How do you answer a 40 mark question

My exam is on Monday and my English teacher has never taught us any answer structure like my other teachers have and I'm completely in the dark for how much and what to put into a 40 marker to get the most marks I can

Reply 1

PreciseOmission

Hi there! I use the Pretzel structure. Annoyingly, it’s spelt differently, but I’ll need you to bear with my on that.

The acronym is PRTEZEL

Point (what is the main argument of your paragraph)
Reference (a longer quote or reference to a particular moment)
Technique (what have they used, eg Metaphor, Pathetic Fallacy etc
Explain (what does this mean? What’s the effect? How does it make a reader feel? How does it push the plot further etc)
Zoom-In (go back to your quote and pick out a particular word. I’ll explain how to zoom in below)
Explain (same as other explain but about zoomed in word
Link (DO NOT JUST REWORD THE QUESTION! You’ve got to link it back the WRITER’S INTENTIONS. For example, I do An Inspector Calls so I’d link to how it shows Preistley’s socialist views)

How to zoom in at a high level: (you only need to do this like once really in detail to get top band)

• pick a word from the quote. In this example the quote is “The furious wind blew the roof off the house” and the word is zoom in on is “furious”
• state the word class (noun, adj, verb etc). In this case furious is an adjective
• TALK ABOUT CONNOTATIONS! So discuss synonyms that the word connotes to ( basically discuss what the word means for people in general)
• then talk about how this affects the meaning of the sentence as a whole, and link to universal themes
• then link back to writers intentions

An example paragraph using PRTEZEL structure and high level zoom-in is as below (I completely made this up on the spot don’t judge)

In the middle of the novel, the writer explores the damaging effects of storms and highlights the friction between man and nature. This is seen when the wind is described as “the furious wind” which “blew the roof off the house”. The personification of the wind becoming furious highlights the brute strength of the storm and emphasises how not even strong man-made structures have any hope of facing it. Moreover, the adjective “furious” connotes to anger and rage, perhaps revealing that the storm is infuriated with the house. This cleverly explores the power differences between the house and the storm, echoing the writer’s belief that man will never overcome nature, for its sheer power is always stronger.

Again, this example was done rly quickly and you’d have to do 2/3 of these, and try to cover language form AND structure to get into top band.

Universal themes to link to
• universal conflicts (manVSman, manVSnature, natureVSnature)
• universal feelings (love, hate, familial love, friendship, hope, freedom etc)
• universal (nostalgic) experiences (first day of school, first break up, losing a loved one etc)

Also in at least one paragraph try to look at alternative views. So if we go back to the storm example, you could say:
Alternatively, the frustration of the wind could reflect that its struggling to overcome and destroy the house, perhaps showing that modern infrastructure is starting to be
equal in power to Mother Nature.

Anyway, that’s all! Remember to link to writers intentions in your thesis and then link back to these intentions at the end of your paragraphs. If you need help with constructing a thesis, just ask and I can help to guide you!

Sorry this was really long, and good luck for your exam on Monday! (2024 exams are gna be great! We’ve got this!!!)