The Exam
Planning a Character Question Response
You must be able to: understand what an exam question is asking you and prepare your response.
How might an exam question be phrased? Remember that exam questions usually follow a typical structure. For example, a character question might look like this: ... it felt great to know that Dad had my back. (Dante) Explore the significance of Tyler within the novel. You must refer to the context of the novel in your answer. [40 marks] (includes 8 marks for the range of appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures, and accurate use of spelling and punctuation)
Remember that the quotation is there as a prompt. You do not need to incorporate it into your essay if it doesn’t fit your plan.
How do I work out what to do? The first thing to remember is the assessment objectives. You are going to be assessed on your ability to construct a logical and well-supported argument (AO1) that also integrates context (AO3) into the response. Remember that context can include the social and historical context of the novel, the writer’s intentions, and the context of the novel itself. You need to identify at least four or five points about the focus of the question that you can cover in the 50 minutes you have in the exam. As you will need time to both plan and proofread, you will probably be writing for about 35–40 minutes. You will not have time to write about everything that a character does or every time a theme is shown. Remember that the accuracy of your writing is also assessed (AO4) so proofreading your response is essential.
How do I prepare for a character question? For character questions, you need to think about what the characters symbolise or represent beyond their role in the novel. For the example above, you need to think about what Tyler represents in terms of the way he reflects ideas about responsibility, masculinity and family. Because you are also being assessed for AO3, you need to link this to the author’s intentions. You also need to think about the context within the novel. For example, the fact that Tyler is so repressive of his emotions means that his sons do the same thing.
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The Exam
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