E. Barton 1

 There is no substitute for independent preparation. It is quite clear who is revising and who is not.  You need to revise all materials and then focus on the specific aspects of love, making sure you have enough wider reading to compare and contrast any aspect of love for poetry, prose and drama.  You cannot expect to achieve a decent grade without reading all the materials on our required reading list and those which I’ve given you. 2 E. Barton

 Make a list of all the aspects of love we have encountered: Young Unrequited Family parental Friendship Martial Positive Marital Negative Sibling Partings Loving to excess Etc… 3 E. Barton

 Go through all the highlighted sections of the texts we do and summarise how the extract or text portrays that aspect of love. Then connect this to the form and when it was written and how this influences how and what the writer is writing. Write a brief summary of a feminist or Marxist critical approach and how we view the nature of love in the extract today.  Make sure you have quotes from the three genres for each aspect of love – sub-divide your notes into Poetry, Prose and Drama. 4 E. Barton

 Make notes on all texts in terms of what we can say about: The context of the text and why the writer might have written in the chosen tone regarding love. How would it have been received at the time of writing? The Form of the text – why write in that genre and what is the significance and implications for a reader/audience? 5 E. Barton

 Put all your crib notes together and keep adding to them as you go.  Read through these repeatedly – it isn’t enough to simply revise these a few times. Eventually, you will be able to remember enough to reach your potential in the exam!  Any problems and you can see me during the following periods:  Monday: Period four or five.  Tuesday: Period two.  Wednesday: Period three.  Thursday period three.  Friday: Period one and two.  Alternatively, me at: 6 E. Barton

 The examination will last two hours and 30 minutes.  Firstly, write a brief summary of the assessment objectives on the exam paper – to remind you what you need to focus on in the exam. For example:  A01: technical terminology, coherent writing and relevant response.  A02: How form, structure and language has been used to show love and how they might affect the reader.  A03: Compare and contrast the extracts with each other and Wider Reading and alternative interpretations.  A04: Context – reception when written compared to today. 7 E. Barton

 You will be given two extracts on either poetry, prose or drama. You will be asked to write a comparison of the extracts. This means you should examine how they explore love in terms of the similarities and differences in what they are saying about love and how they say it – form, structure and language.  Read both extracts three times. Make notes on the similarities and differences in terms of content, language form, structure and context. 8 E. Barton

 Think of Wider Reading ONLY in the same genre as the question one extracts but make brief notes comparing and contrasting how they deal with the type of love in the extracts – you should compare and contrast. If you find it difficult to think of relevant Wider Reading Extracts then remember you can compare in terms of other texts of a similar style or movement or texts that contain devices similar to the extracts.  Successful candidates will spend thirty minutes reading, comparing and contrasting and planning. 9 E. Barton

 Don’t waste time by copying the question! Begin with a comparative statement about the aspects of love presented in both extracts. For example, you could say both extracts explore the loss of love but have different methods and conclusions as they were written at different times. Although they are of the same genre, the writers have had varying views of love and used different techniques because of when they were written, the writer and the intended audience. 10 E. Barton

 You must discuss the differences and similarities between the extracts – use comparative discourse markers constantly.  You can compare and contrast your Wider Reading as you work through the extracts or do it at the end. However, the most successful candidates spend 70% of the writing time comparing the extracts and only 30% on the Wider Reading.  What does this mean in terms of time? 11 E. Barton

 One hour and fifteen minutes.  Thirty minutes reading, annotating, COMPARING and planning including: reading about the extracts and making relevant notes about the summative information the examiner tells you about the context of each extract. Twenty-five minutes comparing and contrasting the extracts. Fifteen minutes connecting the Wider Reading to the extracts. Five minutes proof-reading. 12 E. Barton

 Do not simply feature, device or movement spot but explore how and why these affect the text – especially in terms of how they were and are received.  Compare and contrast Wider Reading in detail rather than merely have a superficial knowledge of it – make sure you tell the examiner the genre and writer of the Wider Reading. 13 E. Barton

 Firstly, read the question carefully and highlight key words in it. Write these key words at the top of the exam paper. In this question you will be given a named aspect of love – remember to keep referring to this throughout your response so you don’t wander off topic. Unlike AS, you must stick to the question and not let the Wider Reading dictate the area you write about. 14 E. Barton

 You will be given two unseen extracts from any period of English Literature – so you need to have revised all the major developments – I have given you notes on this. Thankfully, you will not be asked about anything from as far back as the Medieval period!  The unseen extracts will be different genres to that in the first question. So if the first question was Prose you will get the other two in the second question etc. Therefore, it is crucial you don’t repeat anything you have used, in the way you have used it, in your response to the second question. 15 E. Barton

 Read the extracts and make annotations in terms of form – what significance has the form? When was it written and what was going on at the time in terms of literature?  Note any language that is emotive or that has a specific effect on the reader – any rhetorical questions, imagery, literary devices – always in reference to the aspect of love in the question.  Note anything regarding structure that forwards the writers’ message. This can be as simple as sentence structure or punctuation.  You must make comparative notes on how both extracts are similar and different in how they deal with the named aspect of love.  Make notes on comparative links to Wider Reading and the extracts. 16 E. Barton

 Don’t waste time by copying the question! Begin with a comparative statement about the named aspect of love presented in both extracts. For example, you could say both extracts explore the loss of love but have different methods and conclusions as they were written at different times; the writers have had varying views of love and have used different techniques because of when they were written, the genre, the writer and the intended audience. 17 E. Barton

 Referring to the question, compare and contrast the extracts for at least 25 minutes – comment on key parts of the text that refer to the aspect of love in the question. You should always begin by discussing the contrasting contexts of the texts. Remember to examine form, structure and language – use these exact words. Keep repeating words from the question. 18 E. Barton

 You should compare and contrast your Wider Reading with the extracts and the named aspect of love.  You should use at least one Wider Reading text from each of the extract genres. 19 E. Barton

 One hour and fifteen minutes.  Thirty minutes reading, annotating, COMPARING and planning including: reading about the extracts and making relevant notes about the summative information the examiner tells you about the context of each extract. Twenty-five minutes comparing and contrasting the extracts. Fifteen minutes connecting the Wider Reading to the extracts. Five minutes proof-reading. 20 E. Barton

 The important thing to remember is that you need to say a lot about a little rather than a little about a lot. Please remember the examiner cannot possibly know who has written the text and the name of it – so tell them! 21 E. Barton

 A sophisticated candidate may choose to compare and contrast the aspect of love in both the extracts and their chosen Wider Reading in an integrated manner. They will do this by discussing the aspect of love in the question and comparing and contrasting: context, tone, language, author’s perspective, structure and form.  This method should only be for those who are confident enough to do it as there is a danger that form, context, structure or language could be forgotten! The solution to this is to MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE PLAN YOU DID EARLIER. 22 E. Barton

 You are all improving your ability to deconstruct texts and are beginning to be more technical in your use of literary terms. Please keep it up.  I absolutely know you can all do well with a dedication and hard work! 23 E. Barton