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So I sit my Unit 1 Literature exam on Monday and I'm absolutely ******** myself. I'm doing Of Mice & Men and Sunlight on the Grass (AQA). We haven't really studied OMAM in class, our teacher ****ed off at the beginning of the year, and our replacement wasn't very good. We did one practise OMAM question in class and I got a pretty poor mark, then I did even worse in my Sunlight on the Grass practise question. I really want an A* in English Lit, I was one mark off an A* in my coursework, and I've always been good at English - until this year!
So I was wondering - what do I need to do to ensure top marks in this exam? Which points do I need to make and how many? How in-depth do my comments have to be? Do you have any annotations/points that would get me a good mark?
Thanks in advance if you can help
So I was wondering - what do I need to do to ensure top marks in this exam? Which points do I need to make and how many? How in-depth do my comments have to be? Do you have any annotations/points that would get me a good mark?
Thanks in advance if you can help
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#3
Make sure you extract as much information as you can in the passage and use only the passage for the first question. For the second questions it's best to try and link events from the passage with other events in the novel (e.g curley flopping like a fish when lennie crushed his hand, and curely's wife doing the same at the time of her death) ^ I agree definitely include context, as well as effect on the reader and the writer's intentions
^ I agree definitely include context, as well as effect on the reader and the writer's intentions
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#4
(Original post by lostintrnslation)
So I sit my Unit 1 Literature exam on Monday and I'm absolutely ******** myself. I'm doing Of Mice & Men and Sunlight on the Grass (AQA). We haven't really studied OMAM in class, our teacher ****ed off at the beginning of the year, and our replacement wasn't very good. We did one practise OMAM question in class and I got a pretty poor mark, then I did even worse in my Sunlight on the Grass practise question. I really want an A* in English Lit, I was one mark off an A* in my coursework, and I've always been good at English - until this year!
So I was wondering - what do I need to do to ensure top marks in this exam? Which points do I need to make and how many? How in-depth do my comments have to be? Do you have any annotations/points that would get me a good mark?
Thanks in advance if you can help
So I sit my Unit 1 Literature exam on Monday and I'm absolutely ******** myself. I'm doing Of Mice & Men and Sunlight on the Grass (AQA). We haven't really studied OMAM in class, our teacher ****ed off at the beginning of the year, and our replacement wasn't very good. We did one practise OMAM question in class and I got a pretty poor mark, then I did even worse in my Sunlight on the Grass practise question. I really want an A* in English Lit, I was one mark off an A* in my coursework, and I've always been good at English - until this year!
So I was wondering - what do I need to do to ensure top marks in this exam? Which points do I need to make and how many? How in-depth do my comments have to be? Do you have any annotations/points that would get me a good mark?
Thanks in advance if you can help
You're assessed using assessment objectives 1, 2 and 4 in this exam:
AO1 = response to the text ('points')
AO2 = language/structural features, effect on audience
AO4 = context
You're measured on your use of AO1 and AO2 for the first section (Sunglight on The Grass) and AO1, AO2 and AO4 for the second section (Of Mice and Men), so you only need to include context for the second section. In order to attain a strong grade, you'll need to show an ability to fulfil all of the assessment objectives.
In order to do this, we were taught to use 'PEECKLE' to structure each of our paragraphs:
Point
Evidence
Explain
Context
Key word
Language feature
Effect on audience
Make a point, such as 'Steinbeck presents Curley's wife as inferior to the men in the novella', then use a quote as evidence, 'This can be seen through the repeated referral to her as nothing more than 'Curley's Wife'', and explain why the quote is significant using the language feature, 'This passive tone and possessive language implies that she belongs to Curley and is only valuable in relation to her husband. Then link this to the context using a key word, 'Steinbeck has done this to cleverly comment on the sexist views held by many in 1930s America'. Finally, comment on the effect this has on the reader, 'As a result, the reader responds with sympathy to Curley's wife because her treatment would be unacceptable in modern day'.
Try to expand as much as possible in your paragraphs and use connectives, the above wouldn't count as a strong paragraph but those are the parts that would get you the marks. You could expand by saying how this shows that Curley's wife's American Dream was never really attainable because she's not valued and has less opportunity than the men, or discussing how her negative treatment of Crooks could be an attempt to regain some of the power she isn't allowed by the other men.
You'll want to do 3-5 paragraphs in response to each question, but remember that quality is far more important than quantity, so if you're struggling to come up with points focus on doing 3 paragraphs really well. If you have loads of points, select your best and don't go over 5 paragraphs, because if you do you'll drop on quality.
