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AQA AS Eng Lit A- Unit 1-17th May 2013

Hey everyone :smile:

Thought that I might as well create a revision thread for this exam since I haven’t seen one yet.

So yeah, this is for everyone that is taking the ‘Texts In Context’ exam paper (17th May 2013); covering all three options:

Option A: Victorian Literature
Option B: World War One Literature
Option C: The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature

Assessment Objectives:

AO1: Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression

AO2: Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which form, structure and language shape meanings in literary texts

AO3: Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers

AO4: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received


Section A: Contextual Linking

Spoiler




Section B: Poetry

Usually, one of the two available will question you on a specific poem and how it’s key to the collection. The second question would usually be an outrageous statement asking you to use the collection widely to produce an illuminating response. Below is the possible structure which you can adopt for this section. YOU DO NOT NEED TO FOLLOW THIS!

Spoiler



Revision tips!

Spoiler



I hope that this has been some form of help to those who are struggling with revision, and if anyone else has more advice/tips, feel free to advocate them so that I can add them on here for everyone to see :biggrin:
Good luck to everyone! :wink:

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Reply 1
thank you for this!!! :smile:
Reply 2
This is really helpful! Is it okay if I print out the guidance for my revision folder? :smile:
Original post by sarsoora
thank you for this!!! :smile:


Your welcome :h:

Original post by OliviaBara
This is really helpful! Is it okay if I print out the guidance for my revision folder? :smile:


Yeah yeah sure go ahead :smile:

Oh and a question for the both of you! do you know how to structure the answers to Section A? I am soooo stuck :frown: Thanks
Reply 4
Original post by justanotherindigo
Your welcome :h:



Yeah yeah sure go ahead :smile:

Oh and a question for the both of you! do you know how to structure the answers to Section A? I am soooo stuck :frown: Thanks


hopefully I can help you! :smile:

I've learnt that we should base our points around AO2, so the extracts language structure and form. And then we can bring in the rest of the AO's

Id start my points talking about the extracts language, structure and form since AO2 has the most marks after context! Then with each AO2 point (especially language as thats probably the easiest to talk about out of the three!) add in some references to context.. if the language has an informal angry tone to it for example, you could bring in why, like the authors past experiences or politics for instance, may have made the author angry and their language may reflect that. basically the authors identity reflects in the extracts language, structure and form

so, AO2 and AO4 could be woven in together, whilst using AO1 (terminology and creative and informed responses), and also making comparisons to your wider reading.

It may look daunting haha as right now it probably looks like this structure of answering the question will look like one fat paragraph haha. but with practice its really simple!
just think in each paragraph you could make a point about the extracts AO2's whilst also including the rest of the AO's! so each point can be one paragraph.

if theres nothing you can say about your wider reading with a point you've made then link the wider reading with context! after saying what you can about the AO2's then swiftly move on to context and compare then!

i guess theres no correct structure to answering this part of the exam since it depends how we perceive the extract that will appear, just remember: base your points and 'creative and informed responses' around lang, structure and form, linking them to as much context as possible, and if any of your points can be referenced to your wider reading then put them down.. all whilst using your appropriate terminlogy!

its honestly not as complicated and scary as ive put it, haha hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to say! :tongue: :colondollar:
Original post by sarsoora
hopefully I can help you! :smile:

I've learnt that we should base our points around AO2, so the extracts language structure and form. And then we can bring in the rest of the AO's

Id start my points talking about the extracts language, structure and form since AO2 has the most marks after context! Then with each AO2 point (especially language as thats probably the easiest to talk about out of the three!) add in some references to context.. if the language has an informal angry tone to it for example, you could bring in why, like the authors past experiences or politics for instance, may have made the author angry and their language may reflect that. basically the authors identity reflects in the extracts language, structure and form

so, AO2 and AO4 could be woven in together, whilst using AO1 (terminology and creative and informed responses), and also making comparisons to your wider reading.

It may look daunting haha as right now it probably looks like this structure of answering the question will look like one fat paragraph haha. but with practice its really simple!
just think in each paragraph you could make a point about the extracts AO2's whilst also including the rest of the AO's! so each point can be one paragraph.

if theres nothing you can say about your wider reading with a point you've made then link the wider reading with context! after saying what you can about the AO2's then swiftly move on to context and compare then!

i guess theres no correct structure to answering this part of the exam since it depends how we perceive the extract that will appear, just remember: base your points and 'creative and informed responses' around lang, structure and form, linking them to as much context as possible, and if any of your points can be referenced to your wider reading then put them down.. all whilst using your appropriate terminlogy!

its honestly not as complicated and scary as ive put it, haha hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to say! :tongue: :colondollar:


