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

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Can someone give me some ideas and points about relationship themes in any of the short stories in sunlight in the grass besides compass and torch?

Thank you! :colondollar:

Reply 1081

emers1

Do we have to make a structural comment in section B? (Of Mice and Men for me)

Reply 1082

Husnaazz

im so confused, who could it be about in of mice and men which character???

Reply 1083

sonya1996

Just sound convincing, it's all about bulling in the most convincing way possible. Remember we do not know the writer's intention but we are trying to understand it through essays.

The marking for Section A is not heavily dependent on context; that only applies to Section B.

I feel that Eric, generation gap or gender inequality is going to come for Section A
I feel that Curley is going to come up this year or dreams if not nature for Section B.

Ask yourself mini questions when you are writing in your exam and remember, it's not about quantity it's about quality (:

Reply 1084

TanyaB21

Original post by gomg

Good paragraph structure...

P-Point
E-Evidence
A-Analysis
R-Relate (to context etc)
L-Link (Back to question, next point etc)

Is this for Part (a) or part (b)? It can't be for inspect calls because you don't get marked for context and do you need to talk about context in part (a)?

Reply 1085

Andyroo17

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1086

emers1

Original post by hassan.arif97

WHY do i screw so badly in these english papers? I mean, i just can't come up with these amazing points you all seem to make so effortlessly! Like in the exam i literally sit there staring at the paper thinking as hard as i can but nothing gets to me :frown:

i will love anyone who can help me with this issue very VERY much (metaphorically speaking). And i swear im the only one who flops these tests badly

Don't focus on amazing points, state the obvious and expand! I often find my best points when I start with a really rubbish boring point and then run away with my thoughts and explore the quote more deeply.
I personally struggle with more arty subjects like English so I've written essays on all the main characters while I have time at home to think and plan without the pressure of exams, and I keep reading over them to embed the points into my memory. You could remember 3 points about each character so then when you get given the question your first thought isn't PANIC! However, if you struggle with your memory I wouldn't suggest this approach as you will end up sitting there trying to remember what you have written before. Fresh ideas are always better anyhow, but I feel more comfortable at least having something to start with :smile:

Use PEE (Point Evidence Explore/Expand/Explain) to structure your essay as it will help to put across your views clearly and should give you a focus if you are unsure in the exam.

Hope this has helped! :smile:

x x x

Reply 1087

lilacwanda28

Original post by ryanb97

oh wow....

i want to do aeronautical engineering .. you know be a 'space-man' :biggrin:

i dont want candy dog to come up since i havent got any good relevant points in terms of historical context... ok yes foreshadowing/emapathy/uselessness but thats it

mmmm...

ryan

ooooh spaceman xD
that's cool
so you wanna go to the moon and mars and stuff? that sounds fun xD

Reply 1088

SnowyGreyWolf

You could have "100% Perfect Girl" (too long a title to type out, sorry ( :smile:

- for some reason I often opt for that one. The layout is strikingly similar to a fairytale, which suggests that 'perfect love' is not only idyllic and soothing and miraculous, but also unrealistic in the real world. There are lots of other things you can say about it depending on the question, for example the imagery associated with the antique clock made in a peaceful world implies that such a clock has never been made (since conflict is prevalent in the world) and hence that 'perfect love' is again a myth and does not materialise in the real world.

The choice of language is also interesting, for example "beautiful" and the references to spring and April near the beginning. This not only pinpoints the story at the exact time it happened (later giving the year) but the time of year connotes new life, hope, freshness, natural beauty and optimism. This links strongly to the feelings of love felt by the man on seeing this '100% perfect girl'. The fact that the characters themselves remain nameless throughout shows how little he knows about her, but also generalises it so that readers can identify with it.

That's about loving relationships in general, but if the question wants relationship between the characters, then you can talk about the complexity and insecurity of love between the man and the girl due to the events that separated the young lovers in the part of the story the man fabricated, and again the fairytale idea presents a sense of impossibility - that these two will never meet, least of all end up together. I think he sees her at the corner of a street, which you could say implies that their paths have crossed and introduces an idea of fate, which is exemplified by his surety of her being 100% perfect and the mythical ideal of two young lovers knowing that the other was perfectly suited for them and they would end up together no matter what.

There are heaps of other things too, just picked out a few (: I think it's quite a fresh and interesting story to write about, but you could explore the relationships between Anil and both his parents, or his father and the headman, or perhaps Carla Cater and Steve in "My Polish Teacher's Tie", or the man and girl in "Something Old, Something New" etc.

