Help me please!!!!! English lit coursework

Hi guys!!

We desperately need help with our english lit coursework. No matter what we do we can't get high marks :-(
What do we need to include in our coursework to get a's??? Or atleast a pass...

Our coursework titles are;
-Comparing the female protagonists in Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice
-Discuss the theme of obsession in Wuthering Heights and Enduring Love

please please please please help us :-(:-(:-(:-(

xo taynsian

Reply 1

TheonlyMrsHolmes

Okay firstly what exam board are you on? what level are you at GSCE or A-level? and what grade are you on at the moment?

Reply 2

taynsianhere

Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes

Okay firstly what exam board are you on? what level are you at GSCE or A-level? and what grade are you on at the moment?

WJEC, AS LEVEL and a D at the moment. But our teacher wont do thorough marking, so we're not sure if its accurate or what we need to improve on

Reply 3

TheonlyMrsHolmes

Original post by taynsianhere

WJEC, AS LEVEL and a D at the moment. But our teacher wont do thorough marking, so we're not sure if its accurate or what we need to improve on

Okay that happened with my teacher too, so annoying. What I would do is look at the mark scheme and translate it into "student language" so that you know exactly what your supposed to do. Have a clear topic sentence, since it's a compare and contrast I suppose you will have to include both your texts in the title so "The female protagonists in both A and B are shown like this" or 'The female protagonists in A is different to B in that she (i don't know, wears a hat lol) etc" state your argument clearly in the beginning of you paragraph and then refer to the topic sentence when you end your para and also remember to refer to the question.

Make your you P.E.E and also use different interpretations(very important). Analyse how your mark scheme is telling you to analyse, thus why I told you to translate it, once you know what it is asking you to do you can then do a lot of it. If it wants language analysis, context, emphasis on themes, structure etc, you will know how to do it.

Lastly try and find some model answers or ask your teachers for some, they might even have last years ones. They will help you tremendously. I hope this helped a bit. If you have anything more specific to ask just pm me! I am on a different exam board but I am sure i can be of some help. :smile:

Reply 4

TheonlyMrsHolmes

Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes

Irony of this post is that my grammar and punctuation is awful, but I am in a bit of a rush at the moment so as long you got the basic idea...lol

Reply 5

The Empire Odyssey

Original post by taynsianhere

WJEC, AS LEVEL and a D at the moment. But our teacher wont do thorough marking, so we're not sure if its accurate or what we need to improve on

Well technically, marking standards say the teacher is not supposed to in any way, shape or form, advise you on how to change things (they can say what needs changing), for example underlining sentences saying "clumsy". They aren't allowed to change/re-word these. That's not marking. All they are allowed to do is comment on perhaps how to explore your comments and all that kind of stuff.

I'm an undergrad and at my coursework I went from 2 grades low, to 2 grades higher for my AS D to a B and an E to a C at A2 (2 marks off a B, but I'm still not bitter about though! :wink:

).

Have you looked at the AO? If your teacher has not gone through it with you lot, then you need to take it upon yourself to go and look for it.

What AOs gives you the most marks and the least marks is always the important one. I know WJEC doesn't give a lot of marks for AO2 it's usually AO1 and AO4 normally. AO3 is only covered if you're comparing two or more texts, and from what I can tell is that you only do this with one piece of coursework? Therefore, AO3 would be one the most highest, alongside A02. Make sure you know how to structure a logical essay and also you know how to answer your essay title.

If it's asking you to discuss, explore, criticize, etc etc. For instance "Discuss the ways in which Dickens presents characters in Hard Times". Always use PEE. That will guarantee high marks. "Dickens often portrays his characters as a folly for the societal constraints that were amidst social upheaval during the former era on Victorian society. (Point) Especially as Sissy is presented to the readers "[insert quote here]". (Evidence) The metaphor/litotes/noun/personification/characternym symbolizes the...., thus reinforces the idea that characters in the novel are often a portrayal of Victorian society." (Explain) You have AO1 (Clear, written, accurate expression). AO2 (analysing language form and structure) and a little bit of AO4 (contextual factors) [if you elaborate]. But you get my idea? Your paragraph has to A) flow B) sound confident and C) always refer back the your essay title.

Always use the PEE and that should get you places. The higher your knowledge is on terminology; literary and linguistically then the better chances of your analysis. I always tend to add the context in after, at the end to relate it back to my point/essay title. I also tend to follow the A0s exactly as AO1, AO2, AO3 (where applicable) and A04. It usually flows better this way.

Hope this helps.