Question B: How To Get Full Marks (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Deb Orrock
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
Question B: How To Get Full Marks
The starting point for the analysis of any text is active reading. This means, as you read, annotating the text with your own comments and questions. Plays will often contain many layers of meaning, so it is important that you explore beyond any surface meanings to uncover the deeper ideas and themes. Some appreciation of the context in which a play was written can also help your understanding, but this should never be the main focus of your exploration.
It is tempting to jump straight in and start writing immediately. However, following this guide will ensure you answer the question in the way the examiners are looking for.
Below you will find sections on:
What skills are required
Steps for success
Top tips
What skills are required
Each question on this exam paper assesses all four Assessment Objectives equally. This means it is important that you know what skills these Assessment Objectives require you to demonstrate in order to get the most marks.
AO1 is about demonstrating knowledge of the play’s content with reference to specific sections of the text:
This objective is about working out what is going on in terms of content, structure and word choice
AO2 is about going beyond the surface meaning and story, to look for underlying ideas and attitudes – the writer’s and your own:
This requires you to ask “why” the author has made the choices they have
Some elements of the writer’s context can be used to inform your personal response, but only if relevant to the focus of the question
AO3 requires critical engagement and evaluation of how the text works:
“Meanings and effects” suggests that there is more than one meaning for a text, and the language, structure and form of the play contribute to those meanings
It does not mean just listing the literary techniques the writer has used
AO4 refers to the way you shape your writing in order to communicate your engagement with the text:
A personal response means that you may wish to make comparisons with similar experiences of your own, whether in real life or in your reading
Contextual information should help reinforce your own interpretation, but not replace it
Your own response is valid as long as it is supported by evidence
The following sections explore the skills you will need to demonstrate in more detail:
Analysing drama
Developing a personal response
Analysing drama
It is essential to remember that drama is written for an audience; plays and drama texts are intended for performance on a stage. This impacts how you read and consider a dramatic text, as you also need to consider how a play would appear to an audience.
Form and structure apply to drama as well as poetry and prose. The form is the type of writing the author has selected to tell their story and explore themes when presenting their work, while the structure is how the piece of drama unfolds. It is therefore important to consider what choices the writer has made in terms of form and structure, and whether they have conformed to, or subverted, the conventions of that particular form or elements of structure. The examples below are not exhaustive, and you are encouraged to research the dramatic form of your set texts.
Dramatic form | Definition | Examples |
Farce | Comedy that entertains through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous or absurd | The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare |
Satire | A way of criticising people or situations in a humorous way | Animal Farm by George Orwell |
Melodrama | A play in which the characters display stronger emotions than real people | Still Life, Brief Encounter by Noel Coward |
Domestic drama | A play that focuses on the realistic everyday lives of the middle or lower classes in a certain society | Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller |
Heroic drama | A play that involves epic stories of noble heroes and lavish, exotic settings | The Indian Queen by Robert Howard |
Historical drama | Dramatic texts based on historical material | Henry V by William Shakespeare |
Dramatic structure | Explanation |
Plot structure | A plot could be cyclical:
The writer might also use parallelism:
You might also wish to consider the arrangements of scenes and/or acts, and why the writer has positioned them in the way that they have |
Mood | Mood describes the feelings or attitudes of roles and/or characters It is the emotional impact intended by the writer |
Juxtaposition | To place two things side by side to compare or contrast for effect:
|
Foreshadowing | This is a warning or a prediction of a future event in the play The writer might also employ dramatic irony, where the audience might be aware of what is coming, but the characters are not |
In medias res | This is when the play starts in the middle of the action |
Flashbacks | A scene in a play set in a time earlier than the main story: This device can be used to convey extra information about plot or character |
Soliloquies/dialogue | A soliloquy is a speech that a character makes to themselves:
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters in a play |
You might also wish to consider the use of stage directions, setting, how conflicts are introduced and resolved (or not) and character development, and take particular note of how the play ends.
