english literature help

guys I swear to god.
at the start of year 12 English literature was my *****. I was smashing out A* essays like it was as easy as breathing but now I'm struggling asf and I have no idea why.. im in year 13 now and I've got January mocks coming up but i have no idea how to revise for English literature and my teachers are so annoying and useless can someone help me i beg (I'm doing English Literature B AQA and my texts are othello death of a salesman atonement brighton rock and crime /keats poetry) thanks <3

Reply 1

colinnzcool

7

Original post by etonmy

guys I swear to god.
at the start of year 12 English literature was my *****. I was smashing out A* essays like it was as easy as breathing but now I'm struggling asf and I have no idea why.. im in year 13 now and I've got January mocks coming up but i have no idea how to revise for English literature and my teachers are so annoying and useless can someone help me i beg (I'm doing English Literature B AQA and my texts are othello death of a salesman atonement brighton rock and crime /keats poetry) thanks <3

helloo - fellow english lit alevel student here

ahaha i wish i was like that in year 12 - everything is still going downhill however im doing English Lit BB AQA( othello, DOAS, KEATS )
how I revise for keats is I literally only choose 2 poems ( ones with multiple themes ) so i can waffle more ?
I tend to go for La Belle Sams de merci ( cause its nice and short ) and i do hate the eve of st agnes so i would go for Isabella
but making sure you know them inside out so no matter what the question you can choose your desired poem
analyse each line - imagine your keats, what is the purpose of each of your lines ?
( some good analysis on the website - physics and maths tutor )
erm DOAS - im too sure tbh, Willy loman hurts my head :frown:

With Othello I would say do some character analysis and focus on the the characters at the beginning vs the end of the play
Do plenty of past papers for exam and focus on recurring themes
Make sure you have juicy quotes memorised for section B

Im not sure if that was useful - not an A* student but im hoping it was decent, let me know :smile:

Reply 2

penguingirl18

22

What were you doing differently in year 12?

Also, what exactly are you struggling with?

For revision:
poemanalysis.com has analytical articles on A level poems
Seneca is useful for quick revision
getting a revision guide like Oxford Literature Companions could be useful
For each text, compile a list of text quotes and critical quotes that can be applied to multiple themes

Hope this helps.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

etonmy

OP

9

Original post by colinnzcool

helloo - fellow english lit alevel student here

ahaha i wish i was like that in year 12 - everything is still going downhill however im doing English Lit BB AQA( othello, DOAS, KEATS )
how I revise for keats is I literally only choose 2 poems ( ones with multiple themes ) so i can waffle more ?
I tend to go for La Belle Sams de merci ( cause its nice and short ) and i do hate the eve of st agnes so i would go for Isabella
but making sure you know them inside out so no matter what the question you can choose your desired poem
analyse each line - imagine your keats, what is the purpose of each of your lines ?
( some good analysis on the website - physics and maths tutor )
erm DOAS - im too sure tbh, Willy loman hurts my head :frown:

With Othello I would say do some character analysis and focus on the the characters at the beginning vs the end of the play
Do plenty of past papers for exam and focus on recurring themes
Make sure you have juicy quotes memorised for section B

Im not sure if that was useful - not an A* student but im hoping it was decent, let me know :smile:

you are my best friend I love you i wabt to kiss you THANK YOU

Reply 4

etonmy

OP

9

Original post by penguingirl18

What were you doing differently in year 12?

Also, what exactly are you struggling with?

For revision:
poemanalysis.com has analytical articles on A level poems
Seneca is useful for quick revision
getting a revision guide like Oxford Literature Companions could be useful
For each text, compile a list of text quotes and critical quotes that can be applied to multiple themes

Hope this helps.

idk man I just write essays and i think they're good but then my teachers say they're not... but then I write essays and think they're terrible and my teachers say they're great. it's stupid. thank u for the advice though bestie <3 <3

Reply 5

penguingirl18

22

Original post by etonmy

idk man I just write essays and i think they're good but then my teachers say they're not... but then I write essays and think they're terrible and my teachers say they're great. it's stupid. thank u for the advice though bestie <3 <3

I guess just identify what you did in the essays your teachers liked, then. Also go through the mark schemes and look at the essays with high marks. Good luck. :smile:

Reply 6

colinnzcool

7

Original post by etonmy

you are my best friend I love you i wabt to kiss you THANK YOU

heheh anytime :smile:

Reply 7

Hyperbolit

11

Original post by etonmy

guys I swear to god.
at the start of year 12 English literature was my *****. I was smashing out A* essays like it was as easy as breathing but now I'm struggling asf and I have no idea why.. im in year 13 now and I've got January mocks coming up but i have no idea how to revise for English literature and my teachers are so annoying and useless can someone help me i beg (I'm doing English Literature B AQA and my texts are othello death of a salesman atonement brighton rock and crime /keats poetry) thanks <3

Hi there, perhaps try engaging with scholarship and applying theoretical frameworks (e.g. psychoanalytical / feministic / marxist) to your textual interpretations? At A-Level, teachers usually expect top band students to demonstrate scholarly engagement, rather than just academic study. I run a YouTube channel dedicated to helping lit students like yourself get top grades in the subject, and here's a video I made on some top lit critics to reference for an Othello essay, see if it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-kBBijGM0

Reply 8

etonmy

OP

9

Original post by Hyperbolit

Hi there, perhaps try engaging with scholarship and applying theoretical frameworks (e.g. psychoanalytical / feministic / marxist) to your textual interpretations? At A-Level, teachers usually expect top band students to demonstrate scholarly engagement, rather than just academic study. I run a YouTube channel dedicated to helping lit students like yourself get top grades in the subject, and here's a video I made on some top lit critics to reference for an Othello essay, see if it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-kBBijGM0

thank you

Reply 9

studyholmes

14

Hey!! I did English lit AQA last year and got an A*, what helped me out a lot was planning out how to answer questions by recognising what the debate element was and what the content was that the question was looking for. Alongside this, understanding the underlying perspective I.e. Marxism feminism etc that the practice questions are asking you to focus on is super important to get into that top band! Before practising make sure you know the books inside out and the key themes, protests, issues etc and select a few key moments that you’re able to mould and continuously refer to each time you’re presented with a question. For example, I did a dolls house & there was major plot points that I would learn inside out and would apply both a feminist and Marxist lens to - which helped me with unseen questions cause I was already familiar with what they might ask. On the whole, AQA will only ask what you’ve learnt, so as long as you are applying the texts that you’re learning, to the themes which your specification has laid out for you then you’re going to do great! (Also the Spec & examiners reports are your best friends - learn them inside out, to know exactly what examiners are looking out for!! For example, the arc overview was a huge thing that was stressed during y13 for me & I stuck it in my head that as soon as I write an essay I need to include the arc overview in the first couple of sentences)

Reply 10

Saima.Hussain.

13

Original post by etonmy

guys I swear to god.
at the start of year 12 English literature was my *****. I was smashing out A* essays like it was as easy as breathing but now I'm struggling asf and I have no idea why.. im in year 13 now and I've got January mocks coming up but i have no idea how to revise for English literature and my teachers are so annoying and useless can someone help me i beg (I'm doing English Literature B AQA and my texts are othello death of a salesman atonement brighton rock and crime /keats poetry) thanks <3