Exploding a Paper 2 Question

Every year, examiners point out how candidates sometimes fail to answer the set question or answering only addressing one part of it (if it is a multi-part question).  

One whole criterion (Criterion B) is devoted to just this aspect, so learning to unpack and interpret a Paper 2 question is a crucial part of exam success and a vital skill to develop.

Below we give you a snapshot of what that “unpacking” might look like. Remember that in all cases, nothing can replace consistent practice over the course of a term. If you need this, contact us.

 “The theatre brings into the open important issues of the time.” How have dramatists presented "important issues” in plays you have studied?

1. Identify the key words and instructions in the question

‘brings into the open’: makes public, suggests that theatre can examine difficult topics, reveals what is hidden ; taboos?
‘important issues’: things that matter to society, themes and messages conveyed to an audience
‘of the time’: issues that were important at the time the play was written that may or may not still be important now
‘presented’: how do we see these issues explored in the play? – characters, actions, events, dramatic techniques etc.

2. Define exactly what the question wants you to examine and explore.

I should identify the issues that are important in the play and discuss the various techniques (dramatic and literary) that the writer uses to reveal these issues (themes). I should also discuss the writers’ message in relation to the issues.


3. Which plays fit this question best?

Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Death and the Maiden OR Streetcar!

3.1. What aspects of the plays will you write about? (Brainstorm.)

• Sizwe: A play that centers on the Pass Laws and the oppression of South African Blacks under Apartheid. Central purpose of the play is to show what blacks must do in order to survive. The play was inspired by two photographs and contains autobiographical elements from all three co-creators of the play

• Death and the Maiden: Deals with issues of justice and morality faced by a nation that has recently become democratic after a period of harsh, oppressive dictatorship. It forces the audience to examine who is to blame and what can be done to recover from past memories. The ambiguity in the play is quite relevant for countries that must try to sort out the truth of what happened but also move on and heal as a nation.

4. How are these aspects similar and different in the two plays? (Organise ideas)

Both plays are designed to hold a mirror up to society and to examine issues of oppression and morality. Both plays use the alienation effect to force the audience to examine themselves. This is a clear plea to consider an important issue of the time. Both plays also have universal truths that extend beyond one particular time and place. That is, Sizwe is about how human beings oppress others all over the world and how inequality and oppression is something that the human race will always need to deal with (even after Apartheid) DATM is not just about Chile (as it states in the opening of the play but is about any newly democratic country or a country healing from past abuses (Rwanda, South Africa, Argentina, Uganda for example)

Sizwe deals with a specific law and centers around the pass book. It also is about a regime that is/was CURRENTLY oppressive. DATM is about the past and past abuses. The country is no longer suffering under dictatorship. It is mostly about how Paulina must recover from her past and learn to move on. “Isn’t is time we stopped?”

5. Construct a thesis statement

Both texts bring out into the open issues concerning human rights abuses and what human beings must do to overcome these obstacles. However, although the themes are similar, the writers employ different techniques to develop these ideas in the play.

Paper 2 Questions (Literature, May 2019)

Many of our students ask us for help with writing high-scoring Paper 2 exams. Two essential steps must be taken before attempting to write anything: the first is identifying what the question requires, so that your answer is seen as "pertinent". It is easy to miss the point of the question or its embedded nature. The second, and often hardest step, is deciding how the questions apply to your works, even when they appear not to. To learn more, ask for a free trial session.  

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on at least two of the three part 3 works you have studied and compare and contrast these works in response to the question. Answers which are not based on a discussion of at least two part 3 works will not score high marks.

Drama

1. Comparing at least two plays you have studied, discuss the presentation of order and disorder and the effects created.

2.   Referring to at least two plays you have studied, compare the ways in which visual elements of a play can reflect the inner thoughts and feelings of characters.

3.   With reference to at least two plays you have studied, compare the means by which the central conflict of the work is made clear from its opening.

