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A level literature structure

Hey guys, I am so confused on how to write a Literature response at a top mark. Any tips on how to achieve top marks in A level literature essay's please?
what are the special elements that these essay's include.
A* essays at a-level are hard but possible. the main tip is that for context (the time surrounding the writing of the book) you use exact figures and dates. it doesn't say it explicitly in the mark scheme but if you dig deep in the mark scheme or read A* essays you'll find its a common theme. So exact dates of, for example if you did American books, the date of the Great Depression, the number of migrants who moved from Oklahoma, the average pay etc and work it all into your essay.

I realised this about 3 weeks before my a-level exam and I went from getting around 21- 23/30 in class to, in my final exam paper in American, 29/30, in literally 3 weeks literally because I changed this 1 thing. my exam board was OCR for reference however im sure its the same for other exam boards.
Reply 2
i did alvel lit last year and i got an astar
Original post by khana2424
Hey guys, I am so confused on how to write a Literature response at a top mark. Any tips on how to achieve top marks in A level literature essay's please?
what are the special elements that these essay's include.


I'd suggest referring to this thread

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/sho...0#post85694520

But I will also just paste what I said here. I also have a bank of quotations for Handmaid and Frankenstein if anyone needs them. :smile:
If you have any further questions just ask, I'll be more than happy to help.


Which exam board are you? mine is Edexcel

with literature, there isn't a specific structure to follow just hit all the points in the mark scheme. you need to develop your own style. But in comparison essays its rly important to have an integrated comparison meaning to try and compare throughout. so even if you have one para for one novel and second para for the other novel, in each of those paragraphs try to mention the other novel also at the start of the next paragraph summarise your previous point.
I'm attaching a redrafted essay I have done in my mock in which I got a B but the teacher told me that he marked it rly harshly and it's worth an A, and I'm sure with the redraft I did it might get an A*.
Reply 4
stop waffling mate
Reply 5
Original post by Zahra_2001
I'd suggest referring to this thread

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/sho...0#post85694520

But I will also just paste what I said here. I also have a bank of quotations for Handmaid and Frankenstein if anyone needs them. :smile:
If you have any further questions just ask, I'll be more than happy to help.


Which exam board are you? mine is Edexcel

with literature, there isn't a specific structure to follow just hit all the points in the mark scheme. you need to develop your own style. But in comparison essays its rly important to have an integrated comparison meaning to try and compare throughout. so even if you have one para for one novel and second para for the other novel, in each of those paragraphs try to mention the other novel also at the start of the next paragraph summarise your previous point.
I'm attaching a redrafted essay I have done in my mock in which I got a B but the teacher told me that he marked it rly harshly and it's worth an A, and I'm sure with the redraft I did it might get an A*.

THANKYOU SOOOOOO MUCH! :smile: :smile: THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL. OF COURSE THIS WOULD BE AN A* AS YOUR TEACHER DEFO MARKED IT HARSHLY. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS HAS HELPED ME AS I WANT TO GET THE TOP MARKS AS POSSIBLE IN YEAR 12. THIS ESSAY IS A PERFECT GUIDELINE WITH GREAT IDEAS AND IT WILL ALWAYS BE MY REFERENCE FROM NOW ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. I CANNOT EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE ENOUGH. THANKYOU :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
BTW: I do Handmaids Tale and the Help by Kathryn Stockett
Reply 6
Original post by klopp
i did alvel lit last year and i got an astar

What would you suggest then to hit the top marks in an essay considering you got an A*? :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by TheOnlyIzzy
A* essays at a-level are hard but possible. the main tip is that for context (the time surrounding the writing of the book) you use exact figures and dates. it doesn't say it explicitly in the mark scheme but if you dig deep in the mark scheme or read A* essays you'll find its a common theme. So exact dates of, for example if you did American books, the date of the Great Depression, the number of migrants who moved from Oklahoma, the average pay etc and work it all into your essay.

I realised this about 3 weeks before my a-level exam and I went from getting around 21- 23/30 in class to, in my final exam paper in American, 29/30, in literally 3 weeks literally because I changed this 1 thing. my exam board was OCR for reference however im sure its the same for other exam boards.

DEFO would do that from now on as this is a certainly interesting thing. THANKYOU SOO MUCH FOR THIS USEFUL FACT! :smile: :smile::smile::smile::smile::smile:
Original post by khana2424
THANKYOU SOOOOOO MUCH! :smile: :smile: THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL. OF COURSE THIS WOULD BE AN A* AS YOUR TEACHER DEFO MARKED IT HARSHLY. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS HAS HELPED ME AS I WANT TO GET THE TOP MARKS AS POSSIBLE IN YEAR 12. THIS ESSAY IS A PERFECT GUIDELINE WITH GREAT IDEAS AND IT WILL ALWAYS BE MY REFERENCE FROM NOW ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. I CANNOT EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE ENOUGH. THANKYOU :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
BTW: I do Handmaids Tale and the Help by Kathryn Stockett

aww lol you're so sweet. I'm glad my essay was helpful. Since you do Handmaid's Tale I'm attaching a bank of quotations to help you :smile: I'm sure you will be able to achieve top marks with hard work! Always do essay plans and do all your homework especially essays seriously as it would help you a lot!

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