2. Objectives
• 1. Answer ANY of the questions that you
might have about this exam.
• 2. Teach you what the examiners have
said about achieving high marks in this
exam.
3. Technique
• Often, it is your exam technique that has
let some of you down in the past.
• I am going to run through a few simple
points which, if you abide by them, should
serve you well once you are in the hall.
4.
5. Which one is more important?
• Let me put it simply.
• It is not true that either is more important than
the other.
• You are the ELITE in this subject – the best in
the whole school.
• Take pride in this.
• However, with this sort of ability comes the
responsibility to produce A LOT of GOOD
QUALITY work
6. Quality/Quantity
• The QUALITY should show through your
construction of FANTASTIC PEE
paragraphs.
• Make EXCELLENT/ORIGINAL points.
• ALWAYS back these up with AT LEAST
one piece of evidence.
• ALWAYS fully explain what you mean.
7. However
• Even if you write the best paragraphs in
the world, you will still get very low marks
if you don’t write much.
• I would expect students of your ability to
write around 6-7 PARAGRAPHS for the
16 mark question, and around 9-10
PARAGRAPHS for the 24 mark question.
8. • And yes, I know it is a big ask – but you
are the people to do it!
• Yes your hand will hurt, and you will feel
tired after the exam.
• This is how you get A’s!
10. Timing
• Decide on your timings IN ADVANCE and
stick to them.
• This is a 1hr 45m exam
• Spend 1 hour on the reading section and
45 mins on the writing section.
• DO NOT STRAY FROM THIS!
11.
12. Highlighters
• It is CRIMINAL for anybody in your position not
to take a highlighter into the exam.
• Your brain will flag up many interesting points as
you read through the extract. A highlighter will
help you not to forget them.
• You could even colour code your evidence?
• Green for standard points/Pink for more
interesting or original points?
• Decide on that in advance and be ready to do it.
13. Plan
• There are many ways to plan this kind of
response.
• You could number your evidence?
• You could use a spider diagram.
• Whichever way you choose to do this, it is
always good for someone of your ability to
plan so you don’t lose your train of
thought. This can easily happen when
there is so much to think about!
14. The question!
• Section A of this exam is, as you know, a
READING section.
• Be happy! This is the sort of exercise that
you have been doing since primary
school, and you are some of the most
intelligent people in the school.
• Therefore, there should be plenty of marks
in this section for you.
15. • The 16 mark question asks you to answer
questions based on an extract. This is
DEAD EASY – for someone like you.
• This is because you do not have to have
even read the extract before!
• You are simply answering on WHAT YOU
LEARN IN THIS EXTRACT.
16. • The 24 mark question asks you to answer
questions based on an extract that you
have chosen. This is DEAD EASY – for
someone like you.
• This is because you are choosing your
own material to answer on!
• You are simply finding an extract which
you know well, and answering a question
on this!
17. It is DEAD SIMPLE
• Read this text.
• “As the sky blackened, John’s face began
to show his true feelings; a red glint began
to burn in his eyes.”
• How has the author used LANGUAGE
here to manipulate or change the way you
read the text.
18. Try another…
• “As Georgia made her way quickly home,
the wind seemed to whisper words of
warning in her ear.”
• What has the author done?
19.
20. Be Warned!
• Although these techniques form the basis
of what you need to do in this part of the
exam, these techniques alone will not get
you an A or A*
21. PERCEPTIVE and ORIGINAL
• To get the top marks in this exam, you
have to look beyond the obvious.
• That is not to say that you can’t comment
on the obvious points. It just means that,
where possible, you are going to write
something a bit more impressive than the
average student.
22. Being Perceptive and original
• There are many ways you can do this.
• Here are some of the main ways…
23. Make less obvious
judgements…
• Although many people might think that
Slim is a kind and trustworthy character, I
believe it could be argued that he has a
different side to him.
24. Offering multiple viewpoints…
• At this point in the novel, it is hard to make
a clear judgement about the character of
George. On one hand, it could be argued
that he is kind because he evidently cares
so much about Lennie. On the other hand,
however, we see a cruel side to George
which we have not been used to so far in
the novel which makes him far less
appealing as a character.
25. Finding multiple pieces of
evidence…
• The author uses metaphor concerning animals
to affect our view of Lennie. We see this when
Lennie drinks from the stream, and the author
describes his ‘big paws’ dipping into the water.
In the same way, the author describes the noise
Lennie makes as a ‘snort’. Both of these
metaphors show Lennie to possess animal-
like qualities which make us think of him as
huge and powerful, as well as taking away
some of the human side of his character.
26. Linking paragraphs together…
• In the same way that the author uses
metaphors to make us view Lennie as
being ‘less than human’, he also uses
adjectives for a similar effect.
27. Section B – Choosing your
extract
• Last year’s examiner report had a lot to
say about the extract that students had
chosen.
• The extract can be from ANYWHERE else
in the novel.
• “Shorter extracts often force more able
students into a closer analysis of the text.”
– That is you lot!
28. Choosing your extract
• Choose your extract carefully, ensuring
that it definitely answers the question
directly.
• Make sure you choose a part that has lots
to write about. Do not be afraid to change
your mind if you feel you have chosen a
bad extract.
29.
30.
31. Exam
• Prove you can do it!
• Look at the exam.
• Construct one paragraph that you believe
is ORIGINAL or PERCEPTIVE (something
that you don’t think everybody would have
spotted.)
32. Next…
• Construct a paragraph which uses multiple
pieces of evidence to support your point.
34. The tips
• Write lots of good quality paragraphs
• Try to link paragraphs
• Use multiple pieces of evidence where you can
• Offer different viewpoints on a point if relevant
• Stick to timings
• Be brave
• Show Off!
