As you begin to think about the title of your essay you should consider the main components that will go into making up the essay. I will post the Assessment Objectives in a later post but for now you should consider what will be required to get the highest marks for the essay.
AO4 and AO3 will be marked out of 25
AO2 and AO1 will be marked out of 15
C = context To get good marks in this criteria you must refer to context in your essay. Context includes a broad range of ideas including relevant biographical details, an awareness of the relevant social, cultural, political economic and philosophical issues that infuenced and affected the creation of this text.
AO4: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.
O = other To get good marks in this criteria you will need to refer to relevant ideas, observations and interpretations from other sources. Examiners consider short and relevant quotations from study guides appropriate [but not high level].Quotations and brief summaries of established critics and book introductions are considered higher level comments. You could use comments made during classroom discussions different from your own. As well as this making references to relevant and key theoretical perspectives would be very helpful. Pay special attention to feminist and Marxist perspectives. And of course making key relevant and sensitive comparisons between the three texts will be essential.
AO3: explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers;
L = language To get good marks in this criteria you will need to analyse the texts in detail, showing an awareness of genre and an ability to use a variety of literary frameworks - including poetry and prose.
AO2: demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts;
A = accuracy To do well here you will need to write simply and clearly showing a confident grasp of literary terminology. The essay expression should be coherent, fluent and accurate in spelling, sentence structure and grammar.
AO1: articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression;
Check out this link to the OCR website to look closely at the marking criteria. Click here! You will need to scroll down to page 57 and 58 at the end of the document.
