Top tips from the examiners

Aims:To understand what the examiners are looking for when writing a response

AOs in brief • A01: different types of response, quality of writing, terminology

– “poor quality of writing is self-penalising”, “a structured essay IS good A01”

• A02: analysis of form, structure and language – “structure of text is high feature of A02, not just feature spotting”

• A03: connections and comparisons between texts, informed by interpretations of other readers - “connections based on genre”

• A04: significance of contexts in which literary texts and written and received – other texts written in that period, features of its own context (eg Macbeth as tragedy) NOT bolt on facts about Gothic and Shakespeare, etc.

Answer the question!

Candidates need to unpick the question and answer it!• You will not be marked for anything that is irrelevant• You need to define the terms of the question –what

do you understand by it• Do not twist the question to how you want to answer

it

Rubric for Unit 3

“In your answer you must refer substantially to at least three gothic texts, making connections within the Gothic genre”

SUBSTANTIAL: You do not have to refer to all texts equally HOWEVER you do have to discuss them all substantially – you can’t just talk about WH in 3 lines!

Mark band descriptors

Band 6 Evaluation

Band 5 Analysis

Band 4 Explanation - clear

Band 3 Some understanding - generally clear

Band 2 Some awareness - simple

Band 1 Very little grasp