Poetry

4. An important aim of poetry is to make the reader think. Compare how and to what effect this is achieved in the work of at least two poets you have studied.

5. Referring closely to the works of at least two poets you have studied, compare their use of literary devices in presenting loneliness or isolation or both.

6. Comparing the work of at least two poets you have studied, explore the means by which the speaker or persona is created.

Prose: novel and short story

7. In the works of at least two authors you have studied, compare the ways in which children are presented, and to what effect.

8. Place can assume so much importance in some works that it almost becomes another character. In the works of at least two authors of prose fiction you have studied, compare the presentation and significance of such influential places or settings.

9. In the works of at least two authors you have studied, compare how and to what effect power struggles are explored.

Prose other than fiction

10. In at least two works of prose other than fiction you have studied, compare the means by which the writer's credibility is established and how important this is to the work as a whole.

11. Works of prose other than fiction take us from the known to the unknown. In at least two works you have studied, compare the means by which authors have presented and used this shift.

12. The shaping of events, facts or ideas into a work of prose other than fiction often involves incorporating elements that we associate with poetry. Compare how and to what effect this has been achieved in at least two works you have studied.

How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay

How to write a thesis statement for an analytical essay

More Paper 2 Questions (English A: Literature)

Many of our students ask us for help with writing high-scoring Paper 2 exams.   An essential first step is becoming aware of the range of questions that can be asked. The second is knowing how they can be applied to your works.  Ask us for guidance.

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on at least two of the Part 3 works you have studied and compare and contrast these works in response to the question. Answers which are not based on a discussion of at least two Part 3 works will not score high marks.



Drama 

1. Extended speeches by individual characters, either alone on the stage or with others present, are used in plays with various purposes and outcomes. Using at least two plays you have studied, show how playwrights use such speeches to achieve purposes particular to their plays.

2. Plays employ various kinds of structural divisions such as prologues and epilogues, act and scene divisions, even carefully placed intermissions. In at least two plays in your study, discuss how some of these divisions have been used to underscore or complement the materials of the plays.


3. Dramatic tension in many plays arises from the conflicting goals of a protagonist and those of an antagonist. Using at least two plays you have studied, show how such fully apparent or subtle conflicts provide the foundation and interest of the plays.




Poetry

4. Poems are often meant to be heard, not just seen. In the work of two poets you have studied, consider those aspects of the poems that appeal to the ear in addition to other aspects of reader pleasure.

5. The metaphor, based on analogies between things, is a common and expected element of poetry. Show how at least two poets in your study have heightened meaning or interest in their poems by the use of metaphor.

6. Contrasts of many kinds are used by poets to sharpen their expression of ideas or feelings or both. In the work of at least two poets you have studied, explore the ways contrasts have been used to achieve particular effects.




The Novel and Short Story

7. Writers of fiction do not always relate events in the order in which they seem to occur in the worlds of their novels or short stories. Choosing two works by writers you have studied, show how variations of chronological order can be seen to serve the purposes of the stories.

8. Often, the memorable impact of short stories and novels arises from the careful and often brilliant creation of detail by their writers. Using two writers you have studied, explore the role and impact of some significant details in the narratives.

9. Who tells the story is often an essential feature in how far a reader finds a novel or short story credible, but sometimes it seems not to matter at all. Using two works you have studied, say how far the impact of the voice which tells the story is important to the success of the work.




Prose other than Fiction

10. Separating various stages of an autobiography or travel narrative is a challenge for writers in these forms. Choosing two works you have studied, discuss the way the writers have structured their works to make their material clear and interesting to their audiences.


11. Personal history as well as the backdrop of events surrounding that personal history are both significant to many works of prose other than fiction. In two works of this kind, discuss the handling of these two realms of existence.


12. Sometimes what is implied in a work of prose other than fiction is very important. Considering the work of two writers you have studied, explore the treatment of some issues and agendas that are only implied or treated briefly, but are, nevertheless, important aspects of the works.

