AS/A2

English Literature B

Student Guide

A-LEVEL STUDENT HANDBOOK

CONTENTS PAGE

| | |
|What we Expect of A-Level Students |3 |
|Overview of the AS and A2 Course |4 |
|Assessment Objectives |5 |
|AS Marking Criteria |6 |
|A2 Marking Criteria |7 |
|Selecting and Studying Texts |8 |
|Approaching Essays – coursework |9 |
|Punctuation Guide |11 |
|Glossary of Literary Terms |12 |
|Reading List |13 |
|Independent Learning Project (Year 11 into Year 12) |18 |

AQA English Literature B

Specification and other resources can be found at:

http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/english/eng_lit_b_materials.php?id=02&prev=02

AS LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSE

What We Expect of A-Level Students

← Be interested and show enthusiasm for the subject

← Be proactive: ← Read widely from booklists given to enrich and broaden knowledge and understanding ← Go to the theatre, listen to arts programs on TV/radio, read reviews ← Share independently gained knowledge/insights with the class ← Undertake independent wide reading and research (including internet and library resources). Always note down bibliographical details to acknowledge sources in essays/exams ← Ask for help whenever necessary; not the due date of an essay/the morning of an exam

← Put in at least SIX hours of private study per week on: ← Preparation for class ← Homework ← Essay research, planning, writing ← Exam practice questions ← Revision

← Be thoroughly prepared for all lessons and for assessments: ← Pre-read the next section of the text before the lesson ← Read commentaries and textual notes before the lesson ← Make notes on what you have read; jot down questions, ideas, queries ← Think about how the text relates to your assessment

← Take an active part in lessons, contributing to verbal and online discussion forums, questioning the text, and being prepared to lead group discussions. You may be asked to present a seminar.

← Prepare coursework thoroughly: ← Read class reading list ← Read focus text ← Research widely ← Be aware of critical commentary ← Create a detailed essay plan ← Draft thoroughly, playing attention to structure ← Edit meticulously, for content and language ← Be prepared to restructure and rewrite your work thoroughly
OVERVIEW OF THE AS AND A2 COURSE

Unit 1: Aspects of narrative Assessed by exam The aim of this unit is to introduce candidates to the central position of narrative in the ways in which literary texts work. The term narrative is taken in a broad sense here, involving many different aspects of literary representation, with particular focus on how narratives are constructed by authors, and the different ways in which they can be responded to by readers. Texts studied: The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (purchase this text) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon (purchase this text) Christina Rossetti, poems from the AQA anthology (provided) Alfred, Lord Tennyson, poems from the AQA anthology (provided)

Unit 2: Texts and genres: Tragedy Assessed by coursework The aim of this unit is to introduce candidates to aspects of genre. As used here, the term refers both to a type of text described by its form, in this case drama, and a further sub-categorisation by content and method. For the first three years of this specification the dramatic genre to be studied will be tragedy. This unit also addresses the compulsory requirement of the study of at least one Shakespeare play. Texts studied: William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ or ‘Othello’ (purchase this text) Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’ (purchase this text)

Unit 3: Texts and Genres Assessed by exam The aim of this unit is to develop ideas on the significance of genre which have been established during the AS course. Texts will be grouped within two broad categories: Elements of the Gothic and Elements of the Pastoral. Individual texts will be explored and evaluated against some of the commonly accepted principles of the chosen genre, and three texts (or more) will be compared as representatives of that genre. Texts studied: Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’ (purchase this text) Christopher Marlowe, ‘Doctor Faustus’ (A-text) (purchase this text) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (purchase this text)

Unit 4: Further and Independent Reading Assessed by coursework There are a number of aims to this unit. The first is to introduce candidates to the study of a wide range of texts, some of which may be of their own choosing. The second is to introduce candidates to different ways of reading texts for study, including independently. The third is to introduce candidates to some critical ideas, and for these ideas to be applied with discrimination to literary text. Texts studied: The AQA Critical Anthology (provided) Class choice of one from a selection of texts (purchase this text) Student’s choice of two from a selection of texts (purchase these texts)
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES

