GCE EXAMINERS' REPORTS

ENGLISH LITERATURE AS/Advanced SUMMER 2011

Statistical Information This booklet contains summary details for each unit: number entered; maximum mark available; mean mark achieved; grade ranges. N.B. These refer to 'raw marks' used in the initial assessment, rather than to the uniform marks reported when results are issued. Annual Statistical Report The annual Statistical Report (issued in the second half of the Autumn Term) gives overall outcomes of all examinations administered by WJEC.

Unit Page LT1 1 LT2 10 LT3 14 LT4 18

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ENGLISH LITERATURE

General Certificate of Education

SUMMER 2011

Advanced Subsidiary

LT1: Poetry and Drama 1 Principal Examiner: Dr. Jennifer McConnell Unit Statistics The following statistics include all candidates entered for the unit, whether or not they 'cashed in' for an award. The attention of centres is drawn to the fact that the statistics listed should be viewed strictly within the context of this unit and that differences will undoubtedly occur between one year and the next and also between subjects in the same year. Unit Entry Max Mark Mean Mark LT1 9625 60 35.0 Grade Ranges A 48 B 41 C 34 D 27 E 20 N.B. The marks given above are raw marks and not uniform marks.

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LT1: Poetry and Drama 1 General Comments The majority of candidates were well prepared for the exam and this is testament to the hard work of candidates and teachers. Examiners noted with pleasure candidates’ enthusiastic engagement with texts, and there were many lively, interesting and original responses. As in previous years, there were some truly superb essays, in particular on Eliot and Yeats and Arcadia. Most candidates are aware of the demands of the paper, and this is reflected in the number of confident responses. The best essays were sharply focused, and it was pleasing to see evidence of planning. Nevertheless, as highlighted in previous years, examiners were concerned that there was a significant minority of candidates who found it difficult to produce focused, clearly written, coherent responses. Although many of these points have been made in previous reports, it is worth emphasising again that the key features of the strongest responses were where candidates:

• planned their answers fully, using an essay plan • addressed AOs with confidence • had clearly practised answering exam questions in timed conditions, leading to

relevant, shaped and focused answers. In addition, in Section A the strongest responses were those where candidates:

• gave a brief overview of the content of a poem before discussing the techniques used

• focused on two core poems rather than a range of core poems • introduced the partner text using signpost phrases such as ‘In contrast’,

‘Similarly’ etc. • returned to the core text after discussing the partner text • made explicit when they were exploring other readings.

In Section B the strongest responses were those where candidates:

• analysed the extract in detail before moving on to discuss other parts of the play

• showed a clear understanding of the text as drama • integrated references to context throughout the essay.

Section A: Poetry post-1900 There were responses to all of the questions. With the exception of Boland and Pollard, which is still a minority choice, all pairings have proved popular. AO1: there were a number of clearly written and sharply focused essays; however, as

noted in past reports, there were still some unnecessarily long and unfocused responses. A number of candidates took a chronological, line-by-line approach to poems; this often led to repetition, loose organisation and a lack of focus. The best answers were those where candidates selected relevant lines and words. Some candidates discussed a range of core poems, which often meant they were unable to fulfil the requirement for ‘detailed critical discussion’ of two core poems. There was also a significant minority of candidates who launched straight into discussion of a poem without giving an overview of the content; as a consequence, comments on techniques were divorced from meaning.

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AO2: the strongest responses focused closely on how effects are created, with candidates ‘digging’ into the selected quotations. Analysis of writers’ techniques (the how) and the effect of those techniques is essential. In the main, discussion of language and imagery was stronger than discussion of form and structure: for example, some candidates wrote out rhyme schemes without discussing the effect, while others tried to force unconvincing or vague readings onto structure. While structure is clearly an important component of poems, it is essential that candidates only discuss it if they have a valid and convincing point to make.

AO3: the majority of candidates dealt with both strands of this assessment objective;

however, there were still some who failed to address one strand. It is not necessary that candidates reference critics, and there were some excellent essays where candidates dealt sensitively with other readings without mentioning critics. It can be helpful, however, if these candidates make it explicit when they are dealing with other readings, for example by using ‘signpost’ phrases such as ‘other readers might argue’. There were some candidates who used critical quotations extremely effectively; however, there were a number of essays where critical quotations were dropped in, regardless of whether or not they were relevant. The majority of candidates are clearly confident about the balance between core and partner texts, and there we’re some illuminating connections. However, at times the partner text is dealt with in isolation. ‘Signpost’ phrases such as ‘In contrast’ can be useful to keep in mind. Candidates should be encouraged to return briefly to the core text after discussing the partner, making clear how reading the partner has illuminated their understanding of the core text. A good rule of thumb is for candidates to end their paragraphs on the core text. In some cases candidates missed out the partner text completely.

T.S. Eliot: Selected Poems (Core text) (Prufrock and Other Observations, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ariel Poems) W.B. Yeats: Selected Poems (Partner text) Q.1 Compare the ways in which Eliot and Yeats present the theme of loss.

