General information for studying GCSE English Literature Examination questions Styles of questions These examples of different types of examination question are taken from the sample assessment materials. Paper 1: Pupils choose and complete one question from Section A and one question from Section B. Section A: Drama texts Questions on the drama texts tend to follow a pattern: one question will usually focus on characterisation; the other question will examine another aspect of the play, such as dramatic qualities; theme; structure; social/cultural setting. A View from the Bridge: By the end of the play, do you find yourself sympathising with Eddie or criticising him? This type of question explicitly asks for a judgement, a personal response. It is a good example of how successful students cannot simply regurgitate learnt notes: they need to use their knowledge of the play to respond to a specific question. Example (b) A View from the Bridge: Some audiences feel angry about the behaviour of the male characters in this play. How far is Eddie presented as unsympathetic in his dealings with other characters? Section B: Prose texts Questions on the prose texts follow a similar pattern to the drama questions. One question will usually focus on characterisation; the other question will examine another aspect of the text, such as theme, or social/cultural setting. Of Mice and Men: This book is a study of how power over others can be used, or abused. By reference to the text, show whether or not you agree with this observation. Example (b) Of Mice and Men: The book offers us a range of sad, and sometimes pathetic, characters. How, in your view, does the writer make us feel particularly sympathetic towards any of them?
Paper 2 - Poetry: Pupils complete Question 1 from Section A and choose one question from Section B. Question 1 The first question (Question 1) asks students to write about a poem which they have not studied (an unprepared poem), which is printed for them on the paper with the accompanying questions. The question below is taken from the sample assessment materials. Read the following poem. Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. Imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god. Sometimes, the sudden rush of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground and the flow has found a roar of tongues. From the huts, a congregation : every man woman child for streets around butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands, and naked children screaming in the liquid sun, their highlights polished to perfection, flashing light, as the blessing sings over their small bones. Consider this poem carefully. Write about it as fully as you can. In planning your writing you should consider the following: the poet s attitude to her subject the poet s descriptive skills the language used the poem s effect on you any other aspects you consider to be of importance.
Question 2 One question (Question 2) will name at least one poem from the anthology. Students will be invited to write about that poem and at least one other, which may be named or may be chosen by the student from the Anthology. Students are not permitted to take copies of the Edexcel Anthology into the examination with them. All poems from Section C of the anthology will be printed in a poetry booklet as an insert to the examination paper. Copies of the anthology will be available to download from the Edexcel International website: www.edexcel- international.org. The question below is taken from the sample assessment materials. Piano and Half- past Two portray two different experiences of childhood. Show how successful each poet has been in presenting an aspect of their childhood and explain which one you consider to be more effective. In this example both poems are named and would be included in the poetry booklet. (30 marks) Example (b) In the poems War Photographer and Prayer Before Birth, show how the two poets have expressed a strong personal response to the nature of the society in which they live. OR Question 3 This, the alternative poetry question, allows students to select appropriate poems from the anthology for their answer. Students will not have their own copy of the anthology with them in the examination, however all the poems will be printed in a poetry booklet in addition to the examination paper. The question below is taken from the sample assessment materials. Choose two poems from the poetry anthology which you would select as particularly interesting. With close reference to the poems explain the reasons for your choice. In your answer you may like to include some or all of the following: the subject of each poem the way the poets use language the poems effects on you. Students may choose any poems from the anthology in their answer. There is no reason why they should not refer to the poem or poems which have been named in Question 2. For example, the answer which is given above for Question 2 might, with comparatively slight changes, be a reasonable model for the approach to this question also.
