English Literature

Date Duration What’s on the paper?

Paper 1: Shakespeare and 19th Century Prose (40% of GCSE)

15 May

1 hour 30 minutes

Response to an extract and a whole text question from both a Shakespeare text and a 19th century text.

Paper 2: Modern Drama or Prose and Poetry (60% of GCSE)

23 May 2 hours 15 minutes

Response to one essay question on ‘An Inspector Calls’. Comparative essay based on the AQA poetry cluster which has been studied. Response to 2 unseen poems.

What you will need to revise

• Plot and character – there is no substitute for a full re-read of the texts! • The key themes and ideas for each text • The authorial intention – what key messages are they trying to make the reader consider? • What is on each paper and how long you should spend on each section • The structures taught to you regarding how to approach each question • Key language techniques to look out for • Some of the key terminology associated with each text

Placemats:

You will be issued with a placemat by your class teacher Use these to revise the strategies for each question and to help guide you when doing practice papers

IMPORTANT!

YOU MUST LEARN YOUR LISTS OF KEY

QUOTES FOR EACH SET TEXT!

Useful websites:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702

https://mrbruff.com/

https://www.shmoop.com/

https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/examspecs/zxqncwx

York Notes are available on Amazon for all set texts

A Great Revision Activity

Try the same for these questions:

• How does Priestley present social responsibility in ‘An Inspector Calls’? • How does Shakespeare present ambition in ‘Macbeth’? • How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio in ‘The Merchant of Venice’? • How is the role of women presented through the character of Hero in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’? • How is Scrooge’s transformation presented in ‘A Christmas Carol’? • Compare the way nature is presented in ‘Storm on the Island’ and one other poem from Power and Conflict. • Compare the way family relationships are presented in ‘Before you were Mine’ and one other poem from Love and

Relationships.

Planning potential questions

Put your question in the middle of the page: this could be based on a character or theme.

In a different colour, write down 4 key points that link to the question.

For each point, write down 2 key quotes from the text.

Now annotate these quotes for techniques and ideas.

Add in any other key vocabulary or contextual ideas you want to mention.