Version 1.0 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Teacher Support Meetings Spring 2011 A level English Literature B AS PREPARATION

Aims of the Day Give help and advice about course planning, delivery of Unit 1 and resources Look at strategies for helping your students reach their potential Explore literary texts and candidate responses Provide useful materials for you to take away to share with colleagues Give you opportunities to ask questions and share ideas Version 1.0 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Unit 1 LITB1 ASPECTS OF NARRATIVE

EXPECTATIONS Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. That students understand that the paper is about stories, how those stories are told and how readers might interpret them That students have a distinct understanding of how prose narrative works That students have a distinct understanding of how narrative works in poetry That students understand the different requirements of Section A and Section B That students write about how narrative works in 4 texts, 2 poetry texts and 2 prose texts including at least one post text That students know how to tackle an Open Book exam

THE SHAPE OF THE PAPER Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. The paper is divided into 2 sections and each section (A and B) is marked out of 42 Section A is sub-divided (a and b) with each part being marked out of 21 In Section A candidates write about the work of 1 author in both parts In Section B candidates write about the work of the other 3 authors

How the AOs are distributed The AOs in this unit are not evenly distributed: AO1 is tested in Section A part b and Section B AO2 is tested in Section A part a and Section B AO3 is tested in Section A part b and Section B AO4 is tested in Section A part b The AOs are set up clearly in the framing of each question So candidates have to focus specifically on the questions in all their detail and then they will hit the AOs Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

WHAT THIS SPEC MEANS BY THE AOS The whole specification has clear ideas about its interpretation of the Assessment Objectives If candidates are to do well then teachers need to understand what our philosophy is in terms of the AOs Our interpretation of the AOs is what makes this specification different from others. Choosing this spec means choosing its approach to studying Literature Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

AO1 This AO, which is tested in Ab and B, is about sustained focus on the tasks carefully shaped writing which is paragraphed clear structured arguments which have a direction and arrive at conclusions when arguments are required as in Ab and B appropriate use and understanding of critical vocabulary which is based on aspects of narrative accurate writing in terms of punctuation, grammar and spelling titles being properly demarked – the correct capitalisation, underlining for titles of prose texts, inverted commas for single poems etc Version 2. Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reser

AO2 This is essentially about writers’ methods, but it is not methods for their own sake, but methods in relation to the stories being told and in relation to meanings that emerge The terms form, structure and language are seen as fluid and interactive In a paper about narrative, it is far more important to write about the structures of stories and the voices that tell them than to write about single words, tropes, rhyme schemes and metrical patterns AO2 is not about feature spotting since this hardly shows how stories are told Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

More about AO2 This is tested in Aa and B In Aa it is the only AO and therefore if students struggle with this AO they do not do well. It is always set up clearly in the question with a reference to the writer’s name, for example: How does Hardy tell the story in ‘The Convergence of the Twain’? It is also tested in Section B and the particular focus of AO2 that is required is set up in the question, for example: Write about the significance of the ways that the three writers you have studied have structured their narratives It is not tested in Ab so there is little to be gained from writing about it here Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

AO3 Essentially this is about meanings and interpretation It is about students thinking how meanings arise from texts and how different readers might respond It is about students developing the confidence to express personal judgements that are grounded in the texts Version 2 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

More on AO3 AO3 is tested in Ab and B In Ab the question has a clear invitation to debate B focuses on an aspect of narrative that is set up in the question and therefore connects three texts It is also about meanings here and this is often signalled by the word ‘significance’ which is an invitation to write about what is signified and what meanings arise Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

AO4 The contexts we are interested in are those set up in the questions We are interested in cultural and literary contexts Candidates may use other contexts in relation to different interpretations but those contexts must be relevant to the questions We are not interested in bolted on biographical and historical contexts Historical contexts that are generalised rarely serve any purpose AO4 is only tested in Ab Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

THE CHOICES FOR TEACHERS Teachers have to choose 2 prose texts from a prescribed list of 11 texts (one of which must be post 1990) Teachers have to choose 2 poetry texts from a prescribed list of 7 poets They then have to choose how to teach the 4 texts, whether to teach them all the same way, whether to teach texts separately or whether to teach texts in a connected way in terms of narrative Teachers have to choose whether to recommend a strategy for Section A or whether to leave choice completely open to the students Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Implications of those choices for candidates Whatever choice is made by teachers there are implications If teachers advise candidates to write on a specified author in A, they will have to be sure that their candidates can think through the as yet unknown Ab question Candidates will write about the 4 texts in different ways depending on whether they use prose or poetry for Section A and then which specific text. Each text has its own distinct aspects of narrative Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

