OCR A-level English Literature Paper 2 - 22nd May 2025 [Exam Chat]

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How did your OCR A-level English Literature Paper 2 exam go today?

OCR A-Level English Literature Paper 2: Comparative and contextual study (H472/02) - Thursday 22nd May 2025 [Exam Chat]
Welcome to the exam discussion thread for this exam.
Introduce yourself! Let others know what you're aiming for in your exams, what you are struggling with in your revision or anything else.
Wishing you all the best of luck. :yy:

General Information
Date/Time: Thursday 22nd May 2025 AM
Length: 2h 30m
Good luck!
Click here to find exam discussions for other A-level subjects
Paper 1 chat here >>

(edited 10 months ago)

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Reply 1

username7640100

Hi, does anyone have any predictions for the paper?

Reply 2

alevelsarescary

Original post

by username7640100

Hi, does anyone have any predictions for the paper?

Which topic do you do?

Reply 3

curiousfia

Hope everyone’s paper 1 wasn’t too bad. Anyone doing Dracula and The Bloody Chamber?? Also predictions for the Gothic extract ?

Reply 4

checka888

Original post

by curiousfia

Hope everyone’s paper 1 wasn’t too bad. Anyone doing Dracula and The Bloody Chamber?? Also predictions for the Gothic extract ?

i do Dracula + TBC ! its unlikely to be modern/contemporary gothic coz that was last yr i think, my teacher reckons it may be early gothic

Reply 5

AtlasC

Anyone do The Sound and the Fury for American lit??

Reply 6

havanaroseliuu

Does anyone have any predictions for the dystopia comparative? I'm honestly really scared for it because I think OCR have used up their straightforward theme questions (surveillance, indoctrination, power, etc) so I feel like they're gonna ask some really broad philosophical questions, last year's were horrific

Reply 7

bhhcjd

I was wondering what eras (and their time periods) of gothic literature you are aware of. I have been unable to find a clear list of eras or time periods online.

Reply 8

BeaBingham

Hi!! Im doing Passing and Gatsby this year but dont have any practice questions as Passing was only added to the syllabus rlly recently - if anyone has any ideas then that would be super helpful! Also any predictions for the American side of the paper in general cuz im feeling pretty cooked after the horror of Hamlet part B yesterday❤️

Reply 9

jk_202

Hi everyone, not predictions related but does anyone have tips for the comparison question? I'm doing The Bloody Chamber and Frankenstein, but any general tips will do - I feel like it's my weakest part out of the whole a level...

Reply 10

curiousfia

Original post

by checka888

i do Dracula + TBC ! its unlikely to be modern/contemporary gothic coz that was last yr i think, my teacher reckons it may be early gothic

okay cool, I also think it won’t be American gothic cos that was 2022 but who knows!! I hope paper 2 comparative questions are nice like the gender role one we got in paper 1 :smile:

Reply 11

lilym02

I totally agree with you here, they will most likely use specific dystopian genres so it will make it hard for us, but yet again its too far of a prediction as they still may make relevance to love/friendship or there is still hope even at the worse state. so yes i do agree but make sure you have quotes to contradict what you will say just in case.

Reply 12

alevelsarescary

Any Gothic comparative predictions?

Reply 13

bellaetoile

does anyone have any tips on how to revise gothic?? i’ve gone over timelines and wider reading but more the comparison question (im doing dracula and tbc)

Reply 14

studentsina

Any hot topic themes for gothic lit?

Reply 15

alevelsarescary

Original post

by studentsina

Any hot topic themes for gothic lit?

My teacher predicted good and evil for one of the questions, then maybe setting or something context based

Reply 16

charjacobi

Do you link that to Gatsby or Grapes of Wrath? I do Gatsby and Passing, any predictions?

Reply 17

18pedwards

Original post

by alevelsarescary

My teacher predicted good and evil for one of the questions, then maybe setting or something context based

good and evil would be soo nice 😭🙏 praying for a broad question like that

Reply 18

Ami248

Original post

by BeaBingham

I do passing and gatsby too omg!! hope the questions will be good

Reply 19

username7554594

Original post

by bellaetoile

does anyone have any tips on how to revise gothic?? i’ve gone over timelines and wider reading but more the comparison question (im doing dracula and tbc)

The context (AO3) is the greatest AO for comparative so make sure you have a really good grounding of both societal context and context of the author themselves that might influence the messages of their writing. Back up every point you make/paragraph with context. For AO4 (comparison), it is mainly the comparison between the two texts, so making sure you make clear links between them in your essays, but my teacher also encourages to include other Gothic text comparisons, (Carmilla, Castle of Otranto, Jane Eyre). And you need some critics but not loads! Maybe make sure you know a few general ones off by heart that you'll be able to slip in. Hope this helps to direct your revision :smile: