In desperate need of help...
i just received my results and i performed poorly in english literature (AQA A). i got a C overall- B in C/W and C in exam. I'm really disappointed but i was expecting it due to only revising the day before the exam. I focused my revision solely on the sciences for my degree choice but have been performing badly in english throughout the year. 
My teachers are not that supportive and i shy away from asking for help as they say we should be independent learners and find out things ourselves if we don't get it so i don't really know what to do.
I really hate it but can't drop it due to the fact i'm only doing 3 AS levels and i've realised i'm a logical thinker so suited to the scientific subjects and english lit doesn't have 1 clear answer that you learn and apply so i struggle so much with it. I wish i knew how much i would begin to hate it but it's too late now and i just need to move forward.
Basically, i'm looking for advice on revision techniques for those who are good at english lit- AS or A2. I would really appreciate it as i need to get at least a B or i'm afraid i won't be able to get into my first choice for pharmacy. Should i resit the exam- the downside is that i've just checked the AQA site and they are changing the AS course slightly to different texts.
any advice is welcome.
thanks in advance.
My teachers are not that supportive and i shy away from asking for help as they say we should be independent learners and find out things ourselves if we don't get it so i don't really know what to do.I really hate it but can't drop it due to the fact i'm only doing 3 AS levels and i've realised i'm a logical thinker so suited to the scientific subjects and english lit doesn't have 1 clear answer that you learn and apply so i struggle so much with it. I wish i knew how much i would begin to hate it but it's too late now and i just need to move forward.
Basically, i'm looking for advice on revision techniques for those who are good at english lit- AS or A2. I would really appreciate it as i need to get at least a B or i'm afraid i won't be able to get into my first choice for pharmacy. Should i resit the exam- the downside is that i've just checked the AQA site and they are changing the AS course slightly to different texts.
any advice is welcome.
thanks in advance.
Original post by kaypc
i just received my results and i performed poorly in english literature (AQA A). i got a C overall- B in C/W and C in exam. I'm really disappointed but i was expecting it due to only revising the day before the exam. I focused my revision solely on the sciences for my degree choice but have been performing badly in english throughout the year. My teachers are not that supportive and i shy away from asking for help as they say we should be independent learners and find out things ourselves if we don't get it so i don't really know what to do.
My teachers are not that supportive and i shy away from asking for help as they say we should be independent learners and find out things ourselves if we don't get it so i don't really know what to do.Did you do Victorian Lit, War lit, or contemporary lit? I did this course (War Literature) and got a B overall at AS (full marks in coursework, low B in exam) but ended up with full marks in the A2 course so came out with an A* - I wouldn't worry too much, I personally found the A2 course better suited for me and you could do too.
Original post by ambontoast
Did you do Victorian Lit, War lit, or contemporary lit? I did this course (War Literature) and got a B overall at AS (full marks in coursework, low B in exam) but ended up with full marks in the A2 course so came out with an A* - I wouldn't worry too much, I personally found the A2 course better suited for me and you could do too.
i did war literature as well. i really didn't like it, no interest in WW1 but i do like the love literature better, i'm just worried because my essays are constantly a C or a couple of times i scrape a low B. Are there any books you could recommend that were useful?
Original post by kaypc
i did war literature as well. i really didn't like it, no interest in WW1 but i do like the love literature better, i'm just worried because my essays are constantly a C or a couple of times i scrape a low B. Are there any books you could recommend that were useful?
Sure thing. this is the main book i used, extracts are often better than reading the entire play/novel.
Some main texts I used from each genre:
Novels: The Great Gatsby (This links to pretty much every theme), Pride & Prejudice, Pamela, The Line of Beauty, Dracula, Moll Flanders, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Saturday (Ian McEwan), Great Expectations & The Age of Innocence.
Plays: Betrayal, The Tempest, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shadowlands, Othello, Edward II, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poems: The Sick Rose, The Laboratory, Leda and the Swan, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Flea, Young Love, any of Shakespeare's Sonnets (particularly 116, 130) and poems by Carol Ann Duffy (Valentine, Havisham, Medusa) etc.
I'm not suggesting you read all of these - although I knew extracts from every one of them as well as contexts and key quotes (you definitely need to know quotes with certain linguistic techniques so you can easily link in the exam) In the exam you have to pretty much focus on the extracts given to you, the wider reading should only be brought in to illuminate the extract - it's strictly 70:30.
Also, when writing about the play extract in the exam, talk about how it would be performed on stage and how it would be perceived by the audience - I did this in the June 2012 paper because question 1 was 2 plays, and got 120/120.
Good luck!
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by ambontoast
Sure thing. this is the main book i used, extracts are often better than reading the entire play/novel.