It's also recommended that you do a short introduction and conclusion for each question to summarise your thoughts to the examiner. This should only be 2-3 lines long, but use it as an opportunity to introduce your thoughts to the examiner and assure them that you have read the question correctly and intend to stick to it in your answer.
I hope that helps a bit, I can try and do an example paragraph for OMaM if that would be beneficial - good luck in the exam!
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#6
(Original post by CaptErin)
Hiya!
You're assessed using assessment objectives 1, 2 and 4 in this exam:
AO1 = response to the text ('points'
AO2 = language/structural features, effect on audience
AO4 = context
You're measured on your use of AO1 and AO2 for the first section (Sunglight on The Grass) and AO1, AO2 and AO4 for the second section (Of Mice and Men), so you only need to include context for the second section. In order to attain a strong grade, you'll need to show an ability to fulfil all of the assessment objectives.
In order to do this, we were taught to use 'PEECKLE' to structure each of our paragraphs:
Point
Evidence
Explain
Context
Key word
Language feature
Effect on audience
Make a point, such as 'Steinbeck presents Curley's wife as inferior to the men in the novella', then use a quote as evidence, 'This can be seen through the repeated referral to her as nothing more than 'Curley's Wife'', and explain why the quote is significant using the language feature, 'This passive tone and possessive language implies that she belongs to Curley and is only valuable in relation to her husband. Then link this to the context using a key word, 'Steinbeck has done this to cleverly comment on the sexist views held by many in 1930s America'. Finally, comment on the effect this has on the reader, 'As a result, the reader responds with sympathy to Curley's wife because her treatment would be unacceptable in modern day'.
Try to expand as much as possible in your paragraphs and use connectives, the above wouldn't count as a strong paragraph but those are the parts that would get you the marks. You could expand by saying how this shows that Curley's wife's American Dream was never really attainable because she's not valued and has less opportunity than the men, or discussing how her negative treatment of Crooks could be an attempt to regain some of the power she isn't allowed by the other men.
You'll want to do 3-5 paragraphs in response to each question, but remember that quality is far more important than quantity, so if you're struggling to come up with points focus on doing 3 paragraphs really well. If you have loads of points, select your best and don't go over 5 paragraphs, because if you do you'll drop on quality.
It's also recommended that you do a short introduction and conclusion for each question to summarise your thoughts to the examiner. This should only be 2-3 lines long, but use it as an opportunity to introduce your thoughts to the examiner and assure them that you have read the question correctly and intend to stick to it in your answer.
I hope that helps a bit, I can try and do an example paragraph for OMaM if that would be beneficial - good luck in the exam!
Hiya!
You're assessed using assessment objectives 1, 2 and 4 in this exam:
AO1 = response to the text ('points'
AO2 = language/structural features, effect on audience
AO4 = context
You're measured on your use of AO1 and AO2 for the first section (Sunglight on The Grass) and AO1, AO2 and AO4 for the second section (Of Mice and Men), so you only need to include context for the second section. In order to attain a strong grade, you'll need to show an ability to fulfil all of the assessment objectives.
In order to do this, we were taught to use 'PEECKLE' to structure each of our paragraphs:
Point
Evidence
Explain
Context
Key word
Language feature
Effect on audience
Make a point, such as 'Steinbeck presents Curley's wife as inferior to the men in the novella', then use a quote as evidence, 'This can be seen through the repeated referral to her as nothing more than 'Curley's Wife'', and explain why the quote is significant using the language feature, 'This passive tone and possessive language implies that she belongs to Curley and is only valuable in relation to her husband. Then link this to the context using a key word, 'Steinbeck has done this to cleverly comment on the sexist views held by many in 1930s America'. Finally, comment on the effect this has on the reader, 'As a result, the reader responds with sympathy to Curley's wife because her treatment would be unacceptable in modern day'.
Try to expand as much as possible in your paragraphs and use connectives, the above wouldn't count as a strong paragraph but those are the parts that would get you the marks. You could expand by saying how this shows that Curley's wife's American Dream was never really attainable because she's not valued and has less opportunity than the men, or discussing how her negative treatment of Crooks could be an attempt to regain some of the power she isn't allowed by the other men.
You'll want to do 3-5 paragraphs in response to each question, but remember that quality is far more important than quantity, so if you're struggling to come up with points focus on doing 3 paragraphs really well. If you have loads of points, select your best and don't go over 5 paragraphs, because if you do you'll drop on quality.
It's also recommended that you do a short introduction and conclusion for each question to summarise your thoughts to the examiner. This should only be 2-3 lines long, but use it as an opportunity to introduce your thoughts to the examiner and assure them that you have read the question correctly and intend to stick to it in your answer.