P2 (HL) Specimen response

The response below is in answer to the exam question Context –‘historical, cultural, or social – can have an influence on the way literary works are written or received. Discuss with reference to at least two of the works you have studied.

To what extent has this candidate explored the implications of the exam question and produced a relevant response?

Sample student response

The novel, The Bell Jar, is a semi-autobiographical novel, written by Sylvia Plath, and set in 1950s America. The play, A Doll’s House, is written (originally in Norwegian) by Henrik Ibsen, and set in late 1800s Norway. Both texts explore the marginalization of women in the social contexts of the period and place in which they are set. And, both texts are strongly influenced by their social context, exploring gender inequality and attitudes of social conformism. Plath and Ibsen essentially explore the inferiority of women – their restricted and sacrificial social role – through the character development of their female protagonists, Esther Greenwood and Nora Helmer, respectively, who struggle in their search for an authentic, individual identity, rather than obediently succumb to a socially pleasing façade. Hence, it can be said that both Plath and Ibsen are challenging the gender inequality and conformist attitudes dominant in the societies in which these works are set by representing the struggle and suffering of the protagonists.
             Both The Bell Jar and A Doll’s House explore the theme of the inferiority of women in society through either their restricted possibilities, or the sacrificial role patriarchal society expects them to take. In The Bell Jar, Plath makes it clear that part of the prevailing social expectation is that women should remain virgins until marriage. The article ‘In Defence of Chastity’, “gave all the reasons why women should not sleep with anybody apart from her husband and then only after they were married.” Esther Greenwood, the novel’s protagonist, recognizes the hypocrisy of this social convention after discovering that Buddy Willard, her college boyfriend, has had an affair and lost his virginity, yet still expecting Esther to retain her “purity” for him. Buddy Willard symbolizes a perfect male specimen in 1950s American society – he is intelligent, hardworking, athletic, and studying to become a doctor. In the androcentric society in which Esther lives, he is the type of man that Esther should want to remain a virgin for. However, recognizing the socially imposed sexual double-standard regarding sex and virginity – that is, women should remain virgins, but men should not – Esther feels that the article ‘In Defence of Chastity’ fails to consider “how a girl felt”. That Buddy Willard could live a life in which he could both lose his virginity, and at the same time be regarded as pure and perfect, makes no sense to Esther. As a result, Esther recognizing the injustice and ambiguity in this, goes all out to lose her virginity with men like Constantin, in order to relieve herself of this social pressure. Eventually, Esther loses her virginity with Irwin, a maths professor. This could be regarded as scandalous to readers first encountering the book in the 1960s, as it is behaviour that is contrary to the beliefs and norms of the period. Given this, it suggests that Plath’s novel can be read as an attempt to challenge the injustice of unequal gender expectations.
              Similarly, in A Doll’s House, it is expected that men take on the dominant, authoritative role in marriage and that women take on a sacrificial, largely passive role. Ibsen portrays this through the sacrifices that all his female characters, representing different social classes (and therefore literary foils of a kind), make for themselves and their families. Mrs Linde is a working-class woman who gives up her true but poor love, Krogstad, in order to marry a man of wealth in order to support her sick mother and two brothers. Nurse, caretaker to Nora’s children, has had to give up her daughter in order to become Nora’s nanny and support herself. Nora, an upper-class woman in the Norwegian social hierarchy, also reveals that she is willing to support herself in order to save Torvald’s honour. The women of Ibsen’s play exemplify Nora’s assertion later in Act III after Torvald states that “no men can be expected to sacrifice their honour, even for the person they love, while millions of women have.” Ibsen, it seems, may be challenging the injustice, apparent in Norwegian society of the period, that only women, not men, are expected to make sacrifices.
              Furthermore, in The Bell Jar, inferiority and restriction of women is as women are expected to merely and solely take the role of wife and mother. Esther’s mother and Mrs Willard are female characters which Plath creates showing how society has internalized in these women the morals and beliefs that men and women have specific and different roles to play and that they must be followed. Mrs Willard strongly believes that “what a man is is an arrow into the future and what a women is is the place the arrow shoots off from.” When Esther tells Buddy that she does not intend to get married, Buddy responds as if this is impossible and that Esther is absurd. Buddy tells Esther, “you’re crazy…you’ll change your mind”, showing how society does indeed dictate that women’s key social role is to be a dutiful wife and a good mother, and anything else is considered ridiculous or inferior. Esther rejects this belief and disagrees with her mother who insists that she learn short hand as this would enable Esther to take on a secretarial job and find a wealthy man to marry. Esther’s mother states that “she would be in demand amongst all the up-and-coming young men”, just like the young women who stay at the ironically named Amazon Hotel. However, instead of epitomizing glamour and fortune, Esther finds these young women spoilt and, as she describes in her ‘skaz-like narrative voice, “bored as hell”. It can be suggested that, through Esther, Plath challenges the stipulated pathways that male society crafts for women.
              A further main contextual theme that results from challenging the male-centric society, as Plath and Ibsen evidently do, is the idea of searching for an authentic, individual identity, rather than succumbing to a socially pleasing façade. Ibsen does this through the construction of his protagonist Nora. As Ibsen’s realist drama opens, the audience see Nora enter the stage, bringing home a Christmas tree, symbolically suggesting affluence and a socially constructed view of female domesticity. However, over the three Act play, Nora’s character develops, as she goes through a transformative, life-changing event that threatens her marriage and her relationship to her children, as she realises the importance of establishing her own self-identity. At the beginning of the play, the audience recognize Nora as an amalgamation of 19th century generalizations of women – she is only concerned with her husband’s needs and the material aspects of domesticity at home. However, as the play progresses and Krogstad threatens to expose Nora’s ‘crime’ and challenge the stability of her marriage to Torvald, Nora undergoes a change. Increasingly, she becomes unhappy playing the subservient role of Torvald’s ‘doll’ that he can control and play with, rather than an equal partner in marriage. Torvald claims that Nora’s “sacred duties lie in (her) home”, symbolically suggesting that a women’s domestic role is religiously prescribed, and that Nora is “first a wife and a mother”. However, Nora recognizes that she can no longer stay with Torvald and that she must embrace her independence and search for her own identity. She realizes that she needs to “learn about” society on her own in order to “satisfy (herself) which is right, society or her” even if this means rejecting society’s view of “sacred duties” and “morals”. Ibsen, in my view as a young female reader, is challenging society’s expectation of women. It is this that 19th century European theatre audiences would have found shocking.
              Likewise, in The Bell Jar, Esther also searches for an authentic identity, refusing to accept the social conventions of 1950s America that stipulates how women should behave. During her summer internship as a guest writer on a ‘ladies’ magazine in Manhattan, Esther is expected to be having the time of her life and to be enthusiastic about her opportunity since many women would aspire to have her chance. However, through Esther’s narrative, Plath explores the tension between expectation and reality, showing how the expected charm and romance of New York life is opposed by Esther’s encounters with suspicious men like Lenny and the immense unhappiness and gloom she experiences. Early in Esther’s retrospective narrative, she says “I didn’t know what I was doing in New York” showing her sense of anomie and isolation in a society that makes no sense to her. Esther does not understand “why (she) couldn’t go all the way doing what (she) should do. This made (her) sad and tired,” and she also wonders “why (she) couldn’t go all the way doing what (she) couldn’t do. This made (her) even sadder and more tired.” It is apparent that Esther cannot conform to society’s expectations on how she should feel and behave despite her apparent success. This is emphasized by her refusal to accept traditional female roles as “the last thing (she) wanted was infinite security or to be the place an arrow shoots off from.” Esther “hated the idea of serving men” and “(she) wanted to dictate her own thrilling letters”, suggesting that Esther (and perhaps Plath) wants to author her own life’s narrative. In Esther, Plath has clearly created a female protagonist that is determined to shape her own individual identity. However, for Esther, this is not easy. The metaphor of the fig tree, and the choices on offer, suggests Esther’s indecision or inability to choose a future for herself. She eventually becomes depressed as a metaphorical bell jar descends on her, and she is ‘punished’ through electroshock therapy for her failure to accept socially appropriate roles. In a similar way, when Nora slams the door at the conclusion of A Doll’s House, she is physically and symbolically ‘in the cold’ – punishment for her decision to seek a life for herself.
              Plath and Ibsen write in different literary genres, and in different times and places. Esther and Nora, however, share very similar fates in refusing to be the women society expects them to be. Thus, whilst Esther and Nora are social constructs of particular societies, it can be argued that over time and space, the situation of women in male dominated cultures remains the same.

