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How do I write a full mark English Lit essay? (AQA)

Hi guys,
This is mainly aimed at those who've gotten a 9/A* in English Lit. Could I please have some advice on how to write a full mark English Lit essay? What are the crucial things I need to do to make sure it hits all the AO marks? And how do I structure the paragraphs?
I've got my mocks as soon as we get back from Christmas break ahhhHHH

Thanks!!!

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i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x



Can i get an example please, ty!
Original post by RebmaKopy
Can i get an example please, ty!


yes of course, however, i will send you a piece of my work that isn't my official coursework, i hope that's okay?
Original post by ?Hannah?
yes of course, however, i will send you a piece of my work that isn't my official coursework, i hope that's okay?


Yes please, one question how did you practice your creative writing skills.
Look up markschemes online and get a general idea of what the examiner wants from you. Being able to identify literacy devices (words like: nouns, personification, adverbs, etc) will help you a lot if you can link back to the question. Remember key quotes and show what they mean. Link to the reader and yourself. make sure you tell the examiner HOW the writer does this, HOW they convey messages, HOW the characters are used. CONTEXT. Stuff like that :smile:
Original post by sweetpoppy
Look up markschemes online and get a general idea of what the examiner wants from you. Being able to identify literacy devices (words like: nouns, personification, adverbs, etc) will help you a lot if you can link back to the question. Remember key quotes and show what they mean. Link to the reader and yourself. make sure you tell the examiner HOW the writer does this, HOW they convey messages, HOW the characters are used. CONTEXT. Stuff like that :smile:



<3
Original post by RebmaKopy
Yes please, one question how did you practice your creative writing skills.


personally, i haven’t ever really struggled with creative writing. however, i would recommend reading lots of books - this really helps with writing style for english exams x also, you could go on a thesaurus app and learn new vocabulary that you could include in your responses. also, i would recommend basing your creative writing piece around a situation that you have experienced before in your life - this really helps you to connect with the piece and make it as relatable and emotive as possible. whenever i have to do creative writing, i always write about situations that i have experienced :smile: good luck!
Original post by ?Hannah?
yes of course, however, i will send you a piece of my work that isn't my official coursework, i hope that's okay?



Hi :smile: Can you please send me an example of your work that recieved an A*? Thanks in advance :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x

That would be amazing if you could let me see an example of your poetry
Reply 10
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x

if youre still active and are able to get your hands on some exemplary work could you please let me know?
You should watch unjaded jade's video on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0GcHutdI5Y
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x


Sorry to bother you, could you please send me some examples as well please, thanks
Reply 13
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x


hello thanks for this answer! , could you possibly send me these examples? would be greatly appreciated
i dont know if you are also studying gatsby and othello, but unseen would be fantastic too x
Hi, could you please send me some examplars as I find it difficult to structure my paragraphs and make them sound more sophisticated

Thanks, Yasin
hi could you please show me an example of it as it would help me alot thankyou xx
you are all so snobby
Lmao I think I made a post on here ages ago about English. Message me privately people if you would like advice or add my Snapchat - hxnnahrobinson. I achieved 100% in English literature in the end x
Original post by ?Hannah?
i'm predicted to attain either an A or A* grade in english literature. however, i managed to achieve 93% (28/30) in my poetry coursework, which contributes to 40% of my final grade.

with english literature, you need to make sure that you have a good structure to your essay and are able to order your points in a clear and coherent way. my english teacher also used to say that one of the most important things about writing an essay about a play or a novel is to show a sense of progression, which means analysising points from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end etc - this is a great way to show the development of your ideas and how the particular theme or character is explored. for example, when discussing how the relationship between two characters changes through the duration of the novel, you should not start off by talking about how the relationship is presented at the end of the book.

in addition, your revision should consist of creating well structured essay plans for theme, characters and relationships. include an introduction and maybe between 3-4 body paragraohs, which are very detailed and show off all of the skills that you have learnt. a* skills consist of; close contextual analysis, alternative interpretations, writers craft, inbedded quotes and a well balanced and supported argument.

your typical paragraph should consist of an overall topic sentence, a quote and analysis, a second quote and analysis, perhaps some close contextual analysis and alternative intepretations, maybe more quotes and analysis and then a statement a time the end of the paragraph. perhaps this statement can demonstrate the overall effect of the point you have made or could link to the next paragraph in a clever way.

message me if you would like to see exemplar a* work for both poetry and prose - i hope i helped! good luck x

How do you write at a level 6(26-30 marks)?
My teacher gave me a sheet that describes an overview of the levels of writing for lit and for a level 6(the highest band) it says,
"Your answer will be critical, convincing and thoroughly developed. You will have a clear line of argument which centres around the intentions and motivations of the author"

How do I centre my argument around the intentions and motivations of the author? I managed to write an essay at a level 4, but I'm not sure how to improve.

Thanks in advance!
I am doing my English gcse coursework :What dramatic devices does Priestley use to reinforce the polemical nature of the play?And I am stuck on how to write it. Is it possible if I could see an exemplar for the prose essay please.thanks

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