I hope that helps a bit, I can try and do an example paragraph for OMaM if that would be beneficial - good luck in the exam!
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#8
(Original post by Revision738266)
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
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#9
(Original post by CaptErin)
Hiya!
You're assessed using assessment objectives 1, 2 and 4 in this exam:
AO1 = response to the text ('points'
AO2 = language/structural features, effect on audience
AO4 = context
You're measured on your use of AO1 and AO2 for the first section (Sunglight on The Grass) and AO1, AO2 and AO4 for the second section (Of Mice and Men), so you only need to include context for the second section. In order to attain a strong grade, you'll need to show an ability to fulfil all of the assessment objectives.
In order to do this, we were taught to use 'PEECKLE' to structure each of our paragraphs:
Point
Evidence
Explain
Context
Key word
Language feature
Effect on audience
Make a point, such as 'Steinbeck presents Curley's wife as inferior to the men in the novella', then use a quote as evidence, 'This can be seen through the repeated referral to her as nothing more than 'Curley's Wife'', and explain why the quote is significant using the language feature, 'This passive tone and possessive language implies that she belongs to Curley and is only valuable in relation to her husband. Then link this to the context using a key word, 'Steinbeck has done this to cleverly comment on the sexist views held by many in 1930s America'. Finally, comment on the effect this has on the reader, 'As a result, the reader responds with sympathy to Curley's wife because her treatment would be unacceptable in modern day'.
Try to expand as much as possible in your paragraphs and use connectives, the above wouldn't count as a strong paragraph but those are the parts that would get you the marks. You could expand by saying how this shows that Curley's wife's American Dream was never really attainable because she's not valued and has less opportunity than the men, or discussing how her negative treatment of Crooks could be an attempt to regain some of the power she isn't allowed by the other men.
You'll want to do 3-5 paragraphs in response to each question, but remember that quality is far more important than quantity, so if you're struggling to come up with points focus on doing 3 paragraphs really well. If you have loads of points, select your best and don't go over 5 paragraphs, because if you do you'll drop on quality.
It's also recommended that you do a short introduction and conclusion for each question to summarise your thoughts to the examiner. This should only be 2-3 lines long, but use it as an opportunity to introduce your thoughts to the examiner and assure them that you have read the question correctly and intend to stick to it in your answer.
I hope that helps a bit, I can try and do an example paragraph for OMaM if that would be beneficial - good luck in the exam!
Hiya!
You're assessed using assessment objectives 1, 2 and 4 in this exam:
AO1 = response to the text ('points'
AO2 = language/structural features, effect on audience
AO4 = context
You're measured on your use of AO1 and AO2 for the first section (Sunglight on The Grass) and AO1, AO2 and AO4 for the second section (Of Mice and Men), so you only need to include context for the second section. In order to attain a strong grade, you'll need to show an ability to fulfil all of the assessment objectives.
In order to do this, we were taught to use 'PEECKLE' to structure each of our paragraphs:
Point
Evidence
Explain
Context
Key word
Language feature
Effect on audience
Make a point, such as 'Steinbeck presents Curley's wife as inferior to the men in the novella', then use a quote as evidence, 'This can be seen through the repeated referral to her as nothing more than 'Curley's Wife'', and explain why the quote is significant using the language feature, 'This passive tone and possessive language implies that she belongs to Curley and is only valuable in relation to her husband. Then link this to the context using a key word, 'Steinbeck has done this to cleverly comment on the sexist views held by many in 1930s America'. Finally, comment on the effect this has on the reader, 'As a result, the reader responds with sympathy to Curley's wife because her treatment would be unacceptable in modern day'.
Try to expand as much as possible in your paragraphs and use connectives, the above wouldn't count as a strong paragraph but those are the parts that would get you the marks. You could expand by saying how this shows that Curley's wife's American Dream was never really attainable because she's not valued and has less opportunity than the men, or discussing how her negative treatment of Crooks could be an attempt to regain some of the power she isn't allowed by the other men.
You'll want to do 3-5 paragraphs in response to each question, but remember that quality is far more important than quantity, so if you're struggling to come up with points focus on doing 3 paragraphs really well. If you have loads of points, select your best and don't go over 5 paragraphs, because if you do you'll drop on quality.
It's also recommended that you do a short introduction and conclusion for each question to summarise your thoughts to the examiner. This should only be 2-3 lines long, but use it as an opportunity to introduce your thoughts to the examiner and assure them that you have read the question correctly and intend to stick to it in your answer.
I hope that helps a bit, I can try and do an example paragraph for OMaM if that would be beneficial - good luck in the exam!
