The Student Room Group

AS Aspects of Narrative exam, Friday 17th May

Wondering if anyone else is doing this exam and predictions of questions?

I'm doing The Great Gatsby, The Rime of the Anycent Marinere, Birdsong and Frost poetry :smile:

Hoping for nice questions!

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Original post by ginge1+2
Wondering if anyone else is doing this exam and predictions of questions?

I'm doing The Great Gatsby, The Rime of the Anycent Marinere, Birdsong and Frost poetry :smile:

Hoping for nice questions!


Does anyone know what was on the January paper for Section Ab on Gatsby or Marinere?
I'm doing Gatsby, Enduring Love, Auden and Browning.

I am doing Gatsby for section A. What about you?
Original post by ginge1+2
Does anyone know what was on the January paper for Section Ab on Gatsby or Marinere?


Gatsby was chapter 2

And the question was about protagonist/suspense

Not sure about B :/
Reply 4
Original post by KirstBarlow
I'm doing Gatsby, Enduring Love, Auden and Browning.

I am doing Gatsby for section A. What about you?


I think either Gatsby or Marinere - hoping for a nice interpretation question!
Original post by ginge1+2
I think either Gatsby or Marinere - hoping for a nice interpretation question!


Same here. Along with chapter 6.
Section B: juxtaposition, beginnings, symbolism would be great for B.

I hate this exam so much. Just want to pass.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 6
If anyone needs any help, I got 120/120 in this exam in January (was a resit after I ballsed it up the first time round) and can try to answer questions :smile:
Yes, I'm retaking the January exam... we got our papers back and I was very harshly marked!! Anyway I'm doing Rime Of The Ancient Mariner in part A and Gatsby, Tennyson's poems and The Kite Runner in Section B.

Really don't know what to do to achieve top marks, I tend to just babble on..
Reply 8
Original post by Wbez
If anyone needs any help, I got 120/120 in this exam in January (was a resit after I ballsed it up the first time round) and can try to answer questions :smile:


Yes please! What are your three top tips?
Reply 9
Original post by ginge1+2
Does anyone know what was on the January paper for Section Ab on Gatsby


Gatsby was something like 'How far do you agree that lower social classes are always portrayed as crude and vulgar?' :smile:
Reply 10
Original post by jprevprev
Gatsby was something like 'How far do you agree that lower social classes are always portrayed as crude and vulgar?' :smile:


Not bad, thank you! Any predictions of what Friday's paper may have to offer?
Reply 11
Original post by Wbez
If anyone needs any help, I got 120/120 in this exam in January (was a resit after I ballsed it up the first time round) and can try to answer questions :smile:


How do I English Lit? :3
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by ginge1+2
Yes please! What are your three top tips?


1) Know your books/poems like the back of your hand. Seriously, this is the best advice I can give you. I was quite lucky in my exam, The Great Gatsby is my favourite book ever, I loved The Kite Runner, and I found a couple of Tennyson and Browning's poems really interesting, and thus I'd enjoyed it all and was more interested in them. I know this one is cliche but it helps so much!

2) Read at least the past two examiners reports, mainly for two reasons. It taught me just how they want an exam answer structured, what they want for marks, common mistakes and simple things one can do to improve their answer. It also taught me this:
DO NOT USE CHARACTER AS AN ASPECT OF NARRATIVE. Centres (including mine) consistently teach character as an aspect of narrative. It is not one. Place is. Chronology is. Symbolism is. CHARACTER IS NOT WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. (Jan or June 2012 examiners report - can't remember which.) This doesn't mean that you shouldn't mention character, but rather how the other aspects create characters.

3) Plan your answer. As tempting as it is to dive straight in, I usually spend one sixth of my time in an exam planning (so 5 minutes for a 21 Marker, 10 for the 42 marker.) while I may create tangents as I'm going along, I always referred them back to my plan, and saw where they'd slot in best rather than go off on one mid essay.

This is particularly key in section Ab) where you create an argument. One of my other subjects is history, and in that we're consistently told an argument is best formed out of five points, (1) An introduction, (2/3) point(s) in support of the question's statement [i.e. how far would you class The Greaty Gatsby as a tragedy], (3/4) point (s) against the statement, (5) a conclusion. If you do this in your plan, your argument will come together best. I also like to take quite an extreme view in an argument on an exam like this - gives your answer a bit of pizzazz.

