Aqa english literature spec b past papers

Hi all
I've been searching round for a thread similar to this but yet to have any sucess. Today I got AS English Literature results back today (Grade C) overall but the breakdown shown coursework to be A Grade and the EXAM ITSELF WAS D. I want to do literature at uni and require AAA/ABB to do so. :eek:

My question is has anyone got any good advice for getting A grade (Band 6) in the exam or links to past papers. if any of you are AQA AS English Lit B examiners it would be a great help if you could offer me some advice
the texts i've studied were:
-Tennyson-SECTION A
CURIOUS INCIDENT, THE GREAT GATSBY AND ROSETTI- SECTION B

Thanks for the help :smile:

Reply 1

spiritofsussex

A good place for past papers is the AQA site here - http://www.aqa.org.uk/qualifications/a-level/english-and-media/english-literature-b.php

If you click on the 'Key Materials' tab and then on 'Past Question papers and mark schemes', you'll find four sets of past papers, as well as the mark schemes which will give you an idea as to what the examiner looks for when marking each script.

Hope this is of some help :smile:

Reply 2

MushyMorshy

OMG! That is EXACTLY the same situation as mine! Sorry I can't help with finding the exam paper (I need it too, so it'll be great if someone provides the link :yy:

)...but I just thought it's weird how I ended up with a D during my exam even though I got As for the past papers I did with my class and got my teachers to mark it. It just doesn't make sense, and I also want to trace back whether I actually did something wrong during the exam... :mad:

so this is what i'm planning to do........

I personally believe the examiners marked it wrong, so I'm planning on getting it remarked and the exam paper sent back to me...you know, AQA could've messed up considering they DID mess up some question papers this year...I suppose you can do what I'm planning to do.

And re-take Unit 1, that's what I'm planning to do to boost my UMS if my remarked paper does not change (I will sue AQA if they do not change it.......somehow......... :clap2:

Oh and I'm planning on getting the English department to check my exam paper when I get it from AQA if they STILL believe I deserve a D for my exam...

Anyways, rant over-sorry I couldn't REALLY help

Reply 3

MushyMorshy

Original post by spiritofsussex

A good place for past papers is the AQA site here - http://www.aqa.org.uk/qualifications/a-level/english-and-media/english-literature-b.php

If you click on the 'Key Materials' tab and then on 'Past Question papers and mark schemes', you'll find four sets of past papers, as well as the mark schemes which will give you an idea as to what the examiner looks for when marking each script.

Hope this is of some help :smile:

Do you have access to the June 2011 paper?

Reply 4

spiritofsussex

Original post by MushyMorshy

Do you have access to the June 2011 paper?

No, sorry - the Summer papers aren't put on the public website until Spring next year.

However, your school/college should be able to get a copy of it for you from the password protected section of the e-AQA website if you ask them.

Reply 5

willowevelyn

I've had the exact same experience with mine. :frown:

I did quite a few mock papers in college, started off at the beginning of the year doing not so well but improved gradually and eventually got consistent high As because i thought my exam technique was improving. Went into the exam pretty confident, wrote 20 pages of my best work, did the same for the English Language exam.

Got my resuts today, got a high A in Language, and a few marks above a D in Lit :/ i don't understand it at all, surely if I was doing -that- badly my teachers would have said, unless they're allowed to knock marks off for writing too much? But I was pretty sure that as long as it was relevant and coherent and well-ordered it wouldnt matter how much there was and they might just ignore any bits that weren't so good and mark the good parts?

I have no idea what the deal was with that exam. Going to ask for my paper back because I can't see how I could have gotten an A in coursework and mocks and then a D on the exam :s-smilie:

Reply 6

MCBCov

OP

Thanks to everyone who poated replies. i should have clarified about the past papers. Does anyone have access to marked exam scripts and completed examplar questions. Its been hell trying to find any

Reply 7

Forget that

15

I'm very sorry to hear you did not get the grade you wanted. I also do AQA english lit, and my only advice would be, in the exam, really DO NOT BE AFRAID to think/write out of the box.
This year we got some horrid extract, and i misread it, and ended up writing crap :sigh:

but i still got an A (as level) because i think what i wrote was different, even if it was wrong in some instances.
remember, C is more than a decent grade, and you be proud for achieving it! :yes:

Reply 8

Caramel49

Original post by MCBCov

Hi all
I've been searching round for a thread similar to this but yet to have any sucess. Today I got AS English Literature results back today (Grade C) overall but the breakdown shown coursework to be A Grade and the EXAM ITSELF WAS D. I want to do literature at uni and require AAA/ABB to do so. :eek:

