AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy

Section A: ONE TEXT; ONE HOUR; TWO-PART QUESTION (answer both parts on same text)
Section A: odd numbered questions (30 minutes); AO2

Think about the BIG things:

o Voice
o Form (poem? Novel?)
o Structure
It is essential to pin-down the story at the
very start (summarise your understanding)
Clear awareness of how the writer is
constructing the story

Why is it a key event & where does it

occur?
What is the overall structure of the
passage?
What is its chronology?
What kind of text are you dealing with?
What voices are at work?
What is the time & place setting?
What relevant uses of language are there?

Q: Write about Audens narrative methods in If I Could Tell You.

Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly (summarise the narrative); state the narrative methods (you will
analyse) and the effects of these methods why Auden has used them (briefly)?
b) Method 1: (E.g. narrative perspective and voice: first person, unidentified)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
c) Method 2: (E.g. setting of time and place)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
d) Method 3: (E.g. repetition of If construction)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: why has Auden used certain narrative methods? What meaning do
they create/ what purpose do they serve (their significance)?
Q: Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 22.
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly (summarise the narrative); state the narrative methods
(you will analyse) and the effects of these methods why Hosseini has used them
(briefly).
b) Method 1: (E.g. narrative perspective and voice: first person, retrospective,
introspective; use of other voices)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
c) Method 2: (E.g. setting of time and place/structure: use of flashbacks)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
d) Method 3: (E.g. dialogue)

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: what narrative techniques has Hosseini used in Chapter 22 and
why? What meaning do they create/ what purpose do they serve (their significance)?
Q: How does Dickens tells the story in Chapter 4?
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly (summarise the narrative); state the narrative methods
(you will analyse) and the effects of these methods why Dickens has used them
(briefly).
b) Method 1: (E.g. narrative perspective and voice: first person, dual narration of
younger and older Pip)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
c) Method 2: (E.g. setting of time and place: use of food and domestic life)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
d) Method 3: (E.g. genre: bildungsroman/social realism)
a. State the method (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Why has the writer used that method? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this method? What is its significance (what does the
method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the method (form, structure, language)?
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: what narrative techniques has Dickens used in Chapter 4 and why?
What meaning do they create/ what purpose do they serve (their significance)?
PAST QUESTIONS:
Auden:
Write about Audens narrative methods in If I Could Tell You.
Write about Audens narrative methods in 1st September 1939.
Write about the ways in which Auden tells the story in O What Is That Sound.
Write about Audens narrative method in As I Walked Out One Evening.
The Kite Runner:
Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 22.
Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 2.
Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 9.
Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 13.
Great Expectations:
How does Dickens tell the story in Chapter 4?
How does Dickens tell the story in Chapter 58?
How does Dickens tell the story in Chapter 42?
How does Dickens tell the story in Chapter 8?

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy
Section A: even numbered question (30 minutes): AO1,3,4

Question is set up as a DEBATE

You are there to DISCUSS the interpretation
offered

Show the VARIETY of readings that can

come about
Less straightforward structure to your
essay dependent on question

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy

Q: How far do you agree with the view that Audens poems always leave the reader with
a disturbing sense of uncertainty?
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly; state your case (yes or no) and what the writer has
done to make you respond in this way? However,
b) Argument 1: (E.g. yes: uncertainty of locations/dates/times/events)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Example from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
c) Argument 2: (E.g. yes: uncertainty of endings in the poems)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Example from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
d) