AQA GCSE English Literature · 3.3

Assessment, skills and terminology

Revision questions with answers for 3.3 Assessment, skills and terminology in AQA GCSE English Literature (spec 8702). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1
How many exam papers make up AQA GCSE English Literature (8702), and are they open or closed book?
Answer:
Two papers, both closed book. Any extract or poem you need is printed on the paper, but you cannot take a copy of the set text into the exam.
Question 2
What is assessed in Paper 1, and how long is it?
Answer:
Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, is worth 64 marks and counts for 40% of the GCSE.
Question 3
What is assessed in Paper 2, and how long is it?
Answer:
Modern texts, the poetry anthology and unseen poetry. It lasts 2 hours 15 minutes, is worth 96 marks and counts for 60% of the GCSE.
Question 4
What does Paper 1 Section A (Shakespeare) ask you to do?
Answer:
Answer one question on your chosen play. You write in detail about a printed extract and then about the play as a whole.
Question 5
What does Paper 1 Section B (the 19th-century novel) ask you to do?
Answer:
Answer one question on your chosen novel. You write in detail about a printed extract and then about the novel as a whole.
Question 6
What does Paper 2 Section A (modern texts) ask you to do?
Answer:
Write one essay from a choice of two questions on your studied modern prose or drama text.
Question 7
What does Paper 2 Section B (poetry) ask you to do?
Answer:
Write one comparative answer on a named poem printed on the paper and one other poem of your choice from your anthology cluster.
Question 8
What does Paper 2 Section C (unseen poetry) ask you to do?
Answer:
Answer one question on an unseen poem, then a second question that compares that poem with another unseen poem.
Question 9
How many marks are there for each part of Paper 2?
Answer:
Modern texts 34 marks (30 plus 4 for spelling, punctuation and grammar). Poetry anthology 30 marks. Unseen poetry 32 marks (24 on the first poem and 8 for the comparison).
Question 10
How are the marks split on Paper 1?
Answer:
Shakespeare 34 marks (30 plus 4 for spelling, punctuation and grammar) and the 19th-century novel 30 marks.
Question 11
What is AO1 and what does it reward?
Answer:
Read, understand and respond to the text. It rewards a critical style, an informed personal response, and well-chosen quotations and references that support your ideas.
Question 12
What is AO2 and what does it reward?
Answer:
Analysing the writer's language, form and structure and the effects they create, using accurate subject terminology. It carries the largest weighting (about 42.5% overall).
Question 13
What is AO3 and what does it reward?
Answer:
Showing understanding of the relationship between the text and the contexts in which it was written. Context must be linked to the question and to the text, not bolted on.
Question 14
What is AO4 and which questions carry it?
Answer:
Using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures with accurate spelling and punctuation. It is only marked on the Shakespeare and modern texts questions, and it is worth 5% overall.
Question 15
Which assessment objective carries the biggest share of the marks overall?
Answer:
AO2 (language, form and structure) at about 42.5%, then AO1 at 37.5%, AO3 at 15% and AO4 at 5%.
Question 16
What does 'form' mean when you analyse a text?
Answer:
The type or shape of the text, for example a play, a sonnet, a novella, a dramatic monologue or a short story. Comment on why the writer chose that form.
Question 17
What does 'structure' mean when you analyse a text?
Answer:
How the writer organises the text: the order of events, shifts in time or focus, pace, stanza or paragraph length, openings, endings and turning points.
Question 18
What does 'language' mean when you analyse a text?
Answer:
The writer's choice of words and techniques: vocabulary, imagery, sentence types, tone, sound effects and symbolism.
Question 19
What is the 'writer's methods' approach to a question?
Answer:
Focus on what the writer does (techniques, structure, form) and what effect it has on the reader or audience, not just on what happens in the story.
Question 20
What makes a strong thesis or 'line of argument' in a literature essay?
Answer:
A clear overall idea that answers the question and runs through every paragraph, for example how a writer presents power as corrupting. It stops the essay turning into a list of events.
Question 21
What does PEEL stand for in paragraph writing?
Answer:
Point, Evidence, Explain, Link. Make a point, support it with a short quotation, explain the effect and meaning, then link back to the question.
Question 22
How should you embed a quotation in your writing?
Answer:
Make it part of your own sentence and keep it short, for example: Macbeth fears his 'black and deep desires'. Analyse single words or phrases rather than copying out whole lines.
Question 23
Why is tentative language useful in literature essays?
Answer:
Words like 'suggests', 'perhaps' and 'could imply' let you explore more than one interpretation. This supports AO1 because it shows an informed, flexible personal response.
