Well, another year has absolutely flown by and we're already only three days away from literature paper 1!
If you’re revising this weekend and feeling a bit overwhelmed, have a read through this guide and let’s break down the exam structure and look at some useful GCSE English literature revision tips together.
Timings:
You have 1 hour and 45 minutes for this exam. You should spend around 55 minutes on section A, and around 50 on section B. See below for more information on this.
Literature paper 1 is made up of section A, and section B.
Section A: The Shakespeare Play
This section is worth 34 marks (4 of these are for SPaG - spelling, punctuation and grammar).
You will be given an extract from the play which you must discuss in your answer. You also must discuss other points in the play that relate to the question - remember to choose relevant points!
You should spend around 55 minutes on this section, including 5/10 minutes for planning and 45/50 minutes for actually writing your essay.
Please do produce a plan! Examiners have found that those who planned their work tend to do better in their essay. Your plan doesn’t need to be really detailed, but you should definitely take the time to plan your 3(ish) key points and think about which quotes/moments in the play you will discuss.
Section B: The 19th Century Noble
Section B is worth 30 marks. AO4 (SPaG) is not assessed here, but you should still produce a well-constructed essay that is cohesive and sophisticated.
Again, you need to base your answer on the extract provided, as well as the novel as a whole. You should aim to write around 3 detailed paragraphs – remember, you need to analyse well, and to get high marks it’s always good to suggest alternative interpretations.
As above, please make sure you plan!
What do I mean by adding alternative interpretations?
In this exam, you need to show that you have a solid understanding of the text and are able to discuss it thoroughly.
Alternative interpretations shows that you’ve really thought about the text and the possible different purposes the writer had for including certain things.
To show you have considered multiple interpretations, you could include sentence starters such as the following:
Looking at the types of questions you will be asked:
Character questions: E.g. ‘Explore how Dickens presents Scrooge…”
Theme questions: E.g. ‘Explore how Shakespeare presents revenge…”
Context questions: E.g. ‘Explore Priestley’s attitude towards social status…"
Revising for character questions:
Revising for theme questions:
Revising for context questions:
Writing your essay
You don’t have to use a particular type of paragraph structure to do well, but you must construct a cohesive, in-depth essay.
One way of doing this is through PETAL paragraphs. See below for what to include!
As you prepare for AQA literature paper 1, remember the key strategies we’ve explored: from planning your essay to exploring alternative interpretations, it’s all about showing the examiner that you have a deep understanding of the play/novel/text.
Stay calm, stay focused, and show them all of the hard work you’ve done leading up to this exam.
Good luck!
Rosie x
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