This was the most popular question, and there were some exceptional responses. The theme of loss holds lots of possibilities, and many candidates produced mature essays dealing not just with personal loss, but also with loss of cultural values. Candidates chose a range of Eliot poems: ‘The Waste Land’ and ‘Prufrock’ were popular, as would be expected, but there were some excellent responses on ‘The Journey of the Magi’ and ‘The Hollow Men’ as well. Popular Yeats poems included ‘Wild Swans at Coole’ and ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’.

Q.2 ‘Eliot’s poems are full of rich imagery and sounds, but are spoilt by obscurity’.

In the light of this statement, compare the ways in which Eliot and Yeats use imagery and sounds.

The majority of candidates who chose this question managed to deal with the idea of ‘obscurity’ to some extent, although in some answers it was only addressed in the introduction or conclusion. A minority of candidates did not address it at all. Candidates were often adept at dealing with both imagery and sound, and there were some beautifully written responses.

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Philip Larkin: The Whitsun Weddings (Core text) Dannie Abse: Welsh Retrospective (Partner text) Q.3 What connections have you found between the ways in which Larkin and Abse

write about disappointment or being disillusioned?

Candidates used a wide range of poems in their responses to this question. Larkin is a poet who provokes strong reactions, and this led to some lively and engaging responses. However, at times some candidates were too quick to equate the voices of the personas with Larkin’s own voice.

Q.4 ‘Larkin rarely presents women in a positive light’. In the light of this statement,

compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about women in their poems.

There were a number of interesting responses. As may be expected, the majority of candidates agreed with the quotation, with most contrasting Larkin’s negativity with Abse’s warmer portrayals of his wife and mother. Interestingly, some candidates argued that Larkin does have a positive view of women, using ‘Broadcast’ as evidence. However, a number of candidates misread ‘Sunny Prestatyn’ and used it as evidence of Larkin’s misogyny; the weakest responses did not address the fact that the poem is about a poster. This is a clear example of where a one or two line overview of the poem’s meaning is necessary. A minority of candidates confused Abse with the persona of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd, leading them to argue that Abse is a misogynist and an adulterer!

Sylvia Plath: Poems Selected by Ted Hughes (Core text) Ted Hughes: Poems Selected by Simon Armitage (Partner text) Q.5 Compare the ways in which Plath and Hughes present the inner world of

feelings.

It was impressive to see the wide range of poems selected, from ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ to ‘Tulips’ to ‘Wuthering Heights’. Many candidates discussed the way Plath uses the outer landscape to explore the inner landscape of the mind. Some argued that Plath is more personal than Hughes (giving as evidence Hughes’ nature poems), and this is clearly valid. However, others challenged the idea that Plath is always personal and Hughes is always observational, producing convincing and nuanced arguments that drew on Hughes’ poems about Plath, such as ‘Red’ and ‘Daffodils’. It is heartening to see candidates challenging generalisations. In some answers (though by no means all) there was a tendency to focus too much on biographical detail. While an understanding of Plath and Hughes’ relationship can be useful as a way of reading the poems, candidates should be reminded that AO4 is not rewarded in this section.

Q.6 What connections have you found between the ways in which Plath and

Hughes write about doubt or uncertainty?

The strongest responses focused on Plath’s uncertainty as a mother (for example in ‘The Manor Garden’ and ‘Morning Song’) or her uncertainty as to her relationship with nature (for example in ‘Wuthering Heights’). Some argued that Hughes is less uncertain in his poems; however, others argued equally convincingly that Hughes’ poetry also reveals uncertainty. The weakest responses struggled to address either doubt or uncertainty.

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Carol Ann Duffy: Selected Poems (Core text) (Standing Female Nude, The Other Country, The World’s Wife) Sheenagh Pugh: Selected Poems (Partner text) Q.7 What connections have you found between the ways in which Duffy and Pugh

write about change? In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of ‘Whoever She Was’ and at least one other Duffy poem.

Candidates focused on change in a number of different ways: successful second poems included ‘Originally’ and ‘The River’. There were some very sensitive analyses of ‘Whoever She Was’. However, some candidates misunderstood the named poem, and some appeared to have read it for the first time in the exam. These candidates tended to deal with the named poem very briefly, before moving onto another poem that they felt more confident about. This meant some essays lacked the ‘detailed critical discussion’ of ‘Whoever She Was’ required by the question.

Q.8 Compare the ways in which Duffy and Pugh explore lost innocence in their

poetry.

This was the most popular question, with ‘Lizzie Six’, ‘Girl Talking’ and ‘In Mrs Tilcher’s Class’ the most common choices. The best answers focused on lost innocence. Some candidates approached the question as the loss of innocents, focusing on ‘Shooting Stars’ and examiners agreed this was an acceptable way into the question. There were some very detailed analyses (in particular of ‘In Mrs Tilcher’s Class’); however, some of the weaker responses listed elements of the structure of Duffy and Pugh’s poems without discussing the effect. There were some illuminating links with Pugh. However, some misinterpreted the speaker of ‘Inter-City Lullaby’ as the boys’ mother.

Seamus Heaney: New Selected Poems (Core text) (Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, The Haw Lantern) Owen Sheers: Skirrid Hill (Partner text) Q.9 Compare the ways in which Heaney and Sheers use symbols in their poetry.

