GCSE

ENGLISH LITERATURE

J360

The Assessment Objectives: what they are and where they go.

• AO1: Respond to Texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations.

• A664, A662, A664.

• AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of themes, ideas and settings.

• A662, A663, A664.

Assessment Objectives: continued…..• AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects.

• A661: ONLY!

Assessment Objectives finally….

• AO4:- Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times.

• A663 ONLY!

Preparing for the exam:

Know your text – you will not have time in the exam to keep referring to your clean copy of the play.

Revise pre-taught material but be prepared to adapt it to focus on the question set.

Remember that you are studying the original text, not a filmed or stage version of it. However, you should refer to the ‘audience’ not the reader in your responses.

Choice of questions In the exam you will have the choice between the

‘extract based’ question and a general question.

Choose your question carefully – do the one that you feel most confident about.

Only answer ONE question – remember the extract is only set for the first question.

Extract Based Questions• In an extract based question, you must stay focused

on the extract set - devote the majority of your answer to discussing, quoting from and commenting on the extract itself.

• References to the wider text should be firmly rooted in your comments on the extract.

• You must quote from the extract briefly and frequently to support your points.

• You must answer the question set – do not just write a general analysis of the passage.

Extract based Questions

• Do not spend much time putting the extract ‘in context’, but do so briefly in your opening paragraph.

• Devote at least two thirds of your answer to discussing, quoting from and commenting on the extract itself.

• Begin your essay by briefly locating the extract in the context of the whole play and establish the dramatic context for the characters and audience.

• Pay close attention to the build up of dramatic detail in the extract.

General/Discursive Questions• You must focus on the question set – make sure you

understand what it is asking.• You must select relevant sections of the play to look at –

how well you do this will have an impact on your mark.• You must use brief and frequent quotes to support your

points.• Show a sharp awareness of audience response at key

moments.• Conclude strongly but don’t repeat points in your

conclusion.

Don’t......• Produce generalised answers, failing to look at the extract,

or act as though you don’t know the rest of the play.• Fail to quote.• Ignore the question.• Only comment on one part of the play in a general

question.• Ignore one strand in a two-stranded question.• Completely lose focus on the question.• Include pre-taught material with no relevance to the

question set.

DO: structure your answer

TASK Understand, respond, evaluate, personalise

Analyse the detail Consider context and overviewLANGUAGE TEXT

A663 – Prose from Different Cultures There are TWO Assessment Objectives:

AO2 Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings.

You must incorporate comments on how the playwright uses language and structure to enhance/explore character, themes and ideas in the play.

A663 – Prose from Different Cultures

• AO4 Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical

contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times.

• You must explore the cultural setting of the text. How different readers may respond to the text over time, what the writer’s attitude is, and how the setting of the text influences the events and characters.

Weightings of AO3 & AO4 AO4 has a higher weighting in the mark scheme than AO3. This means that you must make sure that you include many references to the cultural context of the text in your exam response.

We are now going to consider how you can do this effectively.

What is AO4?AO4: relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and to other readers in different contexts and at different times

PRACTICALITIES• AO4 ‘quality’ is required, rather than just ‘coverage’ -

examiners don’t want ‘bolted on’ information.

• FOCUS and RELEVANCE are key – only include references to

cultural context in your comments on the question set, as

relevant to that question.

• AS APPROPRIATE TO TEXT AND TASK

• The key terms are ‘relate’ and ‘explain’ - not just ‘know about’.

SO WHAT IS ‘CONTEXT’? ‘Context’ = exploring the SETTING of a text

• How is the setting significant in the narrative of the text?

• How does the setting relate to the ‘real world’?• How do these things influence the way we respond to the text?

SETTING and THE NARRATIVEIn the text, to what extent:

• do things happen as they do• are characters like they

are

because of when/ where the story takes place?

Consider (eg):•Time / Period

•Place

•Culture / Community

In a ‘different cultures’ text, any or all of these may be unfamiliar to the reader

You couldn’t teach a Different Cultures text without addressing this unfamiliarity:the ‘context’.

SETTING AND THE ‘REAL WORLD’ Setting becomes ‘context’:

• when we link the setting in the text and a setting in the ‘real’ world

• when we start to explore the relationship between them.

To do this, we need some knowledge from outside the text:

the social . . . cultural . . . historical . . . CONTEXT of the text

EXPLORING SETTINGHow does exploring / understanding ‘context’:

help us to understand

make us think more carefully about

alter our view of

… etc

the characters

their relationships

what happens

…etc ?These are the areas A663 tasks will tackle.