Ah thank you sooo much honestly that was great help! The problem is, I have a rubbish English teacher so I need all the help I can...I really want to ace this exam! Have you got any resources by any chance? Like model answers...I can't even do a past paper :frown: I tried but I haven't really got anywhere. There is only a month left till exams and I'm sooooo worried :/ If I can see a model answer, then I would know how to structure my answer, but AQA are so stingy.
Have anyone of you read July's people, Breakfast on Pluto, Dancing at Lughnasa, Things Fall Apart?
Reply 7
Original post by justanotherindigo
Ah thank you sooo much honestly that was great help! The problem is, I have a rubbish English teacher so I need all the help I can...I really want to ace this exam! Have you got any resources by any chance? Like model answers...I can't even do a past paper :frown: I tried but I haven't really got anywhere. There is only a month left till exams and I'm sooooo worried :/ If I can see a model answer, then I would know how to structure my answer, but AQA are so stingy.


no problem glad it helped you!
as for resources i havent found any online yet :frown: my teacher photocopied some top band answers and honestly they werent as complicated and sophisticated as you'd expect - i promise you! anyone is capable of writing to their "standards" haha even my teacher said it wasnt that difficult! their structure was based around the extracts AO2 as i was saying before, and in basic 5-6 lined paragraphs - defo not scary TRUST me :smile: :smile:
so dont panic and stay as calm as possible! as long as you know your wider reading, some keywords, how to talk about AO2, add some context you'll be as good as anyone else! (this is coming from someone who was getting 15/45 in practice essays a few months ago!)
for revision my teacher has told us to summarize our wider reading in terms of themes, key quotes etc.. and link them all back to identity! hopefully that can help you too!
i hope your panic will subside as honestly, it will be okay! :smile: we still have plenty of time if we use it wisely so dont worry :tongue:
please let me know if you need anything else ill be more than happy to help you!

oh and if i do find any resources i will defo let you know! :smile:
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 8
Just realised that it's the same essay plan as in the activity pack haha, oh well it looks so much better with the colours! :smile:
Original post by sarsoora
no problem glad it helped you!
as for resources i havent found any online yet :frown: my teacher photocopied some top band answers and honestly they werent as complicated and sophisticated as you'd expect - i promise you! anyone is capable of writing to their "standards" haha even my teacher said it wasnt that difficult! their structure was based around the extracts AO2 as i was saying before, and in basic 5-6 lined paragraphs - defo not scary TRUST me :smile: :smile:
so dont panic and stay as calm as possible! as long as you know your wider reading, some keywords, how to talk about AO2, add some context you'll be as good as anyone else! (this is coming from someone who was getting 15/45 in practice essays a few months ago!)
for revision my teacher has told us to summarize our wider reading in terms of themes, key quotes etc.. and link them all back to identity! hopefully that can help you too!
i hope your panic will subside as honestly, it will be okay! :smile: we still have plenty of time if we use it wisely so dont worry :tongue:
please let me know if you need anything else ill be more than happy to help you!

oh and if i do find any resources i will defo let you know! :smile:


Aha, I've done some past papers based on this! I gave it to my teacher and she said that they were good but I need to work on my sentence structure :smile: Thank you!


Original post by OliviaBara
Just realised that it's the same essay plan as in the activity pack haha, oh well it looks so much better with the colours! :smile:


Yeah it is! :biggrin: And I've also deleted the thread as you've requested!

Does anyone know the message of The Virgin's Memo in Feminine Gospels? I'm soo stuck :/
Reply 10
Original post by justanotherindigo
Aha, I've done some past papers based on this! I gave it to my teacher and she said that they were good but I need to work on my sentence structure :smile: Thank you!




Yeah it is! :biggrin: And I've also deleted the thread as you've requested!

Does anyone know the message of The Virgin's Memo in Feminine Gospels? I'm soo stuck :/


same! i was thinking how typically a mother is always thinking/worrying about her child all the time, maybe suggesting their way of thinking? i dno haha some poems of hers are so weird to translate! :tongue:
Hi guys, I was wondering if you could help me please with my question It is regarding question 1 of the exam for the struggle for identity? I just can't find anything at all to analyse! :frown:
Reply 12
Original post by muffin_selight
Hi guys, I was wondering if you could help me please with my question It is regarding question 1 of the exam for the struggle for identity? I just can't find anything at all to analyse! :frown:


i will try help you with that tomorrow afternoon! :smile:
Original post by sarsoora
i will try help you with that tomorrow afternoon! :smile:


Thanks, I was wondering if you have come up with anything yet? I have to write it for Thursday...:confused:
Reply 14
Hi there, i was wondering if anyone could help me on how to analyze the form of the extract, for example a novel with a linear structure.
I understand how it is relevant for things such as speeches but i am stuck on things which have a seemingly normal form.

