Year 11 Evening Revision Information
Session
What does the paper look like?
Section A
Analyse and write about an unseen
poem from the 20th or 21st century,
normally from the Literary Canon, e.g.
Plath, Duffy, Lawrence and so on.
Section B
Choose ONE essay question from a
choice of two on your exam text.
Total exam time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Exam Texts
1. Romeo and Juliet
2. Journey’s End
3. A View from the Bridge
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-time
Unseen poetry
What is the ‘UNSEEN’ section of the
exam?
1. It forms Section A of your Literature exam
(Section B is the essay question on the set exam
text you have studied in class)
2. You have 45 minutes for the task
3. The task is to look at a poem you haven’t seen
before, annotate it and write up your answer
using PEE/PQA/PQE
4. In A-level, it is called ‘practical criticism’.
Top Tips
1. Read the question FIRST as it will tell you the
topic of the poem
2. The wording of the question is always the
same: WHAT are the key points and HOW is
this achieved?
3. It will always be a MODERN poem
Key Poetic Terms
POETIC DEVICE
DEFINITION
Writing using ‘I’, ‘you’ or ‘he/she/it/they’
1ST/2ND/3RD PERSON
ALLITERATION
Use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse.
ALLUSION
Hinting or referring to (normally) another piece of literature or an historical event.
ASSONANCE
The repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds in words which follow one another
FREE VERSE
IAMBIC PENTAMETER
A poem with no rhyme scheme or metre.
A line made up of five pairs of short/long, or unstressed/stressed, syllables
IMAGERY
Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses
JUXTAPOSITION
A technique where different and opposing ideas are within the same stanza or poem.
METAPHOR
Two different things or ideas fused together: one thing is described as the other. E.g. The car
park IS an ice rink.
The basic rhythmic structure of a verse
The use of words which imitate sound. E.g. Crash, pop, crack.
A technique where two opposing ideas are written right next to each other, e.g. ‘loving hate’.
METRE
ONOMATOPOEIA
OXYMORON
PETRARCHAN SONNET
A figure of speech which endows animals, ideas, or inanimate objects with human traits or
abilities.
A lyric poem of fixed form: fourteen lines but with a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA (octet) then
CDCDCD (sestet). There is normally a change in perspective, tone or theme after the octet,
this is called a volta.
RHYME SCHEME
The sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is represented as the letter “a”,
the second is “b”, etc. Examples include: rhyming couplets and alternate line rhyme.
SEMANTIC FIELDS
A group of words or phrases that can be linked under a common theme, e.g. a semantic field
of love.
A lyric poem of fixed form: fourteen lines of iambic pentameter rhymed. Rhyme scheme:
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
‘S’ ‘Z’ ‘SH’ sounds repeated. A type of Alliteration.
When one thing is compared to another using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
PERSONIFICATION
SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET
SIBILANCE
SIMILE
EAT LOIS!
• An acronym (a word that stands for another
word) will help you achieve success in your
unseen poetry question
Emotions + Feelings =
MOOD/ATMOSPHERE
• How can we tell the mood or
emotions within a poem?
• Let’s look at the lyrics to this song
Four letter word just to get me along
It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue and I
I keep stalling, keeping me together
People around gotta find something to say now
• What emotion would you use to
describe HOW the person in this
song is feeling?
Holding back, everyday the same
Don't wanna be a loner
Listen to me, oh no
I never say anything at all
But with nothing to consider they forget my name
(ame,ame,ame)
• How do you know? What
language techniques are being
used?
They call me 'Hell'
They call me 'Stacey'
They call me 'her'
They call me 'Jane'
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
ABOUT
•
How do we know what a poem is about?
Link to song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_0Pky8vVg
Some top tips for discovering the enigma of a
poem:
1.
2.
3.
Work your way through all the other
letters (except for ‘O’) FIRST
Look at the first lines and the last line as
they OFTEN but NOT ALWAYS contain the
key idea of the poem
DO NOT stress if you cannot ‘work it out’.
Remember, you are told the topic or idea
of the poem in the question – all you need
to do after that is work out what the poet
is trying to say about the topic/idea.
Scaramouche, is a roguish clown character of the
Italian commedia dell'arte who wears a black mask
and black trousers, shirt and hat. He is usually
portrayed as a buffoon or boastful clown.
Fandango is a lively couple's dance, usually in triple
metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and
castanets or hand-clapping.