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Body paragraphing (for comparative essays)

Coherence is created when ideas appear to meld, following each other logically and seamlessly.  A lot of the coherence that you achieve in your P2 essay will be from linking ideas between paragraphs,but also within paragraphs. Here we show how you might structure internally.

A single paragraph may look like this:

1. The first sentence needs to tell the reader as clearly and in as few words as possible what the focus of the paragraph is going to be. Make sure that it directly addresses the question. If your essay is very well structured then you should be able to summarise it by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. The first sentence is vital in signposting what the paragraph is going to be about. Some teachers call this the topic sentence: others refer to it as the point.

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2. The second sentence should include your first piece of evidence. This will usually be a quotation from one of the texts. The rule of thumb for quotations is that they should be as short as possible: you should quote only the sections that you intend to discuss and, in an essay like this, they should never be longer than a couple of lines of poetry or a prose sentence. They should also be embedded – the sentence should read naturally and flow continuously if you were to take the quotation marks away.

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3. The next part of the paragraph will usually be two or three sentences of analysis of the first quotation. In these sentences you should write about the writer's diction, structure and form. You will need to quote certain words again in order to focus on them and to show how and why the writer has used them. You should use technical language in your analysis to show that you understand how and why the writer uses various literary devices.

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4. You will need to link into the next section of the paragraph which will often be a comparison with another text. This will usually be one sentence and will often use a linking word of phrase. Some examples of these are similarly, nevertheless, In keeping with this idea of X...etc

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5. You now need to provide some evidence from the text you are comparing, so you will normally include another quotation here. Follow the advice given in point 2 above.

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6. Once again you will analyse the quotation, following the advice in point 3 above. In this section of the paragraph you may draw the two texts together and write about the similarities and differences between the two pieces of evidence you have selected.

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7. It may be appropriate to end the paragraph with a sentence which brings the reader back to the point of focus set out in the first sentence. However, if you have stuck to the point of the paragraph and focused on answering the question throughout, this may not be necessary.

More Paper 2 questions (Eng A: Lang&Lit)

Every year examiners note that some candidates lose points for missing the multiple nature of some questions or for neglecting to define the terms to suit the chosen Part 3 works. With proper training, you can avoid this problem. Ask for a free trial session with one of our tutors.

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on both of the Part 3 works you have studied. Answers which are not based on a discussion of both Part 3 works will not score high marks. Your answer should address the ways in which language and context contribute to your reading of each work.



1. Time of day or time of year are often presented by a writer in such a way as to support ideas in the work, to develop character or to establish mood, atmosphere, etc. In what ways is time used effectively in the two works you have studied?



2. “Working together” or “standing on your own two feet” – how do either or both of these ways of behaving reflect the cultural contexts of the two works you have studied?



3. Writing is both an art and a craft, where form and content are carefully constructed, and language and style artistically embellish the whole. Discuss in what ways the two works you have studied effectively combine both art and craft.



