OCR A-Level American Literature

Hi, so I am in Y13 doing OCR A-Level American Literature (we study 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Grapes of Wrath).

Last year, I got an A* on my Drama and Poetry pre-1900 paper but got a B+ on my American Literature paper. I recently got an A* on an American Literature essay so I think I am alright with that now but I just do not know what to do with the extract - does anyone have a recommended structure/any advice for it?

Any extra tips for the essay question would be great too if you have any!

Hi! This may not be helpful or you may already know this, but ill post this just incase

For the unseen text, first and foremost, you have to be very confident with context/history. This will automatically put you in a good starting place. Learn key termonology like 'Economic Boom', 'Rugged Individualism'.

secondly, ALWAYS start by reading the extract to understand - dont annotate straight away, though if you see a great quote or point straight away write it down. on your second read, start looking for techniques and always link to context. on your third read, simply skim the extract again to make sure youve got everything and you understand whats going on. in the 2019 paper, many people misunderstoof the text and so got the context wrong, and so didnt get the very top marks.

then make arough plan - the intro w the line of arguments for each paragraph - eg: firstly, it shows the frivalous lifestyle of the econmic boom... this is shown by the protagonist.. - and do this generally. for paragraph structure, you need to embed quotes and references to text and have no history chunks. this means when you make a point about a quote: e.g: the adjective blahblah captures the hedonistic american mindset at the time... and dont go into too much detail. and then in the next sentance use another refernence: e.g: futhermore/this is shown futher by... simile blahblah.... which shows americans mindset was fueled by the economic boom, wherein..

although i really recognise this might not be great advice, i hope it was a bit helpful - this is the way i approach answering!

Thank you so much! So do you approach your paragraphs thematically? For example, would you identify the theme of the American Dream and relate your language analysis to that?

yep! Themes, context, etc.
i can send u pics of my mock from some time ago if you want i also recommend reading example answers

Ok thank you! That would be amazing if you wouldn't mind! my American lit mock is on Tuesday haha so I need all the help I can get lol

PRSOM

just a warning - in no way is this an amazing examplar answer! to be honest it is all over the place lol. there are some bits which show the strucure i was talking about but tbh i feel like i coudl have done it more coherently. My teacher gave it 26 marks ill DM u

just a warning - in no way is this an amazing examplar answer! to be honest it is all over the place lol. there are some bits which show the strucure i was talking about but tbh i feel like i coudl have done it more coherently. My teacher gave it 26 marks ill DM u