1. Spotlight on: unseen poetry
E.Q: What does this part of paper 2 require me to do?
E.Q: Which strategies can I use?

2. The question.
In ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’, how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings about her daughter?
24 marks

3. Strategy
Paper 2: Section C ‘Unseen Poetry Analysis’ – spend 30 minutes on this question.
24 marks available.
Read the question before you read the poem that has been given to you.
Highlight the key words in the question.

4. Spend 10 minutes planning your answer Read the poem 3 times
Read the poem and identify ‘things’ that link to the focus of the question.
Read the poem again and identify methods that you are going to analyse in your answer.
Read the poem for a third time and annotate the structure of the poem and make a comment on the title.

5. After you have read the poem 3 times and planned your answer…
START WRITING!
1. Don’t write a long, introductory paragraph – just get on with it. You can split your answer into two if you like: Deal with what the poem is about, how the speaker feels about it, how it is shown. Deal with the effects and how they are shown.
2. Remember – exploring and analysing a few details is better than trying to write something about everything in the poem.
3. Finally, reflect on the whole poem and write a closing statement about the overall effect on the reader.

6. To a Daughter Leaving Home
When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,  
I kept waiting for the thud of your crash as I sprinted to catch up, while you grew smaller, more breakable with distance, pumping, pumping for your life, screaming with laughter, the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye.
…how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings about her daughter?

7. Spend 10 minutes planning your answer Read the poem 3 times
Read the poem and identify ‘things’ that link to the focus of the question.
Read the poem again and identify methods that you are going to analyse in your answer.
Read the poem for a third time and annotate the structure of the poem and make a comment on the title.

8. Unseen Comparison
Section C: Unseen Poem Comparison – spend 15 minutes on this question. 8 marks available.
1. Read the question first – not the second poem!
8 marks available, potentially 15 minutes left maximum. AO2 is the ONLY AO for this question.
Read the question carefully……we are comparing THE WAYS. (methods)
YOU WILL NOT GET ANY MARKS IF YOU JUST COMPARE THE FEELINGS OF THE POETS OR THE SPEAKERS. YOU MUST COMPARE THE WAYS. (methods)
2. Compare the methods used: aim for three in your answer. Compare the effects of the methods used.
START WRITING!

9. The Question
In both ‘Poem for My Sister’ and ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ the speakers describe feelings about watching someone they love grow up. What are the similarities and/or differences between the ways the poets present those feelings?

10. Poem For My Sister My little sister likes to try my shoes,
to strut in them,
admire her spindle-thin twelve-year-old legs
in this season's styles.
She says they fit her perfectly,
but wobbles
on their high heels, they're
hard to balance.
I like to watch my little sister
playing hopscotch,
admire the neat hops-and-skips of her,
their quick peck,
never-missing their mark, not
over-stepping the line.
She is competent at peever.
I try to warn my little sister about unsuitable shoes, point out my own distorted feet, the callouses, odd patches of hard skin. I should not like to see her in my shoes. I wish she could stay sure footed, sensibly shod.

11. Strategy feelings about watching someone they love grow up.
To a Daughter Leaving Home
Poem For My Sister
loping along beside you = supportive
to warn my little sister = supportive/concerned
mouth rounding in surprise = excited/hopeful
admire the neat hops-and-skips of her = praise/admiration
Waiting for the thud = cautious/concerned
I try to warn = cautious/concerned
feelings about watching someone they love grow up.