1. Close reading coursework
Planning and writing your coursework

2. A reminder of the questions:
The questions are carefully worded to allow you to get as many marks as possible. You must:
Discuss the ways that Plath presents her subject. I.e her use of language, form and structure.
Write about how far the specified poem reflects the subject and style of the whole collection.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays a unity between man and nature in the title poem, ‘Ariel,’ saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays a synthesis between man and nature in ‘The Bee Meeting,’ saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays parenthood, in 'Morning Song' saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays parenthood, in 'Nick and the Candlestick' saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays a search for identity in 'Lady Lazarus,' saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.
Comment on the ways in which Plath portrays a search for identity in Daddy,' saying how far it reflects the style and content of the collection as a whole.

3. What are you assessed on?
Well-developed and consistently detailed discussion of ways in which language, form and structure in selected passage shape meanings.
Consistently focused and precise use of analytical methods.
Consistently effective use of quotations and references, critically addressed, blended into discussion.
A01 – 33%:
Excellent understanding of selected passage and its place in the wider text.
Consistently fluent and accurate writing in appropriate register.
Critical concepts and terminology used accurately and consistently.
Well-structured, coherent argument consistently developed.

4. AO1: Tips
You need to show that you understand the place of the poem in the wider text. After each point, try to make links back to a poem, several poems or the collection as a whole. For example, if you are referring to Plath’s use of the word ‘black,’ you can refer to her regular use of colour imagery and particularly the colour black.

5. AO1: Tips:
To get a mark in the top band your writing needs to be fluent and accurate throughout.
As with the comparative, don’t write in long, convoluted sentences. Keep it clear and simple.
Proof read. Proof read out loud. Proof read several times. Get someone else to proof read for you.

6. AO1: Tips: Make sure you are confident in using these.
You need to use terminology throughout. This means words like:
Symbolism
Colour imagery
Synecdoche
Alliteration
Enjambment
Allusion
Metaphor
Make sure you are confident in using these.
In in doubt, look up the meaning of a word.
There is a list of some of the terms you should know and use on the Learning Space.

7. AO1: Tips:
The mark scheme asks for a well-structured, coherent argument consistently developed.
As in the comparative coursework, you cannot make every point that you know/ think about the poem. You need a focused, convincing argument.
Decide on your interpretation/ your angle and choose about 6 quotations from the poem that you can use to argue this.
Your main focus should be on close analysis, not a range of different points and ideas.

8. AO2: Tips: The meanings that are created in the poem;
You need to discuss:
The meanings that are created in the poem;
How Plath’s choice of language (imagery, sound, word choice) creates this meaning;
How Plath’s use of form and structure (the lengths of stanzas and lines, use of punctuation, repetition, repeated ideas, developed ideas, beginnings and endings) emphasise or create meaning.
Try to write about language and form and structure in your essay.

9. A02: Tips
Don’t forget to use at least one quotation to support every point that you make (preferably, use 2-3), embed them and never leave them ‘hanging’ (disucss each quotation in some way).

10. Example paragraph:
This is 229 words – you will need about 4 of these, plus an introduction and conclusion!
In ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ Plath presents the protection that one feels as a parent as she writes ‘I have hung our cave with roses.’ The ‘cave’ to which she refers is Nick’s bedroom, which earlier she described as ‘cold’ and unfriendly – the juxtaposition between the loneliness of parenthood and the beauty being typical of her poems about her children. Furthermore, the ‘cave’ suggests something small and intimate – containing the speaker and her child only (an idea which is enhanced as she earlier compares it to an ‘earthen womb’) which is also typical of the collection as a whole, as Plath often writes about the intimate moments and spaces that are shared between mother and child. This is amplified by the possessive pronoun ‘our’ which implies that the cave unites mother and child. Additionally, the ‘roses’ in the quotation are a symbol of beauty, purity and nature – it can be inferred that the speaker sees her children as belonging to nature, not to the tainted society which she evidently abhors. Furthermore, in ‘Kindness’ she directly calls her children ‘two roses,’ implying that her children are like gifts. Therefore the ‘roses’ that she hangs in the cave may be symbolic of gifts that she has given to Nicholas in praise of him, or, alternatively, of Nicholas being a gift to her, making the ‘cold’ cave of her world more beautiful.
Go to the Learning Space for an example of a whole close reading essay, provided by OCR.

11. Not sure how to start?
When planning, decide on your central interpretation and try to write it in one sentence. You can use this when writing an introduction.
Then choose 5-8 quotations (preferably short, embeddable ones) that you can use to support your argument/ interpretation.
Annotate each quotation, using MISTS:
Meaning (closely related to your central argument;
Imagery and word choice;
Sound;
Tone
Structure and form.
It would be great if you could discuss at least three of these when writing about each quotation.