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#10
(Original post by Revision738266)
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
Structure- is about where the passage fits in to the rest of play. So make sure you talk about other parts of the play. In OMAM it uses a lot of foreshadowing, for example the shooting of Candy's dog, could be foreshadowing George shooting Lennie.
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#11
(Original post by Ben.M)
I don't do AQA but this was still really helpful as I'm doing Of Mice and Men on Monday, thanks!
I don't do AQA but this was still really helpful as I'm doing Of Mice and Men on Monday, thanks!
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#13
(Original post by Revision738266)
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
How would you write about form and structure in OMAM?
It's really good to comment on structure because a lot of people miss it out, so including it really impresses the examiner.
One key point for structure in Of Mice and Men is that it has a 'cyclic structure', which means that it was written by Steinbeck to end in the same way it begins, solemnly and in the pool setting. There's so much you can say about the significance of this - it could reflect the idea that in the end nature will conquer man, or that migrant work is inconsequential, or the futility of the American Dream. In the end, everybody ends up right where they began, just mournful and hopeless.
There's also extensive foreshadowing in the novel; the incident in Weed, George telling Lennie to return to the brush, the shooting of Candy's dog, the incident with Curley's hand reflecting the death of Curley's wife. Commenting on these also counts as commenting on structure because structure is the layout of the novel.
If it fits, you could also comment on the simplicity of the structure reflecting the simplicity of migrant work and the ranch way of life.
As for form, a key point to do with form is that Steinbeck uses alot of dialogue and gives each section a clear setting in order to make the novel play-like, which amplifies the focus on character and the drama of the novel. Steinbeck also divides the novel into 6 sections (not chapters) with 4 settings like a play.
Because the novel is so simple, I think that's about as much as there is on structure (or at least it's as much as I've been able to find), but the key points are its cyclic nature, play-like structure and repetition of events to act as foreshadowing.
Hope that helps! :)
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#15
(Original post by CaptErin)
Hiya!
It's really good to comment on structure because a lot of people miss it out, so including it really impresses the examiner.
One key point for structure in Of Mice and Men is that it has a 'cyclic structure', which means that it was written by Steinbeck to end in the same way it begins, solemnly and in the pool setting. There's so much you can say about the significance of this - it could reflect the idea that in the end nature will conquer man, or that migrant work is inconsequential, or the futility of the American Dream. In the end, everybody ends up right where they began, just mournful and hopeless.
There's also extensive foreshadowing in the novel; the incident in Weed, George telling Lennie to return to the brush, the shooting of Candy's dog, the incident with Curley's hand reflecting the death of Curley's wife. Commenting on these also counts as commenting on structure because structure is the layout of the novel.
If it fits, you could also comment on the simplicity of the structure reflecting the simplicity of migrant work and the ranch way of life.
As for form, a key point to do with form is that Steinbeck uses alot of dialogue and gives each section a clear setting in order to make the novel play-like, which amplifies the focus on character and the drama of the novel. Steinbeck also divides the novel into 6 sections (not chapters) with 4 settings like a play.
Because the novel is so simple, I think that's about as much as there is on structure (or at least it's as much as I've been able to find), but the key points are its cyclic nature, play-like structure and repetition of events to act as foreshadowing.
Hope that helps!
Hiya!
It's really good to comment on structure because a lot of people miss it out, so including it really impresses the examiner.
One key point for structure in Of Mice and Men is that it has a 'cyclic structure', which means that it was written by Steinbeck to end in the same way it begins, solemnly and in the pool setting. There's so much you can say about the significance of this - it could reflect the idea that in the end nature will conquer man, or that migrant work is inconsequential, or the futility of the American Dream. In the end, everybody ends up right where they began, just mournful and hopeless.
There's also extensive foreshadowing in the novel; the incident in Weed, George telling Lennie to return to the brush, the shooting of Candy's dog, the incident with Curley's hand reflecting the death of Curley's wife. Commenting on these also counts as commenting on structure because structure is the layout of the novel.
If it fits, you could also comment on the simplicity of the structure reflecting the simplicity of migrant work and the ranch way of life.
As for form, a key point to do with form is that Steinbeck uses alot of dialogue and gives each section a clear setting in order to make the novel play-like, which amplifies the focus on character and the drama of the novel. Steinbeck also divides the novel into 6 sections (not chapters) with 4 settings like a play.
Because the novel is so simple, I think that's about as much as there is on structure (or at least it's as much as I've been able to find), but the key points are its cyclic nature, play-like structure and repetition of events to act as foreshadowing.
Hope that helps!
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#16
(Original post by CaptErin)
Hiya!
It's really good to comment on structure because a lot of people miss it out, so including it really impresses the examiner.