AO1:
Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression. Candidates: ➢ communicate wide knowledge and understanding of texts ➢ Present relevant responses using appropriate terminology to support informed interpretations ➢ Structure and organise writing well ➢ Communicate content and meaning through expressive and accurate writing

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AO2:
Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meaning in texts. Candidates: ➢ identify relevant aspects of structure form and language ➢ Explore through critical analysis how writers use specific aspects to shape meaning ➢ Generally use specific references to texts to support their responses

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AO3:
Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers. Candidates: ➢ Explore connections and points of comparison between literary texts ➢ Communicate clear understanding of the views expressed in different interpretations or readings

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AO4:
Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. Candidates: ➢ Communicate understanding of the relationships between literary texts and their contexts ➢ Comment appropriately on the influence of culture, text type, literary genre or historical period on the ways in which literary texts were written and were – and are – received

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AS MARKING CRITERIA

AO1 Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression AO2 Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts AO3 Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers AO4 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received

|MARKS |CRITERIA |
|Band 1 (0 – 5 |AO1 |quality of writing hinders meaning |
|marks) |AO1 |unclear line of argument/not always relevant |
| |AO2 |very limited discussion of how form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |very limited discussion of how aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |little sense of connections between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |little understanding of different interpretations of texts |
| |AO4 |very limited understanding of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ |
| |AO4 |very limited awareness of other contextual factors |
|Band 2 (6 – 10 |AO1 |some use of critical vocabulary despite technical weakness |
|marks) |AO1 |simple attempt at structuring argument/usually relevant with some focus on task |
| |AO2 |some awareness of how form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |some awareness of how aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |some connections made between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |some reference to different interpretations of texts/ some textual support |
| |AO4 |some consideration of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ |
| |AO4 |some consideration of other relevant contextual factors |
|Band 3 (11 – 15|AO1 |use of some critical vocabulary and generally clear expression |
|marks) |AO1 |some structured argument though not sustained/ relevant with focus on task |
| |AO2 |consideration of some features of form and structure and how these features shape meanings |
| |AO2 |consideration of some aspects of language and how these aspects shape meanings |
| |AO3 |consideration of connections between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |consideration of different interpretations of texts, with general textual support |
| |AO4 |consideration of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ as a dramatic genre |
| |AO4 |consideration of a range of other contextual factors with specific links between context/texts/tasks |
|Band 4 (16 – 20|AO1 |use of accurate critical vocabulary and clear argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with clear focus on task / informed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO2 |consideration of how specific features of form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |consideration of how specific aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |detailed consideration of connections between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with apt supportive references |
| |AO4 |examination of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ as a dramatic genre |
| |AO4 |examination of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/texts/task |
|Band 5 (21 – 25|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and well structured argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with sharp focus on task/ detailed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO2 |exploration of several features of form and structure with evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO2 |exploration of several aspects of language with evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO3 |detailed and evaluative discussion of connections between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with significant |
| | |supportive references |
| |AO4 |detailed exploration of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ as a dramatic genre |
| |AO4 |detailed exploration of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/ texts/task |
|Band 6 (26 – 30|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/ well structured and coherent argument |
|marks) | |always relevant with very sharp focus on task and confidently ranging around texts |
| |AO1 |exploration and analysis of key features of form and structure with perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO2 |exploration and analysis of key aspects of form and structure with perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| | |detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised in connecting texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO2 |perceptive consideration of different interpretations of texts with sharp evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with excellent|
| | |selection of supportive references |
| |AO3 |excellent understanding of ways of contextualising ‘tragedy’ as a dramatic genre |
| |AO3 |excellent understanding of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/texts/task |
| | | |
| |AO4 | |
| |AO4 | | A2 MARKING CRITERIA