More implications The choices of the teachers will affect the choices the candidates have to make in the exam So, teachers need to prepare their candidates to think independently Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

USING A PROSE TEXT FOR Aa The questions are usually on a chapter, a short story (Dubliners) or a significant section of the text (in the case of Birdsong or The Road) Candidates need to get an overview of the prescribed section and say briefly what story or part of a story is being told in that section of the text They then need to select some key features of narrative method to write about and develop Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Section Aa Only AO2 is tested in this question It is signalled very clearly because the authors are named in each question It is signalled very clearly because in every question there is an instruction to write about the ways the writer tells the story or to write about the writer’s narrative methods Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

TASK Look at Section Aa on the Question Paper, choose a question to focus on, and think what might be written about Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

What might be written about? The key event and where it occurs The structure of the chapter or passage The chronology of the chapter The kind of text it is in the section given – the genre or form The voices that are used to tell the story – narrator, characters The place and time settings Some relevant uses of language which have a bearing on the story NB this is not a check list. Everything depends on what is actually happening in the chapter so students must not have a predetermined set of points they should include. But all points need supporting with brief quotation/ reference Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Using Prose for Aa TASK Read 2 of the extracts from the openings of the 7 post 1990 novels and suggest what you think your students might choose to write about Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

USING A POETRY TEXT FOR Aa Poetry works in a different way from prose yet candidates still need to write about it in terms of narrative and not in terms of interrogating a poem for its own sake – in the way that might have been done in practical criticism So the story needs to be established first The voice telling the story will also be important As will its form and structure As will its language and its significances Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

TASK Look at any one of the poems or poetry extracts and decide what your students might write about in Aa in 30 minutes Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

How to approach Ab Ab questions always set up debates Candidates who have been prepared for debate in Unit 2 coursework can transfer their skills to this section of the paper and the skills learned will help later in Unit 3 and in Unit 4 Candidates need to be encouraged to see that texts have no fixed meaning and that different readers might respond to texts in different ways Clearly class discussion is vital to the way that confidence can be built Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Task 1.Look at the questions in Ab. Choose one question and in pairs make notes on points candidates might make in structuring an argument 2. Look at the response to Question 30 on The Great Gatsby in Script 1 and say what you think the candidate has achieved Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Section B This section carries half the marks of the paper and needs to be carefully taught. Three authors need to be written about (but not the one written about in A) Candidates need to look very carefully at the 2 questions and make an informed choice about which one to do They need to have a clear sense of the stories of the three texts and they need to relate the AO2 aspect that is identified in the question to those stories In January the aspects of narrative were structure and places Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

TASK What might be written about in either of the two questions in relation to one of the poetry texts in your pack? This would form roughly one third of a full answer and take approx 20 minutes to write Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

AO3 in relation to Section B If candidates write about structure or places across the 3 texts they will be connecting them Candidates do not need to compare; comparison might well get in the way of the answer Candidates are required to write about interpretations They need to be taught what is meant by ‘significance’ The interpretations must be related to the aspect (places or structure); candidates cannot just write about any interpretations of the texts All points need to be supported by close reference to the texts Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

TASK 1. Look at Script 2 Section B and think about what the candidate has achieved 2. Look at Script 3 Section B and see what has been achieved there Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Reminders Narrative is what this unit is about Teachers and students need to understand that they are writing about literature in a very particular way here If students understand how to write about how writers construct their texts and how meanings arise then those skills will help in all other units Version 2.0 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Further Developments and Support e-AQA - Secure Key Materials, ERA Teacher Support and CPD Subject Department Ask AQA

e-AQA Provides teachers with information specific to their centre via a secure website Enables access to free services including Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA) and Secure Key Materials (SKM) Past question papers, mark schemes and Principal Examiners’ Reports can be downloaded at no cost Register for access to e-AQA via the AQA website Version 1.0 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA) ERA is a free online tool that provides an instant breakdown of exam results and can be accessed via e-AQA It provides information on how your school, subject, class and individual students performed Allows you to compare your results with other AQA centres ERA will help you to: - immediately analyse your candidates’ results on results day - highlight areas of content where improvement is needed - set targets and plan for next year Version 1.0 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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