One English exam down; three to go! A huge well done to those who sat literature on Monday; give yourselves a pat on the back.
So, if you’re revising this weekend (you should be!) and would like a recap of what’s coming on paper 2, along with some useful tips, keep reading.
Timings:
Literature paper 2 is made up of section A, section B, and section C.
Section A: The Modern Text
This section is 30 marks.
This week I’ve noticed quite a few students spelling ‘Priestley’ as ‘Priestly’ - be careful!
Unlike paper 1, there is no extract for this question. Instead, you will be given two questions to choose from, and you must pick one (only one!) to write about.
You should spend around 45 minutes on this section, with around 5-10 of those minutes being spent on planning.
Just to reiterate, we can tell when you’ve planned, and those with a good plan do tend to do better. I promise us English teachers don’t just get a kick out of forcing you to plan!
You can revise to this one in a very similar way to how you revised for paper 1.
You’re going to be asked a question about a character or a theme, but either way, you should always link to other themes and characters throughout!
Here are some mind map ideas:
Section B: Anthology Poetry Revision
This section is worth 30 marks. You are only assessed for AO1 and AO2 here, which means you’re not being assessed for SPaG or context.
Spend around 45 minutes on this question, with 5 to 10 minutes of that spent planning.
However, you are being assessed for responding to the question, including a relevant quote and analysing it. While you should analyse language, you also need to analyse poetic devices (of course, you’re analysing poems!). This includes discussing stanzas, rhyme schemes, enjambment, caesura and so on.
Make sure you link to themes consistently throughout your comparison. For example:
Tissue is written as a monologue to show us what the writer thinks.
Versus
Tissue is written as a monologue, which portrays the point of view of the writer looking at the modern world and considering how temporary everything is. This perspective suggests that we should be more willing to accept our humanity and let go of power and control.
Some tips to do well on this question:
This is the type of revision mind map you could do for each poem:
Section C: Unseen Poetry Revision
This section is worth a total of 32 marks, with question 1 being 24 marks, and question 2 being 8 marks.
Again, you will not be assessed AO3 (context) here. It’s unseen, so that would be cruel!
Question 1 is worth 24 marks and you should spend around 30 minutes on it. When you see it, I want you to SMILE (structure, meaning, imagery, language, emotion).
Question 2 is worth 8 marks and you only need to spend around 10 minutes on it. Here, you are only assessed on AO2! This means you only need to compare methods, so don’t complicate it.
You should answer this one by reading the new poem and looking for any methods. Consider whether these methods are similar to the first poem, then look for your deeper meaning.
Here’s an example of how you could set out your points:
In (poem A) the poet uses personification in the quote “____” to portray a sense of (then link to the theme) whereas/similarly in (poem B) the poet uses the metaphor “_____” to portray the same theme.
Do 3 or 4 of these and you’ll have smashed it!
Then that’s it!
It seems like a long, complicated exam, but it’s 4 questions. If you know exactly what’s coming, and you’ve revised, you will be very well-prepared to tackle it confidently.
Final tips:
1. Stay calm. Breathe.
2. Time management: Keep an eye on the clock.
3. Answer the question: Make sure they’re relevant and directly address the question.
4. Use quotes.
5. Proofread.
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