Galileo, was an Italian physicist, mathematician,
astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role
in the Scientific Revolution. According to Stephen
Hawking, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other
single person, was responsible for the birth of
modern science".
Figaro – central character in Italian comedies who
conspires to embarrass the Count and expose his
scheming, thus undermining the aristocracy. The play
was banned when it was first made.
Bismillah - is the opening word in the Qu'ran (Koran)
and literally means "In the name of Allah."
Bohemian Rhapsody
How is the narrator
feeling in the 3rd line?
What about the 4th line?
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
What do the first two
rhetorical questions
suggest? What tone or
atmosphere does it
create?
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.
What does this final line suggest?
Why is the narrator talking about the ‘way the wind blows’?
THEMES
• What words might you
group together?
• When you group words
together like this, it’s called
a SEMANTIC FIELD!
• What impact does this
group of words have on the
theme of love?
• What’s the message Gaga is
trying to get across?
I wanna hold em' like they do in Texas please
Fold em' let em' hit me raise it baby stay
with me (I love it)
LoveGame intuition play the cards with
Spades to start
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one
that's on his heart
I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be
A little gambling is fun when you're with me
(I love it)
Russian Roulette is not the same without a
gun
And baby when it's love if it’s not rough it
isn't fun, fun
LANGUAGE
• What language
devices are being
used in this song?
• Aim to find AT LEAST
3
• What is the effect of
each language
technique on the
reader?
Oh, how about a round of applause?
Yeah, standing ovation? Ooh, oh yeah
Yeah y-yeah yeah
You look so dumb right now
Standing outside my house
Trying to apologize
You’re so ugly when you cry
Please, just cut it out
Don’t tell me you’re sorry 'cause you’re not
And baby when I know you’re only sorry you got
caught
But you put on quite a show, really had me going
But now it’s time to go, curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show, very entertaining
But it’s over now
(But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
Grab your clothes and get gone
You better hurry up before the sprinklers come on
Talking? 'bout, ? Girl, I love you," "You’re the one"
This just looks like a rerun
Please, what else is on?
Key Language Devices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exaggeration/hyperbole
1st (I) or 3rd (he/she/it) person
Rhetorical questions
Triples/rule of three
Repetition
Oxymoron
Juxtaposition
Emotive Language
Listing
Verbs
Adjectives
Nouns
Lexis
You may wish to colour code your
terminology sheet into: LANGUAGE
techniques, IMAGERY techniques
and STRUCTURAL techniques.
OPINION
• What is your
opinion of the
song?
• Do you agree?
• Do you disagree?
• The best answers
will incorporate a
bit of both!
If I were a boy even just for a day
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted
And go drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they stick up for me
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man
IMAGERY
• What figurative language is
being used in the
song/poem?
• What is the effect on the
reader?
She's like the wind through my tree
She rides the night next to me
She leads me through moonlight
Only to burn me with the sun
She's taken my heart
But she doesn't know what she's done
I feel her breath on my face
Her body close to me
Can't look in her eyes
She's out of my league
Just a fool to believe
I have anything she needs
She's like the wind
I look in the mirror and all I see
Is a young old man with only a dream
Am I just fooling myself
That she'll stop the pain
Living without her
I'd go insane
I feel her breath on my face
Her body close to me
Can't look in her eyes
She's out of my league
Just a fool to believe
I have anything she needs
She's like the wind
Imagery Techniques
•
•
•
•
•
•
Similes
Metaphors
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Assonance
Quickdraw
STRUCTURE
• Is concerned with rhyme,
rhythm, stanzas,
enjambment, end stopped
lines and sentencing.
• It can also include: caesura,
ellipsis and parenthesis.
• You are not expected to
know certain metre
patterns, however you can
count the syllables per line
and see if there is a
REGULAR pattern or an
IRREGULAR pattern
I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones,
like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all
alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet
in my ear, and hear me groan.
You’ve wounded me.
Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone,
then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark.
You choose your spot, then blast me
through the heart.
And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquor in
the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobile
to the Sheriff; in my boot, another one’s
concealed. You text them both at once. I reel.
Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone,
read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this …
and this … and this … and this … and this …
What if I’m REALLY struggling with EAT
LOIS?
Aim to identify and write about 4-5 key language
techniques and write these up as paragraphs.
The reason that there are 7 letters is because
they each relate to a strand of the mark scheme.
If you decide not to use EAT LOIS, please ensure
that you still refer to all the elements of this
acronym in your answer!
