Friday 15 April 2016

Study break - essay, and Examiner report pdf

Hi ladies,


Your essay task is below, but I want to explain how to read the examiner report. (In link to the right)

The report covers several regions throughout the world, so the first code (9695) is the AS English Literature paper code and the next (31) is broken down as paper 3, region 1.  Therefore, reports on 9695/31, 9695/32 and 9695/33 are all good reading for us.  Eventually we'll also want to read the reports for 9695/41, 42, etc., but we haven't covered any of that as yet.

Last year's novel was A Passage to India, so there won't be any specific notes on The House of Mirth. Still, we can see what the head examiner had to say about student approaches to tasks.  In all cases, whether poetry or prose, question (a) is a wider essay question and question (b) is passage-based.  Take note accordingly to how the examiner critiqued students in either question set.  Be ready to ask me about anything you didn't understand when we return in Term 2.

Essay task for study break:


"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth"

Discuss the importance of this passage from Ecclesiastes, from which the book takes its title, to Wharton's presentation of New York society.


Remember that your overview observations will still require plenty of specific quotes.  Using these helps focus our analyses.  Slow down, be patient, address the question.  Consider what the author uses, not simply how the story progresses.

Have fun!


- T. Marcus

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