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AQA A2 English Literature 2016 - Elements of the Gothic (LITB3) - OFFICIAL THREAD

Welcome to the official thread for the AQA English Literature B exam about the Elements of the Gothic.

The exam is scheduled to happen on the 17th June 2016 (AM).

I'm studying Macbeth, Dr Faustus and The Bloody Chamber. How about everyone else?

Past papers can be found here: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-b-2745/past-papers-and-mark-schemes

If anyone has any other resources, please post them and I will add them to the OP. Let's all start revising early and smash this exam!

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I got an A in this A level and this exam if anyone would like to ask any questions :smile: good luck guys. I loved this course.

Oh and I'll pop this into the English exam section :smile:

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Reply 2
Original post by Changing Skies
I got an A in this A level and this exam if anyone would like to ask any questions :smile: good luck guys. I loved this course.

Oh and I'll pop this into the English exam section :smile:

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Hey did you do the 2015 exam paper?
I'm doing The White Devil, Paradise Lost and The Tempest.

Loving all the innuendos in The White Devil. It's my new favourite play haha.

Anyone else studying any of these?
Original post by Charmarie
Hey did you do the 2015 exam paper?

I'm afraid I sat the 2014 paper! :redface:
Reply 5
Hi :smile: I thought I'd join this thread as I had a sneaky scroll through last year's one and it seemed to be really helpful in terms of revision and discussing ideas :biggrin:
I'm studying Wuthering Heights, Dr Faustus and Frankenstein :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by mrrsmith
Hi :smile: I thought I'd join this thread as I had a sneaky scroll through last year's one and it seemed to be really helpful in terms of revision and discussing ideas :biggrin:
I'm studying Wuthering Heights, Dr Faustus and Frankenstein :smile:


Ah great! How you doing with revision?
I sat this exam last year and got an A.
I did The Bloody Chamber, Frankenstein and Macbeth.
If there are any questions, I'll try to help!
Reply 8
Original post by kingaaran
Ah great! How you doing with revision?


I don't feel like I have done enough exam revision tbh as I'm still doing the critical coursework (sigh) but so far I have summarised every chapter of Wuthering Heights, begun to analyse them all in terms of gothic conventions with quotations (obviously this will be elaborated with continued study) and have produced chapter summaries for Frankenstein. What about you? :smile: I feel guilty for not having looked at any past questions yet...
Reply 9
Original post by Changing Skies
I got an A in this A level and this exam if anyone would like to ask any questions :smile: good luck guys. I loved this course.

Oh and I'll pop this into the English exam section :smile:

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Hello :smile:
Just wondering if you had any tips for revising/resources/or if you studied
Tess of D'urvbille s
As You Like It
Songs of innocence and experience
Original post by Lkathryn08
I sat this exam last year and got an A.
I did The Bloody Chamber, Frankenstein and Macbeth.
If there are any questions, I'll try to help!


I'm doing the same texts this year! Is there anything super useful that sticks out in your mind for any of them, or some revision docs you still have knocking around? It would be super useful if I could see some. No pressure though! Thanks.
I'm studying the pardoner's prologue and tale, Frankenstein and the bloody chamber (we haven't started Carter yet). I got a B last year but really need to do so well in this exam to get an overall A which I need for uni ahh!! I have started revising in terms of flash cards with themes and context, critical notes and all of that but need to look at past papers to know how to approach the questions as we haven't done much of that in lessons yet:frown:


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Original post by mrrsmith
I don't feel like I have done enough exam revision tbh as I'm still doing the critical coursework (sigh) but so far I have summarised every chapter of Wuthering Heights, begun to analyse them all in terms of gothic conventions with quotations (obviously this will be elaborated with continued study) and have produced chapter summaries for Frankenstein. What about you? :smile: I feel guilty for not having looked at any past questions yet...


I had a mock today. The questions were nice, but the question I wanted to do, I just didn't have the quotes for - I had the ideas, but not the quotes. So I forced myself to do a question I didn't really want to do.

I have decided that I need to do a bit more focused, timed practice, as my essays under timed practice are not at the level I would like them to be at.

And what question did you go for in the end? :wink:
Original post by Lkathryn08
I sat this exam last year and got an A.
I did The Bloody Chamber, Frankenstein and Macbeth.
If there are any questions, I'll try to help!


Hey by any chance do you have links to any of the resources you used for Frankenstein and the bloody chamber?? Also how did you go about your revision if you don't mind me asking :smile:


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Original post by HeyThereItsKate
I'm doing the same texts this year! Is there anything super useful that sticks out in your mind for any of them, or some revision docs you still have knocking around? It would be super useful if I could see some. No pressure though! Thanks.


I don't have any of my revision material, unfortunately it's all on scrap paper and flash cards. But my teacher printed out exemplar answers from AQA and I found those to be really helpful to know what to focus on in each text. For learning quotes (might be a bit early for for that but this was the most stressful thing for me!) Flash cards are your best friend. I wouldn't try and get 100s of quotes, find some quotes which incorporate multiple aspects of the Gothic which can used in multiple essays meaning there are less quotes to remember. For context, especially Carter it was helpful to read articles concerning the context such as the second wave of feminism to get an idea of the writer's concerns when utilising the Gothic in their works. Can;t really say much else about the texts without getting super specific but I hope this helps in some way!
Original post by Lkathryn08
I don't have any of my revision material, unfortunately it's all on scrap paper and flash cards. But my teacher printed out exemplar answers from AQA and I found those to be really helpful to know what to focus on in each text. For learning quotes (might be a bit early for for that but this was the most stressful thing for me!) Flash cards are your best friend. I wouldn't try and get 100s of quotes, find some quotes which incorporate multiple aspects of the Gothic which can used in multiple essays meaning there are less quotes to remember. For context, especially Carter it was helpful to read articles concerning the context such as the second wave of feminism to get an idea of the writer's concerns when utilising the Gothic in their works. Can;t really say much else about the texts without getting super specific but I hope this helps in some way!


Thanks for the advice! We start Carter on Monday, and I'm looking forward to finally finishing Macbeth! I'll probably start on the quotes this weekend, and get a head start on them. Thank you!
Would you by any chance have the 2015 litb 3 question on Macbeth specification? Would really help my revision X
Reply 17
I'm studying The Changeling, Frankenstein and The Bloody Chamber. I did a mock exam last week but just on Section A because I haven't yet worked with The Bloody Chamber in class due to coursework. I'm going to start revising properly now just because of the worry when it comes to the closed book exam conditions, if anyone has notes on any of those texts I'd be grateful of you to share (and I'll upload what I can too!) especially The Changeling! There's nothing online to aid my revision and exam technique for that text :frown:
I'm doing Frankenstein, The White Devil and The Bloody Chamber! Have any of you been told how often to quote/reference Gothic elements in Section B? I don't want to overkill it:^_^:
Hi,
Firstly, congratulations on your A!
Secondly, I was wondering if you could give me a hand? I am also studying those three novels and I understand the story, however, I do not know what to write in an exam or how to revise for it. I know I have to write about all the Gothic Elements and links but I cannot seem to get a decent grade. Please may you help? I just need to know what am I doing in the exam and how to revise. I would love to get a B overall.
We are far behind but I have a Mock in 2 weeks and nothing is working at the moment... Much appreciated

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