REVISED GCE AS LEVEL Exemplifying Examination Performance English Literature

REVISED GCE AS LEVEL Exemplifying Examination Performance English Literature For first teaching from September 2008 This is an exemplification of candidates performance in AS examinations (Summer Series 2009) to support the teaching and learning of the English Literature specification

Exemplification of Examination Technique GCE English Literature AS 2 Assessing The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 and the Study of Prose 1800-1945 1

Contents Poetry: A grade exam technique Script Title Question Page Script 1: Lochhead and Duffy Q.1 5 Script 2: Heaney and Montague Q.2 5 Script 3: Hopkins and Dickinson Q.3 5 Script 4: Frost and Thomas Q.4 6 Script 5: Yeats and Kavanagh Q.5 6 Prose: A grade exam technique Script 11: Austen: Mansfield Park Q.6(a) 7 Script 12: Bronte: Wuthering Heights Q.7(a) 7 Script 13: Bronte: Wuthering Heights Q.7(b) 7 Script 14: Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Q.8(a) 8 Script 15: Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Q.8(b) 8 Script 16: Forster: A Passage to India Q.9(a) 9 Script 17: Forster: A Passage to India Q.9(b) 9 Script 18: Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge Q.11(a) 10 3

A grade exam technique 1. Lochhead and Duffy Question 1: Duffy and Lochhead both write about personal relationships. Compare and contrast the methods which the two poets use to explore the theme of personal relationships in two poems you have studied. This script represents a good Grade A. The candidate has fore-grounded the key terms throughout has explored a good range of poetic methods has borne in mind continuously the requirement to compare and contrast has used literary terms confidently and accurately However, the candidate could have crystallised the argument more clearly in places employs phrasing which on occasion lacks precision 2. Heaney and Montague Question 2: Montague and Heaney have both written about their rural Irish childhoods. Compare and contrast the methods which the two poets use to present their rural Irish childhoods in two poems you have studied. This script represents a good Grade A. The candidate maintains concentration on the key terms of the question pays consistent attention to the question of poetic methods and explores their function deals adequately with the requirement to compare and contrast makes adequate use of literary terminology However, the candidate uses casual and informal language at times does not make all points clearly and fully 3. Hopkins and Dickinson Question 3: Hopkins and Dickinson both write about nature in their poetry. Compare and contrast the methods which the two poets use to explore the theme of nature in two poems you have studied. This script represents a good Grade A. The candidate has dealt confidently with the question s focus 5

has dealt enthusiastically and ably with poetic methods has produced some well-pointed comparative work uses literary terminology extensively However, the candidate omits a conclusion might have developed one or two points a little further 4. Frost and Thomas Question 4: Thomas and Frost both write about old age in their poetry. Compare and contrast the methods which the two poets use to explore the theme of old age in two poems you have studied. This represents an extremely good grade A an excellently written answer addressing all the requirements of this unit (AO1) writes with eloquence and vividness (AO1) offers a very insightful and sensitive exploration of both poems in relation to the key terms of the question(ao1) offers an extremely perceptive analysis of a wide range of methods (AO2) keeps the key terms of the question in view throughout (AO1) offers highly perceptive and interesting points of comparison/contrast (AO3) offers an extremely assured and confident answer, demonstrating real flair and imaginative engagement (AO1) There are no obvious flaws or shortcomings in this answer. 5. Yeats and Kavanagh Question 5: Yeats and Kavanagh both write about places in their poems. Compare and contrast the methods which the two poets use to explore the theme of place in two poems you have studied. This represents a very good grade A The candidate: offers a very well informed answer that is strongly methods driven (AO1, AO2) makes a very good selection of poems to answer the given question (AO1) offers relevant detailed comment on a range of poetic methods (AO2) keeps the idea in place throughout (AO1) compares and contrasts in an intelligent and perceptive manner (AO3) However, the candidate could have emphasised the idea of place more explicitly at times. 6