Some main texts I used from each genre:
Novels: The Great Gatsby (This links to pretty much every theme), Pride & Prejudice, Pamela, The Line of Beauty, Dracula, Moll Flanders, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Saturday (Ian McEwan), Great Expectations & The Age of Innocence.
Plays: Betrayal, The Tempest, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shadowlands, Othello, Edward II, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poems: The Sick Rose, The Laboratory, Leda and the Swan, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Flea, Young Love, any of Shakespeare's Sonnets (particularly 116, 130) and poems by Carol Ann Duffy (Valentine, Havisham, Medusa) etc.
I'm not suggesting you read all of these - although I knew extracts from every one of them as well as contexts and key quotes (you definitely need to know quotes with certain linguistic techniques so you can easily link in the exam) In the exam you have to pretty much focus on the extracts given to you, the wider reading should only be brought in to illuminate the extract - it's strictly 70:30.
Also, when writing about the play extract in the exam, talk about how it would be performed on stage and how it would be perceived by the audience - I did this in the June 2012 paper because question 1 was 2 plays, and got 120/120.
Good luck!
Some main texts I used from each genre:
Novels: The Great Gatsby (This links to pretty much every theme), Pride & Prejudice, Pamela, The Line of Beauty, Dracula, Moll Flanders, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Saturday (Ian McEwan), Great Expectations & The Age of Innocence.
Plays: Betrayal, The Tempest, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shadowlands, Othello, Edward II, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poems: The Sick Rose, The Laboratory, Leda and the Swan, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Flea, Young Love, any of Shakespeare's Sonnets (particularly 116, 130) and poems by Carol Ann Duffy (Valentine, Havisham, Medusa) etc.
I'm not suggesting you read all of these - although I knew extracts from every one of them as well as contexts and key quotes (you definitely need to know quotes with certain linguistic techniques so you can easily link in the exam) In the exam you have to pretty much focus on the extracts given to you, the wider reading should only be brought in to illuminate the extract - it's strictly 70:30.
Also, when writing about the play extract in the exam, talk about how it would be performed on stage and how it would be perceived by the audience - I did this in the June 2012 paper because question 1 was 2 plays, and got 120/120.
Good luck!
thank you.
Original post by ambontoast
Sure thing. this is the main book i used, extracts are often better than reading the entire play/novel.
Some main texts I used from each genre:
Novels: The Great Gatsby (This links to pretty much every theme), Pride & Prejudice, Pamela, The Line of Beauty, Dracula, Moll Flanders, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Saturday (Ian McEwan), Great Expectations & The Age of Innocence.
Plays: Betrayal, The Tempest, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shadowlands, Othello, Edward II, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poems: The Sick Rose, The Laboratory, Leda and the Swan, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Flea, Young Love, any of Shakespeare's Sonnets (particularly 116, 130) and poems by Carol Ann Duffy (Valentine, Havisham, Medusa) etc.
I'm not suggesting you read all of these - although I knew extracts from every one of them as well as contexts and key quotes (you definitely need to know quotes with certain linguistic techniques so you can easily link in the exam) In the exam you have to pretty much focus on the extracts given to you, the wider reading should only be brought in to illuminate the extract - it's strictly 70:30.
Also, when writing about the play extract in the exam, talk about how it would be performed on stage and how it would be perceived by the audience - I did this in the June 2012 paper because question 1 was 2 plays, and got 120/120.
Good luck!
Some main texts I used from each genre:
Novels: The Great Gatsby (This links to pretty much every theme), Pride & Prejudice, Pamela, The Line of Beauty, Dracula, Moll Flanders, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Saturday (Ian McEwan), Great Expectations & The Age of Innocence.
Plays: Betrayal, The Tempest, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shadowlands, Othello, Edward II, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Poems: The Sick Rose, The Laboratory, Leda and the Swan, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Flea, Young Love, any of Shakespeare's Sonnets (particularly 116, 130) and poems by Carol Ann Duffy (Valentine, Havisham, Medusa) etc.
I'm not suggesting you read all of these - although I knew extracts from every one of them as well as contexts and key quotes (you definitely need to know quotes with certain linguistic techniques so you can easily link in the exam) In the exam you have to pretty much focus on the extracts given to you, the wider reading should only be brought in to illuminate the extract - it's strictly 70:30.
Also, when writing about the play extract in the exam, talk about how it would be performed on stage and how it would be perceived by the audience - I did this in the June 2012 paper because question 1 was 2 plays, and got 120/120.
Good luck!
Is all that in that study guide or something? How many things did you actually read?
I read all of the novels and poems, although I had already read 3 of the novels prior to the course. However for the Drama, we studied key extracts and I also went to see 2 of them in the theatre.
A lot of it is in the guide I provided the link for, however all of the texts were in my Sixth Form library so we could read them if we wanted, and our teachers also provided key extracts from each which focussed on certain themes.