Question 24
How do you write about context (AO3) well?
Answer:
Choose one or two relevant ideas such as the writer's society, beliefs or the time of writing. Show how they shape a specific moment in the text and link them directly to the question.
Question 25
What should you do in the first few minutes of an exam question?
Answer:
Read the question and underline the key words, read the extract, plan three or four main points (with quotations), and then write. A short plan keeps the answer focused.
Question 26
Roughly how long should you spend on each Paper 1 question?
Answer:
As a guide about 50 to 55 minutes on Shakespeare and 45 to 50 minutes on the novel, including a few minutes of planning. Check the paper for any guidance given.
Question 27
What is a simile?
Answer:
A comparison using 'like' or 'as'. It makes a description vivid, for example describing a character as 'hard and sharp as flint'.
Question 28
What is a metaphor?
Answer:
A comparison that says one thing is another, without 'like' or 'as'. It creates a strong image and suggests deeper meanings.
Question 29
What is personification?
Answer:
Giving human qualities or actions to something that is not human, for example a storm 'raging'. It makes settings feel alive or threatening.
Question 30
What is alliteration?
Answer:
The repetition of the same sound at the start of nearby words. It can create rhythm, emphasis or a harsh or soft mood.
Question 31
What is sibilance?
Answer:
A type of alliteration that repeats 's' or 'sh' sounds. It can create a soft, whispering or sinister, hissing effect.
Question 32
What is assonance?
Answer:
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in nearby words, such as 'cold, slow and low'. It links words and can set a mood.
Question 33
What is onomatopoeia?
Answer:
A word that imitates the sound it describes, such as 'crash' or 'hiss'. It makes the writing more vivid and immediate.
Question 34
What is an oxymoron?
Answer:
Two contradictory words placed together, such as 'sweet sorrow'. It shows conflicting emotions or ideas.
Question 35
What is juxtaposition?
Answer:
Placing two contrasting things next to each other to highlight their differences, such as rich and poor, or light and dark.
Question 36
What is irony, and what are the main types?
Answer:
Meaning something different from what is said or expected. Verbal irony is saying the opposite, situational irony is an unexpected outcome, and dramatic irony is when the audience knows more than the characters.
Question 37
What is foreshadowing?
Answer:
Hints in the text about events to come. It builds tension and can make an ending feel inevitable.
Question 38
What is pathetic fallacy?
Answer:
Using the weather or setting to reflect a character's mood or the mood of a scene, such as a storm during a crisis.
Question 39
What is the difference between a symbol and a motif?
Answer:
A symbol is an object or image that stands for a bigger idea. A motif is an image, word or idea that is repeated throughout a text to build a theme.
Question 40
What are connotations?
Answer:
The ideas and feelings a word suggests beyond its literal meaning. For example 'red' can suggest danger, passion or blood.
Question 41
What is a semantic field?
Answer:
A group of words linked by theme, such as war, nature or religion. A cluster of related words shows what a writer wants you to focus on.
Question 42
What is hyperbole?
Answer:
Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or effect. It can show strong emotion or create humour or satire.
Question 43
What is anaphora?
Answer:
Repeating a word or phrase at the start of successive lines or sentences. It builds emphasis, rhythm and force.
Question 44
What is an antithesis?
Answer:
Setting opposite ideas against each other in a balanced structure. It highlights conflict or contrast.
Question 45
What do 'tone' and 'mood' mean?
Answer:
Tone is the writer's or speaker's attitude, such as bitter or tender. Mood is the atmosphere the reader feels, such as tense or hopeful.
Question 46
What is the difference between first-person and third-person narration?
Answer:
First person uses 'I' and gives a personal, limited view. Third person uses 'he', 'she' or 'they' and can be limited to one character or omniscient (all-knowing).
Question 47
What is an unreliable narrator?
Answer:
A narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted because they are biased, naive, deluded or hiding something. It makes the reader question what is true.
Question 48
What is allegory?
Answer:
A story with a hidden meaning in which characters and events stand for real ideas or events, such as a political situation. Animal Farm is a famous example.
Question 49
What is a bildungsroman?
Answer:
A coming-of-age novel that follows a character's growth from youth to maturity. Great Expectations and Jane Eyre are examples.
Question 50
What are the key features of Gothic fiction?
Answer:
Mystery, fear, the supernatural, gloomy settings, secrets and dark, extreme emotions. Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde are Gothic novels.

3.1.1 Shakespeare: Macbeth →

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