One key point for structure in Of Mice and Men is that it has a 'cyclic structure', which means that it was written by Steinbeck to end in the same way it begins, solemnly and in the pool setting. There's so much you can say about the significance of this - it could reflect the idea that in the end nature will conquer man, or that migrant work is inconsequential, or the futility of the American Dream. In the end, everybody ends up right where they began, just mournful and hopeless.
There's also extensive foreshadowing in the novel; the incident in Weed, George telling Lennie to return to the brush, the shooting of Candy's dog, the incident with Curley's hand reflecting the death of Curley's wife. Commenting on these also counts as commenting on structure because structure is the layout of the novel.
If it fits, you could also comment on the simplicity of the structure reflecting the simplicity of migrant work and the ranch way of life.
As for form, a key point to do with form is that Steinbeck uses alot of dialogue and gives each section a clear setting in order to make the novel play-like, which amplifies the focus on character and the drama of the novel. Steinbeck also divides the novel into 6 sections (not chapters) with 4 settings like a play.
Because the novel is so simple, I think that's about as much as there is on structure (or at least it's as much as I've been able to find), but the key points are its cyclic nature, play-like structure and repetition of events to act as foreshadowing.
Hope that helps!
Hiya!
It's really good to comment on structure because a lot of people miss it out, so including it really impresses the examiner.
One key point for structure in Of Mice and Men is that it has a 'cyclic structure', which means that it was written by Steinbeck to end in the same way it begins, solemnly and in the pool setting. There's so much you can say about the significance of this - it could reflect the idea that in the end nature will conquer man, or that migrant work is inconsequential, or the futility of the American Dream. In the end, everybody ends up right where they began, just mournful and hopeless.
There's also extensive foreshadowing in the novel; the incident in Weed, George telling Lennie to return to the brush, the shooting of Candy's dog, the incident with Curley's hand reflecting the death of Curley's wife. Commenting on these also counts as commenting on structure because structure is the layout of the novel.
If it fits, you could also comment on the simplicity of the structure reflecting the simplicity of migrant work and the ranch way of life.
As for form, a key point to do with form is that Steinbeck uses alot of dialogue and gives each section a clear setting in order to make the novel play-like, which amplifies the focus on character and the drama of the novel. Steinbeck also divides the novel into 6 sections (not chapters) with 4 settings like a play.
Because the novel is so simple, I think that's about as much as there is on structure (or at least it's as much as I've been able to find), but the key points are its cyclic nature, play-like structure and repetition of events to act as foreshadowing.
Hope that helps!
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#17
Do you have to write a separate paragraph on form and structure or can you just add it with the others?
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#18
(Original post by Revision738266)
Thanks. Have you got your literature gcse on Monday?
Thanks. Have you got your literature gcse on Monday?
(Original post by Revision738266)
Do you have to write a separate paragraph on form and structure or can you just add it with the others?
Do you have to write a separate paragraph on form and structure or can you just add it with the others?
Wherever structure works - be that as a separate point or within a paragraph that already has language analysis in it. For example, if the question asked specifically about the representation of the American Dream in the novel, you could write a whole paragraph about how the cyclic structure reflects the futility of the American Dream, and how it's an unbreakable cycle. However, you could also comment on structure within a paragraph if it fit, such as if you're discussing the death of Curley's wife and use the quote about her flopping like a fish, you could further analyse this simile by saying how this is foreshadowed by the fight between Curley and Lennie where Curley is also described as flopping like a fish.
Hope that makes sense haha!
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#19
(Original post by CaptErin)
Yes I do
Wherever structure works - be that as a separate point or within a paragraph that already has language analysis in it. For example, if the question asked specifically about the representation of the American Dream in the novel, you could write a whole paragraph about how the cyclic structure reflects the futility of the American Dream, and how it's an unbreakable cycle. However, you could also comment on structure within a paragraph if it fit, such as if you're discussing the death of Curley's wife and use the quote about her flopping like a fish, you could further analyse this simile by saying how this is foreshadowed by the fight between Curley and Lennie where Curley is also described as flopping like a fish.
Hope that makes sense haha!
Yes I do
Wherever structure works - be that as a separate point or within a paragraph that already has language analysis in it. For example, if the question asked specifically about the representation of the American Dream in the novel, you could write a whole paragraph about how the cyclic structure reflects the futility of the American Dream, and how it's an unbreakable cycle. However, you could also comment on structure within a paragraph if it fit, such as if you're discussing the death of Curley's wife and use the quote about her flopping like a fish, you could further analyse this simile by saying how this is foreshadowed by the fight between Curley and Lennie where Curley is also described as flopping like a fish.
Hope that makes sense haha!
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