Revising for Poetry (Paper 2 90minutes) STRIVE all the poems in the anthology to ensure that you have a good working knowledge of the texts. S Subject: What is the poem about? Structure: What is the layout of the poem? Is it a specific type of pome (ballad/sonnet/etc.) Stanzas: Is the poem written in stanzas? Does the shape or size of the stanzas impact the flow of the poem? T - R - Tone: What is the mood/atmosphere/feeling created in the poem? Rhyme: Does the poem have a clear rhyme scheme? Why? Rhythm: Does the poem use a set number of syllables per line to create a flow or sense of fluency? Does the rhyme scheme add to this in any way? I - V - E - Imagery: What images are created by the language? How are similes/metaphors/personification used to create a detailed picture? Vocabulary: What word choices have been made by the poet to convey a specific meaning? What are the connotations of the language used? Effect: what is the effect of the pome on you as the reader? What is the intended effect of the poem? What is the purpose behind the poem? Practice STRIVE on other poems that we have not studied before in preparation for the unseen poetry question (Question 1)
Revising Drama and Prose texts (Paper 1 105minutes) Arthur Miller: A View from the Bridge (all) Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird (some) John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men (some) Pupils must ensure that they have a good working knowledge of: Context Recognise the significance of the social and personal experiences of the writer. What was happening at the time that the text was written that may have influenced the events/themes addressed in the text? What were the attitudes of people at the time to thematic issues such as race/gender/status and social class/justice? Is the text a microcosm of society at the time? Plot summary Understand and be able to recall the events of the text, knowing how one event leads to the next and why they occur in the order that they do. Although you may end up focusing on smaller sections of the text in the exam consider how these sections relate to the whole narrative/drama. Themes Identify the issues and ideas that the writer is discussing through the text. Such as: Fate/Jealousy/Homosexuality/Masculinity/Gender/Law and Justice/Race/Money/Status Playwright s craft/dramatic conventions Use of a Narrator Language choices and the meanings they convey Euphemism Irony Structure (tragedy that has a climax and a downfall) Form (play) Setting Symbolism/props used for effect Author s craft Irony Foreshadowing Language: Repetition/mirroring/recurring imagery/motifs Narration style/narrative voice Contrast Setting Structure: cyclical/linear/flashbacks/tri- part
Study guides that are available Letts Literature Guides (study guides on specific individual texts) York Notes (study guides on specific individual texts) Websites www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_ literature/ http://litxpert.wordpress.com/tag/format- for- poems- comparison- of- poems- poetry- answer- style- list- of- poems- edexcel- literature- o- levels www.examzone.co.uk
Poetry: YouTube La Belle Dame sans Merci: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htctb7ldbdi My Last Duchess: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fiedx5thg8 Telephone Conversation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zm3_ci7myw Poem at Thirty- nine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhvwrgm6c0 Further Poetry Tutorials are available for poems in the anthology by searching using the title of the poem. Of Mice and Men YouTube The whole film is available online in sections in addition to the following options: The ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8v2hvtm9_c Audio book - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe_neaj- 6K0 Character and structure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cd2dspapi Characters (Candy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9jgakbsyci Characters (Lennie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynib3y5cg9o Characters (Curley s Wife): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saigggjzb5s Characters (George): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmhmfhsxnok A View from the Bridge - YouTube Why Miller made the play : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndh3_kuo88y Immigrants : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45bmf3rkah8 Eddie & history : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tah8lmyjdha Act 1-5 parts : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=345reme55uc Act 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2jdcaydqaq
To Kill a Mockingbird - YouTube Historical content : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgc09omiwlc Essay plans (it is 24 minutes but goes through various themes, structure and characters and what you need to write) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh- l72cpwzu Themes (summary of the key themes in the novel) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cffcfrvyuro Characters (summary of the characters- main) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78nsbeiiqbo Part 1- outlines main characters : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztxaa059ouq Part 2 (1-15 plot summary) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoszgvr5rc Part 3 (courtroom scenes- taken from the film- 15-24 summary) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjhlqrajtg8 Part 4 (finishes the plot summary- context of the novel- some of the characters) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oncjfw- F_NE Part 5 themes racism and context- courage, growing up : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plldqbaw8f8 Audio book- Part 1 & 2- then if finished click on top left and the next section will start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9vfrntedfm