AO1 Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression AO2 Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts AO3 Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers AO4 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received

|MARKS |CRITERIA |
|Band 1 (0 – 5 |AO1 |quality of writing hinders meaning |
|marks) |AO1 |unclear line of argument/not always relevant |
| |AO2 |very limited discussion of how form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |very limited discussion of how aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |little sense of connections between texts |
| |AO3 |little understanding of different interpretations of texts |
| |AO4 |very limited understanding of contexts of reception |
| |AO4 |very limited understanding of possible contexts of production |
|Band 2 (6 – 10 |AO1 |some use of critical vocabulary despite technical weakness |
|marks) |AO1 |simple attempt at structuring argument/ usually relevant with some focus on task |
| |AO2 |some awareness of how form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |some awareness of how aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |some connections made between texts |
| |AO3 |some reference to different interpretations of texts/ some textual support |
| |AO4 |some consideration of contexts of reception |
| |AO4 |some consideration of possible contexts of production |
|Band 3 (11 – 15|AO1 |use of some critical vocabulary and generally clear expression |
|marks) |AO1 |some structured argument though not sustained/ relevant with focus on task |
| |AO2 |consideration of some features of form and structure and how these features shape meanings |
| |AO2 |consideration of some aspects of language and how these aspects shape meanings |
| |AO3 |consideration of connections between texts |
| |AO3 |consideration of different interpretations of texts, with general textual support |
| |AO4 |consideration of contexts of reception |
| |AO4 |consideration of possible contexts of production |
|Band 4 (16 – 20|AO1 |use of accurate critical vocabulary and clear argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with clear focus on task/ informed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO2 |consideration of how specific features of form and structure shape meanings |
| |AO2 |consideration of how specific aspects of language shape meanings |
| |AO3 |detailed consideration of connections between texts |
| |AO3 |clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with apt supportive references |
| |AO4 |examination of contexts of reception |
| |AO4 |examination of possible contexts of production |
|Band 5 (21 – 25|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and well structured argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with sharp focus on task/ detailed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO2 |exploration of several features of form and structure with evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO2 |exploration of several aspects of language with evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO3 |detailed and evaluative discussion of connections between texts |
| |AO3 |clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with significant |
| | |supportive references |
| |AO4 |detailed exploration of contexts of reception |
| |AO4 |detailed exploration of possible contexts of production |
|Band 6 (26 – 30|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/ well structured and coherent argument |
|marks) | |always relevant with very sharp focus on task and confidently ranging around texts |
| |AO1 |exploration and analysis of key features of form and structure with perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| |AO2 |exploration and analysis of key aspects of form and structure with perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings |
| | |detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised in connecting texts |
| |AO2 |perceptive consideration of different interpretations of texts with sharp evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with excellent|
| | |selection of supportive references |
| |AO3 |excellent understanding of contexts of reception with detailed links between context/text/task |
| |AO3 |excellent understanding of possible contexts of production with detailed links between context/text/task |
| | | |
| |AO4 | |
| |AO4 | |
SELECTING AND STUDYING TEXTS

In AS, you will select texts to focus on in the exam;

In A2, you will select your own texts to study for coursework.

When selecting texts, you should look at:

➢ Enjoyment

➢ Technical interest of the text – structure, narrative voice, characterisation, presentation of events

➢ Depth, themes, issues and ideas presented or explored

➢ Questions given in the exam (in AS)

➢ Areas for comparison with other texts (at A2)

APPROACHING A TEXT

On the first reading:

1. It’s a good idea to approach the text without too much background information. This means that you can interpret the text in your own way, without being influenced by others’ opinions of it. Make note of what stands out to you, in terms of:

o Characterisation o Themes, issues and ideas o Structure o Language

2. Then consider the context of writing: where and when? By whom? Might the author’s biography be relevant/significant/useful? Do they have an agenda?

3. Then consider the critical reception and consider how different critical theorists might interpret the text and its possible meanings; ie how might different readers interpret the meaning of the text differently?

