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Exam Paper
"Texts in Context"
Option C The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature

Section A: Contextual Linking - 45 marks

Section B Poetry: "The World's Wife" Carol Ann Duffy - 45 marks

Time allowed 2 hours

Spend one hour on each question

You may text a clean copy of "The World's Wife" into the exam with you. (No annotations on
these texts)

Maximum mark for Paper 90 marks

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You should spend one hour on the contextual linking question for Section A.
Timing for this question:
10 - 15 minutes: reading, annotating, planning,
20 - 25 minutes: on each bullet point.
HOWEVER more confident students might decide to integrate their responses in which the extract
and the wider reading comparisons are interwoven throughout the answer.

The good thing is that the actual question will always be EXACTLY the same.
Of course the non-fiction extract will change each time.

The Question:
·How does the writer present his thoughts and feelings about the struggle for identity?
(20 - 25 minutes)

·How far is the extract similar to and different from your wider reading about the struggle for identity in
modern literature? You should consider the writer's choices of form, structure and language.
(20 - 25 minutes)

Total(45 marks)
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In this question you must refer to your wider reading across all THREE genres (prose, poetry
and drama)

How many wider reading texts should you refer to?

The exam board say between 3 - 6 texts is plenty! (Not so bad eh?) This is so that you do a little
more than name drop and really consider your choices.

Remember all the texts you have studied for coursework count as wider reading. You may also
use Duffy, but I strongly advise you to use other poets as well.
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ANALYSING THE QUESTION

As I said, the wording of the contextual linking question is always the same - only the extract
changes.
The first instruction is "Read the following extract carefully." Use a highlighter pen to annotate
key features of the extract and read actively for meaning from the start.
The extract will always be introduced with some back ground information and you must pay
careful attention to this. It is designed to steer you in the right direction with regard to the
writer's overarching concerns. The extracts have been chosen to highlight thoughts and feelings
'typical' of the struggle for identity.

Have a look at the January 2009 Paper (The whole paper is attached to this Smart Board)
 Highlight key words
Background information What aspects of the struggle gender
Designed to steer you in for identity can you see here? nationality
the right direction period
family relationships
growing up - youth
religion

1. Read the following extract carefully. It is taken from It’s a

Long Way from Penny Apples (2001) by Bill Cullen, an
autobiographical account of growing up in an inner city slum in
Dublin in the 1940s and 50s. In this extract the young Bill (called
Liam by his family) is asking his mother and Molly Darcy, his
grandmother, about ‘Maggies’ who work in a laundry run by Underline the key word in the
nuns. question. The words are
designed to help access the
assessment objectives
•·How does the writer present his thoughts and feelings about the
struggle for identity?
•·How far is the extract similar to and different from your wider
reading about the struggle for identity? You should consider the
writers’ choices of form, structure and language.
Bullet points of the
question - ALWAYS
THE SAME
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Underline key
The devices a words!
writer uses and Wider reading
the effect on
between 3 - 6 texts
the reader

·How does the writer present his thoughts and feelings about the struggle for identity?

This is asking you

to evaluate. How ·How far is the extract similar to and different from your wider reading about the struggle
far do you agree? for identity? You should consider the writers’ choices of form,
structure and language.
You may spend
Form. Think about 20 - 25 mins on
the effects each bullet
achieved by the point or
Structure. Think type of texts. e.g. integrate you
Language. This
about the order of poetry, rhyme, response so that
one is always dealt
ideas and words and rhythm, sound etc.
with really well.
Drama - stage
wider reading
effects. (How the Choice of words, and analysis of
texts are put directions etc
images etc extract are
together
interwoven.
40 -50 mins
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PLANNING THE ANSWER
As you read the extract focus on tracing the writer's point of view. This is not always the same as the
characters in the extract. Look for any noticeable features of form, structure and language.
If you can, try to bear in mind the second bullet point about relevant wider reading texts you might like to
include in your answer.

If you plan key areas of comparison and contrast, you will be more likely to produce methodical and well-
organised responses.

Also you will be less likely to start with:

"In this essay I am going to write about..." (YUK!) This tells the examiner nothing more than
your pen is working.

