Questions 1 to 24 (answer one of the two on your text)
Whole-text essay
34 marksAO1 · 12AO2 · 12AO3 · 6AO4 · 4About 45 min
What it asks
Choose one of the two questions on your text. Each asks how the writer presents a character, relationship or idea across the whole text, and there is no extract, so you write from memory. If you studied the short-story collection Telling Tales, each question names one story and asks you to write about it and one other story of your choice from the collection.
What earns marks
- A clear argument that answers the question across the whole text, from beginning to end.
- Remembered quotations and close references to key moments, each analysed for what it shows.
- The writer's methods: in a play, dialogue, stage directions and how scenes are built; in a novel, the narrator, language and structure.
- Context linked to the writer's purpose and ideas.
- 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
- Retelling the plot in order instead of building an argument.
- Writing about characters as if they were real people rather than the writer's creations.
- Choosing a question too quickly: take a minute to pick the one you can answer best.
- Spending time comparing the two Telling Tales stories: you may link them, but comparison itself earns no marks in this section.
Tip: Plan four or five paragraphs. Each needs a point that answers the question, a key moment from a different part of the text, and a link to what the writer wanted the audience or reader to think.
Mark an answer to this question