How to write a 9/A* worthy GCSE English literature essay
Disclaimer: These tips and ideas are what work for me and have gotten me quite good results so far. However, these are specific to the AQA exam board, which was my exam board while I was doing my GCSEs. They might not work for other exam boards, and they might not work for you. Also, I have no experience writing essays outside of GCSE level, so these tips are specific to GCSEs.
I have always liked reading and languages, so english literature is not something that I find extremely difficult. I usually get quite high marks for my essays and am looking to get a 9 in English literature. As time has gone on my methods have improved and I have developed some general rules I stick to when writing essays. I’m naturally quite a good essay writer, so I’m aware that I have an advantage in that sense. Still, hopefully these tips will be helpful.
How to revise/practice essay writing:
You do not need to memorise absolutely loads of quotes. I used only one or two quotes each paragraph, and did quite well in mine. Try memorising quotes that cover multiple themes so that you can save yourself time.
Writing is a skill that needs to be developed, so it is important to make sure that you practice your writing a lot. Having a solid base in vocabulary and grammar is invaluable, and will make your writing easier to read and coherent. For this, I think the best thing you can do is just practice writing essays a lot and have your teachers mark them for you. Also, it would be good to memorise essay and transition phrases (like the ones in this post). For vocabulary, I would simply suggest reading more. You could also try looking at exemplar essays, and copy some of the phrases and vocabulary used in there. This could also help with seeing how you could structure your essays (Here and here are two essays that I wrote that did quite well - I got full marks in the an inspector calls essay, and one mark off full marks for the Macbeth essay). For spelling, maybe try playing word games like scrabble and crossword. If you are dyslexic, then I would not worry too much about this. I would suggest telling your teachers so that they can make sure the exam board is more lenient with you.
In terms of the actual analysis, my biggest tips would be to listen to your teachers and to watch YouTube videos. I got most of my analysis from my teachers and trust me when I say that what they say will be incredibly useful to you. I also watched YouTubers that provided me with new perspectives and analysis, like Stacy Reay, Mr Salles and Mr Bruff. However, I would also like to advise that you come up with analysis on your own. I will elaborate more on this later.
Remember that every quote and character exists within the larger context of the text, and remember to link quotes and characters to themes and wider ideas of the text in your revision (e.g. “unsex me here” is not an isolated incident of Lady Macbeth saying something related to womanhood - it is merely an example of her repeatedly expressing a disturbing fixation with her gender and womanhood, which links her as a character to the themes of masculinity and femininity, which in the context of the era in which the play was written, offers a disturbing exploration into the links between gender and power, which is also a theme related to her character). Also, keep track of how the presentation of the theme or character evolves throughout the text. Noticing change and continuity is vital to an English literature essay.
Make sure that you are very familiar with literary techniques (modal verbs, iambic pentameter etc.). You can use flashcards for this (Quizlet and Anki are very useful). Also, for unseen poetry, you could find a random poem online, set a timer for 3 minutes, and in that time, try to identify as many literary techniques as you can using the specific terminology.
From what I have heard, studying AOs, markschemes and the examiners reports can be a very useful way of finding out what the examiners are looking for in an essay. This is not something I personally did in my revision, but it will most likely be very useful for you.
Overall, I would just say that for everything, the key is practice, and putting your knowledge into use.
How to structure an essay:
I generally stick to this structure: introduction, one paragraph per point, four points and a conclusion. When I use this structure, I usually get better marks than when I don’t. Still, I think you could get good marks if you did not use this structure, this is just a guideline, so don’t be too strict with it.
This only needs to be a few sentences long, and should give a broad overview of the character or theme.
Start with a sentence that encapsulates the key overarching idea that your essay is centred around.
Then use a few sentences to briefly identify some general points, and to also summarise how the presentation of the theme or character evolves and changes throughout the text.
For an unseen poem, write three paragraphs, with each paragraph covering each act of the poem in order.
For a question where you have to analyse both an extract and the wider text (like for this essay), start with two paragraphs on the extract, and then write two paragraphs on the wider text.
For a question on a character or theme, write four paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a different part of the text, in order of the time of the scene (e.g. In an essay about gender in Macbeth, one paragraph on our introduction to Lady Macbeth, one on the scene where Macbeth gets cold feet and angers Lady Macbeth, one on when Macduff finds out about the deaths of his wife and children, and a final paragraph on the infamous “out damned spot” scene).
I would also suggest that you link scenes together and compare the similarities and contrasts in the way the author presents things. Acknowledging change and evolution is very important because it shows that you are approaching the text using a wider critical lens. It is also good to compare how different characters react to things and act, and to analyse any juxtapositions used. Overall, linking and comparing scenes, characters and themes is very important.
Remember that an essay is essentially an argument, and that the body of your essay is simply there to argue and support your point. When you are writing an essay always ask yourself “Is this point related to the thesis I am arguing? Is this relevant? Does this essay follow a logical order, and is everything linked to a central argument?” This is why I tend to write my essays following the order of the text, so that the essay at least seems more coherent and organised.
If you write about a scene or event, then do not focus on what is happening; focus on analysing the language, structure and how this links to what the author is trying to tell the reader/audience. I will expand on this later.
This does not need to be long at all. In fact, I would say that a single sentence is enough.
Just try to summarise the main argument of the essay in a sentence. Perhaps think of the conclusion as the short version of your essay, and make sure it encapsulates what you have spent the essay arguing.