I know we've moved on from GCSE, but you should still remember that PEEL format of analysis:
Make a clear POINT
Give relevant supporting EVIDENCE (short embedded quotation and/or reference)
Finish with a clear EXPLANATION (analyse what this reveals)
and LINK your ideas to the question.
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FORM STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE

The only way to get into the higher mark bands is to compare and contrast the texts in terms of form, structure
and language (the way they are written) as well as content (the writer's thoughts and feelings).
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Show the examiner that you are building a well structured argument and writing a
cohesive argument in which all your paragraphs and ideas are linked and well
developed.

Use carefully chosen connectives:

•·furthermore,
•·moreover,
•·likewise,
•·in addition,
•·besides,
•·additionally,
•·also....
These words indicate a train of thought and give the impression of a developing
argument.
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Language of COMPARISON

Connectives such as:

similarly, likewise, correspondingly, in the same way, and equally suggest similarity, but
here are some other basic writing frames you might use:

•·To underline the link between these texts, I would argue that...
•·What unites these two texts is...
•·A fundamental point of connection between the texts is...
•·These texts are connected in that...
•·These texts parallel each other in their focus upon...
•·The texts resemble each other in their responses to...
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Language of CONTRAST

Connectives such as on the contrary, whereas, then again, on the other hand, in contrast,
quite the reverse and contrastingly indicate difference. Other useful ways of differentiating
texts are:

•·To draw a distinction between these texts I would argue that...

•·What separates these two texts is...
•·The texts diverge in that...
•·The texts differ because....
•·The texts are differentiated in that whereas...
•·A key difference of opinion between the writers exists in their attitude to...
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HOW TO LINK BETWEEN TEXTS

You could start with a typicality of theme e.g. women's roles and their treatment if that is what the extract contains. Then
go on to refer to other wider reading texts which also tap into this area of the struggle for identity.

Once you have developed a response to the typicality of theme, and mapped out some similarities and differences in
treatment, you need to manage a transition into other aspects of the struggle for identity. Don't get stuck on women or one
single aspect of the struggle for identity.

Having traced where some broadly similar themes have emerged through wider reading, you must move on to map some
key thematic differences.

Like this!
The writer's primary concern in this extract is women's roles and their treatment, but an equally important aspect of the
struggle for identity in modern literature is sexual identity which is not mentioned in this extract...

Or
Moving on from the subject of women, another key aspect of the struggle for identity in modern literature which has
emerged from my wider reading is the tensions between races. One writer who was very concerned with this issue was ...
Maya Angelou/ Toni Morrison..

Or
Thiswriter is primarily interested in oppression of youth, whereas in Toni Morrison is more
concerned with the oppression of race...

DON'T PANIC!
It is unlikely that you won't be able to find something in the extract which is similar to your wider reading, but if that
should happen and your mind goes blank, don't panic and move on to another area of the struggle for identity straight away.
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THE FIVE ASPECTS OF THE STRUGGLE FOR

IDENTITY:

GENDER

RACE

SOCIAL/POLITICAL

SEXUAL

RELIGIOUS
 AND HERE IS WHAT EXAMINERS ARE GIVEN TO HELP THEM MARK YOUR
EXAM
This is for the January 2009 exam
FOCUS Extract and all reading in Literature about the Struggle for Identity (SFI) The 'Indicative
Content' lists some
KEY WORDS Thoughts and feelings, wider reading, form, structure and language of the connections
you might make in
INDICATIVE CONTENT: Cullen autobiography and wider reading your response.
Analysis of autobiography.
Subject Matter: description of district; habits; behaviour; women’s roles and their If you are looking at
treatment; families and children; emphasis on social conditions; religious values and this on Smart Board
attitudes towards and between the genders; an Irish perspective; appearances and you can see a copy of
viewpoints; fascination; revulsion and sympathy; different perspectives of the the 2009 paper by
older/younger speakers. clicking on the paper
clip attachment in
the side bar.
Form, structure and language: conversational, informal, descriptive, prescriptive, Over here
adoption of different tones and registers for different audience; literary and non-
literary vocabulary; colloquialism and idiomatic usage; religious terminology; Now try to write
imagery. your own response to
this question.
Typicality: candidate to find links in terms of both similarity and difference with
wider reading: Good Luck and
enjoy (!)
• Writing about social issues (in prose, poetry and drama) Mrs Sims
x
• Other views of social ostracism, moral censure and repression

