Keats reading

Hi all,
Please print and read this article on TEoSA. http://www.clayfox.com/ashessparks/reports/katie.html

The plan for today is as follows:
- Continue our note-taking and evidence gathering for the key aspects of narrative in relation to Enduring Love We'll have a particular focus on what's meant by the 'destination' of the narrative - where is the reader left at the end of the text? What interpretations can be drawn, what themes are highlighted and explored, how might readers be expected to respond to the narrative as a whole? In a way, this is the most important and interesting feature of all; it's fine to think about how narratives are constructed, but what about why they are constructed, and what is their effect? To consider this, we also need to return to the idea of contexts, of production and reception. How might the conditions in which the texts were produced affect them, and what about the conditions in which texts are received?
- We'll also spend some time applying the same ideas to Keats, and thereby create some organised notes.
It's important that we focus not only on where we can identify the key aspects, but also on what their impact is on the narrative as a whole. We can all say, for example, that settings are evocative and important in Keats' work, but we need to make sure that we extend our thinking to cnosider what the impact of this is, and try to find links between the texts.
ta
Mr Boulter

Holiday work (an oxymoron, surely?!)

Hi all,

Hope you had a wonderful time at Easter and are not too gorged on chocolate! I'm sorry I haven't managed to clarify your work on here yet - thanks to Sasha for pointing that out! In the lesson on Friday, we agreed to aim for 4 mini-essays to be completed over the break. They were:

- 2 Question 1a responses. This means: How does Ian McEwan tell the story in Chapters .... and .... . We agreed that you could choose your own chapters for this task if you wish; I would suggest choosing two from 19, 20, 1, 13, 14.

- 2 Question 1b responses. I'm struggling to remember the title that we agreed for this - could anyone perhaps post it as a comment on here please? Otherwise, try this one: "The unreliabilty of memory is the central theme of the novel": how far do you agree with this statement?

This might seem a lot, but remember that these questions only require 30 mins each, so it's not really. Also keep in mind the following:

- Question 1a is assessed on AO2 only. This requires you to focus on language, structure and form, but you must write explicitly about narrative. Remember the 6 elements of narrative that we've focused on-

Scenes and places (i.e. narrative setting)
Time and sequence (i.e. narrative structure)
Characters and characterisation
Voice (i.e. narrator, dialogue, etc.)
Point of view (i.e. narrative perspective)
Destination (i.e. overall significances)

Your job, therefore, is to identify which of the above is most interesting or relevant in the light of the chapter that you are considering, and write about them in a convincing, confident and analytical way. You don't have to write about them all, obviously, but do focus on at least two. Targets from our writing in the past have included focus on topic/concluding sentences as being important as a tool to structure our responses clearly and helping us to keep on track, and the principles of PEE+ apply here also.

Question 1b is assessed on AO 1, 3 and 4. Key phrases from the mark scheme include: "appropriate critical vocabulary, sharp focus on task" for AO1, "perceptive consideration of different interpretations" for AO3 (this is why it's important to weigh up both sides of an argument before coming to a conclusion) and "understanding of links to context) for AO4. I was talking to an AQA examiner over the hols, and she said they've been told not to focus too much on context, but some consideration is needed - we could mention, for example, the recent explosion in scientific development and understanding alongside a general decline in religious feeling, alongside a rise in religious fundamentalism for example. It has to be relevant to the task though, not just a bolt-on.

Anyway, see how you get on. In my view, whilst it's important to have an awareness of the assessment criteria, the main thing is to think carefully and creatively about the question and show the fundamentals of good analytical writing - be clear, be concise, stick to the question, use evidence, and try to develop your analysis of evidence fully.

Here's a link to the specimen mark scheme which we studied in class - probably as useful for giving you an idea of the types of questions that are likely to come up as for the actual marking criteria itself. http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-LITB1-W-SMS-07.PDF

See you on Monday!

Mr Boulter

Fled away into the storm...

Hi all,

Just a quick note to say a fond farewell to Mr Marshall, who is fleeing into the storm (well, starting a teaching practice at Chipping Norton) - if you're reading this, many thanks from all of us for the help and input you've provided.

I've had a look at the essays you wrote for question 1a, and overall they seem to be pretty good. You seem to have got the hang of the idea of choosing two or three key aspects of narrative from the given chapter and developing discussion into detail, so with the Chapter 9 answers there was plenty of focus on narrative voice, whereas the chapter 11 essays looked at form and language in more detail. We need to signpost our answers a little more clearly, making sure that points about narrative are made explicit, but overall I think you can enter the Easter break feeling encouraged about the progress made this term.

Tomorrow, we'll turn our attention to question 1B, analysing the style of questions likely to be posed, and having a go at one for EL. Over the holidays, I'll need you to write 2 more answers for Qu1a and 2 for Qu1b.

See you then,

Mr Boulter

Good gracious! Lord bless me! only think! dear me! who would have thought it?

And if you do not know which character in Pride and Prejudice is most likely to have made that speech, you need to read the novel more carefully....

As we reach the end of term, time to reflect. In the last 3 weeks:

- we have finished studying Auden, and talked about the ways that the six aspects of narrative are deployed in the poems
- we have thought in some detail about what is meant by those six aspects of narrative, and how they work in narrative poetry
- we have looked at the structure of the AS exam and in particular at what is required of you in Section B
- you (should) have finished reading Pride and Prejudice

We now move on to:

- looking at the way the narrative works in Pride and Prejudice
- considering the ways in which those six aspects of narrative are deployed in novels
- practising exam answers for Section B, using Auden, Austen and Keats

Over the holiday, then, your work is to:

- do some work on narrative method in Pride and Prejudice (I will give you a worksheet)
- ensure you understand and have a solid overview of the plot, characters and themes of the novel
- start to practice some Section B essay planning ( I will give you questions to work on)

There is a good, short, A Level study guide to Pride and Prejudice at http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/prose/prideandprejudice.htm, which I recommend you read, It is an intelligent discussion of the characters and themes of the novel. We will not have time to cover more than the narrative method of the novel in class, so you do need to spend some time on getting a solid grip on the plot etc.

Have a good Easter!

Dr S