4. A work can be critically acclaimed in one culture and be banned in another. Discuss how the two works you have studied might lend themselves to various receptions.




5. What is the significance of “the getting of money” in the two works you have studied, and how is it represented?



6. Tension is often created between “new” and “old”. To what effect do writers make use of such tension in the two works you have studied?



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Essay: The Comparative Approach

Although you are not specifically required to compare and contrast your works in the Paper 2 exam, there is a distinct advantage to doing so as it will increase your level of analysis. If your Part 3 works have little in common then you should probably not use the comparative approach.

In this article we give an outline of an essay that compares and contrasts two works.

“Analyse how justice is represented and understood in at least two works studied.”

Works used: Fiela’s Child by Dalene Mathee and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Introduction: A sentence that grabs your attention: a famous quote, a question, a bold statement an anecdote or joke.	What makes a novel a page-turner? One reason: readers want the satisfaction of seeing justice carried out.
A sentence that connects to the ‘attention grabber’ and explains its relevance to the 2 (or 3) works that you have read. This sentence states the names of the works, years of publication and authors’ names in passing.	Fiela’s Child (FC) by Dalene Mathee and The Kite Runner (TKR) by Khaled Hosseini both engage readers by telling about an individual’s quest for justice.
The thesis statement, where you answer the question in a nutshell and branch out into 3 main ideas.	“In these works the notion of justice is represented and understood in the contexts of South Africa and Afghanistan, where racial tension, family ties and personal identity are all issues.”
Body paragraph 1: Topic sentence 1: the first of the 3 main ideas that answer the question / thesis statement.	Justice and racial tension in FC and TKR: there’s discrimination towards Fiela and Hassan. She’s black, he’s Hazara. The Magistrate discriminates against Fiela. Assef (and Amir) discriminate against Hassan. The reader feels sympathy towards Fiela and Hassan.
Illustrations from both works. How does the writer use language, style and structure?	We feel sympathy for Fiela, because her story is told in free indirect speech, we hear her thoughts and feel her pain when she’s discriminated against. Amir tells his thoughts directly: he feels guilty for the discrimination against Hassan.
Explanation: how do these examples illustrate the authors’ message?	Dalene’s message: The whites, like Barta, feel constant guilt for discriminating against the blacks. Pashtuns pay the price for discriminating against the Hazaras by feeling a constant guilt too.
Body paragraph 2: Topic sentence 2: the second of the 3 main ideas that answer the question / thesis statement.	The racial problems create tensions in families. Both families have a BIG secret: Benjamin is not van Rooyen’s child. Hassan is Amir’s half-brother. No one will speak the truth, because they’re afraid of what others will say.
Illustrations from both works. How does the writer use language, style and structure?	Both writers use plot twists to shock their readers. Barta reveals the truth about Benjamin. Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan is his half-brother.
Explanation: how do these examples illustrate the authors’ message?	The strongest family members throughout the book, Barta and Baba, turn out to be the weakest, as they kept the secrets that destroyed the families. Authors show that the injustices of SA and Afghanistan tear apart families.
Body paragraph 3: Topic sentence 3: the third of the 3 main ideas that answer the question / thesis statement.	Individuals struggle to know who they really are in societies that discriminate. Benjamin constantly searching for ‘home’ and a ‘mother’. Amir constantly searching for atonement.
Illustrations from both works. How does the writer use language, style and structure?	Setting is important to understanding this personal quest: Benjamin goes from the bush to the forest to the sea. Amir goes from Kabul to California. But both must go back ‘home’, to the bush and Kabul respectively.
Explanation: how do these examples illustrate the authors’ message?	Authors seem to comment on how you cannot deny someone their birth rights, like a sense of ‘home’. Both in SA and Afghanistan, the apartheid government and the Taliban prevent people from going home. This is unjust.
Conclusion: Answer the question again. State the thesis in other words.	Both authors explore the notion of injustice in South Africa and Afghanistan by showing their readers how racial discrimination can destroy individuals and families.
Compare how authors conveyed their message through language and structure.	While authors use different narrative technique, they both rely heavily on setting to comment on their cultures. What’s more: they both have a plot twist, which expose the hypocrisy of their cultures.
A very wise thought.	These thought provoking novels can lead to change in these countries. Both the apartheid government and the Taliban are gone.

