OCR A-Level English Language and Literature: exam technique overview quiz quiz

AO1 and AO2

AO4 and AO5

AO3 and AO4

AO2 and AO5

AO1; by packing in as much precise linguistic terminology as you can manage

AO4; by keeping both texts live in every paragraph

AO5; by writing the response in a far more creative and expressive style throughout

AO2; by adding more historical and biographical context to each paragraph of the answer

By counting only the marks available and assuming the objective mix follows directly from the tariff

By simply guessing which objectives are being tested and hoping the choice matches the examiner's intent

By reading the wording: 'compare' (AO4), 'contexts' (AO3), 'language, form and structure' (AO2), 'write a piece' (AO5)

By ignoring the command words entirely and instead simply writing down everything that you happen to know about the text

So that you can memorise the whole text word for word and reproduce long passages exactly in the exam

Because OCR formally requires every candidate to submit a revision map alongside their examination script

So that you can avoid doing any close analysis at all and simply describe the events of the text instead

Closed-text exams reward ranging across a text from memory; a map lets you select evidence fast

Passive re-reading does not build reliable recall under pressure; active testing makes recall automatic

Re-reading the set text is strictly forbidden by OCR during the whole of the revision period before the exam

Active recall is much faster and simpler to set up than re-reading, so it saves a great deal of revision time

Re-reading the text wastes a large amount of paper and printer ink that could otherwise be saved for notes

To make the quotation bank as long as possible, since a bigger bank always scores more highly

A method tag tells you what the quotation lets you analyse, turning evidence into analysis

Because the themes of the text are unimportant and can safely be left out of the revision bank

To save revision time, since tagging by method is much quicker than tagging quotations by theme

It makes the finished essay considerably longer, and length is what most reliably raises the final mark

Planning is a formal requirement of OCR, so a plan must be submitted alongside every examination essay

A thesis plus three or four ordered, developing points reads as a case; without a plan, analysis defaults to a list

It replaces the analysis altogether, since a sufficiently strong plan can stand in for the close reading of the text itself

By writing a long and detailed introduction that sets out every single point the essay will go on to make

By separating the language paragraphs from the literature paragraphs into two distinct halves

By avoiding precise terminology, so the writing flows more naturally and reads less mechanically

By noting each point as a precise feature plus its effect and context, so it integrates by design

A fast comparative plan for the 1-hour Component 01, a fuller plan for the 2-hour Components 02 and 03

Use exactly the same plan and timing for every paper, regardless of its length or the number of essays

Spend most of the available time on the introduction, since a strong opening secures the bulk of the marks

Skip the planning stage entirely in order to leave the maximum possible time for actually writing the essay

Simply agree with the stated view from the outset and then illustrate it with examples from the text

Engage and evaluate the view, weighing how far it holds and reaching an evaluated position

Ignore the stated view altogether and write your own independent essay on the text and its methods

Summarise the plot and main events of the text without engaging with the stated critical view at all

They are essentially the same task, simply phrased in two slightly different ways by the examiners

The recreative task is always much shorter than an 'explore' task and so carries far fewer marks

Recreative is a production task (AO5): write a crafted piece; 'explore' is analytical: analyse the text

An 'explore' task is really a creative writing task in disguise, asking you instead to produce a crafted piece

It assesses AO5 by rewarding yet more crafted, creative writing in the commentary itself

It assesses AO4 only, rewarding sustained comparison between your piece and the original text

It is not formally assessed at all and exists purely to help the examiner understand your piece

It assesses AO1, AO2 and AO3 on your own writing, not AO5