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GCSE OCR English Lit

Hi guys,

I've got my exam on Monday (13th) and i'm so scared! I'm doing OCR A Christmas Carol and Animal Farm. Im on a 7/8 at the moment but really want to get a 9. I know english will always be subjectuve but I really want to do well :frown:

I can sort of do the 40 marker A christmas carol one, but I really need help on the 'Explore another moment' question on Animal farm. I've been using PMT for ACC notes but there aren't any for AF - Does anyone know where there are detailed notes for Animal farm?

Also if anyone has any Grade 9 // Band 6 // Full mark examples please please tell me where they are!!! I have no idea how to structure my answers

Thank you in advance!!!!!
Original post by XwhoisthisX
Hi guys,
I've got my exam on Monday (13th) and i'm so scared! I'm doing OCR A Christmas Carol and Animal Farm. Im on a 7/8 at the moment but really want to get a 9. I know english will always be subjectuve but I really want to do well :frown:
I can sort of do the 40 marker A christmas carol one, but I really need help on the 'Explore another moment' question on Animal farm. I've been using PMT for ACC notes but there aren't any for AF - Does anyone know where there are detailed notes for Animal farm?
Also if anyone has any Grade 9 // Band 6 // Full mark examples please please tell me where they are!!! I have no idea how to structure my answers
Thank you in advance!!!!!

hii!!
im the opposite - i can never get above 30 on (for me its pride and prej) but animal farm i got 18 on both questions in mocks!

for explore another moment, i make mindmaps for each moment with the themes within them and 4ish quotes for each theme. then, when i see the question i just think of the mindmap with the most quotes for that. i think making the mindmaps by moment instead of theme/character is super helpful for animal farm.

my list of moments is:

1.

Old Major's speech

2.

The rebellion (in the store shed)

3.

Forming of 7 commandments

4.

Milk and apples

5.

Battle of the cowshed (when jones comes back, battle coordinated by snowball)

6.

Snowball’s exile (in the windmill arguments)

7.

The executions and confessions

8.

The battle of the windmill (when Jones + his men blow it up)

9.

Boxer’s deterioration

10.

Pigs turning into humans - hind legs, dinner party

(also squealers speeches in general)


hope that helps!! of course its a bit late to make mindmaps but honestly they dont take long so maybe you could try!! now im trying to blurt mine to make them stay in my head lol

good luck!! also if you google 'ocr [book name] gcse examples' there are example essays on the ocr website !!

if youve got any 40 mark q tips i would so appreciate them
Reply 2
Original post by taylorswift4life
hii!!
im the opposite - i can never get above 30 on (for me its pride and prej) but animal farm i got 18 on both questions in mocks!
for explore another moment, i make mindmaps for each moment with the themes within them and 4ish quotes for each theme. then, when i see the question i just think of the mindmap with the most quotes for that. i think making the mindmaps by moment instead of theme/character is super helpful for animal farm.
my list of moments is:

1.

Old Major's speech

2.

The rebellion (in the store shed)

3.

Forming of 7 commandments

4.

Milk and apples

5.

Battle of the cowshed (when jones comes back, battle coordinated by snowball)

6.

Snowball’s exile (in the windmill arguments)

7.

The executions and confessions

8.

The battle of the windmill (when Jones + his men blow it up)

9.

Boxer’s deterioration

10.

Pigs turning into humans - hind legs, dinner party

(also squealers speeches in general)
hope that helps!! of course its a bit late to make mindmaps but honestly they dont take long so maybe you could try!! now im trying to blurt mine to make them stay in my head lol
good luck!! also if you google 'ocr [book name] gcse examples' there are example essays on the ocr website !!
if youve got any 40 mark q tips i would so appreciate them

Haha your still doing better than me on the 40 marker!! 🤣

I always find the extract question easier. The stucture I have found is:

Intro: "In the didactic novella, (The author) presents .... in a variety of ways. They does this through ... (e.g journey/interpretations/views of Victorian society) to show the reader ... (message of the novella including themes).

Point 1: In the extract, the authour uses ... to ... (explain the impact on a modern and Victorian reader). The word ... is used here to ... (wider context and analysis). This strongly conveys the message about ... (message and link to question and context).
Repeat for multiple quotes and points within the extract.

