Sample exam question
Whichever play you are studying for GCSE English Literature, you will be expected to show the examiner that you can:
- read and understand the play (AO1)
- respond to the play with imagination and analysis (AO1)
- select relevant examples and/or quotations from the play and evaluate them (AO1)
- use these details to illustrate your opinions and interpretations (AO1)
- explain and evaluate how the dramatist uses dramatic devices, language, structure and form to present ideas, themes, characters and settings (AO2)
This is an open book exam, you will have an unannotated copy of the play with you. This means examiners will have high expectations of the use of well-selected, relevant and succinct quotations to support whatever point you are putting forward about a theme or character.
You will get a choice of two questions on the play that you have studied. In both questions you will be given a statement about an aspect of the play and you will be asked to show ‘how far you agree with’ it.
One question will ask you to discuss a specific extract as part of your essay and then look at the wider play as your essay develops. The other question will ask for a discussion of the whole play.
Read both questions carefully, looking at the key terms used in the questions so that you know exactly what you are being asked.
Choose whichever question you feel most confident about and which will allow you to show off all your knowledge about the play and the playwright’s use of dramatic devices.
Always remember that your essay should present your opinion on the subject clearly and that you should develop your argument on why you think this throughout.
You must support your argument using quotations and examples from the play.
You should be using the literary terms you learnt in class to show that you are aware of the writer’s methods.
Look at examples of points in the sections on characters and themes to see how you should integrate all of these aspects into paragraphs.