• Other descriptions of environment

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HERE'S WHAT THE EXAMINERS SAID ABOUT STUDENT RESPONSES TO THE JANUARY 2009
PAPER
The Examiner's Report on this exam:
Some good responses were seen as well as a few very perceptive and mature ones. Weaker
answers usually revealed students. limited exposure to and understanding of contextual issues and poor
assimilation of the themes of the struggle for identity, such as community, the home, gender, religion,
class, sexual identity, ethnicity and socio-historical factors.

With wider reading recognised as the crucial underpinning of this specification, it is to be expected that
students should be able to make reference to all three genres of writing when responding to Question 1 in
order to make relevant links and developments.

It was noticeable that some students were unable to refer to all three genres and also tried to rely on
references to Owen, Angelou or Duffy as sufficient evidence of their study of poetry.

Most students were able to write in adequate length to address the challenges of the questions and to
budget their time wisely between the two questions. However, a few were not and some brief responses
were seen, suggesting that some year 12 students were insufficiently prepared for the examination or had
insufficient stamina for a two-hour paper.
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Many students were able to recognise and engage with interesting linguistic choices and features but were
neglectful of observations and analyses of form and structure both in the extract and in the poetry: a serious
and limiting omission.

It is worth repeating that the appropriate Assessment Objectives are embedded in the wording
of the questions and, as long as students write relevant answers using the key words of the
questions they will meet these objectives. The majority of students showed some awareness of
the Assessment Objectives tested in this paper and wrote accordingly.

When responding to Question 1 students do need to apply themselves to both the directed tasks but there
does not need to be a sharp division between the two areas of response and answers certainly do not benefit
from being subtitled as 1a) and 1b) or 1(i) and 1(ii).

It is also not unreasonable to expect students who ignore the information offered in the preamble to
Question 1 to disadvantage themselves.
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The extract from It's a Long Way from Penny Apples by Bill Cullen was chosen for its relatively
simple expression of some vexing but ubiquitous issues of stereotyping, oppression and
discrimination, set against a backdrop of clearly defined family, community and wider social
factors.

There were different voices and discernibly different viewpoints within the extract as well as some interesting and
subtly-expressed differences between male and female presentations and perceptions.

An informed, thorough and sensitive reading of the extract yielded much material for appreciation and comment.
Students who skimmed the surface and offered paraphrased versions of the content would not be able to offer
perceptive responses to the writer's thoughts and feelings and would find those of the speakers and the subject of
their conversation, the Maggies, difficult to discern or differentiate.

Without recourse to observations on form, structure and language choices, much would be missed in terms of the
ways writers express themselves both in the extract and in students. wider reading.

The similar to/different from phrase allows students to comment on well-chosen wider reading drawn from all three
genres but the answers of better students were characterised by the quality and development of those links.

Weaker students also seemed to take comfort in .off-loading. information of a general nature loosely pertaining to
context and SFI issues, without anchoring their points into close textual references or matters of structure, form and
language choice.

Whilst, to a degree, the extract is chosen to act as a .springboard. into relevant exploration of students. wider
reading, it does require some careful comment and analysis in its own right and stronger
responses showed this attention to the detail of the piece.
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It was pleasing to note variety in the choices of wider reading cited in students. responses.

Most students seemed happiest when exploring prose, whether it was non-fiction or fiction with poetry
and drama sometimes being eclipsed by this. No text should have been merely .name-dropped as appropriate
evaluation requires specific engagement with aspects and features of those texts.

Successful students:
• Explored the extract with confidence and insight
• Made effective links between the extract and their wider reading and were able to explore across poetry, drama and
prose
• Paid attention to the language and style of the extract as well as those of their wider reading.

Less successful students:

• Wrote general paraphrases of the content of the extract
• Made few or .forced. links to their wider reading, sometimes ignoring the breadth of genres
• Struggled to engage with form, structure and language choice.