Some candidates seemed unclear as to what constituted a symbol; as a result, markers accepted quite broad interpretations. Equally, however, there were some superb answers, particularly as the reference to symbols necessitates a clear focus on AO2. Some chose to pick out small symbols from poems, such as the poppy in ‘Mid-Term Break’; others gave extended analyses of the significance of larger symbols (for example ‘The Haw Lantern’). Both approaches worked well.

Q.10 What connections have you found between the ways in which Heaney and

Sheers explore growing up? In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of Heaney’s ‘Alphabets’ and at least one other of Heaney’s poems.

There were some sensitive and detailed discussions of ‘Alphabets’ and some candidates delighted in exploring the speaker’s experience of language. However, some of the weaker responses took a chronological approach to the named poem; this often led candidates to drift into narrative. Successful second poems included ‘Death of a Naturalist’, ‘Blackberry Picking’ and ‘Follower’. Most candidates made useful links between Heaney and Sheers. However, occasionally some answers moved away from ‘growing up’ to focus only on the presentation of childhood.

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Eavan Boland: Selected Poems (Core text) (New Territory, The War Horse, The Journey) Clare Pollard: Look, Clare! Look! (Partner text) Q.11 ‘Boland celebrates the routine, the ordinary in life’. In the light of this

statement, compare the ways in which Boland and Pollard write about the ordinary and routine aspects of human experience.

Relatively few responses were seen. Many candidates usefully juxtaposed Boland’s focus on the ordinary with Pollard’s more exotic poems.

Q.12 Compare the ways in which Boland and Pollard write about love.

Relatively few responses were seen. Candidates wrote well on the presentation of love between men and women; some also wrote successfully on the presentation of Pollard’s love for her father. The majority of candidates highlighted that both poets often approached love in an autobiographical way.

Section B: Drama post-1990 AO4: most candidates were clearly aware of the double-weighting of this assessment

objective. However, while many integrated a range of relevant contexts into their answers, there are still some who treat context as a separate section to be ‘tagged on’ at the beginning or end of the essay. This was the particularly the case with some answers on Kindertransport and Oleanna. Further, there is a significant minority of candidates who included no reference to wider context.

AO1: there were some extremely focused and well written essays. However, some

candidates lost marks because they didn’t focus enough on the given extract: at times the extract was dealt with in a couple of lines. It is essential that candidates focus on the extract; otherwise they risk penalising themselves in AO1 and AO4 (the play as wider context for the extract).

AO2: as has been noted in past reports, the strongest responses were those where

candidates showed clear awareness of the play as drama. Candidates should include detailed discussion of the effects of a range of dramatic techniques, including dialogue, stage directions, props, costume, staging, setting, sound effects, lighting etc. Some candidates who had analysed the Section A texts well, using suitable terminology, seemed to forget this approach when it came to the play, selecting extracts of dialogue without discussing the impact of language.

David Hare: Murmuring Judges Q.13 Re-read Act 1 Scene 2. Discuss the presentation of the legal establishment in

this extract and elsewhere in the play.

There was a range of interesting answers. Candidates interpreted the legal establishment in different ways: some ranged across different aspects including the police and the prison system, while others focused more closely on the presentation of the court. Either approach was valid. There were some excellent discussions of political and cultural context, with the best answers integrating context into their answer, rather than ‘tagging’ it on at the end. The best answers were also able to see that the police and prison service were (and are) struggling with impossible demands.

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Q.14 Re-read Act 1 Scene 5 from page 30 (SANDRA: Did you know them?) to page 36, the end of the scene. Examine the ways in which prejudice and stereotyping are presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

The strongest answers focused on how prejudice and stereotyping is presented; weaker answers tended to list examples of prejudice and stereotyping. Most candidates showed awareness of attitudes to women, and most were able to draw on ‘Asking Around’. The strongest answers integrated context throughout.

David Mamet: Oleanna Q.15 Re-read Act 2 from page 43 (JOHN and CAROL seated across the desk from

each other) to page 48 (CAROL: It’s ‘ludicrous ...’?). Examine how Mamet presents political correctness in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

Some candidates seemed uncertain about what exactly was meant by political correctness; this led to some vague, assertive and largely narrative answers. There was also a tendency at times to generalise about political correctness and feminism. Some candidates included context as a separate paragraph at the beginning or end of the essay, disconnected from the text. However, equally, there were some very nuanced and sensitive arguments, with the strongest answers focusing on how Mamet presents political correctness.

Q.16 Re-read Act 3 from page 63 (CAROL: The issue here is not what I ‘feel’.) to page 68 (CAROL: I know what you think I am.). Discuss how Carol’s response to John’s principles and values is presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

The strongest answers outlined John’s principles and values, and kept focus on Carol’s response to them. Some candidates showed real sensitivity when discussing the issues, such as attitudes to education and the differences in the characters’ socio-economic backgrounds. Weaker responses tended to paraphrase the dialogue, and some focused more on John’s reaction to Carol. Some wrote in great detail about the wider political contexts, but at times drifted from the question.

Brian Friel: Dancing at Lughnasa Q.17 Re-read Act 1 from page 38 (FATHER JACK enters.) to page 41 (JACK goes out

to the garden. KATE gets her cardigan.). Explore the presentation of Jack’s experience with African culture in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

The strongest answers focused on Jack’s experience of African culture. Weaker responses listed the different references to African culture without considering Jack’s experience. Some answers began by focusing on Africa, but moved into a character study of Jack. Nevertheless, there were some sensitive and detailed responses, with many arguing convincingly that Friel uses Jack’s experience of African culture to criticise the rigidity of Catholicism.

Q.18 Re-read Act 1 from page 12 (AGNES: Wouldn’t it be a good one if we all went?) to page 15 (They laugh secretly.). Explore the ways responsibility and freedom are presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

There were some superb responses. The range and depth of relevant contexts drawn on by candidates was excellent; the contexts involving DeValera in particular were brought out with some clarity. Many candidates contrasted the domestic responsibilities of the sisters with the freedom of the male characters. There were also some sensitive and detailed comments on staging, for example Maggie’s imaginary bird, and the significance of dancing.

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Tom Stoppard: Arcadia Q.19 Re-read Act 1 Scene 4 from the beginning to page 63/page 65 in new edition

(Valentine It’s the best possible time to be alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong.). Explore how ideas about nature and mathematics are presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

There were some superb answers, and the breadth and depth of candidates’ understanding of Stoppard’s use of mathematics was at times astonishing, with candidates drawing on Chaos Theory, iteration, fractals, the Second Law of Thermodynamics and entropy. The strongest answers kept focus on the links between nature and maths. There were also some excellent discussions of Stoppard’s techniques, in particular the structure of the play.

Q.20 Re-read Act 1 Scene 1 from page 2/page 4 in new edition (Thomasina Septimus,

what is carnal embrace?) to page 9/page 11 in new edition (Septimus – and yet her chief renown is for a readiness that keeps her in a state of tropical humidity as would grow orchids in her drawers in January.) Discuss the ways in which attitudes towards sexual attraction are presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

This was a popular question, and candidates clearly enjoyed writing about the opening of the play. Many were able to write about Stoppard’s use of humour when presenting attitudes towards sexual attraction. The strongest answers integrated a range of references to context, for example Biblical (Onan and the Garden of Eden) and societal (Regency attitudes towards women). However, some listed different examples of carnal embrace between characters and missed out the wider issues.

Arthur Miller: Broken Glass Q.21 Re-red Scene 10 (page 63 to page 65/page 74 to 76 in new edition). Examine

Miller’s presentation of attitudes to marriage in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

There were some excellent answers, and most candidates were able to draw on relevant social and cultural attitudes towards marriage. However, a significant minority of candidates made generalisations about marriage in the 1930s, while some focused a little too much on Miller’s marriage to Marilyn Monroe to the exclusion of the wider socio-historical context.

Q.22 Re-read from page 50/page 59 in new edition (HYMAN lifts her off the chair) to

page 54/page 65 in new edition (HYMAN. He says you’re his whole life.). Discuss Miller’s presentation of the issues surrounding physical intimacy in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

The majority of candidates were able to discuss the significance of the stage directions in this extract, and this meant there was usually a clear focus on AO2. Most candidates drew useful contrasts between Sylvia’s relationships with Hyman and Philip. Some, however, discussed Sylvia’s condition without mentioning the horrifying events in Germany.

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Diane Samuels: Kindertransport Q.23 Re-read Act 1 Scene 2 from page 21/page 22 in new edition (HELGA has gone.)

to page 27/page 28 in new edition (EVA. ...Hilfe! Hilfe! Niemand sorgt für mich! Help! Help! No one’s looking after me!). Examine Eva’s role in presenting the plight of the Kindertransport children in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

The strongest answers focused on the role of Eva. While the majority of candidates show clear (often confident) knowledge of the 1930s context, some included a paragraph of context at the beginning (not all of it relevant to the question), and then ignored context for the rest of the essay. It is essential that candidates integrate relevant references to context throughout the essay.

Q.24 Re-read Act 1 Scene 1 from page 1/page 3 in new edition (Ratcatcher music.) to

page 9/page 10 in new edition (EVELYN exits. FAITH retreats back into the attic.) Explore the ways in which Samuels presents the process of separating children from their parents in this extract and elsewhere in the play.

There were some very sensitive responses to this question and there was often a real sense of personal engagement with the issues. The strongest answers focused closely on the word ‘presents’, discussing the effect of a number of dramatic techniques. Even the weakest answers showed some awareness of staging, for example the significance of the attic, and the way the shift between past and present shows the continuing effects of the past on the present. The majority of candidates were able to discuss the 1930s context with confidence; however, there was a significant minority who did not comment on the wider political and historical context at all. This led to some candidates making reference to ‘the situation’ faced by Eva and Helga, without clarifying or explaining what the situation was.

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ENGLISH LITERATURE

General Certificate of Education

SUMMER 2011

Advanced Subsidiary

LT2: Prose Study & Creative Reading Principal Examiner: Rhodri Jones Unit Statistics The following statistics include all candidates entered for the unit, whether or not they 'cashed in' for an award. The attention of centres is drawn to the fact that the statistics listed should be viewed strictly within the context of this unit and that differences will undoubtedly occur between one year and the next and also between subjects in the same year. Unit Entry Max Mark Mean Mark LT2 10121 80 55.9 Grade Ranges A 65 B 56 C 47 D 38 E 29 N.B. The marks given above are raw marks and not uniform marks.

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LT2: Prose Study & Creative Reading General Comments Some excellent work was seen again this year in both sections with the best responses concise, perceptive and creative. Assessment It is of little surprise that when there were differences between the mark awarded at the centre and the mark given by the moderator, the level of annotation and supporting comments were insufficient. Assessment was at its most secure when the AOs were used extensively with supporting qualifying comments in annotation. Some signifier to reveal which band the candidate has hit within a particular AO would be useful for the moderator and to you as a teacher as you seek to be secure in the marking. This could simply be a matter of lifting out some words from the grid. For AO2, ‘sound’, ‘awareness’ or ‘basic’ would suffice. Summative comments which considered the strengths and the areas which had been less successful were also helpful. Administration It is worth reminding centres that it is a requirement to fill in the comments on the coversheet as well. Most centres are exemplary in their administration but there are still some centres which send folders which have not been signed by candidates and/or teachers and which omit the final mark. Moreover, some coversheets have different marks from the ones given at the end of the essays and/or the mark on the WJEC secure website. This does slow down the whole process which adds unnecessarily to the moderators’ workload. Please also take care when you or your students sign the coversheets. Again this year, there were too many examples of plagiarism. Candidates and centres can be penalised severely for this and it is up to the centre firstly to ensure that all the work presented is the candidates’ own. For those who had plagiarised other material, study notes passed off as the candidate’s own ideas rather than as a quotation was often to blame and students should be warned of this before they start drafting their essays. It is also a requirement that a bibliography is presented with the essay in Section A. Choosing texts and task-setting Invariably there are financial restrictions on choices made by centres in terms of texts. However, there is a duty to try to give students a wide range of texts from different periods to read during their two years of study. Using prose with a Gothic bent for both texts in Section A and as a stimulus in Section B doesn’t match the wider reading that the independence of the syllabus encourages. Moreover, using Gothic texts, despite on one level being fairly accessible, did not often produce the most sophisticated work. In Section A it is partly a case of finding the correct task for the candidate. Invariably, the centres where assessment wasn’t entirely secure also had an issue with creating tasks which allowed candidates to address all the AOs. In Section B, using the Gothic often led to poorly written horror stories involving supernatural creatures or, particularly when Angela Carter’s work was used as a stimulus, re-written fairy-tales that struggled to be creative and individual. This does not mean that Gothic texts should be discarded but as it is such a popular choice, some creativity might be required at times in order to assist candidates to fulfil their potential. Section A It is worth noting that the three areas considered in last year’s reports still need to be addressed by many centres. Task-setting is crucial to candidates’ success as is ensuring that all the AOs are covered appropriately, including both strands of AO3. It would be valuable to re-visit that document as well as using the comments from this year.

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AO2: The most successful candidates always considered the way writers had crafted their work. They were often assisted by well-worded tasks that allowed them to focus on the form, structure and language used by the writer and this was always linked to the way they were used to create meaning. In many ways, this assessment objective should be driving the essay as the other AOs should also be used in order to enhance the candidates’ understanding of the text. Too often characters were considered as real people and not enough attention was given to how they had been created through language, narrative techniques and so on. These were not literary responses and were often rewarded rather generously. Moreover, there seems to be a trend of using very technical language in order to address AO2. This doesn’t necessarily benefit a candidate’s response. Indeed, this approach can often lead to merely spotting techniques rather than developing ideas to consider how meaning is created. Moreover, as a candidate gets bogged down in spotting techniques the overview of the novel, a Band 4 descriptor, is often lost. It is worth looking at some of the best material on the website for guidance in what constitutes Band 4 for AO2.

AO4: It was pleasing to see candidates engaging with contextual detail in their essays and many did so in order to enhance their understanding of their core text. Too often, however, candidates merely stated some contextual detail of the novelist’s personal life or of the period in which the novel was written. This approach tended to divorce the text from the context or made simplistic comments in order to make links. As with the other AOs this is an element which needs to be given some teaching time, guiding pupils to consider how the contextual detail makes a difference to their reading of the text. Moderators were concerned particularly at the way the Gothic was used with novels such as ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Frankenstein’ or when ‘The American Dream’ was used with texts such as ‘The Great Gatsby’ where the context-driven task led to an essay which became a checklist of contextual detail often divorced from AO2. The same was true of tasks which looked at social class. It would be far better to take a literary approach in the task and then to use the context to comment on that rather than the essay becoming historical or autobiographical in its focus.

Section B

Surprisingly perhaps, assessment tends to be more secure in this section. It is worth noting however that poetry is often generously marked, implying a lack of confidence in assessment. There is a very useful checklist for assessing poetry on the website and should be used to guide teachers as they mark. Some obscure work was often highly rewarded. The commentary should be a valuable tool if the poetry is obscure in order to evaluate the success of the work. More reading of and immersion in poetry, particularly in looking at its differences to other genres would be useful as would internal moderation where work is passed around a department as an aid to greater security in assessing poetry.