4 - bonus tidbit) Learn about your authors' lives. Seriously, this is an amazing thing to do for your exam. If you're doing Gatsby please please do this, Fitzgerald was an amazing man and much of his life can be seen in Gatsby. Also, learn about critics' opinions. While not key, a single, easy to fit in phrase (mine was "Gatsby is America" but I can't for the life of me remember who said it) can power your essay through to the top bands.

Those are my biggest pieces of generalised advice. If you need anymore help please don't hesitate to ask.

@Johnny - just did for you mate :P


Posted from TSR Mobile
Doing, Gatsby, Enduring Love, Tennyson & Browning. Dreading this because we've JUST finished the course :/ How are you meant to write so much in such little time? :s-smilie:
Reply 14
I'm doing The Kite Runner, Enduring Love, Christina Rossetti and Auden.

Still don't know what to put for 'context' in Enduring Love. It was written in 1997 which is famous for being the year where nothing important happened.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 15
Original post by Wbez
1) Know your books/poems like the back of your hand. Seriously, this is the best advice I can give you. I was quite lucky in my exam, The Great Gatsby is my favourite book ever, I loved The Kite Runner, and I found a couple of Tennyson and Browning's poems really interesting, and thus I'd enjoyed it all and was more interested in them. I know this one is cliche but it helps so much!

2) Read at least the past two examiners reports, mainly for two reasons. It taught me just how they want an exam answer structured, what they want for marks, common mistakes and simple things one can do to improve their answer. It also taught me this:
DO NOT USE CHARACTER AS AN ASPECT OF NARRATIVE. Centres (including mine) consistently teach character as an aspect of narrative. It is not one. Place is. Chronology is. Symbolism is. CHARACTER IS NOT WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. (Jan or June 2012 examiners report - can't remember which.) This doesn't mean that you shouldn't mention character, but rather how the other aspects create characters.

3) Plan your answer. As tempting as it is to dive straight in, I usually spend one sixth of my time in an exam planning (so 5 minutes for a 21 Marker, 10 for the 42 marker.) while I may create tangents as I'm going along, I always referred them back to my plan, and saw where they'd slot in best rather than go off on one mid essay.

This is particularly key in section Ab) where you create an argument. One of my other subjects is history, and in that we're consistently told an argument is best formed out of five points, (1) An introduction, (2/3) point(s) in support of the question's statement [i.e. how far would you class The Greaty Gatsby as a tragedy], (3/4) point (s) against the statement, (5) a conclusion. If you do this in your plan, your argument will come together best. I also like to take quite an extreme view in an argument on an exam like this - gives your answer a bit of pizzazz.

4 - bonus tidbit) Learn about your authors' lives. Seriously, this is an amazing thing to do for your exam. If you're doing Gatsby please please do this, Fitzgerald was an amazing man and much of his life can be seen in Gatsby. Also, learn about critics' opinions. While not key, a single, easy to fit in phrase (mine was "Gatsby is America" but I can't for the life of me remember who said it) can power your essay through to the top bands.

Those are my biggest pieces of generalised advice. If you need anymore help please don't hesitate to ask.

@Johnny - just did for you mate :P


Posted from TSR Mobile


thank you so much - better advice than my teachers! I'll try and remember these points in the exam :smile:
Reply 16
@Johnny for Question Aa, do you have any sort of 'tick list' type criteria to include? Ie setting, voice etc.? Or do you suggest going about it another way?
Reply 17
Also guys, read this post by Unsworth, he was the one who helped me get my 120/120.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showpost.php?p=40226955&postcount=5
Reply 18
How did everyone find it?
i thought Section A was alright - I did Marinere. Although the Ab question could have been much nicer! Section B was horrific! I did time setting, agh!

On the plus side I remembered to use alternative I interpretations and tried to evaluate... I just hope the examiner likes my take on time setting..!
Section A - Gatsby
Section B - Conflict

I actually liked the exam but I'm worried I've messed up and not realised. Feel it's been my best one so far.
I ended up writing 16 pages (one page was full of plan for section B so it's 15 pages) very happy with that


Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply

Latest