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Need URGENT help!!!

Hello everyone,

I have used this website before, but now I've signed up because this is a matter of life and DEATH.
I am about a week and a half away from my English Literature AS Exam, and every time I look, just look at a past paper I can feel that I am about to either faint or vomit.

The problem is, that out of the two teachers that we have for Eng, the one that was meant to prepare us for our exam kind of... couldn't be asked, so to speak. So now, I have absolutely NO clue how to answer either sections, what to look for, how to structure,... Yes, how to structure my Exam essay is a big problem - I am very confident with the structure, layout, and almost everything else to do with my coursework, but exam is different!

if anyone has any advice, tips on what has helped/is helping them in their exam preparation, and, even better, maybe an example of an essay.... I would be so so so thankful.

I am doing AQA Spec A LTA1B Option B: World War One literature....

Oh God if someone, somewhere has an A grade essay.... that they are willing to share.... God bless your soul.

Please help me :frown:
(edited 10 years ago)
Um well I'm on the same exam board but I'm doing the struggle for identity in modern literature. Is it wider reading you're doing?
In the exam, there's two different sections, A and B.

I believe (if this is the same thing) that Section A is wider reading, so you link your 3 whatevers to the extract from something, for example, structure, language, form. But it's contextual. You have to know when your wider reading is set and what happens etc. If you can't, you can use your coursework texts. So have an introduction talking briefly about the context of the extract, then in your first comparison, write about the extract, how it's similar to/different to your wider reading novel/drama/poetry whatever you've chosen, and then go back into the extract. Start a new paragraph. Do this for each comparison. At the end, have a conclusion.

The section B is poetry i think, and that's just the collection you've been studying. You'll have an either/or question e.g. how far do you agree that ... ? or to what extent does ... ? You should try and balance your points by arguing both sides when talking about a poem, so... 'the use of the metaphor ... suggests to the reader that the poetic voice is ...' and 'Conversely, some might say it suggests ...' In general, you need an introduction and a conclusion. Try not to repeat yourself. Start it with "i believe to a certain extent that...' etc. and 'in conclusion...'

I'm sorry if this isn't the same, I'm sure it is though despite our options being different.
I don't know about any A grade essays, but to get an A grade, you need to be concise, avoid repeating yourself e.g. sad and upset. That shows you aren't concise. Also, be confident in expressing views, so instead of 'this could represent', write 'this represents'. By doing this, the examiner sees confidence.

Gah! That took some doing. Hope that helps because I'm nervous for the exam as well :s-smilie: But... if you're confident with the knowledge, you should be cool :smile:
Haha:smile: thank you so much! Yes, you're right, I am doing wider reading... You don't seem to be worried about this exam :smile:
I haven't done nearly enough past papers to be confident about what I'm doing... I hope it goes well for you! Good luck!:smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
Haha good luck on your exam as well :biggrin: and no i am not confident it's all a liieeee. Urgh seriously though i need an A.
I'm resitting this exam on Friday and a simple structure idea was suggested which should be useful for both questions: PELEL.

P: Point
E: Evidence
L: Language Analysis
E: Effect
L: Link

I'd advise you to to get familiar with a few bits of terminology which you can slip in to look smart. Don't panic. If you've not already, try and do a past paper before Friday just to get yourself used to it. Which poetry collection are you doing? :smile:

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