OCR A-Level Drama and Theatre: written exam technique overview quiz quiz

Two performance texts studied on a set theme, answered as a theatre maker (30 marks)

One single set performance text answered solely as a director interpreting the whole play

A live production seen during the course, evaluated as an informed audience member

An unseen extract analysed cold under timed conditions with no prior preparation

AO1 (create and develop ideas in the practical work)

AO2 (apply skills to realise an interpretation)

AO4 (analyse and evaluate live theatre you have seen)

AO3 (demonstrate knowledge of theatrical context)

A plot summary that retells the events of the scene in chronological order

A list of techniques named one after another without any practical detail

Reasons: a choice justified by what it communicates

A judgement of how effective each staging choice proved to be for the audience

The mark scheme bands the examiner will use when assessing your answer

The length of the answer and the number of paragraphs you must write

The set theme that links the two performance texts in this section

The voice you must answer in (here, design choices in a discipline)

Answering through specific, justified practical choices tied to audience effect

Describing the plot of each set text in careful, full chronological narrative detail

Quoting published critics and academic reviewers to back up every single point

Writing as much as possible so the examiner sees the full breadth of knowledge

Only the plot and a long bank of exact quotations to reproduce word for word in the exam

Practical ideas tied to key moments (staging, performance, design) and analysis, not just facts

The examiner's name and the precise wording of the assessment objectives published by the board

Nothing at all, since the set text book is provided to you in the room during the paper

Spend almost all of the available time on Section A and rush whatever is left on Section B

Spend nearly all of the time on Section B and rush whatever is left on Section A

Roughly evenly between the two equally weighted 30 mark sections, with planning time

Allocate time at random and simply write until the invigilator calls the end

Scene by scene in strict chronological order from opening to close

By listing every design element used across the whole production in turn

Alphabetically by the name of each character who appears in the play

By an argument or judgement, organised by aspect

A point, specific evidence (a moment and choice), and evaluation

A short introduction, a retelling of the plot, then a brief closing conclusion

Three carefully chosen quotations lifted directly from the set performance text

A textbook definition, a relevant date, and a personal opinion about the play

It is not important, since marks come only from the amount of accurate knowledge shown overall

It gives the essay coherence and governs every paragraph, rather than producing a drifting tour

It makes the essay noticeably longer, which examiners reward when they award the higher bands

It impresses the examiner with sophisticated theatrical vocabulary used throughout the response

With a long, scene-setting introduction before the argument begins

By writing everything you know about the text in the hope of catching marks

Focused and choice-led from the first line, with brief planning

By deliberately leaving plenty of time to spare to check spelling at the end

AO2 (apply theatrical skills to realise an interpretation)

AO3 (demonstrate knowledge of context)

AO4 (analyse and evaluate live theatre)

AO1 (create and develop ideas)