Some of the other things you need to consider when preparing your answer to the essay question include:
Take a whole-text approach:
In the essay question, this could involve commenting on structure: “at the start”/“this changes when”/“in contrast…“
Always frame your essay with the author in mind:
As the examiners say: “writers use methods, including language and structure, to form and express their ideas – the choices the writer makes are conscious and deliberate”
Therefore, write that the author “highlights X”, “suggests Y”, “challenges Z”
Use the words “so” and “because” to push you to explain your own ideas further
Zoom out to big ideas in your analysis:
Go from analysing language, or other writer’s choices, to the author’s overall intention or message
This should always link to the focus of the question
What not to do when analysing the author’s methods
Do not just “spot techniques”:
Examiners dislike it when students use overly sophisticated terminology unnecessarily and without analysis
Knowing the names of sophisticated techniques will not gain you any more marks, especially if these techniques are only “spotted” and the author’s intentions for this language are not explained
Instead of technique spotting, focus your analysis on the reasons why the author is presenting the character or theme the way they are
Do not just limit your analysis to a close reading of the author’s use of language:
You gain marks for explaining all of the author’s choices, not just their language
Instead, take a whole-text approach and think about the author’s decisions about:
Form
Structure
Characterisation
Setting
Staging and stage directions
Never retell the story:
“Narrative” and “descriptive” answers get the lowest marks
Move from what the author is presenting to how and why they have made the choices they have
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners like to see that students have an awareness of the form of a text, whether it’s a novel, a play, a poem, etc. All texts on this paper are plays, and so it’s important that you signal to the examiner that you know this. This is as simple as using the term “audience” instead of reader, and other play-specific terminology such as “act”, “scene”, “on stage” and even “playwright” instead of writer. It is also important to add that commenting on stage directions is as valuable as analysing any other writer’s method. Indeed, it has the advantage of showing the examiner you are aware of the writer’s intentions (the overall message he/she is trying to convey), because all stage directions are literally their intentions for what happens on stage.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
If you are studying a Shakespeare play as one of your set texts, then you might find our AQA revision notes on How to Answer the Shakespeare Essay Question helpful, as these go into detail about the different forms of Shakespearean drama and how to quote from Shakespearean plays.
Developing a personal response
A personal response is your opinion about the play, as relevant to the focus of the question. You are being asked to consider what the writer has tried to do and whether you think they have succeeded. However, it is important that your arguments are convincing, which means that they need to be supported with evidence. Your choice of evidence, whether that be direct quotation of language or references to the form and structure of a text, must be careful, accurate and effectively explained.
How to structure your response:
Start with an introduction that demonstrates that you understand the focus of the question and the play | You can do this by using the wording of the question to develop a thesis statement For example: “Shakespeare’s portrayal of Malvolio in Twelfth Night makes me sympathise with him to an extent because his character develops in the play through his treatment at the hands of other characters.” |
Then, structure your response into paragraphs | Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence You should integrate direct quotation or specific reference to the text to prove your point Then comment on how this evidence proves your point Each point you make must be directly relevant to the focus of the question |
For the essay question | Start with a whole-text approach, discussing the structure and perspectives of the play as a whole, relevant to the focus of the question Then, zoom in on particular, specific parts of the play that are directly relevant to the focus of the question |
Finish with a conclusion | Summarise your findings and your response to these findings Do not just repeat the points you have already made For example: “So overall, Shakespeare’s portrayal of Malvolio presents the audience with both a victim and a comic target.” |
Steps for success
Following these steps will give you a strategy for answering this drama question effectively:
Grab your highlighter and read the question first:
Read carefully and highlight the focus of the question
Do a brief plan of 4–5 points, linking to the quotations you are going to use
Start your answer using the wording of the question:
This demonstrates to the examiner that you have understood both the question and the poem
Go into detail:
Now you need to make as many points as possible, ranging throughout the play
It is a good idea to make your points in chronological order, if possible
Comment on and analyse language, form and structure
Link your ideas to the theme and the focus of the question:
You should refer back to the keywords in the question throughout your answer
Use “because” or “as” to support your ideas with detailed reasons
Explore the writer’s intention and message
Sum up:
Finish your answer with a “So overall…” statement
Zoom back out to the big ideas in the text
Your finishing statement should sum up what you have discovered, relevant to the focus of the question:
However, it should not just repeat the points you have already made
Top tips
Avoid being too general or vague in your introduction:
Your introduction should address the Assessment Objectives in some way
Avoid simply “re-telling” the narrative of the play
Make sure every paragraph answers the question:
Do not just write everything you know about the text
Avoid unnecessary words
Re-read each of the paragraphs you have written before you write the next:
Check that each paragraph is clear and that it answers the question
Ensure your selection of quotations is directly relevant to the focus of the question
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