 - I asked to see it so I could see what I could do to get to that level and basically she didn't get the wider reading right (I know the essay isn't based on WR!) the extracts was a play and a poem but she used prose and a play. Following the substance found in the AQA spec, info off the site and the textbook itself she hadn't followed the criteria of doing the right wider reading... the comment of the teacher being if she included the poem it would have got full marks. I thought that if you got the wrong 'mix' of WR and didn't cover the three genres in the entire paper you wouldn't do so well :s-smilie:

Thanks for the name check. Always happy to help. What you say about the mark scheme is substantially true, but the quality of what is written can counterbalance rubric infringements. If your teacher's an examiner, she will know. One of the big problems in Eng Lit is its subjectivity, but sometimes that can work to a student's advantage. You sometimes just get a gut feeling that a student is really good and reward the good things that you see whilst downplaying the bad. Also, if this essay was done very recently, it's quite possible that your teacher marked it positively to encourage the student just before the exam. As you can see from this forum, a lot of people get very, very stressed just before the exam and certainly I and my colleagues would not destroy their confidence by rubbishing their practice essays when it's too late to do anything constructive about changing things.

Should have said that bringing the wrong genre of WR reference into an answer will mean that reference will be discounted, but not penalised. There will have been enough other good things in the essay to make up for the wrong genre being used in one case.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 250

Cast.Iron

14

Original post by ojl2283

Thank you! Slowly working my way through it :smile:

Good luck to everyone and thank you for making a really useful thread; especially

Whose posts have not only answered any possible questions I have had for the exam/tips etc but also calmed me down a bit!

One of my teachers is an examiner for this and that may be why I feel like I lack all confidence in myself, she isn't the most pleasent of creatures in terms of teaching style... :confused:

One question I do want to know, a girl in my class did an essay and got something like 36/40 - I asked to see it so I could see what I could do to get to that level and basically she didn't get the wider reading right (I know the essay isn't based on WR!) the extracts was a play and a poem but she used prose and a play. Following the substance found in the AQA spec, info off the site and the textbook itself she hadn't followed the criteria of doing the right wider reading... the comment of the teacher being if she included the poem it would have got full marks. I thought that if you got the wrong 'mix' of WR and didn't cover the three genres in the entire paper you wouldn't do so well :s-smilie:

First of all, you're welcome.

What you need to know is that for the first question you compare like for like genres. For example, if you are given two drama extracts (which I think is likely tomorrow) then the only wider reading you bring in is drama.

For the second question you will receive extracts from the two remaining genres (in this scenario, prose and poetry) and you must bring in wider reading from ALL THREE genres. Therefore, you bring in elements of prose, poetry AND drama. At the front of the exam booklet it will say that you should refer to a minimum of one text from each genre.

I hope this cleared things up for you and good luck.

Reply 251

Original post by carnationlilyrose

As you can see from this forum, a lot of people get very, very stressed just before the exam and certainly I and my colleagues would not destroy their confidence by rubbishing their practice essays when it's too late to do anything constructive about changing things.

You are more than welcome, you are without a doubt an aid for everyone on here :tongue:

Your explanation makes sense, thank you for answering!
The essay was done in Feb/March time so it was quite a while ago, in comparison to me being the only one in the class to do a mock post-study leave and get it 'rubbished'.
I said "the two writers explore the consequences of rumour and its effect on love..." according to her the sentence made little sense and I SHOULD have said "the two writers explores the consequences of rumour.."
But there is need for double the pluralisation? One of many examples of her marking :s-smilie:

Would have been beneficial to have you for a teacher who is clear about the exam, its guidelines and the attitude of encouragement rather than sheer confusion!

Original post by Cast.Iron

First of all, you're welcome.

I hope this cleared things up for you and good luck.

Actually my question was about the marking side of things, not the essay structure itself (although reading through a lot of people don't seem to get it, in my mind it has always been clear - just use whatever genre the extract is!)
Thank you for replying nonetheless and good luck!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 252

Original post by ojl2283

You are more than welcome, you are without a doubt an aid for everyone on here :tongue:

Your explanation makes sense, thank you for answering!
The essay was done in Feb/March time so it was quite a while ago, in comparison to me being the only one in the class to do a mock post-study leave and get it 'rubbished'.
I said "the two writers explore the consequences of rumour and its effect on love..." according to her the sentence made little sense and I SHOULD have said "the two writers explores the consequences of rumour.."
But there is need for double the pluralisation? One of many examples of her marking :s-smilie:

Would have been beneficial to have you for a teacher who is clear about the exam, its guidelines and the attitude of encouragement rather than sheer confusion!

How very odd. You are certainly right here.

Thanks again for your kind words. I am very lucky in who I teach and it's an absolute joy and privilege, so I do a bit of voluntary work here so I don't feel guilty at my good fortune. :biggrin:

Reply 253

Original post by carnationlilyrose

How very odd. You are certainly right here.

