AS English Literature AQA B (2745)- How to write an answer!

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2 hours long

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You answer one question (in 2 parts) from Section A (1 hour)

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You answer one question from Section B (1 hour)

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The exam is 84 marks in total, 21 each from the parts of Section A and 42 from Section B.

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This question focuses on narrative.

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It will be a comparison between the narrative of 2 different chapters, or 2 different poems, or a detailed comment on narrative method (e.g. Write about the ways Rossetti tells the story in 'Winter: My Secret'.) [Thanks Indeed ]

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You are marked on Assessment Objective 2 only. So don't worry about your opinion!

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You will be asked to look at the form, structure and language, though with most of the focus on the first two.

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The form asks you to think about the genre of the chapter/poem, and the style that it is written in.

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The structure is the syntax, paragraph and sentence length, punctuation, etc.

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The language is obvious- vocabulary use and what it means.

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Start off with a brief (no more than a long sentence or so) introduction making a clear comparison of the styles.

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Then produce a few (2 or 3) focused paragraphs on examples you have found to compare.

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As it is comparison, it is probably better to compare as you go, but if you choose to write separate paragraphs for each chapter you must keep making comparative points.

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Finish with a brief conclusion where you make an evaluative comparative comment.

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And remember, you've only got 30 minutes.

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This question focuses on your personal response.

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You are expected to give your opinion- whether you agree with the statement or not is irrelevant.

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Please, PLEASE, answer both parts from one question. It sounds silly I know, but a supposed A grade student in my class did part A on one book and part B on another. Oh dear.

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Stick to the assessment objectives- you'll get no marks if you start writing your opinion in part A and talking about the language in part B.

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You must write about all three texts, but don't worry if they're not in equal amounts. That being said, don't write most of your essay on one text and a sentence on each of the others :P

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Comparison is necessary, but you don't need much. When going onto a new paragraph, write a joining sentence saying how the texts differ.

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If you're studying a set of poetry (for example Browning, Keats, Hardy, etc) you've probably been given 6-8 poems. You only need to write about 2 or 3- that way they can be detailed enough. Do not write about just 1- you'll get substantially less marks.

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Refer to the author when writing. Yes you probably know this, but we tease a friend of mine that she believes the characters are real because she doesn't do this Also, you'll lose marks.

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Use integrated quotation- so much neater

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If you don't understand a question, or a word in a question, give it a good guess anyway. In my mock I didn't understand what "contrived" meant, but guessed. Turns out I'd answered on something they were looking for but not quite hit the high marks, so I still got a C

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And remember- you can definitely do it