OCR A Level English Lit... how do I get good?! (yr13)

I'm a few days away from my first English paper. I do The Tempest and A Doll's House and Rossetti and I am god awful at this paper. Please. Any advice.

Reply 1

zws

10

I did Edexcel and the only similar text I have to you is Rossetti. when you analyse her poems, make sure you have a VERY good grasp on context – she was super religious and this was the theme for most of if not all her poetry. make sure you're familiar with imagery from the bible that she might be evoking, or themes/morals she might be trying to teach and how this relates back to religion (a common example is the dangers of greed/lust shown in Goblin Market and how the poem is a cautionary tale). another theme thats quite big with her is feminism/her views on women's rights. if I remember correctly she never actually identified as a feminist but still supported female independence & wasn't scornful of fallen women etc.

when you compare poems, remember you can compare AND contrast. if there aren't many similarities, focus on the differences and maybe you might find some similarities eventually as well. before you go into the exam make sure you have a rough idea of the main themes (1 or 2 doesnt have to be a lot) running thru each poem so when you decide which question to do you have a starting point and dont waste too much time trying to remember what themes are discussed in each poem.

for shakespeare, again context is big. I didnt do the tempest so I dont know the themes too well but good ones to look at are gender roles at the time/ideas of masculinity and humanity (I think thats more relevant to the tempest actually), religion again, what was going on historically at the time, why the play might have been written.

hope that helps

Reply 2

Half human

10

Original post by zws

for shakespeare, again context is big.

For the OCR exam board, you don't have to learn context for any aspect of Shakespeare.

Reply 3

zws

10

ah then obviously ignore the context bit. if you need to know critical quotes, dont memorise as many as you can as this will just confuse you. instead, try to find a few quotes that are quite versatile and can be used for a number of different themes, or if they can't, find a way that you could integrate the quote to an unfamiliar question while still actually answering it. sometimes, less is more!!

Reply 4

lottiexxo

8

Original post by 9e839q2

I'm a few days away from my first English paper. I do The Tempest and A Doll's House and Rossetti and I am god awful at this paper. Please. Any advice.

Hi! I used to struggle with this too especially 1a and I’ll tell you what worked for me :smile:

For the tempest 1a make sure you outline where the scene is in the play: E.G This scene comes at the start of Act X, scene X and is intended to provide/further establishes/depicts/portrays X and if necessary for context after X has happened
So in an essay I got 14 on I introduced it as This scene comes at the very end of Act 5 and establishes a feeling of finality.

I know some people go through the extract thematically but I like going through it chronologically, you can do either it’s just about what you prefer to do! I would with every sentence start with the AO2 language feature/dramatic device and then explain it and it’s significance in the play. E.G The constant breaks in Antonio’s speech implies that he knows what he is about to say is beyond the realms of acceptable.

My teacher has a checklist of what to look out for so:
- Who has the balance of dialogue, does somebody dominate it?
- Entrances and exits, E.G caliban tries to resist coming on Prospero’s call whereas Ariel is really obedient and comes straight away
- You vs thou (you = formal, thou = informal)
- Pronouns
- Obviously imagery, similes, metaphors and things like verbs, adjectives and nouns
- Do they share lines?
- Sentence functions so declaratives
- Verse v prose etc

Im rambling but I hope this helps !!

Reply 5

username6146538

OP

7

Original post by lottiexxo

Hi! I used to struggle with this too especially 1a and I’ll tell you what worked for me :smile:

For the tempest 1a make sure you outline where the scene is in the play: E.G This scene comes at the start of Act X, scene X and is intended to provide/further establishes/depicts/portrays X and if necessary for context after X has happened
So in an essay I got 14 on I introduced it as This scene comes at the very end of Act 5 and establishes a feeling of finality.

I know some people go through the extract thematically but I like going through it chronologically, you can do either it’s just about what you prefer to do! I would with every sentence start with the AO2 language feature/dramatic device and then explain it and it’s significance in the play. E.G The constant breaks in Antonio’s speech implies that he knows what he is about to say is beyond the realms of acceptable.

My teacher has a checklist of what to look out for so:
- Who has the balance of dialogue, does somebody dominate it?
- Entrances and exits, E.G caliban tries to resist coming on Prospero’s call whereas Ariel is really obedient and comes straight away
- You vs thou (you = formal, thou = informal)
- Pronouns
- Obviously imagery, similes, metaphors and things like verbs, adjectives and nouns
- Do they share lines?
- Sentence functions so declaratives
- Verse v prose etc

Im rambling but I hope this helps !!

Thanks for this - have you got some advice for section B also? Would really appreciate it

Reply 6

lottiexxo

8

Original post by 9e839q2

Thanks for this - have you got some advice for section B also? Would really appreciate it

Yeah haha I guess the key for this is just flashcards for critics and stage productions, if you need any extra for the tempest i’m happy to give you a list !!

I tend to outline exactly what i’m going to say in the introduction and if possible try to include a critic and differing interpretations to support my argument. E.G Prospero is right to give up his magic, a Jacobean critic would agree so the social order will be restored whereas a modern critic would agree because of his malicious misuse with his magic.
So I’d have an intro, 2/3 paragraphs agreeing with the statement then one counter then a conclusion. This way it just makes sure it ticks AO1 for an ordered structure

I suppose what’s key is to make sure your critics and stage productions are addressed so E.G : [POINT] which is reinforced by critics X’s argument that… or which is displayed by X’s production where… or something like Critic X explores … which demonstrates how… some key phrases like that are good to have to just make sure all critics are explored

I suppose something else to note is that it’s critics over time so make sure to include what a Jacobean audience and critics would think, pre-colonial and pre-20th century views but also post 20th century critical views. I think the best way to do this is also to use stage productions to make sure you hit the changing times.

Again if you need critics/stage productions im happy to type some out <3

Reply 7

username6146538

OP

7

Thanks so much for the help !

OCR A Level English Lit... how do I get good?! (yr13)

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you