On the second reading:

This time, consider the areas in which you are most interested and read for information. You need to consider possible essay questions, either for exam or coursework. If you are doing the text for coursework, ideally by this point you will have chosen one already.

Gather evidence for AO2, 3 & 4.

APPROACHING ESSAYS

➢ Interpreting the question – some possible essay questions and a breakdown of their meaning

➢ Finding out what you need to know (marking criteria) – add marking criteria/link to AQA page; apply criteria to a piece of writing from last year’s students

➢ Collating evidence – there are two kinds of evidence – quotations from the text itself, which you can use to analyse for language and to support your interpretation; and quotations from critics who have interpreted the text, which you can use to support your own interpretation. You need to make sure that you don’t use a critic to make your point, but to support it once you have made it. (don’t forget to keep page numbers, in case you need to go back and find the context later); critical comments (ie either on the text itself, or explaining a critical position – don’t forget to note the publication details and page numbers); reviews; ways of using evidence (eg in a sentence)

➢ Organising ideas and designing the structure Once you have gathered your evidence, you need to spend some time considering how you can usefully organise your information to answer the question. The big mistake people make at the point is to start writing their essay – but you don’t really know what you want to say yet! The organisation of your information will make or break your essay. It may or may not be in chronological order as it appears in the text, but it’s vital to have a logical structure.

➢ Writing Break your plan of the development down. Leave your introduction and conclusion for the moment. You need to know what exactly you want to say about the text. Try – really hard – to sum up your entire thesis (argument) in no more than 2 sentences. This is called a thesis statement.

Now write your essay plan, using the thesis statement as your starting point. The idea is that the whole essay – every sentence and every paragraph – is working to justify your thesis.

[pic] Once your plan is in place, check that you have evidence to support each point. Ideally, every paragraph should address AO2 and AO3; AO4 should be included where possible Double-check that your plan is structured logically, building from more general points towards a deep conclusion. Now start writing. Open your introduction with your thesis statement.

➢ Acknowledging sources: You should provide reference information for all sources outside the text, including books, articles and online information. The easiest way to do this is as follows: o After using a quotation, put the author’s name and page number in brackets, eg:

Martel’s message can be summed up through Pi’s statement that ‘The spirit, above all else, counts’ (Martel, p.167).

o Then add the text that you have quoted from to your bibliography, giving the following details: Author’s surname, author’s first name, title, publisher, place of publication, date of publication, eg:

Martel, Yann, ‘Life of Pi’, Canongate Books Ltd, UK, 2002

Your bibliography should be in alphabetical order by author’s surname.

➢ Checking Use the marking criteria as a guide when checking your work; you are aiming for the highest band, so use that criteria as your benchmark. You need to double-check that you have addressed AO2, 3 & 4. AO1 is very important at this point; make sure that your language is not only grammatically correct, but is also very precise. You are aiming to make your meaning very clear and easy to understand – clarity is much more important than getting fancy words in.

➢ Re-drafting Go through and make the improvements you have marked when checking you essay; you might also consider moving points around if your structure isn’t quite working yet. This can make a huge difference, so don’t be afraid to take everything apart and put it back together again.

➢ Checking Double-check that your whole essay: o Addresses all the AOs; o Addresses the question; o Is structured in a sensible and logical way; o Is clear and easy to understand o Is within the word limit o Acknowledges all sources in your essay, both in text and in a bibliography o Meets the marking criteria

➢ Submitting Make sure that: o Your name is on your coursework o You have a bibliography o You have recorded your page number o If you have trouble meeting a deadline for any reason, you need to address this problem as early as possible. Extensions are given for valid reasons only; disorganisation is not one. If you get stuck, I’m more than happy to help, but you need to make sure that you come and ask. Do NOT leave it till the last minute to do so!
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Glossary:

Evidence (literary)

Feminism

Ideology

Imperial

Interpretation

Irony

Literary theory/critical theory

Marginalised

Marxism

Metaphor

The Other

Patriarchy

Paradigm

Postcolonialism

Subvert

Thesis

Thesis statement

A-LEVEL READING LIST PRE-TWENTIETH CENTURY NOVELS

Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility Emma Northanger Abbey Persuasion Mansfield Park

