In the coming weeks a series of articles on learning techniques, revision and preparation for GCSE English Literature examinations will be published. The first is an extract from Teachkit and focuses on assessment and preparing for examinations in GCSE English Literature. The extract will be outlined in two articles, so keep an eye out for part two over the coming days.

The aims of English literature courses are to encourage candidates to develop:

The ability to read, understand and respond to a wide range of types of literary texts,

The ability to appreciate the ways in which authors achieve their effects, and

The ability to acquire the skills necessary for literary study;

An awareness of social, historical and cultural contexts and influences in the study of literature;

The ability to construct and convey meaning in speech and writing, matching style to audience and purpose.

Assessment objectives for GCSE English literature

There are three broad objectives for assessing candidates’ achievements in English literature. Candidates must demonstrate their ability to:

Respond to texts critically, sensitively and in detail, using textual evidence as appropriate;

Explore how language, structure and forms contribute to the meaning of texts, considering different approaches to these texts and different interpretations of them;

Explore relationships and comparisons within and between texts, selecting and evaluating relevant material.

Success in literature

A very good way to help students focus and work efficiently in exams and in coursework is to give them a checklist of different things to do. It is possible to achieve the very highest grades without writing excessively. Teachers and students often confuse quality and quantity. For some kinds of coursework, you may need to write at length, to develop themes in detail for a complex text, but even here you should keep a sense of proportion. In exams, the time limits mean that able students may lose the chance to gain high marks by dwelling too long on one kind of response.

The list below can be remembered by students as an acronym – AACIR – or in its entirety by, for example, display on a wall and regular chanting or asking students to recall it with eyes shut. The list is:

Attitude, Author Comparison and contrast, Implied meaning, Reader and readings

Attitudes

Attitudes in a text, Attitudes to a text, Attitudes behind a text, Attitudes in a reader

Attitudes in a text

The attitudes in a text are (usally) not those of the author, though we may suspect that some attitudes in it are close to the author’s. In a play we will necessarily have a range of characters with differing attitudes. In prose fiction this may also happen, though we may also have a dominant narrative voice or third-person overview from the author. And in poetry, the writer may adopt or assume attitudes – this is perhaps where it is hardest to know whether the writer agrees with the attitude in the work.

Examples? In Romeo and Juliet Tybalt hates all Montagues, Mercutio dislikes Tybalt but doesn’t support the feud, while Romeo regrets the feud and tries to keep out of fighting. Blake’s The Tyger expresses awe at the power of nature (this probably is Blake’s own view).

Attitudes to a text

Students should be invited to make a judgement on any work, but make it an informed judgement. They should form an attitude to a text and consider other people’s attitudes, in a kind of dialogue, before attempting to evaluate what they have read.

Attitudes behind a text

Every writer will be in some way representative of his or her time and place. One reason why the National Curriculum has a range of required reading is to let pupils experience a diversity of viewpoints. Sometimes, the student needs to look at the writer’s culture and assumptions, which lie behind the text as it immediately appears.

Examples? In Macbeth we are not sure whether all the supernatural things are really happening or are just in Macbeth’s mind, but Shakespeare knows that his audience will accept witches with magical powers as plausible (believable). In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare knows his audience will understand why in many cases arranged marriages are better than love matches. Some modern writers assume that romantic or sentimental love or self-development are more important than duty or keeping of promises. Writers such as Dante or George Herbert have a clear sense of God’s presence as an immediate and almost tangible reality in their lives.

Attitudes in a reader

Contemporary authors may be able to assume some things about their readers’ attitudes and write in ways which makes use of this. So escapist fiction may have careful product-placement of luxury goods included in a narrative. On the other hand, young people may be helped by what they read to question or challenge their own attitudes. To Kill a Mockingbird was written partly to challenge racist attitudes which were perhaps as widespread in the USA at the time of writing (1960) as at the time when the story is set, in the 1930s. In its use as a text for UK schools in the 21st century it may be challenging nothing much. It may be simply reinforcing the reader’s disapproval of racism.

The author

At the most basic level, students need to see that there IS an author, and write about the author’s attitudes (if these appear), purposes and techniques or methods. It is worth their learning the standard spelling of “author” (especially when they are studying Arthur Miller). It is also worth their learning, almost as a mechanical habit, to refer to the author in their responses to texts:

“The author [or name] shows that…”

“In this stanza the poet questions…”

“Later the playwright brings together…”

The negative version of this advice is to caution students against writing about texts as if recording events in the real world – this is especially dangerous with narratives: “Then Piggy got killed by Roger, and Ralph ran onto the beach. Then a man came in a white uniform and took Ralph home. He was sad because Simon and Piggy got killed.”

To be continued…

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