WJEC ENGLISH LITERATURE

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Principal Moderator’s Comments Creative Writing Response: The Last Tube Train AO1 The creative response is generally accurate and clear. It follows a drunken Polish immigrant attempting to find the correct platform in order to catch the last tube train of the evening only to be accosted by a gang of youths by whom he is badly beaten and left. The use of description creates some sense of character and his situation through phrases such as ‘sluggishly drunk’ and the use of setting, the station ‘seemed like a labyrinth’. The use of language creates fairly convincingly Jan’s ‘lostness’ in the early part of the story. Moreover, a sense of waste and disappointment is revealed through the use of backstory and the innocence of the protagonist. Much of the piece is rather clichéd, such as the xenophobic boss, the gang in their ‘sinister black hoods’ and the way that they lean in a ‘nonchalant yet menacing way’. The backstory of Jan’s hopes could have been implied rather than explained. It is a shaped response and clearly structured without being particularly ambitious while some of the areas discussed in the commentary aren’t clear enough for the reader, as with the jazz music for example. This seems a rather strained attempt to use the stimulus text. Generally, however, it is an appropriate creative response to ‘The Great Gatsby’. There could have been some change of pace and tension created with the threat of the youths as the narrative tends to meander on to the end of the story. Band 3 13/20 Commentary AO2 The candidate is clearly aware of how language creates meaning and has some detailed discussion of this aspect in the third paragraph of the commentary. At times, too much is intended by some of the choices the writer has made, particularly in the use of the stimulus. The idea of the ‘swimming mind’ doesn’t seem to tie very clearly to the fact that Jan is floating through life. However, the consideration of ‘sluggishly’, ‘blurring’and ‘slow’ is clear and effective along with the use of the word ‘labyrinth’ to create the sense of being lost. There is some sense of form and structure through the use of flashback in order to create character and theme and the attempt to lead the reader towards a sense of pity for Jan. There is also a sense of how setting can be used in order to create meaning. The focus is clearly on the student’s own writing but the space given to the stimulus text is unfortunately foregrounded in the second paragraph. This commentary has a clear grasp of the writer’s use of language, some sense of structure and form and how they create meaning. Band 3 AO4 There are some appropriate links between text and contexts and a good understanding of the significance of contextual factors. The stimulus text is used thoughtfully here with the use of the difference between reality and dreams and the use of the flashback. The context of the setting is also deliberately constructed to symbolise the character’s own life while the awareness of the flip side of twenties America is interesting as is the idea of prosperity and poverty. There does seem to be here though a rather tenuous link with the stimulus as the candidate seems more interested in some of the ideas not presented in the ‘The Great Gatsby’ so that the use of the stimulus, at times, seems to be an ‘add-on’. This is emphasised in the ‘intolerance towards foreigners in 1920’s America’ which is a questionable use of context. However, there is a clear sense of their own context in the use of immigrant workers and the gang of youths along with the context of the stimulus text through the roaring twenties and the jazz music. Band 3 Mark for commentary 14/20 Final Mark 27/40 Band 3 39
Appendix 1 LT 2 SECTION B: Guidance on assessing Poetry Some features to look for when assessing poems • How much attention has been paid to shape and structure? • Is the poem written in a particular stanza? This may be traditional or the writer’s own verse form. • Has the writer tried to shape material in a controlled way? • If the poem is written in free verse, how well does the use of lines match the writer’s meaning or communicate the writer’s effects? In other words, does the writer have an effective sense of line? • How has the poem been structured? Is the development controlled by narrative – chronology of event or experience – or has the writer used a central image or extended metaphor to hold the poem together? • How imaginative is the use of language? Are the images, the choice of words individual, original, startling, appropriate? How creative has the writer been in exploring ideas and experiences and making links? • Young writers are very aware of the sound (aural) features of language. How sensitively has sound been used? Has alliteration/assonance been overdone, used for its own sake? • Has rhyme been used unobtrusively mostly, obtrusively when necessary, or has the compulsion to rhyme driven the direction of the language and meaning? • Has sound been used to link words and expressions to shape intention and sustain coherence? • Do the words show rather than tell? Or if they tell, is the telling new or surprising? • How necessary are the last lines? Endings can be very difficult: there can be a tendency to explain all that has gone before, to find a moral, recapitulate or to finish neatly in a way which narrows down the scope and possibilities of the poem. So endings can undermine the success of the poem. Unlike prose responses, a poetry response will usually consist of a number of poems. (Of course, there will be some long poems submitted.) Assess positively: some poems may be stronger than others. Reward the strengths of the collection, bearing in mind the key words of the AO and using the grid to find a best fit. AO1 Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression. 40
Page 1 and 2: GCE TEACHER GUIDANCE LT2 Internal A
Page 3 and 4: from the collection were considered
Page 5 and 6: Applying the assessment objectives
Page 7 and 8: • pastiche • modernising origin
Page 9 and 10: LT2 SECTION A: PROSE STUDY Candidat
Page 11 and 12: power. She again becomes an object
Page 13 and 14: LT2 SECTION A: PROSE STUDY Candidat
Page 15 and 16: is perhaps not as acute as Victor
Page 17 and 18: Principal Moderator’s Comments Ho
Page 19 and 20: How do Kate Chopin and Anne Bronte
Page 21 and 22: with a violent husband, whereas for
Page 23 and 24: LT2 SECTION B: CREATIVE READING Can
Page 25 and 26: Next day, my fate arrives. The rope
Page 27 and 28: Commentary Having read William Faul
Page 29 and 30: Principal Moderator’s Comments Cr
Page 31 and 32: Foolish Affairs Dearest John, I kno
Page 33 and 34: Commentary “Like giving into the
Page 35 and 36: are brought to question: when Jo sp
Page 37 and 38: LT2 SECTION B: CREATIVE READING Can
Page 39: Commentary At first, this short sto
Page 43 and 44: AS ENGLISH LITERATURE LT2 Section A

WJEC ENGLISH LITERATURE

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?