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Guide to Paper 1

The document outlines the structure and requirements of the English Literature GCSE exam, which consists of a written exam lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes and is worth 40% of the total grade. It highlights the assessment objectives and provides tips for achieving high marks, emphasizing the importance of alternative interpretations and engagement with the text. Additionally, it includes guidance on how to approach various types of questions, such as character, theme, relationship, and context questions.

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Guide to Paper 1

The document outlines the structure and requirements of the English Literature GCSE exam, which consists of a written exam lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes and is worth 40% of the total grade. It highlights the assessment objectives and provides tips for achieving high marks, emphasizing the importance of alternative interpretations and engagement with the text. Additionally, it includes guidance on how to approach various types of questions, such as character, theme, relationship, and context questions.

Uploaded by

sushrithat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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This work by PMT Education is licensed under https://bit.

ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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The written exam takes 1 hour 45 minutes in total and is worth 40% of your entire English
Literature GCSE. It is worth a total of 80 marks.

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Assessment objectives (AOs) are the same across all GCSE English Literature exam boards,
they are used by the examiner to mark and evaluate how well you have constructed your essay.

Paper 1 will measure how you have achieved the following AO’s in order to give you your final
mark:

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To reach the top marks for the most important AO’s here are a few tips that will come in handy for
Paper 1:

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The types of questions that you could get asked in the exam are:

Alternative Interpretations
For the top grades, examiners are looking for students to be able to write their responses
in a sophisticated manner, showing the examiner that they have understood the text
thoroughly and that they are able to write about multiple, alternative interpretations in regard to
expressing their thoughts about the writer’s craft.

Alternative interpretations show the examiner that you are a top student who has really engaged
with the text at hand as it shows that you have a sophisticated and broad understanding of the
writer’s purpose.

Some example sentence starters that you could use to show the examiner that you are engaging
with multiple interpretations are:

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What you should be thinking about when responding to a
character question:

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Example of a character question - Sheila Birling

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What you should be thinking about when responding to a theme question:

Example of a theme question - Responsibility

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What you should be thinking about when responding to a question on the
relationship between two characters.

Example of a relationship question - Mr Birling and The Inspector

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What you should be thinking about when responding to a question based
upon context.

Example of a context question - Priestley’s Attitudes Towards Class

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