How to actually write an essay:
I know that a lot of teachers say this, so it will probably sound really annoying, but to start with, it is really good to analyse the question. Know what the examiner is asking you so that you know how to answer. Do this by deconstructing the key words in the question, so that you can get an idea of the area you need to explore, and remember what you revised. Think of what quotes, themes and techniques immediately come to mind when you hear the question, and try linking them together (e.g. “How does Shakespeare present the marriage of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?” Key words: how/shakespeare/present - what is shakespeare trying to tell the audience and what methods does he use to do this, marriage of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth - Lady Macbeth’s apparent influence over Macbeth and their genders and how this relates to the context of the time). Again; linking is important! To save time, I would suggest quickly doing this in your head instead of writing anything down. Just think for a minute (though do not spend too long on this).
Once you have an idea of which area you need to explore, create a quick plan, just so you have something to follow. Jot down your key points, and below it, note down key quotes with some brief analysis, and any possible comparisons or reasoning (e.g. Eric reacts sympathetically to Eva’s death - “(involuntarily) My god!” - instant horror reveals empathetic nature- contrast to Mr Birling who is dismissive - “(Rather impatiently) yes, yes, horrid business” - highlights Eric’s empathetic nature). It does not need to be long, just write your ideas down so you have an idea what you are doing. Spend less than 5 minutes on this.
When you are writing your essay, make sure that every point you make is backed up by evidence, and also, vitally, make sure you explain why that evidence is relevant to your point. You should constantly be answering the questions “How?” and “Why?” in your essay. I do not recommend making broad points that cover a lot but with little depth. I think that being thorough in your argument is very important, as it demonstrates a deeper understanding of the text.
Do not treat characters as if they are real people, or the plot like real events. Behind every piece of literary fiction, there is a writer trying to convey a message to the reader. A novel is constructed with language, so this, along with structure, should be the primary focus of your analysis. However, when I say that you should analyse language and structure, I do not mean just to analyse the words or semantic field, and to simply say what they mean. It is all well and good to say that the words “wicked” and “black” are associated with evil, but what does this say about the character or setting described? Again, link, link, link! Also, go further than just analysing what is being said about the theme or character, and analyse why the writer chose to do this, and how it relates to the key message of the text. For example, if a character is empathetic but ultimately passive (like Eric Birling in an inspector calls), then perhaps this is a criticism of well meaning people who do not actively try to improve the world.
Remember that a character or setting does not exist on their own. If it fits into your point, compare characters and how they interact with the world around them. Think of their different purposes and how this informs their actions. If there is a main character and a villain, ask yourself how these two characters are juxtaposed with each other. Maybe compare different quotes from them reacting to the same situation, and analyse why the writer would even have both characters be in the same situation in the first place.
When coming up with analysis, I build off of what I have been told from various different sources. I think of what I see in my head when I think of the character or the theme: what images or words do I instantly think of when I think of all that comes beneath the umbrella of the character or theme? What gaps are there to fill and how can I fill them? How do I view this text as a young person in the modern day? How do I view this text as a minority? I keep on asking myself questions about what I am seeing, and dig deeper until I come up with a plausible original point. What I have been told pushes over the first barrier of ignorance, and allows me to keep on expanding my analysis and digging much deeper in the text. Try doing the same and keep asking yourself questions about what you already know. Identify what you can see in your head, and name it.
When it comes to context, only add it when it is relevant. Do not try to force it unless it relates to why the writer did something in a certain way. Remember that the writer was writing for a specific audience at the time, and write how this affects the perhaps outdated ideas being perpetuated at the time. If you think of something that is unusual to you as somebody living in the 21st century, comment on it and go into the specifics of how an audience of the time would receive the text.
Your essay does not have to be perfect to get a good mark. You are a teenager. You do not need to write a masterpiece, and demonstrate analysis worthy of being published in a literary journal. You just need to write an organised, insightful (but not insanely so) and well-written essay that argues your point well.
If you can, try to quickly read over your essay when you are done so that you can get rid of any major spelling errors, or repeats of sentences/words. I lost a few marks in my “a christmas carol” essay that could have bumped my grade up to a 9 because of some silly errors I didn’t check, which can be really annoying in hindsight.
Authorial intent is ultimately worthless, but you need to pretend that it is not. It is impossible to know for certain what a writer was exactly trying to do when they wrote a word or phrase, though we can make some educated guesses. If you have not heard of the theory of “death of the author” then maybe look it up. It might make you feel better next time someone says that there could not possibly be that much meaning in a text. Still, the examiner will not appreciate it if you make a claim that is a bit too left field, so try to remain reasonable.
It is not necessary to come up with an extremely original or radical new argument in your essay, as long as it makes sense. If you do come up with something amazing then that’s great, but don’t worry too much about it.
Your writing matters just as much as your argument. It doesn’t matter how good your ideas and analysis are if you cannot communicate them well, so make sure that you put effort into both those skills.
Finding a way to enjoy your subject will make things so much easier. I love coming up with analysis and exploring texts, so studying and writing essays for English literature is easier for me. It will definitely help if you can find something interesting to latch onto that will get you through your studies. Even if you happily ditch English literature in the long term, in the short term it will just make things easier for you.
Thanks for reading this post! I hope that my advice was useful for you!
Here are some other posts and videos that I have personally found useful for this:
How to write a grade 8/9 essay for English literature by @wilstudies
How to get an A*/8 or 9 in an English Lit essay by @thelawgraduate
HOW TO WRITE AN A*/8-9 ENGLISH LITERATURE ESSAY! by Eve Bennett
Top 10 Tips for How to Write A*/8 & 9 English Literature Essay 2018 by UnJadedJade
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