Dealing with extract questions English Literature Dealing with extract questions http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-8702-INSIGHT- EXTRACT-WHOLE.PDF Examiner commentary on sample answer http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-8702-EX- COMMENTARY.PDF Specimen assessments http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature- 8702/assessment-resources

Example Literature Questions Paper 1: Instructions: Pick one question from the Romeo and Juliet slide and one question from the novel slide. Spend 1 hour 45 minutes completing the two questions. SPaG counts for the first question.

Example Questions Romeo and Juliet Extract from Act 4 scene 3 (Juliet talking to Friar after her father has told her to marry Paris) Starting with this conversation, explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Juliet as desperate and reckless. Write about: how Shakespeare presents Juliet in this extract how Shakespeare presents Juliet in the play as a whole. Extract from Act 2 scene 4 (Nurse talking to Romeo to find out his intentions) Starting with this conversation, examine how Shakespeare presents the Nurse as a being loyal to Juliet. Write about: how Shakespeare presents the Nurse in this extract how Shakespeare presents the Nurse in the play as a whole.

Example Questions Novel (Either Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or The Sign of the Four (Dr J and Mr H) Extract from start of ‘Incident of the Letter’ chapter to ‘he will never more be heard of.’ Starting with this extract, how does Stevenson create a sinister atmosphere in the novel? (TSOTF) Extract from chapter 1: “No, no: I never guess. It is a shocking habit’ to “those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.” Starting with this extract, how is Holmes presented as an extraordinary character?

Example Literature Questions Paper 2: Instructions: Pick one question from the ‘An Inspector Calls’ slide, one question from the poetry section B slide and the Unseen poetry slide. Spend 2 hours 15 minutes completing the paper. SPaG counts for the first question.

Example Questions An Inspector Calls How does Priestley explore different attitudes towards men and women in An Inspector Calls? How does Priestley explore the character of Eva in An Inspector Calls? How does the character of Eric mature as the play develops? How does Priestley make the ending of the play so significant? How is the arrival of the Inspector presented as significant?

Example Questions Poetry Section B Compare how poets explore longing in Sonnet 29 and one other poem. Compare how poets portray memories in ‘Follower’ and one other poem. Compare how poets explore unhealthy relationships in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and one other poem. Compare how poets explore bitterness in ‘When We Two Parted’ and one other poem. Compare how poets present love for a family member in ‘Before you were mine’ and in one other poem. (When completing, make sure you only have the named poem in front of you. You must compare it with a second poem that you do not have in front of you)

Example Question Poetry Section C How are the speaker’s feelings towards her child presented in the poem? Catrin A pregnant woman at a window Picture courtesy of Mahalie Pech I can remember you, child, As I stood in a hot, white Room at the window watching The people and cars taking Turn at the traffic lights. I can remember you, our first Fierce confrontation, the tight Red rope of love which we both Fought over. It was square Environmental blank, disinfected Of paintings or toys. I wrote All over the walls with my Words, coloured the clean squares With the wild, tender circles Of our struggle to become Separate. We want, we shouted, To be two, to be ourselves. Neither won nor lost the struggle In the glass tank clouded with feelings Which changed us both. Still I am fighting You off, as you stand there With your straight, strong, long Brown hair and your rosy Defiant glare, bringing up From the heart's pool that old rope, Tightening about my life, Trailing love and conflict, As you ask may you skate In the dark, for one more hour.

Students need to be reading a widely as possible Students need to be reading a widely as possible. Here are some suggestions: Nonfiction: Newspapers Articles Essays Travel writing 20th-century classics * A Room with a View by E M Forster (Penguin Classics) * Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Virago Modern Classics) * Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Pan Books) * 1984 by George Orwell (Penguin) * Animal Farm by George Orwell * Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger (Penguin) * Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Faber & Faber)   21st century texts Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon The Shadow of the Wind by  Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Time Traveller’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger