How to Write a Grade 9 A Christmas Carol Essay (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)
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How to Write a Grade 9 A Christmas Carol Essay
Paper 2 of your Eduqas GCSE exam contains questions about a modern prose or drama text, a 19th-century prose work and unseen poetry. For Section B, you will write an essay about the 19th-century text you have studied. You will have an hour to write an essay based on the extract printed on your exam paper.
Exam Tip
Your Eduqas GCSE exam is “closed text”, so you won’t have your copy of A Christmas Carol with you in the exam. That means you need to know the novella really well and have revised a wide range of quotes and references to use in your essay. You can find some great suggestions for useful quotations on our A Christmas Carol Quotations and Analysis page.
The Eduqas examiners want to see a range of evidence from right across A Christmas Carol. So, for a Grade 9 essay, read the extract carefully to make sure you understand how it illustrates the aspect of A Christmas Carol that the question is asking about. Then, use the evidence in the extract as a starting point for your argument, ensuring that you link your analysis with the rest of the novella.
How Do I Start My A Christmas Carol Essay?
To achieve the highest marks, your most effective strategy is to plan your essay first: spend as long as 15 minutes on this, and do not be tempted to start writing yet. A good plan will give you a “map” for your essay, so you can focus confidently on your argument and the evidence you are going to use. For a Grade 9 answer, Eduqas examiners look for essays that “focus on the question”, have a “clear line of argument” and sustain a good “analytical style”. Here is a breakdown of what those phrases mean and how you can achieve them:
Examiner comment | What this means you should do |
|---|---|
“Focus on the question” |
|
“Clear line of argument” |
|
“Analytical style” |
|
Making a strong plan before you start writing your essay means you can be sure you meet all these requirements.
Here’s an idea of what your plan could look like:
How Do I Structure My A Christmas Carol Essay?
Annotate the extract while you are planning your answer to link the specific evidence in the extract with other events, characters or contexts from the wider text. Remember, Eduqas examiners award the highest marks to students who produce a “clear line of argument” in their essays. Making a plan is the best way to ensure your argument is logical and consistent. A Grade 9 essay will always include an introduction, clearly focused paragraphs and a conclusion.
Take another look at the example plan. It includes a “thesis statement” and “topic sentences” at the beginning of each paragraph. Here’s how to include these in your essay:
Top tips for structuring your A Christmas Carol essay
Always set out a clear thesis statement in your introduction
Begin every paragraph with a topic sentence that:
indicates the focus of the paragraph clearly
links directly with your thesis statement
Set out your argument in clear paragraphs that:
only contain evidence (short quotations or textual references are best) that supports the statement you make in your topic sentence
link back to the question in the final sentence
Finish your essay with a short conclusion that sums up how you have proved your thesis statement
How Much Should I Write?
Your introduction and conclusion should be short — just two or three sentences each. Aim to develop your argument in a maximum of three paragraphs of evidence and analysis. Longer essays often lose their focus and wander away from the question. A good rule is: less is more: clear, focused writing produces a more effective, coherent essay.
Exam Tip
Nothing beats a really thorough knowledge of the whole text, but you may have learnt specific arguments about A Christmas Carol that address particular themes or subjects.
However, Eduqas examiners like to see creative responses, as long as they maintain a good focus on the subject of the question and contain a clear argument. The extract question is designed to enable students to explore different interpretations and contexts, so a “one size fits all” approach may not be the most effective one.
For an example of how to include elements like context, analysis of techniques and different interpretations in your essay, take a look at our model answer for the Eduqas Grade 9 A Christmas Carol essay question.
Grade 9 Essay Tips for A Christmas Carol
Students who achieve Grade 9 | Students who do not do so well |
|---|---|
Focus on the question and extract carefully to showcase their knowledge and understanding | Do not respond to the question or extract directly or clearly |
Plan their essays before writing them, so their argument is clear and consistent | Do not plan their essays and produce rambling, unfocused writing |
Start with a clear thesis statement, setting out their overall argument in response to the question | Write an essay they have memorised that is not directly relevant to the question |
Focus their writing on the question and extract throughout, using clear topic sentences and relevant evidence | Do not use topic sentences to focus their response and use random evidence that does not address the question or extract |
Include relevant evidence and quotations from the whole text that links with the extract and supports their argument | Include irrelevant quotations or descriptions of events in A Christmas Carol, just because they have learnt them |
Present some developed analysis of language, structure and form over more than one sentence | Present simple, one-sentence statements that are not developed or analysed |
Consider different interpretations and hidden or implied meanings to achieve some complexity in their analysis | Retell the story of A Christmas Carol without analysing Dickens’ choices or potential meanings |
Integrate relevant contextual knowledge and understanding into their argument smoothly | Include irrelevant contextual information that’s “bolted on” (often at the end of paragraphs) and is not related to their analysis |
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