AS-Level English Literature OCR Exam

Scroll to see replies

Original post by I want to be Moz

Any Wuthering Heights/Colour Purple members here?

Any sort of general essay writing advice would be greatly appreciated as I think I know my stuff on poetry and I've been doing loads of unseen poetry & prose and seem to be coping quite well.

it seems I can't convey my ideas well in essay form and any tips would be great :smile:

I had this problem too and my teacher told me to have a different point in each paragraph, do Point Evidence Explain and then link to poem then back to question - I was told to make 2/3 links with other poems. The essay should be 75% poem and 25% other links! Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 261

Emma_F

Original post by Charlotte1801

omg I can't write that good !! I hate women in Dorian Gray there's jus so little so ill prob jus go for alternative :smile:

) whereas with poetry I better jump with joy - which I'm hoping is the case with everyone saying the Yeats is going to b political theme :smile:

)

I know! I've focused so much on the political theme i think i'll really struggle to write about anything else :s-smilie:

My teacher said she had a feeling it would be among school children but no one else seems to think so
I knew nothing about women so i've written some madly un-organised 'thing' of an essay today, I can send it to you if you want i think i could make something up but it depends on what the other theme is, if it something like innocence then id certainly do women!

Reply 262

Lawlser

Original post by Piguy

I'm fed up now.... I've made a grade calculator in excel (see attachment), you'd need 47/60 for an A

Is that Grade Calculator based on the January 2013 paper or the June paper?

Reply 263

Serious learner

Would two band 5 answers get you a B? And also is putting critics in the novel section a must?

Reply 264

NiallD

How many quotes (from the book, not critic quotes) do you guys reckon should be in an essay?

Also, looking through my Yeats notes I'm actually really hoping The Second Coming comes up as there's so much brilliant stuff to say for A02, and also you can make loads of good links to other poems, still think Easter 1916 will come up though. It scares me that there's a chance that Sailing To Byzantium will come up though, anyone got anything to say about language for that as I really can't think of much :frown:

Reply 265

piguy

Original post by Lawlser

Is that Grade Calculator based on the January 2013 paper or the June paper?

They're based on june 2012 boundaries. I've checked the jan 2013 boundaries, it's basically the same, just coursework boundaries are slightly harder (+1 except for an A) and the exam slightly easier (-1) - it's the same overall mark you need to get the grades, except for an A, which overall is lowered by 1 mark since the A coursework boundary is the same.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 266

Lawlser

Original post by Piguy

Ahh great thanks!

Because I got 36/40 in the coursework and I thought I'd need around 54/60 for an A overall but it's told me I need 51/60 which is a god send :biggrin:

Reply 267

Serious learner

Can someone answer if you actually need critics or different readings of the novel such as feminist in your novel section?

Reply 268

Charlotte1801

Original post by Emma_F

I know! I've focused so much on the political theme i think i'll really struggle to write about anything else :s-smilie:

Tht would be helpful thanks and no I don't think among school children and I'm hoping not cat and moon either - jus found that hard to plan lol :/ yh I did the same and planned political aha!!

If it was between women and innocence I think I'd do innocence :smile:

cos you can mention how it changes to sin as novel progresses and Dorians portrait changes too, then mention sibyls innocence and lord Henry's influence - ah I do love mentioning lord Henry if I can - jus so much to put!! :biggrin:

Reply 269

S.B_123

To those study Robert Browning!!!

What is Dubiety all about??? A man trying to escape death, revelling in the pleasures of life... but I don't understand the actual content. The imagery about Eve??

If this comes up I'm doomed :confused:

Reply 270

S.B_123

Original post by Serious learner

Can someone answer if you actually need critics or different readings of the novel such as feminist in your novel section?

Aim for both. AO3 is worth 10 marks!

Reply 271

piguy

Original post by Serious learner

Can someone answer if you actually need critics or different readings of the novel such as feminist in your novel section?

From the examiners report june 2012:

"Centres are reminded that AO3 can be fulfilled at the highest level through the candidate’s own argument, and there is no requirement in F661 to refer to theoretical approaches or literary criticism. The best answers showed an imaginative engagement with the literary qualities of the novel. "

Reply 272

Serious learner

And also is band 5 around a grade B?

Reply 273

gvb

Original post by Piguy

so this seems to suggest at a more sophisticated level criticism can be shown through your own argument, without the need to quote as such?

Reply 274

piguy

Original post by gvb

so this seems to suggest at a more sophisticated level criticism can be shown through your own argument, without the need to quote as such?

Exactly! But our english teachers don't give us the benefit of the doubt (do they ever when they mark essays?), so we're fed critics just to make sure.

Reply 275

Emma_F

Original post by Charlotte1801

Im sorry the essay is a bit of a mess structure wise and probably doesn't really make sense in places :s-smilie:

The cat and the moon, I know that would be awful if it came up, my teacher finds that poem frustrating and pointless, she cant understand why OCR put it in the specification when Yeat's wrote so many finer poems!
Haha yeah Lord Henry's pretty Great, ah thats true, maybe influence would be ok

Women in the picture of Dorian Gray.docx19.3KB

Reply 276

piguy

Original post by Emma_F

Im sorry the essay is a bit of a mess structure wise and probably doesn't really make sense in places :s-smilie:

I quite like the cat and the moon, it's been decisive in the english department (it's funny to see teachers get annoyed with each other because they disagree :biggrin:

) .. My crackpot theory is it's a metaphor for the concepts for modern particle physics :wink:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 277

NiallD

Original post by gvb

so this seems to suggest at a more sophisticated level criticism can be shown through your own argument, without the need to quote as such?

So does this mean it's better to say something like 'another reader could interpret this as...' instead of including critic quotes?

Reply 278

GeneralStudent95

Original post by gvb

so this seems to suggest at a more sophisticated level criticism can be shown through your own argument, without the need to quote as such?

Yeah, a candidate with no strong personal argument will ultimately have a poor essay even if they include critics. A good personal argument can only be furthered using critics: they certainly do no harm.