Thanks again for your kind words. I am very lucky in who I teach and it's an absolute joy and privilege, so I do a bit of voluntary work here so I don't feel guilty at my good fortune. :biggrin:

Reading that has boosted my confidence exponentially! The entire year I have been questioning my skills in english and if I am making all of these mistakes, if they even are all mistakes. But that is reassuring that I am not losing my marbles and its just an error (there have been quite a few 'mistakes' claimed by my teacher so if I put some of it down to just oddness it really helps dispell the "you are crap" mentality which has been drilled into our class!)
I really cannot thank you enough :biggrin:

That is a wonderful perspective of life :smile:

I wish all of your students do brilliantly in the dreaded exam, by the sounds of it they will have no problems, always helps when you have someone passionate who loves teaching and opening the world of Eng Lit to others!

Reply 254

Original post by ojl2283

Reading that has boosted my confidence exponentially! The entire year I have been questioning my skills in english and if I am making all of these mistakes, if they even are all mistakes. But that is reassuring that I am not losing my marbles and its just an error (there have been quite a few 'mistakes' claimed by my teacher so if I put some of it down to just oddness it really helps dispell the "you are crap" mentality which has been drilled into our class!)
I really cannot thank you enough :biggrin:

That is a wonderful perspective of life :smile:

I wish all of your students do brilliantly in the dreaded exam, by the sounds of it they will have no problems, always helps when you have someone passionate who loves teaching and opening the world of Eng Lit to others!

Thanks, that's really sweet :colondollar:

Good luck to you, too!

Reply 255

QuirkyDoDo

Original post by carnationlilyrose

Thanks, that's really sweet :colondollar:

Good luck to you, too!

Hi, noticed that you are an English teacher and was wondering; I did not finish my conclusion for the second question-I concluded What I wrote on the first extract but did not get time to start the second, will this cost me marks?

Reply 256

Lucygator

So... how did everyone find it?

I thought the first question was good, second question a bit harder. Didn't have any 'omg i dont know anything' moments and finished in time, so thats a good sign!

Reply 257

pianofluteftw

14

Indeed - first question fine. Second question - the poem was pretty tough - however having read some stuff on it since finishing I seemed to get the right idea! I hope they like my points :frown:

But at least I didn't cry this year (and last year I only dropped 3 marks so things are looking ok!)

:smile:

Reply 258

Rachel_Leah

OP

11

Original post by Lucygator

So... how did everyone find it?

I thought the first question was good, second question a bit harder. Didn't have any 'omg i dont know anything' moments and finished in time, so thats a good sign!

AHHH Here goes.
For the first question, I compared the tenses they wrote in and linked that to Coetzee's time of writing (perhaps he was influenced by postmodern influences )
And then I compared the narrators, and their interjections (e.g. 'he did not say...' or whatever that line was)
Then I compared their descriptions of the females, notably more in Hardy's 'substantial feminine animal', or something like that, and linked that out to Villanelle becoming 'her creature' in the Passion...
Then I compared them sitting 'side by side' in Coetzee's and walking in 'parallel lines' in Hardy's, went along with some rubbish about equality, the balance between them MAY foreshadow a relationship blablabla, and linked that out again to the Passion when the Queen of Spades arranges them informally, which signals their unordinary homosexual relationship, however it's more allowed now than in the past blablabla....more context on how this relationship is seen as more loving than patriarchal ones...
Then I compared links to passion, Lurie talked off passionate Italians, whereas Jude talked about how its the last thing a man wants to do is get married or something of the sort, all this information is getting muddled now haha. And I linked that out to A Room with A View in which Forster portrays Italy as the passionate, romantic place and England as a country with a rigid structure, which was all about to change before WWI.... And I ran out of time for a conclusion as I made sure I gave enough time for Q2! Hope that doesn't lose me too many marks

Q2 I was mighty scared about. The Wyatt poem took a while to get into but I remember reading somewhere it was about unrequited love, and his women leaving him for other men, obivously with a lot of sexual references too, so it was pretty easy to get into after I stopped panicking. I looked at the form, the rhyming and enjambment, can't quite remember what my point was then linked to Behn's play, the two women vs. the man as quite a unique thing, but obviously Behn being a female writer would do this etc. etc. etc..
Then I looked at the transience of love, as in Behn's he is with the prostitute and Wyatt says shes busily looking for somebody else to love etc. Compared this out to the 17th-century poets Donne and Marvell, also in Behn's era, who see expressing sexual desire as a good thing, and looked at the Flea and a bit of To His Coy Mistress, I linked them again but I can't remember how now!
Then I looked at the language of Wyatt in describing his encounter, with the long arms, and as her gown 'fell' he was 'caught' into her arms, and I explained how they show the more negative ideas of love, and linked that to the Bait where 'he who is not catched thereby / alas, is wiser far than i'. Not quite sure how clever that was to be fair
Then I looked at the blazon in Behn's in describing Helenna I think her name was, and linked this out to Tis Pity She's a Whore's incestuous relationship, and also when Angellica says she gave her heart to the Rover, I linked the literal mentions of heart from that too.
Once again, no time for a conclusion.
Goddamit!

Reply 259