Prose A grade exam technique 11. Austen: Mansfield Park Question 6(a): As a hero, Edmund Bertram is not at all appealing to the twenty-first century reader. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a low Grade A. The candidate: displays competent textual knowledge offers a brief definition of the key term the hero and so has succeeded in identifying the question s literary contextual focus. constructs an argument directed towards the key terms of the question. progresses their argument partly by means of comparison and contrast addresses key term twenty-first-century reader by noting the changing perspectives on heroism. However there is some inconsistency in the argument. expression of ideas in places could be more precise. 12. Bronte: Wuthering Heights Question 7(a): Cathy is a typical nineteenth-century heroine. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a high Grade A textual knowledge is accurate and comprehensive key terms are understood and addressed with some skill argument is well-developed, qualified and supported by appropriate textual reference including quotation. literary terminology is used confidently throughout. refers to a wide range of relevant contextual material literary, autobiographical, social and historical 13. Bronte: Wuthering Heights Question 7(b): Wuthering Heights certainly cannot be termed a feminist novel as the female characters are all victims. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a middle Grade A 7

textual knowledge is assured and used appropriately a convincing argument directed towards the key term feminist is constructed there is competent reference to relevant autobiographical contextual information However the key term feminist novel in its entirety required more detailed consideration. understanding of the feminist issues could have been made more explicit. 14. Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Question 8(a): Jay Gatsby is too foolish and ridiculous a figure to be seen as a great hero. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a middle Grade A This script clearly shows sound knowledge of the text and a strong sense of personal engagement. clearly identifies and explores the question s literary contextual focus the hero the essay is effectively structured, so as to present the argument to advantage employs correct and precise expression. However there is a slight overemphasis on one particular type of hero the tragic hero. 15. Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Question 8(b): The failure of Gatsby s dream represents the failure of the American Dream. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a very good A grade. The candidate: deals with external context fully and expertly, weaving contextual and textual references together in an effective manner (AO4) demonstrates very good understanding of the novel, especially of how Gatsby s dream represents a degeneration of the original ideals associated with the American Dream (AO1) presents a vigorous argument which is well supported by both textual and contextual reference (AO3) presents a well organised and accurately written response which keeps the key terms in view (AO1) There are no obvious flaws in this answer: all the AOs have been addressed in an effective manner 8

16. Forster: A Passage to India Question 9(a): A Passage to India is a reflection of what India was really like at the time the novel was written. (The novel was written in the early 1920s). With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a very good grade A. The candidate: handles context very well, with effective references to Amritsar, Brigadier Gen. Reginald Dyer, Forster s own life in order to provide relevant information on the social and historical background to the novel (AO4) shows very good knowledge of the text, which is used to support the argument very effectively (AO1) presents a very well focused and well supported argument, interweaving textual and contextual material very effectively (AO3) writes very fluently, organises ideas carefully and argues logically (AO1) articulates a clearly worked point of view (AO1) and (AO3) There are no obvious flaws in this answer 17. Forster: A Passage to India Question 9(b): As a novel about the relationship among different cultures, A Passage to India is even more relevant to today s modern world than it was to Forster s original readers. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a lowish grade A The candidate: handles context competently, drawing a number of parallels between India in the 1920s and Northern Ireland today, and between social differences in India and various kinds of social difference in the world today, for example, within Christianity, or tribal Africa, or modern multicultural societies (AO4) good knowledge of the text used to support the argument (AO1) and (AO3) resents a coherent and reasonably convincing argument (AO3) writes fluently but with occasional grammatical lapses, e.g. They seen Britain, There is even conflicts (AO1) However, the candidate: overstates the didactic element in the novel (AO1) could have include fuller and more detailed textual evidence(ao4) 9

18. Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge Question 11(a): The novel offers a fair reflection of women s position in society in nineteenth-century England. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant contextual information, give your response to the above view. This script represents a low A context is handled largely by simple assertion: contextual information needs to be further developed (AO4) shows good understanding of the novel and selects material relevantly to support points of argument (AO1) and (AO3) structures the answer in a clear and logical manner, moving through a series of clearly identified points about the position of woman in society (AO3) writes in a clear and fluent manner (AO1) However, the candidate: overlooks key episodes, for example, wife selling and Skimmington ride (AO1) needs to develop external contextual specification more fully (AO4) 10

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