My question is has anyone got any good advice for getting A grade (Band 6) in the exam or links to past papers. if any of you are AQA AS English Lit B examiners it would be a great help if you could offer me some advice
the texts i've studied were:
-Tennyson-SECTION A
CURIOUS INCIDENT, THE GREAT GATSBY AND ROSETTI- SECTION B

Thanks for the help :smile:

Hey, I was in a pretty similar position to this last year!
But (and I never thought I'd say this) it IS possible to come back from this!
To study English Literature and History at the university I wanted, I needed AAA (with an A in Lit, and an A in History - the two subjects that I struggled with the most). At AS I achieved an A in my coursework and a C in the exam, although this was only 1 UMS mark into a C, so my grade worked out at a B. I recalled my paper and my teacher went through it with me, and the problem wasn't the content of my exam, it was the lack detail that I'd gone in to and so it looked like I was perhaps unsure of my ideas. I resat the exam in January, and this time made sure my ideas were more concentrated and in depth, and, after achieving a B in the exam, I managed to pull my overall grade up to an A - by 1 UMS mark!
For A2, I found that the key to doing well in the exam was knowing the texts, and I mean really knowing the texts! This factor definitely applies to AS as well. I still didn't trust AQA as I'd seen for myself how unpredictable their marking could be, but I concentrated on reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles so many times I lost count, making important quote banks to memorise, and handing in as many practise essays as possible. Somehow, I completely surprised myself, and pulled an A* out of the bag, both in coursework and the actual exam, so I exceeded what I needed for university.
All is not lost then, you can definitely pull your grade up to where you need it to be! It's tedious, but do as many essays as possible, ask your teachers to make some questions up, as they really do help.

As for past papers, I had some in a file somewhere, that school had recalled and were using as examples. I can't actually find said file at the minute, but I will keep looking! I should also have an extensive list of practise questions if you're interested. I didn't study Tennyson, so I doubt the section A would be of any use, but the more generic section B questions might be useful!

Hope I've helped a bit :smile:

Reply 9

KHagan17

i received my results, and it appears I got a B for the exam or overall. I did the exam early in january 2011 after 6 months of being taught AS and got a B. I got an A in the cw however, I did not understand how I got an A for one bit and then an E popped out of nowhere??? I am honestly completely baffled and confused, I don't know whether it should be remarked or what?
btw this is for the WW1 module in AQA eng lit

i am so confused, and I am desperate to do english at uni :frown:

is there any chance i'll get an A overall next year?

Reply 10

MCBCov

OP

wow- i think i may have written in a C style- i felt slightly under prepared for the exam. i too want to study lit and history and need AAA (southampton uni) after seeing some past paper responses and attempting to deconstruct them. i noticed that people werent outwardly mentioning the aspects of narrative
voice
perspective
characters
places
time
so i wondered why this paper got full marks when i mentioned imagery etc.. and not directly mentioning any of the narrative techniques. i do feel that although teaching coached us on exam technique, they weren't quite so good with looking at the contect (aspects of narrative) it's such an annoying exam

Reply 11

MushyMorshy

Original post by MCBCov

wow- i think i may have written in a C style- i felt slightly under prepared for the exam. i too want to study lit and history and need AAA (southampton uni) after seeing some past paper responses and attempting to deconstruct them. i noticed that people werent outwardly mentioning the aspects of narrative
voice
perspective
characters
places
time
so i wondered why this paper got full marks when i mentioned imagery etc.. and not directly mentioning any of the narrative techniques. i do feel that although teaching coached us on exam technique, they weren't quite so good with looking at the contect (aspects of narrative) it's such an annoying exam

Could you provide some links which directs you to the example of answers please

Reply 12

MCBCov

OP

To everyone who has commented: Listen to this!!!!
My school requested remarks for all aqa b lit papers. None improved and some even went down. They had a video conference with aqa and what has become clear is that there is a heirachy when it comes to aspects of narrative. If you comment of setting and character, the highest mark you can get is a d, c at a push. Examiners therefore are only really interested in voice, perspective and structure. So whatever the questions, you must comment of these 3. My advice to everyone is that since for section a you only have 30 minutes per question, is that you ignore setting and character as much as possible because from experiance they aren't worth anything.
Good luck to everyone with their future and hope you all get to where you want to go :smile:

Reply 13

leha

Original post by MCBCov

... Examiners therefore are only really interested in voice, perspective and structure. So whatever the questions, you must comment of these 3. My advice to everyone is that since for section a you only have 30 minutes per question, is that you ignore setting and character as much as possible because from experiance they aren't worth anything...

thank you, this is really helpful!

Reply 14

lizzcelby

1

Hi I know you commented on this a really long time ago but do u remember what came up for gatsby in 2011 and maybe other questions? It's not on the aqa website

Aqa english literature spec b past papers

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you