Genre

The quality of candidates’ creative pieces has improved this year. It is a pity when writers look for the dramatic rather than use stories from their own context. Despite using a novel perhaps as a stimulus, it is still vital that students have a sound grasp of the genre in which they write. As most use the short story teaching the genre would be useful in order to enable candidates to be secure in their understanding as they tweak their own writing in the light of what they read and study. With AO4 being removed from this section next year (more of which below), an awareness of genre will become even more important. Some successful centres ensure that their pupils read and understand the genre in which they write clearly before they embark on their own writing so that they can see the central elements of the chosen genre for themselves. This doesn’t have to take up a great deal of teaching time but this work should deepen candidates’ understanding of literature in general and would benefit them across the different modules as well. Merely giving pupils copies of some stories to read isn’t a satisfactory approach. There needs to be some discussion of genre and how it might impact on their writing.

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AO2: As in Section A, spotting techniques isn’t useful in the commentary. A narrative approach with some evidence of techniques was seen too often and, at times, marked too generously. The same approach taught in Section A should be adapted here and enabling pupils to see how writers make choices and their effect rather than telling pupils what the text means is important in pupils’ preparation. This will be even more important this year as AO4 will no longer be considered. There is an expectation therefore to see a more detailed response to the choices that they’ve made in terms of form, structure and language and, again, how they are used to create meaning. Encouraging pupils to discuss their choices and to question the choices they make would be useful. One approach, particularly in a bigger centre might be to run seminar groups with different teachers in the department or with very successful candidates studying at A2 in order to facilitate the discussion required. Some of the simplistic comments mentioned in previous reports regarding narrative voice, pathetic fallacy and so on, still surfaced far too often and should be avoided. AO2 should also be considered in the stimulus text. It was interesting to note how some candidates who had succeeded in dealing with AO2 in Section A struggled to do so in Section B. Perhaps a more skills-based approach would be useful so that students become more confident in responding to the way form, structure and language shape meaning.

Finally, it was often a pleasure to moderate candidates’ work. Some teachers have clearly grasped the ethos of the course and through giving students the confidence to read intelligently, using skills taught and refined in lessons, they enabled them to respond insightfully to a range of texts and to create original and creative responses which were a pleasure to read.

Some changes for 2011-12 For next year some changes have been made as follows:

• there will be five bands in the assessment grids; • a mark for each AO must be recorded on the coversheet as well as the final mark for

each section and the overall total of the entire folder; • in the commentary in Section B the only AO will be AO2; • if the folder has exceeded the word limit, the teacher must stop marking and the

moderator will stop moderating when the word count limit for each task (+10%) has been reached;

• the cumulative word count will have to be stated on each page of the candidates’ work.

Word Count Advice (from summer 2012) It is the centre's responsibility to inform students that there is a maximum tolerance of 10% in excess of the prescribed word count for each task in LT2 and LT3. Teachers must stop marking when the maximum tolerance is reached and credit only the work up to that point when awarding marks for the task. External moderators will re-assess candidates' work up to the maximum tolerance only. For each task within the internal assessment units, students are required to include a cumulative word count at the bottom of each page and record the total word counts for each task on the coversheet.

Task & Word Count Maximum Allowed LT2: Section A Prose Study 1500 1650 LT2: Section B Creative Writing 750 825 LT2: Section B Commentary 750 825

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ENGLISH LITERATURE

General Certificate of Education

Summer 2011

Advanced

LT3: Period & Genre Study Principal Examiner: Stephen Purcell Unit Statistics The following statistics include all candidates entered for the unit, whether or not they 'cashed in' for an award. The attention of centres is drawn to the fact that the statistics listed should be viewed strictly within the context of this unit and that differences will undoubtedly occur between one year and the next and also between subjects in the same year. Unit Entry Max Mark Mean Mark LT3 7028 40 29.3 Grade Ranges A 33 B 28 C 13 D 18 E 14 N.B. The marks given above are raw marks and not uniform marks.

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LT3: Period & Genre Study This unit is now well established and moderators have gained extensive experience of a very wide range of work across a great many centres. Knowing how busy English Departments will be when this report is published, I would like to distil the comments and advice of LT3 moderators into a few easily accessible points which, I hope, will save colleagues valuable time and reduce the need for lengthy reading and highlighting. LT3 offers exciting freedoms in both text and task-setting which most centres exploited to the full. In the vast majority of cases, it was clear to see that staff and students had embarked on their study of their three selected texts with a sense of purpose and enjoyment. The following points which, as always, do not apply equally to all centres are offered as support to help colleagues and candidates make the very most of the opportunities available on this unit. Advice to Teachers Administration • By now everybody should be aware that all of the documents required for administration of

this unit are available online and must be downloaded from the English Literature GCE subject page of the WJEC website: www.wjec.co.uk/englitgce

• Sample folders for mailing to the moderator are generated through the electronic mark entry system on the secure website which English departments undertake when they have received the relevant access codes from their school’s or college’s examinations officer. There is no other way of selecting sample folders.

