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Never Let Me Go Cheat Sheet (Paper 2, Question 2)     Getting an A/A* Commentary Question: (10 Marks – 20 minutes) Make sure your points are tailored to the question - if it’s about atmosphere/mood  OR characterisation. Remember the mood/atmosphere is likely to change and the characterisation is likely to be nuanced/complex Focus on language and the writer’s techniques – try and be CONCISE + DETAILED Be confident - talk about the interesting moments in the extract and suggest perhaps how mood/atmosphere changes over the course of the extract/how the readers’ understanding of character changes over the course of an extract /how different readers may respond in different ways Try to cover the breadth of the extract – something from beginning/middle/end ‘Ishiguro highlights/emphasises/suggests/creates/implies/hints/portrays…’ Essay question: (24 marks – 40 minutes) !!!! Do not tell the story - analyse the text as a deli...

An Inspector Calls Cheat Sheet (Paper 2, Question 1 )  Getting an A/A* Commentary Question: (10 Marks – 20 minutes) Make sure your points are tailored to the question - if it’s about atmosphere/mood  OR characterisation. Remember the mood/atmosphere is likely to change and the characterisation is likely to be nuanced/complex Focus on language and the writer’s techniques – try and be CONCISE + DETAILED Be confident - talk about the interesting moments in the extract and suggest perhaps how mood/atmosphere changes over the course of the extract/how the readers’ understanding of character changes over the course of an extract /how different readers may respond in different ways Try to cover the breadth of the extract – something from beginning/middle/end ‘Priestley highlights/emphasises/suggests/creates/implies/hints/…’ Essay question: (24 marks – 40 minutes) !!!! Do not tell the story - analyse the text as a deliberately constructed ...

How does Priestley sustain the interest of his audience in An Inspector Calls? ‘That was the police… A girl has just died on her way to the infirmary. And a police officer is on his way…to ask some questions……’ Priestly uses an abundance of techniques to sustain his audience’s interest, the most dramatic of which is the double coup de theatre at the end of the play. This technique is particularly effective as it does not only surprise and grab the audience’s attention but it also ensures that the audience will continue thinking about the socialist message of the play long after the curtain has fallen. Priestley unsettles our expectations of the genre of the play with his double twist at the end. We have assumed since the beginning that we are watching a crime mystery where the main interest will be in discovering who is responsible for the crime. Priestley uses the characterisation of Inspector Goole as an enigmatic godlike figure to bring the audience much closer to the c...

A* Answers                                 English Lit Model Answers                          Commentary: Blown by the wind passage How does Ishiguro present mood and atmosphere here? The atmosphere of this scene is tense and emotional and Tommy gives vent to his emotions for the final time. Ishiguro uses darkness at the beginning of the extract to give an appropriately sinister and bleak backdrop to Tommy’s pain, ‘disappeared into blackness’. Darkness is often symbolic of death and in a way this entire episode could be seen as Tommy’s final railing against the brutal reality that he, Kathy and Ruth are going to die. Ishiguro uses the hesitant and unreliable narration of Kathy in this extract to emphasise how significant this moment is for her and for Tommy. Kathy seems to want to imply throughout...

Of Mice And Men Sample Exam Paper (a)   Commentary on Curley’s wife speech and behaviour Curley’s wife is introduced in this extract in quite a theatrical way. Steinbeck immediately draws attention to her loud and garish appearance (‘bright cotton dress’, ‘red ostrich feathers’). This makes her seem vain and superficial, but it also effectively puts us in the position of the ranch workers – we judge her based on her appearance. Steinbeck emphasises her physical appearance (‘made-up’ ‘little sausage curls’) making it clear that she takes great pains to present herself well at all times. There is some irony to this – she is the only woman on the ranch and seems overdressed. We also sense that she is and feels out of place which makes us feel sympathy for her. Steinbeck uses many theatrical techniques in presenting Curley’s wife in this extract. He uses speech (‘What you got there?) and body language (‘She knelt in the hay’) to show how Curley’s wife seeks to get clos...

JUICY AND MEATY EXAMPLES           Never Let Me Go The opening                                                                                                        Chapter 1 -           ‘ carer’, ‘donation’ ‘completion -           ‘My name is Kathy H’ -           ‘I’m not making big claims fo...

JUICY AND MEATY EXAMPLES          Of Mice and Men The opening ‘The evening of a hot day’ >>> pathetic fallacy >>> creates sense of foreboding/sets scene for violence ‘huge companion’ ‘small man >> playable novel > contrast ‘Lennie dabbled his big paw’ >>> Animal imagery 'Snorting into the water like a horse' >>>> animal imagery "Dragging his feet like a bear drags its paws" >>>> animal imagery ‘I didn’t kill it! Honest! I found it’ . >>>animal imagery >> foreshadowing Curley’s wife >>> we judge her as being ‘ jailbait’, ‘tart’ as the men do, and then realise that she is a victim (we look at appearances) ‘She smiled archly and twitched her body’ >> Curley’s wife is always trying to manipulate the men into giving her attention >>>> shows her real loneliness and desperate (loveless) situation ‘ rectangle of light i...

JUICY AND MEATY EXAMPLES           An Inspector Calls Opening – sets the stage>> dramatic irony abounds Staging suggests that all is well and harmonious ‘celebrating’ ‘are pleased with themselves’ but there are lots of clues that actually all is not well with this family Mrs Birling ‘her husband’s social superior’>> arrogant Mr Birling ‘heavy-looking… provincial in his speech’ Mr Birling has an accent, which reveals that he has made his own money rather than being an aristocrat>>> insecure, no compassion, arrogant ‘nonsense’, ‘a man has to make his own way’ ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’ (Titanic) dramatic irony – the audience of 1945 know that The Titanic sank>>> Mr Birling was wrong! (in fact, Priestly wants us to realise that he is DANGEROUSLY DELUDED… and that if we as the audience share any of Birling’s political views, we are dangerous deluded too.) Everything that looks settled...