Anne Brontë The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre Villette Shirley

Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights

John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress

Wilkie Collins The Woman in White The Moonstone

Arthur Conan Doyle All the Sherlock Holmes stories: ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, ‘The Sign of Four’, ‘The Speckled Band’, ‘A Study in Scarlet’, ‘The Professor Challenger Stories’

Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe Journal of the Plague Year Moll Flanders

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Oliver Twist David Copperfield Little Dorrit Hard Times The Old Curiosity Shop Our Mutual Friend Nicholas Nickleby A Tale of Two Cities Dombey and Son Martin Chuzzlewit A Christmas Carol The Pickwick Papers

Foydor Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers The Man in the Iron Mask

George Eliot The Mill on the Floss Silas Marner Adam Bede Middlemarch Felix Holt Daniel Deronda

Gustave Flaubert Madam Bovary

EM Forster Howard’s End A Room with a View Passage to India Maurice

Elizabeth Gaskell Mary Barton North and South Cranford

Thomas Hardy Under the Greenwood Tree Far from the Madding Crowd Tess of the D’Urbervilles The Mayor of Casterbridge The Return of the Native Jude the Obscure The Trumpet Major

Henry James Portrait of a Lady The Bostonians The Golden Bowl

DH Lawrence Sons and Lovers Women in Love Lady Chatterley’s Lover The Rainbow Short stories

Herman Melville Moby Dick

Samuel Richardson Pamela

Walter Scott Ivanhoe Rob Roy

Mary Shelley Frankenstein

Antony Smollett Clarissa

Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island Kidnapped Catriona The Master of Balantrae

Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Tales A Tale of a Tub

William Thackeray Vanity Fair

Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina War and Peace

Anthony Trollope The Warden Barchester Towers Barchester Chronicles

EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY NOVELS

RD Blackmore Lorna Doone

Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffanys

Kate Chopin The Awakening

Daphne du Maurier Rebecca The Glass Blowers Jamaica Inn

Henry Fielding Tom Jones Joseph Andrews

F Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby Tender is the Night

Graham Greene Brighton Rock

Ernest Hemmingway For Whom the Bell Tolls The Old Man and the Sea

James Joyce Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Dubliners

Franz Kafka The Trial

Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird

George Orwell 1984 Animal Farm

JD Salinger The Catcher in the Rye

Evelyn Waugh Brideshead Revisited A Handful of Dust Decline and Fall Vile Bodies

HG Wells The War of the Worlds The Time Machine Kipps The History of Mr Polly The Shape of Things to Come The Invisible Man

Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse Mrs Dalloway Orlando The Waves

MODERN NOVELS

Martin Amis London Fields Money

Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Andrea Ashworth Once in a House on Fire

Kate Atkinson Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Margaret Atwood Cat’s Eye

Iain Banks The Wasp Factory

Pat Barker Regeneration

A S Byatt Possession

Jung Chan Wild Swans

Bruce Chatwin On the Black Hill

JM Coetzee Disgrace Waiting for Barbarians

Jim Crace Quarantine

Seamus Deane Reading in the Dark

Louis de Bernières Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Roddy Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

