In the exam you will have to answer one question from a choice of two on the exam novel you have studied in class- either Lord of the flies, Of mice and men, Heroes, Catcher in the rye, Kestral for a knave, I’m the king of the castle, To kill a mockingbird or Green days by the river.
You will need to write an essay of around 6 paragraphs on either one of the characters, one of the themes in the novel or the language used by the author. You will need to finish the essay in 45 minutes.
In this part of your exam points are awarded (out of 27) by the examiners for the following:
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How well you structure your answer
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Your personal response to characters/ themes/ language
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Your selection of quotations to support your argument
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How the author intended for these quotations to be understood
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What the effect of the character/language/themes are on their readers
Another mark (out of 3) will be awarded for how well you write in terms of your spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Please click on the exam novel you are working on for a copy of the relevant workbook.
When it comes to revision the best thing you can do is to re-read your exam novel, making sure that you have all the notes that you should have made in class written in your copy of the text.
Once this is done it is worth completing some or all of these tasks.
Pick out one quotation that summarises each of the main characters. Write down why you chose that quotation and what it suggests to you about the character.
Write down the key events that happen in the novel and find a quotation that shows how the characters respond to the event. Then explain how this is supposed to make the readers feel towards the situation and the characters involved.
Time yourself planning, writing and checking past essay questions- you can collect these from your English teacher.
Please remember that you can have your English teacher look over your work and grade it using the exam mark scheme.
