20 minutes; 1 question; 15 marks; 7.5% of GCSE
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About
- The first Component 1b question tests your ability to write about a single poem you have previously studied in class.
- The single poem is pre-selected and is printed in the exam paper. No choice will be offered.
- The single poem question is worth 15 marks and you have around 20 minutes to complete this section.
- The single poem question is worth 7.5% of your English Literature GCSE.
- You are expected to produce a sustained response that makes precise reference to details of the poem to explain its effect.
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Guidelines
- Read the question carefully. You will be given some guidance, in the form of bullet points, about what is expected.
- Explain, comment on and analyse how poets use language, form, and structure to achieve effects and influence readers.
- Ensure you make points about both language and form and structure.
- Signpost your adherence to the mark scheme by using the words “language”, "form", and “structure” in your answer.
- In terms of language, the poet deliberately employs jargon associated with…
- In terms of form, the poet's choice of an Italian sonnet suggests...
- In terms of structure, the poet opens the second stanza with a rhetorical question which…
- Ensure you also refer to context. You must make relevant and insightful comments about the poet, the poem, and its themes.
- Write in short paragraphs.
- Make multiple points and write at length — you should have several paragraphs in total.
- You may wish to write about:
- Title
- Look at the title in isolation and think about the deliberate use of language.
- What choices has the poet made in deciding upon a title?
- Think about the connotations of individual words.
- Themes and ideas
- What thoughts and ideas are being conveyed by the poem?
- How does the poet engage the reader or turn the personal into the universal?
- Form
- Does the poem adopt a specific form?
- Why might the poet have chosen this?
- How does the form of the poem link to its message or ideas?
- Structure
- How is the poem organised? Does the poet divide the poem into stanzas, use indentations, vary line length, etc?
- How does the poem look on the page? How might the way a poem appears on the page link to its meaning and effect?
- Does the poem have an identifiable rhyme scheme? Does the poem have a regular rhythm, or a regular number of syllables in each line?
- How does the poem start and end?
- How do particular parts of the poem start and end?
- Language
- What powerful, memorable or interesting words and phrases does the poet employ?
- Can you identify groups of related words? Why might the poet have chosen these?
- What imagery does the poet employ? How are words and phrases used to construct these images?
- Personal response
- How does this poem make me feel?
- Are there particular parts of the poem that stand out for me?
- What is the poet saying and how does this affect me?
- What is it about the poet's way of expressing themselves that speaks to me?
- Are there details in the poem that might cause someone else to interpret the poem in a different way?
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AO1
AO1 (i)
AO1 (ii)
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AO2
AO2
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AO3
AO3