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Component 02: Comparative and contextual study

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you answer the OCR Component 02 Section A close reading of an unseen prose extract, with AO2 dominant?

Close reading of an unseen prose extract (H472/02 Section A): analysing an unfamiliar passage from your topic area for how meaning is shaped, with AO2 dominant and AO1, AO3 supporting (30 marks).
How to answer the OCR A-Level English Literature Component 02 Section A close reading (H472/02): analysing an unfamiliar prose extract from your topic area for how meaning is shaped, with AO2 the dominant objective and AO1, AO3 supporting, in a closed-book exam.
12 min answer →

How do you analyse prose method and move from feature to effect, the core AO2 skill for the unseen and beyond?

Close reading method and effect: the AO2 toolkit for prose (narrative voice, diction, imagery, syntax, structure) and the disciplined move from feature to effect, the transferable skill underpinning the unseen and every analytical task.
The AO2 toolkit for prose in OCR A-Level English Literature (H472): narrative voice, diction, imagery, syntax and structure, and the disciplined move from feature to effect, the transferable close-reading skill underpinning the Section A unseen and every analytical task.
11 min answer →

How do you manage time and structure a Section A close reading so it is complete, coherent and analytical under exam pressure?

Timing and structure for close reading (H472/02 Section A): managing the time split across the paper, annotating the unseen efficiently, and structuring the close reading by a controlling idea so it is complete and coherent under pressure.
How to manage time and structure the OCR A-Level English Literature Component 02 Section A close reading (H472/02): splitting the time across the paper, annotating the unseen efficiently, and structuring the analysis by a controlling idea so the answer is complete, coherent and analytical under exam pressure.
11 min answer →

How do you use your topic area's conventions and concerns to read an unseen extract you have never met?

Using topic conventions on the unseen (H472/02 Section A): deploying the genre conventions and concerns of your topic area to orient and deepen the close reading of an unfamiliar extract, and bringing light relevant context (AO3).
How to use your topic area's conventions and concerns to read the OCR A-Level English Literature Component 02 unseen extract (H472/02 Section A): deploying genre conventions to orient and deepen the close reading of an unfamiliar passage, and bringing light relevant context for the supporting AO3.
11 min answer →