GCE Advanced Level - StudyGuide.PK

MAURIAC, Thérèse DesqueyrouxThe set passage obviously appealed to candidates, who wrote copiously on jealousy, although not alwaysgoing more deeply into why this jealousy was so violent – and evolving. Sub-section (ii) – the travail urgent– received scant treatment, although it sees Thérèse at her most hypocritical, some would say, diabolical.The last sub-section was approached with care and sensitivity, reflecting the author’s ambivalent attitude.There were few takers for question (b), which requires an imaginative response involving an appreciation ofMauriac’s view of his creation.ANOUILH, AntigoneThe commentary question allowed for a broad interpretation of the meaning of the play. Good candidatesreferred to the themes of futility and incomprehension, whilst pointing to Antigone’s self-destructive attitudeas a prime example of misguided high principle. The best answers linked a definition of the fièvre (a belief inthe right to idealism) with the fact that Antigone already knew of her brother’s iniquity. Question (b) appealedto candidates who wished to write about Créon’s practical politics and the moral quiescence of the individual.Section 2Thematic StudiesLa GuerreThe most popular question was Question 8, which candidates did with clear competence. Maupassant wasused frequently, together with Vercors. Once students strayed from texts into supporting material from other,less concrete sources, the central argument sometimes foundered. This, again, underlines the need for thetest of relevance to be impressed upon candidates.La JeunesseUnusually, this whole sub-section did not attract many answers. Question 11 did, however, appeal to a fewvery good candidates, who used both Colette and Alain-Fournier skilfully. The better candidates rejected thetemptation to centre the essay on personal experience, and even used Antigone to show how far this need toreject reality can be destructive.La Condition féminineA very few takers for this session, most of whom appeared not to have prepared for their topic of choice verywell. One or two candidates took up the challenge of Question 14, with little relevant supporting material.L’Individu et la SociétéQuestion 17 was by far the most popular of the three in this sub-section – both L’Étranger and Antigonefigured strongly. Good candidates pointed out how society manipulates the concept of justice to protect itselfand its institutions, and added a discussion of the demerits of capital punishment and state terrorism.GCE Ordinary LevelPaper 3015/01WritingGeneral commentsThere was a wide range of performance over the Centres and the best candidates, whatever the choice ofquestions, produced very impressive answers containing wide ranging lexis and syntax with a high degree ofaccuracy. The translation into French produced good marks from many candidates, but low scores were theresult of poor knowledge of basic vocabulary and uncertain handling of fundamental grammaticalconstructions.15