William Faulkner As I Lay Dying

Sebastian Faulks Birdsong

John Fowles The French Lieutenant’s Woman A Maggot The Collector

Romesh Gunesekera Reef

David Guterson Snow Falling on Cedars

Nick Hornby High Fidelity About a Boy Juliet, Naked

Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day

Arthur Koestler Darkness at Noon

Milan Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Ian McEwan Atonement

Toni Morrison Beloved

Michael Ondaattje In the Skin of a Lion The English Patient

Charles T Powers In the Memory of the Forest

Annie Proulx Shipping News

Arundhai Roy The God of Small Things

Salman Rushdie Midnight’s Children

Vikram Seth A Suitable Boy

Two Lives

Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres

Zadie Smith White Teeth

Dava Sobel Longitude

Graham Swift Waterland

Meera Syal Anita and Me

Alice Walker The Colour Purple

Jeanette Winterson Oranges are not the Only Fruit

Tom Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities

Independent Learning Project – Year 11 into Year 12

The very first text you will study for your Unit One exam on “Aspects of Narrative” is a novel called The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. In order to prepare to study this novel, please read Ernest Hemingway’s memoir of his life in the 1920’s which is entitled A Moveable Feast. Once you have read Hemingway’s account of his early life in Paris, you will need to answer the following question:

Essay Title: What does Ernest Hemingway’s memoir, A Moveable Feast reveal to the reader about the life and times of F.Scott Fitzgerald? (1000 words)

Success Criteria

|Band 1 (0 – 5 |AO1 |quality of writing hinders meaning |
|marks) |AO1 |unclear line of argument/not always relevant |
| |AO3 |little sense of connections between texts through concept of tragedy |
| |AO3 |little understanding of different interpretations of texts |
| |AO4 |very limited understanding of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |very limited awareness of other contextual factors |
|Band 2 (6 – 10 |AO1 |some use of critical vocabulary despite technical weakness |
|marks) |AO1 |simple attempt at structuring argument/usually relevant with some focus on task |
| |AO3 |some reference to different interpretations of texts/ some textual support |
| |AO4 |some consideration of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |some consideration of other relevant contextual factors |
|Band 3 (11 – 15|AO1 |use of some critical vocabulary and generally clear expression |
|marks) |AO1 |some structured argument though not sustained/ relevant with focus on task |
| |AO3 |consideration of different interpretations of texts, with general textual support |
| |AO3 |consideration of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |consideration of a range of other contextual factors with specific links between context/texts/tasks |
|Band 4 (16 – 20|AO1 |use of accurate critical vocabulary and clear argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with clear focus on task / informed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO3 |detailed consideration of connections between texts through concept of what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO3 |clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with apt supportive references |
| |AO4 |examination of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |examination of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/texts/task |
|Band 5 (21 – 25|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and well structured argument expressed accurately |
|marks) |AO1 |relevant with sharp focus on task/ detailed knowledge and understanding of texts |
| |AO3 |detailed and evaluative discussion of connections between texts through concept of the ‘roaring twenties’ clear consideration of |
| |AO3 |different interpretations of texts with evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with significant supportive references |
| | |detailed exploration of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |detailed exploration of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/ texts/task |
| |AO4 | |
|Band 6 (26 – 30|AO1 |use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/ well structured and coherent argument |
|marks) | |always relevant with very sharp focus on task and confidently ranging around texts |
| |AO1 |detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised in connecting texts through concept of “roaring twenties” perceptive consideration|
| |AO3 |of different interpretations of texts with sharp evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and with excellent selection of supportive |
| |AO3 |references |
| | |excellent understanding of ways of contextualising what life was like in the 1920s |
| |AO4 |excellent understanding of a range of other contextual factors with specific, detailed links between context/texts/task |
| |AO4 | |

----------------------- This means social, cultural and historical factors

❖ Social, cultural and historical context of writing ❖ Social, cultural and historical context of reading

This means how the reader infers meaning/interprets the text

❖ Literary theories and critical perspectives ❖ Reader response/personal perspective and the question of the writer’s authority ❖ Contexts of reading – historical perspectives/the reception of a text

(NB – much of AO3 may overlap with AO4)

This means writing a text: how the writer creates meaning

❖ Form – the type of text, the conventions available and how they are employed ❖ Structure – the organisation: organisation of events/information; divisions of the text at whole-text, section and sentence level ❖ Language – word choice and language techniques

This means how you write:

❖ Structuring your essays o Introduction o Development o Conclusion ❖ Structuring a paragraph and including AO2, 3 & 4 ❖ Sentence structures, punctuation, word choice ❖ Being specific