Example Poem
• Look at this poem and see if you can identify
the key elements of this poem using EAT LOIS
What does the narrator of
the poem feel about the
birth of her child and how
does the poet present
these feelings?
(35 marks)
Is the FOUNDATION tier any different?
• Not really!
• The question is broken into TWO parts
• In addition to this, the poem is normally a
little bit easier.
How do I write my answer?
• You DO NOT need to include an introduction or
conclusion
• You can write a PEE/PQA paragraph per EAT LOIS
letter or combine 2 letters if you wish
• Use PEE/PQA
POINT: Answer the question using a FULL sentence
QUOTE: Support your point with a quote
ANALYSIS/EXPLANATION: Explain the effect on the
reader
Example
POINT:
Firstly, the narrator of the poem feels as though
the baby is a separate person and as though she
is distanced from the baby or that the idea of
motherhood overwhelms her.
Try to answer the question in a full sentence.
Example
QUOTE
• The quote that shows this is “I’m no more your
mother /Than a cloud that distils a mirror to
reflect its own slow/Effacement at the wind’s
hand”
• EMBEDDED QUOTE (POINT AND QUOTE
TOGETHER)
The narrator feels as though the baby is a separate
entity and that she is ‘no more your mother/Than a
cloud…hand”.
Example
• ANALYSIS/EXPLANATION
This quote suggests that the narrator feels as though
motherhood is beyond her grasp and that it is not tangible. In
addition to this, the imagery suggests that such an idea is
futile, ‘than a cloud that distils a mirror to reflect its own
slow/Effacement at the wind’s hand’. The words ‘effacement’
and ‘distils’ are almost set up in juxtaposition to each other to
connote how out of control and unfamiliar the narrator feels
about motherhood. The use of enjambment further
emphasises this point, perhaps imitating this fragmented state
of mind. Finally, the use of natural imagery not only acts as a
cohesive device within the poem but also underpins the idea
of a new life both literally and metaphorically.
SENTENCE STARTERS
Top Tips for Writing using PQA
Point: answer the question in a full sentence and add your point
THINK: “What is my point in relation to the question?”
Quote

Add in a quote from the book that shows and supports this point

Use quotation marks “…”

DO NOT just write the quote, instead use this sentence starter (or one of your own): The quote that shows this is…

If you are looking to get the top bands, try EMBEDDING the quote
THINK: “Where is the evidence?”
Analysis

This is where you explain how your quote and point answer the question
Top Tips and Sentence Starters:








This quote suggests/shows/implies/proposes/advocates…
The words “…” suggest…
The use of a (insert language technique such as simile) here suggests…
This quote could also show…
This links to the structure of the text because…
This links to the genre or form of the text because…
The writer’s intentions in creating this character/relationship/setting/atmosphere are…
This idea is still relevant today because…
THINK:
How does my point and quote answer the question?
How does the writer use language, form and structure to create characters, relationships, atmosphere, settings
and themes/ideas?
Unseen Question Mark Scheme
Have I…?
 Written an insightful and exploratory response to
the poem?
 Closely analysed quotes to support my
interpretations using PQA/PEE?
 Evaluated/assessed the writer’s uses of language,
and structure and the effects on readers?
 Given convincing/imaginative interpretations of
the ideas and themes in the poem?
The Next Step?
1. Write it up as a practice question and hand it to your
class teacher for marking and feedback
2. Complete another practice question but time yourself
for 45 minutes
3. You could however build up to this by doing it in
stages: FIRST try to analyse/label/read the poem in
10-15 minutes THEN aim to get your writing up time
down to 25-30 minutes.
Set Text
What is Section B of the exam?
A choice of TWO essay questions;
you choose ONE.
You need to answer the question
using an essay structure.
35
The format is a CHOICE between
TWO essay questions
(40 marks; 4 marks are for SPAG)
EITHER
How does Miller present ideas about justice and the law in A
View from the Bridge?
OR
What is the significance of Marco in A View from the Bridge
and how does Miller present him?
36
The format is a CHOICE between
TWO essay questions
(40 marks; 4 marks are for SPAG)
EITHER
Remind yourself of the end of Act 2 scene 1 (from ‘RALEIGH:
Right. [He crosses towards the door and turns.] Where do we put
the letters to be collected?’ to the end of the scene). Using this as
a starting point, explore the way Sherriff presents the relationship
between Stanhope and Raleigh in Journey’s End.
OR
How does Sherriff present ideas about courage in Journey’s End?