Point 2: similar to point 1 structure but I do it for one key moment elsewhere and analyse the similarity and how the message and theme in the question is expressed/portrayed. Introduce the scene/character briefly at the begining to give context. Keep reinforcing the message and impact on the reader.

Point 3: Same again, elsewhere, but I write about a point where the character/mood changes to favour the author's message, and ultimate impact on the reader.

Conclusion: Overall, the writer presents (theme in question) as ... (brief summary of the essay, like one sentence long)

I usually write about two double pages, making sure my points and analysis are constant and short and snappy - I used to always forget to include terminology and would go off on a tangent explaining every little point I made. Hope this helps!!
Thank you so much for your reply, It makes me feel more confident lol !!!
Original post by XwhoisthisX
Haha your still doing better than me on the 40 marker!! 🤣
I always find the extract question easier. The stucture I have found is:
Intro: "In the didactic novella, (The author) presents .... in a variety of ways. They does this through ... (e.g journey/interpretations/views of Victorian society) to show the reader ... (message of the novella including themes).
Point 1: In the extract, the authour uses ... to ... (explain the impact on a modern and Victorian reader). The word ... is used here to ... (wider context and analysis). This strongly conveys the message about ... (message and link to question and context).
Repeat for multiple quotes and points within the extract.
Point 2: similar to point 1 structure but I do it for one key moment elsewhere and analyse the similarity and how the message and theme in the question is expressed/portrayed. Introduce the scene/character briefly at the begining to give context. Keep reinforcing the message and impact on the reader.
Point 3: Same again, elsewhere, but I write about a point where the character/mood changes to favour the author's message, and ultimate impact on the reader.
Conclusion: Overall, the writer presents (theme in question) as ... (brief summary of the essay, like one sentence long)
I usually write about two double pages, making sure my points and analysis are constant and short and snappy - I used to always forget to include terminology and would go off on a tangent explaining every little point I made. Hope this helps!!
Thank you so much for your reply, It makes me feel more confident lol !!!

omg thank you so muchhh!!i'm the same - i make my analysis so long winded that i only have like a few analysis points per paragraph! what do you do for paper 2? im macbeth and love and relationships poetry
also good luck tomorrow :smile:)
Reply 4
Aah, no I do Romeo and Juliet and Conflict. Glad it helped! Thanks and Good Luck!!!
Original post by XwhoisthisX
Hi guys,
I've got my exam on Monday (13th) and i'm so scared! I'm doing OCR A Christmas Carol and Animal Farm. Im on a 7/8 at the moment but really want to get a 9. I know english will always be subjectuve but I really want to do well :frown:
I can sort of do the 40 marker A christmas carol one, but I really need help on the 'Explore another moment' question on Animal farm. I've been using PMT for ACC notes but there aren't any for AF - Does anyone know where there are detailed notes for Animal farm?
Also if anyone has any Grade 9 // Band 6 // Full mark examples please please tell me where they are!!! I have no idea how to structure my answers
Thank you in advance!!!!!

i just remembered how i structure my animal farm questions:
-i dont do an intro/conclusion because then i have time to do 3x 10 min paragraphs
-i do a v v quick plan, first identifying my moment, then thinking of what quotes i have.
-then i plan 3 topic sentences/points, trying to focus on different characters' experience of the moment and how that reflects the theme
e.g violence
moment: battle of the cowshed
1: boxer fighting for what he believes in - rearing up on his hind legs like a stallion and stretching a stable lad lifeless in the mud - however 'i have no wish to take life, not even human life'
2: violence of humans - 'the pellets scored bloody streaks along snowballs back, and a sheep dropped dead' 'from whose wounds the blood was still dripping'
3: violence of the animals as a whole when they are united against the humans - 'there was not an animal on the farm that did not take vengeance on them after his own fashion', 'prodded and butted the men from every side', 'they were gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on'

one thing is i normally bring unity into it, but that might just be because lots of my quotes are related to unity haha
also dont use that structure religiously, it works well for some questions but not for others and i think the most important thing is writing about one moment in detail

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