Hope it helps and have fun in the exam. (:

Reply 1089

dazzer19

I was wondering with the question on OMAM.

Part a) is obviously the extract that we have to talk about, but during in, are we allowed/meant to talk about social/historical context? I am unsure whether all of that is meant to wait for the part b) or not....

Thanks for any help

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Reply 1090

username1160544

It may be useful to remember, that whilst you do not get marked on your knowledge of context in Section A, showing some knowledge of the authors ideas and more complex themes in the play will go some way to creating an insightful and exploratory response. Therefore, I wouldn't shy away from showing some knowledge of the context in Section A.

Reply 1091

Nev1905

I'm doing Of Mice and Men & An Inspector Calls tomorrow, I've got a feeling that for Inspector Calls it is going to be a question based on ERIC
For Of Mice and Men I do not have a clue :/ I started revision late I really don't know what to revise for :frown:

Reply 1092

gomg

Original post by IHTWFR

Is this for Part (a) or part (b)? It can't be for inspect calls because you don't get marked for context and do you need to talk about context in part (a)?

It can be for both part (a) and (b) in section B, and you don't include the context in section A so you would just talk more about the playwrights intentions, themes, conventions etc

Reply 1093

Jordy97

Oh gosh, is ANYONE doing Martyn Pig & OMAM, because i am totally buggered fro Martyn Pig, any tips on what i should actually be trying to 'revise'

Reply 1094

lilacwanda28

Original post by emers1

Do we have to make a structural comment in section B? (Of Mice and Men for me)

no but it'll definitely significantly improve your grade if you do. If you want to talk about structure, look at the extract and see how long the sentences are - if they're short it could show that their dream will be short-lived. Look at how the extract starts and ends and see if it links anyhow - representing a cycle of the ranch hands, inevitability of losing their dreams....also for structure talk about punctuation. If a character questions someone - what does that show? Or an exclamation mark? Things like that will improve your grade.

Reply 1095

TanyaB21

Original post by kypaldinho

This was the last general mark scheme for Section B, how do you interpret this? What do you think we have to do?

Section B you have to:

Do a close analysis of the text so for example:

Crooks fails to show any compassion towards Lennie in his "attempt to make friends". This suggests Lennie sees crooks as an equal which is why in the novella there are no racist remarks made by Lennie. The word "attempt" shows that crooks was (in Lennie's judgement) an easy friend to make which presents crooks as a friendly member of the ranch.

You have to pick out a specific word from the quote you analyzed then suggest an interpretation for that word.

Original post by emers1

Do we have to make a structural comment in section B? (Of Mice and Men for me)

Yes if there is any. For example, in the Crooks passage, there were sounds from animals so you can compare Crooks to the animal sounds. For example:

Crooks was situated in a Stable Buck which resonates his segregation from the other ranch workers. This is supported by "quote of a sound an animal makes" which suggests that Crooks could have possibly be placed there to show that he has no value like animals in the novella. For example, when Lennie kills the rat or when Slim drowns the puppies. So, the sounds in the stable Crooks constantly hears makes him think that he is one of them and has no freedom.

Original post by Husnaazz

im so confused, who could it be about in of mice and men which character???

There are possibilities it could be: Curley, Slim or a setting.

Original post by sonya1996

The marking for Section A is not heavily dependent on context; that only applies to Section B.

Everyone read what Sonya has written above! In actual fact, you don't even get marked on context but it's nice for the examiner if you do include ideas of capitalism, dramatic irony of world war one, etc.

Original post by sonya1996

I feel that Curley is going to come up this year or dreams if not nature for Section B.

I really think it's Slim looking at the pattern but with AQA there's no telling what they would do.

Original post by sonya1996

Ask yourself mini questions when you are writing in your exam and remember, it's not about quantity it's about quality (:

Quantity actually does matter for Part B or Section B and also Section A.

Reply 1096

ryanroks1

Could Sam and Eric or Roger come up for Lord of the Flies?

Reply 1097

TanyaB21

Original post by gomg

It can be for both part (a) and (b) in section B, and you don't include the context in section A so you would just talk more about the playwrights intentions, themes, conventions etc

I thought that part (a) was really just referring closely to the text, when doing practice papers I have the urge to link to context but then I think that I can put it in part (b). Do you know what I mean?

Reply 1098

Nev1905

Original post by dazzer19

For part a (the extract) refer mostly to the extract, pick quotes and analyse them. For instance if the extract is about Crooks, do not start talking about racism as this would be general. I did this for on essay, and my teacher said it was wrong. You usually refer to the whole book on section b, so you must talk about social/historical context on section b. :smile:

Reply 1099