Tackling Duffy in the Exam

Section B Duffy Question:

1. Spend 1 hour on this section. Alternatively, as the Contextual Linking Section is more difficult, you could give 1 hour 10 mins to section A and leave 50 mins for Carol Ann.
2. Underline key words in the question to focus your answer. Apparently most marks are lost at AS from students not answering the question, or trying to force fit the question they wanted as opposed to the one given.
3. You can make notes, scribble quotations etc in your answer booklet.
4. DO NOT WRITE IN YOUR CLEAN COPIES OF 'THE WORLD'S WIFE'. The invigilators have been instructed to note down the names of any students who do and you will be invoiced.
5. The examiners like to see a brief plan. 5 key points is ok.
6. Read the question carefully. Use all key words in the introduction to your essay and focus your answer all the way through.
7. If the question asks: " How is this poem key to the collection?" make sure you use the poem named in the question and move out from that poem to consider other poems which show:

• characteristic themes
• characteristic style - image choices, language choices, recurring devices - word play, use of rhyme, colloquial language, use of form, the use of monologue
• And remember it's all about giving a voice to women and rewriting the 'stories' which shape us as human beings: fairy tale, myth, legend, biblical stories, his...story, stories told in contemporary culture - the media

8. USE OF HUMOUR - She is funny as well as hostlie and SUBVERSIVE.
9. Use quotations . And remember the effect on the reader!
10. Make sure you get marks for three AOs:

• A01 Communication. Use appropriate terms, construct a coherent argument
• A02 FORM, STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE and how they shape meaning
• A03 Compare and contrast with other poems in the collection and remember the very important second part of A03 - ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS by other readers.

In this question all the Assessment Objectives are equally weighted. There is no A04 in this question
SO DON'T BRING IN YOUR WIDER READING

Poetic Techniques

I think I gave you all a copy of this before, but it's quite useful. I found it somewhere so credit to whoever wrote it...

Poetic Techniques

How to Create a Mind Map for Revision

Click on the image to make it bigger.

How to Create a Mind Map 2

CONTEXTS

There are two links to timelines and history of the Twentieth Century in the LINKS section to the right of this post. In Section A - Contextual Linking Exam, you do need to know about the cultural, historical and social changes in the world and think about how they have influenced modern literature and the struggle for identity. Race, Gender, Political/Social, Religious, Sexual.
Big changes in the world clearly affect writers and what they write about. Do you know enough about what has happened in your world?
You would do well to read through and think about how we have been developing this century.  e.g. emancipation of women, attitudes to race, changes in attitudes to sexual identity, attitudes to sex itself, family life and changes in attitudes to children, the rise of the teenager, social pressures, impact of war and terrorism, national identities, shifts in attitude to ecology and the world around us. Big events change our way of thinking and what we write about.

Examiner's Report for the Jan 2010 Exam Paper

This is really useful to read so that you understand what the examiners are looking for in your responses.

Jan 2010 Examiner Report in Word

Mark Scheme for Contextual Linking Section and Carol Ann Duffy Questions Jan 2010 Paper

The Assessment Objectives Word Mark Scheme for Jan2010