Poems or Kite runner for section A

I am doing A level english and i am currently studying the Kite runner,Great Gatsby,Educating Rita and Much ado about nothing. I am also studying poems by Robert browning.

For section A i am either going to choose the Kite Runner or a question on one of the poems. My teacher and the majority of students are choosing the Kite runner to answer but i think that the poems might be easier because you write about the whole poem and not just about one chapter like you would if you was doing the Kite runner

Has/is anyone done/doing Poems for section A and if so why :smile:

Reply 1

ahq

Original post by Awise

I did a poetry question as well, and I would broadly agree with you: it's easier to keep focus on the argument you want to make if you have the entire text of something to work with; if you choose the book, it can be easy to lose track of how much material the question actually gives you as you link the topic of the question to various parts of the book. :yep:

Reply 2

KatiexZoe

Section a tests on language skills used so I personally find doing poetry easier to pick out these sorts of things, and talking about structure is much easier too.

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Reply 3

KirstBarlow

For me, it depends on the question. For 'The Great Gatsby' if its chapters 2,5,7,8,9 then I'll go for that but if not then a poem. Any by Auden but Browning, only if its 'Porphyria's Lover' 'The Laboratory' 'My Last Dutchess'.
I think it all goes down to which you enjoy more & have more points and analyses for.
Whatever question comes up, good luck! I'm doing it too and I'm terrified so here's hoping its a good paper!

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Reply 4

KirstBarlow

Ah, thank you! I won't waste much time on them. Depending on the question, poems for section B are brilliant. It all bows down to how nice AQA want to be!
Good luck with the exam!

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Reply 5

KirstBarlow

Original post by lisa96

I'm going to do Gatsby in section A. I don't think Chapters 2 and 7 are likely to come up again, because Jan 2012 was chapter 2, June 2012 was chaper 7, and Jan 2013 was chapter 2 again.
I'm studying Browning too, going to write about his poems in Section B and also doing Rossetti :smile:

Is Rossetti hard?
I am looking for back up texts just in case section B is really bad. I think writing about four texts will help me a lot, especially because I am really bad at section B right now.

Reply 6

KirstBarlow

Original post by lisa96

I really like her poems, they all have the same theme about women being wronged by men. Although it does get confusing trying to remember what happens in each poem as some of them are quite similar.

For Rossetti i am learning Cousin Kate, Maude Clare, Jessie Cameron, Sister Maude (done this poem with a supply teacher, i dont think im going to write about it in the exam), and Goblin Market (its 12 pages!)

My teachers have told me that if i decide to pick short poems to write about in the exam, then i have to write about 3 (Cousin Kate, Maude Clare, and Jessie Cameron). However, if i decide to do Goblin Market then i will only need to write about the one poem as it is really long.

4 texts are loads especially the fact that we are told to spend 20 minutes on 1 writer :/

My weakeness is currently the Section A, question B. The context one. I am awful at applying context and i never know what to write :/

If you do want to do Rossetti then this website is good http://www.crossref-it.info/textguide/The-poetry-of-Christina-Rossetti/28/1 and theres also some good revision stuff on Amazon :smile:

What are you studying? I have some contextual thing I can pass on. I'll look into her, I just really need a safety net if this goes bad. Thank you for the feed-back, it really helped :smile:

Heres some advice on section A question B:
All out of 21. Type of question asked, here, will vary. These questions will be linked to the first (may not always seem like it). It’s all linked to asking you an opinion on something in the story. Whether it’s a character, event or an opinion.
“How far do you agree with…” “To what extent…”
You are marked on A03, A04 and always A01.
Different interpretations are needed here to hit A03. All about detailing a particular thing the author does for what effect.
‘It could be seen the author does this because… However, some would argue they do this for this affect/ because… Overall, the most fitting view is…’

Examiner report: “Strongest candidates are those who agree with the statement & give alternative interpretations on meaning and give both sides of the argument”

Always make it clear, from start to finish, what side you are on. Do you agree or disagree with the question?

Reply 7

ILoveTehran

Poems definitely for sec a! Cos there's so much more to write about for books in sec b hence its better in my opinion to do poems for sec a. My teacher also advised us to do poems for sec A last year :smile:

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Reply 8

KirstBarlow

'The Great Gatsby'
'Enduing Love'
Auden
Browning.

I think it all depends on your question, if it's asking you for an opinion, I would hit the floor running.
For example, if it said, 'How far do you agree with the statement that character X can only be viewed in Y way.'
I think character X is this, this, this. These points re supported by this type of behaviour from this chapter/part of the novel (I would add a quotation to prove all three points - those 'this this this' don't have to be detailed opinions. For me, if I don't like a character I go.. "They are ignorant, mean, narcissistic." then find a quote that can exemplify these points clearly) this sort of behaviour shapes our meaning of him in this way. However, some could disagree, they could say they are really this way and have been corrupt. (Or something that can contradict you) but make a final point of how you support the first point you made. So if you say they are a horrid character and then say he was corrupt, add in how his behaviour at a certain point of the novel shows it's really, in your view, how they really are and that's their true colours being identified. Then go on to say how author/poet made them this way to create a certain affect. And that's basically your first point clear and started.
The contextual stuff I use more when talking about characters because I make links between author/poet and characters to say how they pour themselves into them, making the connection to novel and author but also showing why the character is so detailed and why they are connected to the climax of the novel, because it can be argued it's the authors/poets favourite character. (This can work with saying Author/poet hates such character because it reminds them of them self as long as you have evidence like there are connections between them and how character acts.

Reply 9

KirstBarlow

Glad I could help - the exam isn't easy!

“Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald was driven by his love for a women (Zelda) who symbolized everything he wanted, even as she led to him toward everything he despised”

"Like Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is a thoughtful young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick’s case, Yale), who moves to New York after the war. Also similar to Fitzgerald is Jay Gatsby, a sensitive young man who idolizes wealth and luxury and who falls in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South."

"Zelda finally agreed to marry him, but her overpowering desire for wealth, fun, and leisure led her to delay their wedding until he could prove a success. With the publication of This Side of Paradise in 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary sensation, earning enough money and fame to convince Zelda to marry him."
This is exactly what Gatsby had to do. He was also driven to prove success just to win the heart of Daisy, who in the end, doesn’t love him back. Like Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is a thoughtful young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick’s case, Yale), who moves to New York after the war. Also similar to Fitzgerald is Jay Gatsby, a sensitive young man who idolizes wealth and luxury and who falls in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South. Fitzgerald splits himself into both Nick and Gatsby, imprinting to two main characters as a part of him, them coming together as friends is like creating Fitzgerald.

Reply 10

KirstBarlow

Here's hoping we get questions we want and the grades we want.
Best of luck. If you need any other help I'm happy to pass on any sort of knowledge I have!

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