WJEC ENGLISH LITERATURE

Principal Moderator’s Comments
How do Kate Chopin and Anne Bronte use their protagonists to critique the position
of women in conventional 19 th Century marriages?
The
task is appropriate and focussed: the position of women is narrowed down to the more
manageable topic of the position of women in marriage. But it could make clearer which text
is the core. Perhaps it would help to rephrase the task as follows: ‘With the emphasis on
The Awakening, and with wider reference to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, discuss the ways in
which Chopin and Bronte use their protagonists to critique the position of women in
conventional 19 th Century marriage’.
AO1 Written expression is accurate and clear. The response is reasonably structured,
though the final paragraph is rather disappointing and could have given more focus to the
‘how’ in the task. It also gives too much weight to the partner text. There is a clear grasp of
key concepts, though they are not always considered very deeply. There is some use of
appropriate terminology, but this is limited because of lack of attention to AO2. Band 3/4
borderline
AO2 This is the weakest area. There is some discussion of the effects of language but
generally this response neglects detailed critical analysis of techniques. There is, for
example, very little reference to structure or narrative method. Band 2
AO3 There are some clear, general similarities and differences mentioned in the body of the
essay, though it is fair to say that some comparisons are discussed in more detail and
explored to some extent towards the end. But here the focus is more on the characterisation
than on ‘how’ characters are used to critique the position of women. The ‘explore’ aspect of
AO3’s comparisons is not taken very far. More use could have been made of the partner
text to ‘illuminate’ the reading of the core text. There are references to other readers (notably
Metzger and Spark Notes) but these are not discussed as other ‘interpretations’ which might
have informed the student’s response. Other readings should be engaged with. High Band
2
AO4 This is the strongest area. The essay begins with a detailed discussion of social and
literary contexts, then goes on to make some specific and productive connections between
the texts and their contexts. The problem is that context dominates the response to such an
extent that other AOs suffer, particularly AO2. High Band 4
Final Mark 26/40 Band 3
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