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AQA GCSE English Literature Exams - 20th and 23rd May 2013 OFFICAL THREAD

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Reply 2600

yazzieee

What grade is for a mark of 34 out of 54 in that exam? Just wondering

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Reply 2601

cleveradam

Original post by yazzieee

What grade is for a mark of 34 out of 54 in that exam? Just wondering

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A. A* is 36/37 from last year.

Reply 2602

chatty

Was so happy to see Sonnet 116 on the paper.

Reply 2603

Hannie Rose

I studied the conflict cluster and chose the Hawk Roosting question because I'd never studied the Yellow Palm in class. To be honest for me they were the two worst named poems I could have had. I compared it to Flag because of it being my favourite poem from the cluster and it fitted in nicely with the question steer of power. To begin with I started planning for The Charge of the Light Brigade because I panicked, but I suppose it could have worked.
I felt that the unseen poem for me was easier than all of the past questions I have looked at so I'm fairly confident although still don't think I did as well as I could have.

Reply 2604

yazzieee

How many marks would you loose if you didn't compare much but you gave an A* analysis through out the whole thing?

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Reply 2605

fs1996

anyone else do the PLACE question about IMAGERY and CHANGE in Wild Swans at Coole and another poem?

If so what did you do?

I did the moment

Reply 2606

Ryan2159

I also compared The Yellow Palm to Come on, Come back :tongue:

Reply 2607

scudamoret

Original post by Dougieowner

I'm so happy with how that exam went, I hope I've done well! For the first one I chose 'Casehistory: Alison (head injury)' and compared it with 'On a Portrait of a Deaf Man' linking to the theme of identity. I talked a lot about how their identity had began to crumble a lot and how other people viewed them as suggested in the poems, so hopefully that's a suitable comparison? Then for the unseen I wrote quite a lot because I was really into it and found it quite interesting, despite some people saying it was boring? I found there was loads to say about it and I hopefully got a good overall interpretation that the examiner will understand (I was writing so fast with loads to say so I hope it still makes sense...)

For Section A (Character & Voice for me) I compared both 'Casehistory' and 'On A Portrait'. I talked about the loss of identity for Alison in 'Casehistory' with 'I am her future' and past tense 'she was' showing she's letting go of old Alison and moving on with her life, similar to Betjeman's 'On A Portrait' with the reminiscient positive memories of his late father 'smiling and he was wise'...

Then I talked about faith 'Consistency matters' for Alison suggesting faith is at least one part of her life that she wants to keep the same. This is unlike 'Portrait' where he addresses God directly and then dismisses faith as he becomes and atheist. The grief Betjeman feels is so strong and that reminds us of Alison losing her former self in 'Casehistory'.

Section B Unseen: SO EASY! Talked about the short lines representing how quick life goes by and that also is, when read fast, like the bicycle in which the daughter rides. The 'surprise' by the mother is a feeling conveyed by all mothers especially with the discovery of a daughter's talents yet the two 'pumpings' suggest slowing down and how the mother wants to 'catch up' - this implies that she feels disconnected to her daughter and wants to get back to her before they say their 'goodbye', a line left on its own as instant to represent how quickly the mother wants to get the occasion over with. This suggests she doesn't want to let her daughter leave...

ENGLISH DONE. BRING ON A-LEVEL LITERATURE! HAHAHHAHA

Reply 2608

allconfused

What was the actual question for the unseen poem? I want to see if I answered it properly but I've forgotten the question

Reply 2609

Bradherring

Went pretty well :biggrin:

Anyone else do Flag and Hawk roosting for the conflict cluster?

Reply 2610

Bradherring

Original post by allconfused

What was the actual question for the unseen poem? I want to see if I answered it properly but I've forgotten the question

Went something like this:
How does the speaker feel about her daughter growing up and how do they convey this to the reader (not word for word but basically that)

Reply 2611

Hannie Rose

Original post by Bradherring

Went pretty well :biggrin:

Anyone else do Flag and Hawk roosting for the conflict cluster?

Yes I did! Most people I've spoken to did as well :smile:

Reply 2612

cleveradam

basically you spot out a feeling, then talk about method/feature used to portray/convey that feeling and lastly you evaluate and give alternative interpretation.

Reply 2613

tanvi_

ughhh english do you ever feel like you didnt write it well enough? i had good ideas but my english was pretty basic do you think i would lose marks?? plus, how many people get an a* percentage wise?

Reply 2614

username877577

Original post by cleveradam

I wrote 8.5 pages because that's the poem I spent 3-4hours revising all of yesterday and today till the exam!!!!

How much did you write?

I wrote around 4 paragraphs for unseen poem, missed out conclusion (o well only 3-4 marks at most for conclusion)

Your writing must be big then?
Quality over quantity!
I wrote 3 and a bit sides with my small writing which seems good.
Wrote two and a bit for the unseen

Reply 2615

yazzieee

How many marks would you loose if you didn't compare much but you gave an A* analysis through out the whole thing?

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Reply 2616

cleveradam

Original post by Olympiad

Your writing must be big then?
Quality over quantity!
I wrote 3 and a bit sides with my small writing which seems good.
Wrote two and a bit for the unseen

Yeah my hand writing is pretty big. I can fit 8 words in the exam answer booklet on a line.

Reply 2617

nnf

Original post by peaaceandl0ve

Part one – we did Conflict poetry. I chose the question on The Yellow Palm, as the description of destruction is so ambiguous. I compared it with ‘Come On, Come Back’, which is one of my favourite poems from the cluster. Unfortunately I hadn’t revised Yellow Palm as much as the others and instead I came up with some original ideas in the exam. My main points included:
THE YELLOW PALM

•

Desecration of the ‘golden mosque’ with blood – juxtaposing ideas show the anger peope hd towards religion for not saving them during conflict and the effects on conflict on religious beliefs – the power of religion is fading as people realise how God cannot save them from conflict

•

‘Blind beggars’ who exist as ghosts of past wars and who salute alike the ‘Imperial Guard’, to show how war and the destruction it causes are continuous.

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The destruction of innocence of the child who ‘blessed’ the ‘Cruise missile’, which suggests their acceptance of a life of conflict and violence from a young age.

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Loose ballad structure – creates a disconcerting tone, shows the reader that something is unnatural about the destructive nature of war.

‘COME ON, COME BACK’

•

Juxtaposing imagery of the ‘rutted meadow’, show both the physical and emotional destruction caused by war, as it could be metaphorical for how war ends the hope and growth of life in man.

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Eternal nature of war, shown in past, present and future by the references to ‘Austerlitz’, the use of present tense and the setting ‘in a future war’, showing how the destruction caused is continuous through time.

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Innocence of Vaudevue is shown by the use of the refrain shows, as it suggest she’s childlike, but she ‘hears not the familiar tune’ once she’s drowned as her innocent nature has been destroyed.

Did anyone else compare these two poems? I think most people compared The Yellow Palm with either Belfast Confetti or Out Of The Blue. No one I know chose the Hawk Roosting question.
Part two – I’m not as confident on this. I had a fair few paragraphs, but most were describing the presentation of similar ideas in different ways. Did anyone else mention how the description of the ‘two wheels’ of the bike was alike the mother and daughter’s reliance on each other for support?