Questions 1 to 6 (answer the one on your play)
Extract and whole-play essay
34 marksAO1 · 12AO2 · 12AO3 · 6AO4 · 4About 55 min
What it asks
There is one question on each of the six set plays. Read the printed extract, then write about how Shakespeare presents a character, relationship or idea, first in the extract and then in the play as a whole.
What earns marks
- An argument that answers the exact question, using both the extract and the rest of the play.
- Close analysis of the extract: what particular words, images and dramatic choices show, and their effect on an audience.
- References to other key moments in the play, with short remembered quotations where you can.
- Context woven into the argument where it helps explain why the play presents things as it does.
- Accurate spelling and punctuation, with a range of vocabulary and sentence structures: these earn the separate 4 marks for AO4.
What each level looks like
Top level first.
| Level | Marks | What an answer at this level does |
|---|---|---|
| AO4 High performance | 4 | Spelling and punctuation are accurate throughout, and vocabulary and sentences are handled so well that every point is exact and clear. |
| AO4 Intermediate performance | 2-3 | Spelling and punctuation are accurate most of the time, and a good range of vocabulary and sentence types keeps the points clear. |
| AO4 Threshold performance | 1 | Spelling and punctuation are mostly right, with some range of words and sentences. Mistakes never get in the way of the meaning. |
| Level 6 | 26-30 | Builds the whole essay around a confident big idea about the text and explores it: exact, well-chosen quotations, very close analysis of methods and their effects, and ideas, context and different readings handled with skill. |
| Level 5 | 21-25 | Builds a well-developed argument with quotations fitted smoothly into the writing, looks closely at how methods create effects, and uses context to add depth or other possible readings. |
| Level 4 | 16-20 | Answers the whole task with a steady focus: explains how methods create effects with suitable terms, backs every point up, and shows a secure grasp of ideas and context. |
| Level 3 | 11-15 | Starts to explain points rather than just stating them. References support the points, methods get some comment with a few subject terms, and context is linked in places. |
| Level 2 | 6-10 | Makes relevant points with references to back them, picks out some of the writer's methods, and touches on ideas and context. |
| Level 1 | 1-5 | Mostly retells or describes what happens. Comments are basic, references are few, and there is only a hint that the writer made choices. |
What to avoid
- Writing only about the extract, or only about the rest of the play: an answer that leaves out either can be capped at the top of Level 2 (10 of 30).
- Context as a separate history lesson: it earns credit when it explains something in the play.
- Naming a technique without saying what it shows or what it does to an audience.
- Rushing the end: careless spelling and punctuation cost AO4 marks in this section.
Tip: Give the extract a few minutes first and mark three or four details to analyse. Then plan two or three moments from elsewhere in the play that develop the same idea.
Mark an answer to this question