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How to Structure Your Essay

As you plan your Paper 2 exam, it may help to think of your essay as a clothesline on which you hang all your ideas. Here's a diagram to help you keep in mind the principles of a well-organized, coherent essay

 If you need help with any aspect of essay writing, contact us.

Paper 2 Questions (Eng A: Lang&Lit)

The Paper 2 exam, at both levels, consists of six questions, from which candidates choose one.  These typically ask you to discuss aspects of context or style, or a combination of both, using at least two of your Part 3 works. Though you are no longer required to write a comparative response, the more sophisticated (and usually higher-scored) responses do so.

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on both of the Part 3 works you have studied. Answers which are not based on a discussion of both Part 3 works will not score high marks. Your answer should address the ways in which language and context contribute to your reading of each work.

1. How can we explain the continued interest in a particular work in different contexts and at different times?



2. Writers often use a character who is alienated from his or her culture or society in order to explore cultural or social values. Examine this idea with reference to the two works studied.



3. What impact does setting have on your understanding of the central ideas or themes presented in the two works studied?



4. To what purpose do authors sometimes choose not to follow a chronological sequence of events in their literary works?



5. Looking closely at the two works studied, show that more than one interpretation could be made of those works.



6. With reference to at least two literary texts that you have studied, how does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose?



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Eng A: Paper 2 how to plan an answer (video)

Paper 2 questions (English A: Literature)

Questions are divided into 4 distinct genre-types, with three questions in each to choose from. You must answer one question only, using at least two of the part 3 works you studied in class. You will be required to compare and contrast these works in response to the question.

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on at least two of the part 3 works you have studied and compare and contrast these works in response to the question. Answers which are not based on a discussion of at least two part 3 works will not score high marks.

Drama

1. With reference to at least two plays you have studied, compare the means by which playwrights seek to direct our attention to particular moments in the dramas they have crafted, and explore the effects created.

2. Some characters in plays remain static: they don’t change. With reference to at least two plays you have studied, compare how static characters are used and to what effect.



3. It has been said that all drama teaches. With reference to at least two plays you have studied, compare the methods used to teach or educate the audience and consider their effects.



Poetry

4. Compare the means by which at least two poets you have studied have explored the power and significance of memory.



5. Many poets seem to employ deliberate ambiguity. Comparing the work of at least two poets you have studied, consider how ambiguity adds to the reader’s experience of the poems.



6. Comparing the work of at least two poets you have studied, consider their use of diction – grand, elevated, informal, subject-specific and so on – and discuss the effects achieved.



Prose: novel and short story

7. In the works of at least two authors you have studied, consider and compare the techniques used to make their fictional worlds believable.



8. Compare the methods chosen by at least two authors you have studied for the openings of their works, and the effectiveness of these choices in establishing contact with the reader.



9. Discuss the presentation and significance of physical action in the works of at least two authors you have studied.



Prose other than fiction


10. What Trollope said of fiction – that above all it must be readable, we must want to read on – is just as true of other types of prose writing. In at least two works of prose other than fiction you have studied, compare the means by which authors have made us want to keep reading.



11. Writers of prose non-fiction often employ physical, emotional or other barriers or obstacles. In at least two works of prose other than fiction you have studied, compare the presentation and effects of such barriers.



12. It has been argued that while some works of literature can be open to interpretation, non-fiction cannot. Comparing at least two works of prose other than fiction you have studied, discuss the elements used to make the work particularly closed – or open – to interpretation.

Tackling the Paper 2