• Once the sample folders have been dispatched, departments must be prepared for further folders to be called by the moderator and, just as with the first sample, all the work must be assessed with comments in the body of the essay and AO specific comments completed on cover sheets. Please remember that all coversheets must be signed by candidates and teachers.

• Please ensure that folders include a bibliography and the word limits have been observed – there are new instructions regarding word count for next year and colleagues are advised to keep an eye on the website for details as well as a circular which will be issued in September.

• Please avoid elaborate packing of sample folders but present them with firmly attached front covers in rank order.

Assessment • It is not acceptable for teachers to leave the front covers blank and refer moderators to

comments at the end of essays. The moderator must see how, precisely, teachers have given credit under the separate assessment objectives.

• Essays which are submitted without comments or indications of quality in the body of the work frustrate the business of moderation which is not the same as primary marking but, instead, is a process of checking that centres’ assessments have been accurate.

• The acknowledgement (in the margins of essays) of the fact that an AO is being addressed is a helpful reminder to the primary marker but without some qualification (eg “sophisticated AO2”) it does not help the moderator to follow the marker’s judgements.

• When arriving at a final mark for essays, please take careful account of the weightings of assessment objectives.

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Delivery of LT3 • Candidates need careful guidance in addressing AO1 and the relevant concepts of

English Literature. This is a key factor in supporting candidates’ efforts to write a genuinely literary essay (focused on writers’ techniques - AO2) and to avoid the ineffective hybrid of history, sociology, psychology and politics which many candidates still offer as a substitute for literary approaches.

• This point is closely related to the handling of AO4. Please remember that contextual material should be approached through the texts themselves and not treated as a means for candidates to show knowledge which does not directly support literary insights.

• It is necessary to train and support A level candidates in their use of other readings (AO3) and departments might like to review both their resources and their approach to this aspect of candidates’ work. Moderators still see a lot of reference to poor quality study aids and internet sites which take descriptive approaches to texts and therefore offer little or nothing in terms of interpretation. There is still a tendency for some candidates not to acknowledge sources or indeed to indicate that they are using words written by another reader. This is plagiarism, which can have very serious consequences.

• In their approaches to the other aspect of AO3, candidates need to be guided in distinguishing between comments which simply establish similarities and differences between texts and those which compare techniques and/or show how one writer’s work illuminates another.

• Moderators agree that the best work they see comes from candidates who have been allowed the freedom to pursue their own interests through both the texts and tasks which are offered. One of the basic principles of this unit is that for at least part of their A level candidates should be guided towards potentially interesting and stimulating texts rather than having narrow choices imposed upon them – which is more a characteristic of examination units. Centres are urged to address the individual interests of candidates by offering an appropriate degree of choice.

• Having established the principle of freedom of choice, please make sure that tasks have been negotiated with candidates and the final wording reflects the teacher’s professional expertise as well as the candidate’s interests. Once again, it is vital to keep the focus on literary issues and writers’ techniques in order to launch essays in the right directions.

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Advice to Candidates • Understand the requirements of a literary essay and make sure that you have a clear idea

of the concepts of this subject which are distinct from those of, say, history, politics or sociology.

• See the difference between descriptive/narrative and analytical writing.

• Make sure that you give due attention to AO2 which carries the most marks on this unit and will involve you writing in a closely focused way about the language, form and structure of your texts and the ways these factors are effective in communicating the writers’ ideas.

• Remember that comparisons between texts must serve to illuminate and your connections must be relevant to the task you have undertaken.

• Your research into factors such as the social, political and cultural contexts of the texts you have studied (AO4) is both interesting and important to the essay as a whole. However, the information in its raw form is of limited value and your knowledge does not contribute to a literary essay unless it emerges (in a relevant way) from a consideration of the texts themselves. Please remember the simple flow diagram: Task Text Context in order to keep yourself on track.

• Even at the drafting stage of your work, you must remind yourself of word limits – part of the skill and discipline of good writing it to select material carefully and edit your expression. In future the person marking your essay and the moderator will take account of your ability to remain within specified word limits.

• Make use of the library and departmental resources to research genuine literary criticism rather than restricting yourself to simple study guides. Remember always to acknowledge your sources for other readings in the text itself (“As Dr. Smith points out...........”); in footnotes and in the bibliography at the end of your essay.

It has been very encouraging to see the ways most centres have acted upon their moderator’s advice in 2010 individual centre reports and refined their approaches to this unit. This year, many departments took a bold and ambitious approach to the selection of texts and task-setting: they are to be congratulated upon imaginative and challenging text combinations and tasks which kept the emphasis upon literary approaches. It was also a pleasure to see centres making radical changes to their choices of texts – presumably in an effort to address the different tastes and talents of different teaching groups – and all centres are strongly advised to give this matter some thought as they plan this year’s programme. Word Count Advice (from summer 2012) It is the centre's responsibility to inform students that there is a maximum tolerance of 10% in excess of the prescribed word count for each task in LT2 and LT3. Teachers must stop marking when the maximum tolerance is reached and credit only the work up to that point when awarding marks for the task. External moderators will re-assess candidates' work up to the maximum tolerance only. For each task within the internal assessment units, students are required to include a cumulative word count at the bottom of each page and record the total word counts for each task on the coversheet.