Also, would i lose out on marks if i were to only discuss form through the wider reading texts and not on the actual unseen extract?
Reply 15
Is anyone doing the war poetry option? Im struggeling on analysing May Wedderburn Cannan's "Rouen" and google is really not throwing me anything good:frown:
Hi guys is anyone doing the struggle for identity synoptic question?
If so, can you share book summaries or a few books/poems/plays you'd advise me to research before the exam?
Thank you


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Reply 17
I have done the plays; (general summary of some themes - you will need to read these or find out more)

Struggles and the mind:
Journey's End (The Struggle with how people see your identity and how you've changed (mainly WW1 experience that affect people's lives) R.C Sheriff
A Street Car Named Desire (Desires + Madness - trying to create a new identity because you cannot cope with your past)

Class:
Top Girls (Gender : Women rising to the 'Top') Caryl Churchill
An Inspector Calls (Class: socialist responsibility for other people and wealth) J.B Priestly

These are the books I have done;

The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-time (Asperger syndrome (disability struggle) Mark Haddon

Of Mice and Men (Crooks - Racism and internal worsening of the struggle to be around people who he think will judge him) - ''Why if I say somethin', it's just a ****** sayin' it'' + You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all.'' John Steinbeck

The Handmaid's Tale (Loss of identity - ''Handmaid's'', ''Wives'' and ''Marthas'' - new names to group the women (neologisms - new created words by the state in the book) Dystopian future novel. Opression by the state on the people. Margaret Atwood

The Colour Purple (Coming of age genre (Bildungsroman) + structural change of language (bad grammar to worse throughout the novel) that represents or is even in parallel the development and self-determination of the character as they manage to progress and achieve their aims) - ''Albert: Who you think you is? You can curse nobody. Look at you. Your black, you're poor, you're ugly, you're a woman, you're nothing at all!'' ---> "I’m poor, black. I may even be ugly. But dear God, I’m here!" <-- Self Determination and resistance to Albert. Alice Walker

Poems:

Refugee Blues ( The outsider - Discrimination)
Funeral Blues ( Sexuality - homosexuality)
W.H Auden

I haven't done a lot of poetry and some other things I have read but not studied in detail are;
-Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
-Mrs Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
-The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
-Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell - really good for structural technique as it is set in 6 different places and times and represents many themes such as the reoccurance of slavery throughout each chapter although the times have changed you can still be a 'slave' to your boss for example)
-The Lovely Bones (explores death, not sure how I could link to the struggle for identity however it mentions rape so that could be an issue that someone will have to deal with after) - Alice Sebold
-Affinity (explores lesbians in the victorian era (different attitudes than now) but also a crime/mystery novel) - Sarah Waters

-
Reply 18
Oh and a very good novel to read is ''Oranges are Not The Only Fruit'' by Jeanette Winterson. I read it in a day and it is quite easy to follow.
Themes:
-conflict of your beliefs and your sexuality (christian and a lesbian)
- Finding 'yourself' (finding your identity) (adopted and had a lot of influence from mother and her beliefs so she needed to figure out what she wanted)
-Disownment - ‘You’ll have to leave,’ she said. ‘I’m not havin’ demons here.’ (Jeanette's mother)
Disownment could be from the church or the society so this can relate to other novels where someone is considered different from the mainstream or the 'ideal' or acceptable person in that society and are discriminated - e.g Anne Frank had to hide for most of her teenage years because she was considered to be a nuisance and a waste of space to the Nazi Germans.
Reply 19
Original post by muffin_selight
Thanks, I was wondering if you have come up with anything yet? I have to write it for Thursday...:confused:


Context:
Think about how the attitudes of people in both times may have changed.
This can be our time (how you interpret it, and how you receive the text in your time (2013))
It can be how the writer has been influenced to write about the 1940s and 50s in 2001, maybe they are writing objectively about the past and how they might view the issues/themes, struggles and subject matter differently to the mentioned time.
It can also be the times of other books written that you know (wider reading) and how these books reflect different or similar attitudes, themes or struggles considering the time it was written or set. (Both are important because of the perspective of the people at the time!!!)

(2001) - Think about the attitudes of the people at that time, how do they differ from the 1940s and 1950s and how would they react then and now to the idea of women having babies out of wedlock? Do you think that people would react differently then to they would now and does this happen more now and is more accepted?

Why would the attitudes of the grandmother be different from the mother?


Techniques:
Language
Structure
Form


Language - 'Maggies' is a label and this reflects the struggle the women had to maintain their own identity although they were being called this. (Links to Handmaid's Tale - ''Hand maids'')

Emotive language - ''they get no pay for the work they do'' - suggests that the grandmother feels sorry for them and this is maintained throughout her dialogue.
''Poor unfortunate mothers'' - Mother

links to...

Structure - two different perspectives on the same subject (mother and grandmother) shows that people view other people's identities in different ways and this can have a big affect as someone people outwardly or passively feel sorry for the maggies whereas others may not.
Also reflects the curiosity that Bill had to learn about issues in his society.


Form - Autobiographical account.
Personal.
Can say how this differs from your wider reading e.g other forms techniques such as the ones used in drama/play, poems and novels.

Bit of info:
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. --> Links to structure.

Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.

The most general genres in literature are (in loose chronological order) epic, tragedy,comedy, novel, short story, and creative nonfiction.

They can all be in the genres prose or poetry, which shows best how loosely genres are defined. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a sub-genre,but as a mixture of genres.

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