This book is a superb all-in-one guide to success GCSE English Language and English Literature - GCSE English 2003

What The Examiner Wants
Section Five — Stories and Novels

This page is simple. It's about things you can do to impress the examiner in your essays.

Write a Bit About When it was Written

1) You must show you know when the text was written and published, and what significance this has.

2) Some books are set in the same period they were written in.

Other books are set in a different period from the one they were published in.

3) This means the author can write about present day issues without criticising anyone openly.

Show You Understand the Issues Being Dealt With

Show the examiner that there are wider issues being raised by the text, and comment on them.

Show the examiner you mean business

The examiner will want to know that you've learnt about where the author was coming from. So show them you know about the author's background, and the context of the novel or story you're reading.

Write in Detail

Most questions ask you to comment on how a writer has shown the reader things.

Try to Be Original

If something occurs to you while you're reading the text (about language, a character, anything), then say it in your essay — even (and especially) if you've never been taught it.

Any reasonable observation will impress the examiner and get you better marks.

The main thing is to read the question carefully, so you don't go off at a tangent.

Questions About the Message Can Look Scary

Don't get scared by questions that ask about the overall message of the text.

As long as you cover your back with quotes and details from the text, you'll be just fine.

This is the kind of question you might get:

Originality gets marks — but you have to back it up

Maybe it's a bit mean to tell you to "be original". Being original is hard, but even the odd thought here and there will help you impress an examiner. Don't panic about it. Just do it.

Some Questions Talk About a Specific Chunk of Text |

Some questions will quote a page or so of one of your set texts and ask you to respond to it. These can be easier to answer, as you've got the text in front of you to quote from, and also because you'll recognise it from the book.

BUT — just because the text is right there, it doesn't mean you're allowed to be lazy.

Above all, answer these 3 questions:

What is the extract's relevance to the rest of the text?

Why is it important?

What implications does it have for the text as a whole?

You Might Have to Write About Style

Some questions will ask you specifically about the writing style.

Your answer will be about the usual style things (e.g. language, imagery, style, tone). Remember — don't talk about these things impersonally, as if they just happen by accident.

Let the examiner know that you understand it's all done by the writer on purpose. — that the story doesn't just write itself. It really is the key to better marks.

Steer clear if you don’t recognise WHERE the text comes from

If you don't recognise exactly which bit of the novel or story the chunk of text in the question comes from, then avoid it. You'll just end up proving to the examiner that you don't know what you're talking about.