THE CONTEXT OF THE READER. . . explain how texts have been influential and significant to self

and to other readers in different contexts and at different times

For example -• how/why a text may influence views/ attitudes/ circumstances• how/why responses to a text may change over time• how/why a text may provoke different reactions in different

readers

Any relevant response to these aspects WILL be credited If there is no reference to these aspects, the whole mark range will still

be accessible – for example, they may not have been relevant to the extract or question set

LINKING TEXT AND CONTEXTYou need to learn how to:• select from your contextual knowledge what is relevant • explain how the contextual material helps to shape the text itself• explore how the contextual material helps to shape the way we

respond to the text • integrate all this into a response to the task set ‘Bolt-on background’ is not what examiners are looking

for. Never begin with an introduction about the cultural context of the text – your understanding of this element must be fully integrated into your response.

THE TASK

AO4 in the questions

The Texts

The specification prescribes the TEXT to be studied:

• a prose text ‘from Different Cultures’• so, by definition, setting and ‘context’ will be significant• and any reading / teaching / study can’t help but address

these aspects

AO4 Preparation (ii) The Exam Board does NOT prescribe the ‘CONTEXT’ to be studied.

Your teacher will guide you to relevant ‘context’ as it arises in the novel. So, as events happen, you will learn about how the cultural context of the text has determined or influenced the events and characters.

AO4 Preparation (iii)So, for example in Of Mice and Men, the specification does not

prescribe:

• the Great Depression of the 1930s

• the ‘American Dream’

• the experience of black Americans

• …etc

BUT Any / all of these might be helpful – if used constructively.

Ask - at key points, what ‘context’ will help to ‘open up’ the text to the reader ?

. . . if it helps when reading, it should help when answering an exam question

Exam Questions – the P T R structure

A663 questions will:

• PROMPT an exploration P• of a specific TOPIC or issue in the text T• and of a way of RESPONDING to this R

So – generically -

PROMPT

What makes (F)

How does the writer make (H)

TOPIC RESPONSE

[something in the text] so [adjective]?

N.B. – there will also be:

• a reminder about AO2 – ‘LANGUAGE’ etc.

TASKS – an example of P T RThe task asks the candidate:

What makes the ENDING of the novel so POWERFUL and MOVING?

The candidate asks him/herself:

How does my KNOWLEDGE / UNDERSTANDING OF ‘CONTEXT’ help me to explain what makes the ENDING of this novel so POWERFUL and MOVING?

The task also reminds the candidate about ‘language’ - eg at F tier:

You should consider . . . • the words and phrases [the writer] uses

P T R PROMPTS

FOUNDATION TIER HIGHER TIER

What makes . . .What are your feelings about . . .What are your impressions of . . What do you think . . . What do you find . . .How does [ ] bring home to you

How does [writer] . . .How does X’s writing . . .Explore the ways [writer] . . . Explore the ways X’s writing . . .Explore how [writer] makes . . .In what ways does [writer] . . .

P T R TOPICS and RESPONSES

TOPICS RESPONSES

FOUNDATION / HIGHER FOUNDATION / HIGHERthe ending of the novelthe way [character] is treatedhow the relationship changeswhat to admire / pitythe harshness of everyday life

powerfulmovingtense and excitingentertaininghorrifying

• You couldn’t learn a Different Cultures text without addressing . . . the ‘context’

• What ‘context’ will help to ‘open up’ the text to the reader?

• AO4 performance will directly affect outcomes• Key terms are ‘relate’ and ‘explain’ - not just ‘know about’ • ‘Bolt-on background’ will not gain credit

A Summary of the Importance of AO4

• DON’T underestimate - AO4 has teeth

• DON’T overload - a little AO4 can go a long way

• DO ask - how does ‘context’ help understanding / affect response ?

• DO emphasise - keep it relevant to the task

Some Simple Examples from “Of Mice and Men”.

• pp6-8: Lennie and his pockets: what we learn about him and his relationship with George.

• pp23-25: the boss’s reaction to them.

• pp56-58: livin off the fatta the lan’.

• pp75-77: the truth about Crooks.

• Pp86-88: Curley’s wife and her dreams.

Over to you:-

Find some more examples which put a moment/ character/ conversation in the novel first and the context second.

Passage-based QuestionsThere are two common problems:1.Lack of focus on the passage2.Lack of focus on the questionAVOID:• An introduction about the author, historical or cultural

setting/background.• Excessive detail when putting the passage in the context of the

rest of the novel.• Detailed reference to the rest of novel outside the passage.

Passage-based questions continued....DO:• Read the question carefully and focus on the key words –

highlight them.• Quote briefly and frequently from the passage to support your

points.• Refer briefly to other points in the novel, tethering your

comments firmly to the passage.• Think carefully about your point – don’t just include pre-taught

points unless you have made them relevant to your response.

General/Discursive Essay• Make sure that you have understood the demands of the

title.• Choose the sections of the novel that you look at carefully,

ensuring that they are the most relevant moments.• Include brief, frequent quotations to keep your answer

firmly rooted in the text.• Make sure that references to cultural context are fully

integrated into your comments, not bolted on.

If you have time: or later, read the following scripts and commentaries• Scripts A & B Higher Tier• Scripts B & C Foundation Tier.

Questions?

Good Luck in A663