AOS 2 – Creating & Presenting
Text Based
Unit 3 – Spies
Unit 4 – Streetcar Named Desire
Exam – can refer to one or both
texts.
The prompt
 The prompt is usually quite generic (broad/general) so
students can explore ideas from either text.
 You are required to deal with the CONCEPTS it raises.
Previous Exam Prompts
 2011 Exam - ‘Shared experience does not mean that
people see things the same way.’
 2010 Exam - ‘Sometimes people find themselves
living in a world created by other people.’
 2009 Exam - ‘We do not see things as they are. We
see them as we are.’
 2008 Exam - ‘We can evade “reality” but we cannot
avoid the consequences of doing so.’
The prompt
 Your piece should clearly address the prompt but does
not have to provide a definite ‘answer’ or stick rigidly
to the prompt.
 Shape your ideas around the prompt, using it as a
starting point for wider discussion on the context .
 DO NOT write a generic or pre-prepared piece that is
unrelated to the prompt.
Assessing key ideas in prompts
 Highlight/underline the key words
 Look up any words in the dictionary you’re uncertain
of
 Rephrase the prompt
 Consider the context ideas that are relevant to it
 How does this link to your chosen text?
 What’s your opinion on it?
 What texts, images, songs, quotes, theories spring to
mind?
Writing Requirements
Expository
Persuasive
Creative/imaginative
‘Hybrid’ or combined form
Texts
 Draw upon the ideas related to “A Streetcar Named
Desire” by Tennessee Williams or “Spies” by Michael
Frayne.
 You can draw on both if you want!
 DO NOT focus only on your selected text/s – these
pieces tend to resemble text response essays and can
only result in a mid-range mark of 4-7 out of a possible
10.
Written Explanation
 You will have an opportunity to write a written
explanation for your SACs
 This allows you to make the link between your piece
and the prompt concrete
 You can be creative whilst you have this, experimental
even
 You will NOT have an opportunity to write one in the
exam
Good writing?
 Dependent on the quality of your writing, the quality
of your ideas and your ability to deal with the prompt.
 ‘There can be no good writing without good ideas.’
Sophisticated understanding of the context;
sophisticated and clear expression.
 Be accurate and specific not general and vague.
Assessors have found that the weakest responses are
those that are too general and only ‘superficially’
explore key ideas.
Whose
Reality?
 Yours
 What is reality?
 Someone else’s
 Michael Frayne
 Multiple realities?
 Stephen Wheatley
 Emotional realities?
 Keith – mother, father
 Subjective reality?
 Tennessee Williams
 Objective reality?
 Blanche, Stella
 Real? Truth?
 Stanley, Mitch
 Unreal? Fake?
 Constructed realities
Context ideas & statements
 Reality is hard to define. Reality can be harsh.
 There can be multiple realities/versions – sometimes
these clash.
 We can consciously shape our reality – writing is
reflexive and involves revising reality
 There are universal truths
 We all perceive reality differently – why?
 Our past experiences impact on our perceptions
 Significant people/events compel change
Context ideas & statements
 We all (consciously/subconsciously) seek to avoid
reality at times.
 We can only imagine what it’s like to ‘walk in
someone else’s shoes’.
 The past affects the present.
 Our ability to perceive something clearly can be
limited by our current mental state.
 Who’s to say what is real and what is not?
 There’s a fine line between illusion, madness,
conception, deception, genius, madman.
Context ideas & statements
 William Wordsworth – ‘The child is father to the
man.’ The experiences we have as a child shape who
we are as adults.
 Plato’s ‘cave allegory’ – Only those who truly
question the world get to see it for what it is, not just
‘shadows on a wall’ (think ‘The Matrix’).
 We construct reality by reflecting on and editing
events from the past – this involves value judgments.
 The brain shelters us from the harshness of reality by
sustaining us with dreams and illusions – dangerous?
Sample prompts
 'The line between illusion and madness is a fine one.'
 'When we attempt to make order out of chaos then we
risk distorting reality.'
 'Believing is seeing. The reality that we perceive is the
reality that we want to perceive.'
 'An experience becomes real when others feel what it
felt like for you.'
 'People's memories shape their understanding of
themselves, their world and others.'
Sample prompts cont…
 'We can never attain a fully objective view of reality
because we remain trapped in the prison of our
subjectivity.'
 'When competing realities clash the result can be only
tragedy.'
 'Our sanity depends on a clear understanding of what
is and isn't real.'
 'A person's self-image can interfere with their ability to
perceive reality clearly.'
Sample prompts cont…
 ‘There are no facts, only interpretations.’
 ‘The truth means different things to different people.’
 ‘People re-create their memories to suit their current
reality.’