Task & Word Count Maximum Allowed LT3: Period & Genre Study 3000 3300

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ENGLISH LITERATURE

General Certificate of Education 2010

Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced

LT4: Poetry and Drama 2 Principal Examiner: Stephen Purcell Unit Statistics The following statistics include all candidates entered for the unit, whether or not they 'cashed in' for an award. The attention of centres is drawn to the fact that the statistics listed should be viewed strictly within the context of this unit and that differences will undoubtedly occur between one year and the next and also between subjects in the same year. Unit Entry Max Mark Mean Mark LT4 6383 80 48.9 Grade Ranges A 64 B 53 C 42 D 31 E 21 N.B. The marks given above are raw marks and not uniform marks.

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LT4: Poetry and Drama 2 The marginal comments of examiners on scripts and their reports to me suggest that this challenging paper was tackled with enthusiasm and expertise by the majority of candidates. Item level data (and particularly the mean marks achieved on each question) suggest that Section A questions were closely comparable in the quality of responses and, in Section B, each pair of questions on drama texts allowed candidates to perform at very similar levels. As always, examiners have recorded their pleasure in reading the essays and their admiration for some of the spectacular standards achieved. Now that the unit is well established, I feel that it might be helpful to condense the key issues raised by the examination into an easily accessible list so as to save reading time. Section A: Critical Reading of Poetry • Candidates still need to spend more time reading, choosing and reflecting before writing.

There continues to be evidence of chaotic essays with scattered arrows and multiple footnotes or after-thoughts which suggest that preparation has been inadequate. This has a serious impact upon AO1 which demands coherence in essays.

• Connected with the point above, some otherwise good candidates chose to write on what they had prepared rather than the given task. This was sometimes made worse by the apparent application of a predetermined formula to unseen poems which meant that a list of literary terms was applied to the texts without any exploration of meaning. Candidates need to think carefully about approaches to AOs 1 and 2

• More thought needs to be given to the balance of attention to core texts and unseens - inadequate reference to core texts and over-emphasis on the unseens tended to skew essays badly and in a small but significant number of cases candidates tended to treat the exercise as one in practical criticism of the unseen with negligible reference to the poetry text studied. This is not an appropriate way of dealing with that part of AO3 which is concerned with connections.

• Some candidates had carefully researched other views of the poets they had studied and, where those views were brought to bear relevantly in responses, this was an effective way of addressing the other strand of AO3. Equally effective was the recognition of other possible readings through the use of “signpost” words and phrases such as “alternatively”, “Another way of reading might be...”; “this could be seen as....” and so on. However, whichever approach is taken it is crucial that other views are examined and integrated into the essay rather than tagged-on to the end of paragraphs.

• Still too many essays are driven by context, character and plot rather than by close attention to the ways meaning is made (AO2). In order to maintain an effective literary focus, candidates should keep checking that they are addressing how writing is effective rather than giving an account of what is written.

• In previous reports and CPD sessions, a good deal of attention has been given to AO4 and the best approaches to relevant contexts in literary essays. There is still some work to be done here as too many candidates are still seeking to parade their factual knowledge in a way that is detached from their consideration of the texts. It was worrying to see that several centres seemed to have coached candidates in a common approach so that all essays started with a lengthy overview of the social, political and religious values of the times in which poets had written and only when this material had been established did candidates begin to discuss the texts they had studied. Centres are strongly advised not to take this approach: not only is it an ineffective way of approaching AO4, this kind of writing also compromises the sense and coherence of essays (AO1) as well as reducing the attention to literary analysis (AO2).

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Section B: Shakespeare and Related Drama Many of the points made above apply equally to Section B, but the following deserve particular emphasis:

• Narrative approaches continue to be a problem. Sometimes this is obvious from the

beginning of low scoring essays but even in much higher quality work there can be significant lapses where analytical writing is put on hold while space is filled with re-telling of plot or descriptions of characters’ behaviour.

• There were many examples of candidates having assiduously prepared points of comparison and contrast between the texts which were then offered without relevant shaping and therefore did not address specific questions effectively. A slightly different point, but still on AO3, is that there still seems to be a tendency to assert connections between the texts with no attempt to discuss/analyse or to use the partner as a means of illuminating ideas about the core.

• Very lengthy and assertive accounts of Shakespeare’s society should be avoided – this kind of writing often seemed to be a standby for candidates who were not sure about the demands of the questions they had chosen. Unless AO4 is approached in the Task Text Context it is unlikely to be effective.

Finally, while the notes above suggest that our approaches to this synoptic examination unit can always be improved, the strong impression remains of a highly professional approach from the overwhelming majority of centres and performances from candidates which should inspire nothing but optimism as far as the future of A level literary studies is concerned. GCE English Literature Examiners Report Summer 2011/LG

WJEC 245 Western Avenue Cardiff CF5 2YX Tel No 029 2026 5000 Fax 029 2057 5994 E-mail: exams@wjec.co.uk website: www.wjec.co.uk