Course Assessment
100% Written Examination
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the nineteenth century novel
Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry
All assessments are closed book: any stimulus materials required will be provided as part of the assessment.
What We Study
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the nineteenth century novel
- Section A – Shakespeare: students will answer one extended answer question on the play they have studied. They will be required to recall significant points of the plot, characters and quotes, as well as demonstrate a deeper understanding of the purpose of the play, the author’s intentions and the impact of the social and historical context. They must analyse the language and structural devices deployed by the author and make inferences based on these analyses.
- Section B – The 19th Century Novel: students will answer one question on the novel they have studied. They will be required to recall significant points of the plot, characters and quotes, as well as demonstrate a deeper understanding of the purpose of the novel, the author’s intentions and the impact of the social and historical context. They must analyse the language and structural devices deployed by the author and make inferences based on these analyses.
Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry
- Section A – Modern Texts: students will answer one essay question from a choice of two on their studied modern prose or drama text.
- Section B – Poetry: students will answer one comparative question on one named poem printed on the paper and one other poem from their taught anthology cluster. They will be required to recall quotes and important contextual facts about the poem they choose to compare to, and demonstrate a deeper understanding of both poems whilst comparing and analysing the techniques used by both poets.
- Section C – Unseen Poetry: students will answer one question on one unseen poem and one question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem. For this section, students are required to apply what they have learned about analysing and comparing poetry to poems they will not have seen before.
Our GCSE curriculum is structured to give plenty of time reading and learning about the set texts and their authors. Students are encouraged to contribute their own ideas as well as given the information and alternate interpretations they will need in order to develop a deeper understanding of the texts.
Course Leader: Ms M Amin – 22AAdewumi@hornchurchhigh.com