37
The format is a CHOICE between
TWO essay questions
(40 marks; 4 marks are for SPAG)
EITHER
What do you find interesting about the ways Shakespeare
presents female characters in Romeo and Juliet?
OR
In the prologue Shakespeare describes Romeo and Juliet as
“star-crossed lovers”. What is the role of fate in the play?
38
The format is a CHOICE between
TWO essay questions
(40 marks; 4 marks are for SPAG)
EITHER
Christopher says: ‘I find people confusing.’ How does Haddon
present this confusion?
OR
How does Haddon use features of murder mysteries in The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?
39
What do I do next?
1. Choose the question you feel most comfortable answering
2. Quickly plan 5 key points in response to the question –
with quotes if you can!
3. Write up your 5 points as 5 PEE/PQA paragraphs
4. You will need to include a brief introduction and a brief
conclusion as the examiner is looking for an essay answer
40
What does a PQA/PEE paragraph
look like?
Firstly, Marco is an important character in the play because he is the
only one who stands up to Eddie, despite their family connections and
ties. In the play, Marco lifts the chair ‘like a weapon’. This quote shows
very clearly that Marco is intimidating Eddie and that he does not
agree with the way that Eddie treats Rodolpho in particular. The use of
a simile in the stage direction, further implies that this is an act of
aggression and threat rather than a fight. It is the implied violence that
makes it all the more disturbing for the audience. In addition to this, it
also foreshadows the end of the tragedy where Marco kills Eddie for
being dishonourable. Although Marco says very little, his actions are
very clear.
41
Key Sentence Starters
Key Sentence Starters
Point
Answer the question in a FULL sentence, e.g.
Miller/Sherriff/Shakespeare/Haddon presents the idea of
justice and law/confusion/courage/fate in this play by/through
the use of…
Quote/Evidence
The quote that shows this is…
Romeo (or a different character) states…
REMEMBER TO USE QUOTATION MARKS
Analysis/Explanation This quote shows/implies/suggests/proposes…
The use of (insert writing technique here) emphasises…
The word ‘responsibility’ suggests…
This links to the genre…
This links to the context of the time…
This quote could also show…
42
Success Criteria
Analyse quotes rather than tell the story
Comment on STRUCTURE and FORM and how they shape the text
Discuss the setting and key themes/ideas
DO NOT describe characters – use quotes to support your points and
analyse the language they use. What is each character’s purpose?
Explore the writer’s intentions in creating this text and its characters
Use PQA/PEE/PQC
Use close word analysis, e.g. The word “…” suggests…
Use evaluative comments, e.g. This quote could also mean…
Include the context of the time, if relevant, e.g. This links to context
because…
Comment on the messages of the text
Your ability to write coherently does form part of the mark scheme
43
Introductions
 It is a good idea for each person to create a model
introduction to use in the exam.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the form and structure of the text?
2. What are the key points in answer to the question?
3. What are 2-3 key context issues you need to consider
when analysing the text?
44
Conclusions
 Start with In Conclusion…
 Sum up your answer to the essay
 Discuss the writer’s intentions in creating the play
45
Top tips!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Use the clock – timing is an issue for almost everyone
Revise thoroughly so you don’t waste time looking for
quotes
Use PQA throughout and ensure you complete AT LEAST
4 of these for each question
Comment on form and structure and why it’s used as well
as the effect on the reader
Use phrases such as: Haddon/Shakespeare/Sherriff/Miller
describes the protagonist as…
Link context into your answer
46
Revision Ideas
Take a single or double page in
your exercise book…
Firstly…
1.
2.
3.
At the top, write the title
of your text
Underneath the title, sum
up the text in no more
than 10 words
Then list the key events
and why they are
important
47
Secondly…
Space the following subheadings out
around your double page and add 5
key points to each (apart from
characters):
 Themes and quotes
 Characters – who are they and
what is their role? What do they
symbolise? The underdog?
Attitudes to racism?
 Form and structure
 Context
 Symbolism (and dramatic devices
for plays)
 Writer’s intentions
48
Continued…
Themes and Quotes
Form and Structure
Symbolism/Dramatic
Devices
Characters
Context
Writer’s intentions
49
Past Papers
 From the AQA website: www.aqa.org.uk
http://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/examsguidance/find-past-papers-and-mark-schemes
From the drop down box choose: ENGLISH – iGCSE (Paper 1)
 On the Central Resource Library or the 2015 Revision part of
the VLE