A lot of it is in the guide I provided the link for, however all of the texts were in my Sixth Form library so we could read them if we wanted, and our teachers also provided key extracts from each which focussed on certain themes.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by ambontoast
I read all of the novels and poems, although I had already read 3 of the novels prior to the course. However for the Drama, we studied key extracts and I also went to see 2 of them in the theatre.
A lot of it is in the guide I provided the link for, however all of the texts were in my Sixth Form library so we could read them if we wanted, and our teachers also provided key extracts from each which focussed on certain themes.
A lot of it is in the guide I provided the link for, however all of the texts were in my Sixth Form library so we could read them if we wanted, and our teachers also provided key extracts from each which focussed on certain themes.
What do you mean by how it would be performed on stage? Can you provide some examples please? Moreover, what was structure for the unseen extracts essays?
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by JackJack
What do you mean by how it would be performed on stage? Can you provide some examples please? Moreover, what was structure for the unseen extracts essays?
Like how would they say the line (humorous/serious) and how it would be perceived by audiences in the time period in comparison to a modern audience. Also any stage directions and how it affects the mood of the scene.
My structure was:
Small introduction explaining the theme scene in both and how the authors present it in different ways due to genre/time period
Then around 4 paragraphs in which 2 OF THEM CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH ONLY THE UNSEEN EXTRACTS. There needs to be a HEAVY FOCUS ON THE EXTRACTS. We had a lady from AQA in because we all got a D on this paper in January and she said you need to be like a dog with a bone - never let go of the extracts and bring every point back to them.
In summary:
Intro
Paragraph One = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about context)
Paragraph Two = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (point about language)
Paragraph Three = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about structure/form)
Paragraph Four = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (another point about either lang/form/structure)
Conclusion - talk about how they are different due to their time periods, perhaps give a bit of personal reaction.
Original post by ambontoast
Like how would they say the line (humorous/serious) and how it would be perceived by audiences in the time period in comparison to a modern audience. Also any stage directions and how it affects the mood of the scene.
My structure was:
Small introduction explaining the theme scene in both and how the authors present it in different ways due to genre/time period
Then around 4 paragraphs in which 2 OF THEM CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH ONLY THE UNSEEN EXTRACTS. There needs to be a HEAVY FOCUS ON THE EXTRACTS. We had a lady from AQA in because we all got a D on this paper in January and she said you need to be like a dog with a bone - never let go of the extracts and bring every point back to them.
In summary:
Intro
Paragraph One = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about context)
Paragraph Two = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (point about language)
Paragraph Three = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about structure/form)
Paragraph Four = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (another point about either lang/form/structure)
Conclusion - talk about how they are different due to their time periods, perhaps give a bit of personal reaction.
My structure was:
Small introduction explaining the theme scene in both and how the authors present it in different ways due to genre/time period
Then around 4 paragraphs in which 2 OF THEM CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH ONLY THE UNSEEN EXTRACTS. There needs to be a HEAVY FOCUS ON THE EXTRACTS. We had a lady from AQA in because we all got a D on this paper in January and she said you need to be like a dog with a bone - never let go of the extracts and bring every point back to them.
In summary:
Intro
Paragraph One = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about context)
Paragraph Two = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (point about language)
Paragraph Three = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point (point about structure/form)
Paragraph Four = Extract 1 point, Extract 2 point, Link to wider reading (another point about either lang/form/structure)
Conclusion - talk about how they are different due to their time periods, perhaps give a bit of personal reaction.
That sounds excellent. Thanks very much. I am thinking about resitting my English literature AS in January and for Section A we have to compare one extract with wider reading. Could I use that similar structure for that? Like:
Paragraph 1 - Purely extract
Paragraph 2 - Extract and wider reading language
Paragraph 3 - Extract and wider reading structure/form
Paragraph 4 - Extract and wider reading (another point)
Conc - Talk about how they are different due to their time periods and personal reaction.
I'm assuming I'd have enough time for that. If I remember it's 1 hour for that section.
Finally, for Section B on the AS exam for poetry. How is best to structure that, as I always struggled with that? Thanks very much.
That sounds pretty good for me, although I only got a low B on the AS exam and when I re-sat it I got a D, so I'm only really sure on the Y13 one.
However, for the poetry I would definitely try and make it a balanced argument; pick poems that show both sides of what you are trying to determine. I would generally pick 3 poems and talk about them in detail; language, form, and structure for each one.
Hope I've been helpful.
However, for the poetry I would definitely try and make it a balanced argument; pick poems that show both sides of what you are trying to determine. I would generally pick 3 poems and talk about them in detail; language, form, and structure for each one.
Hope I've been helpful.
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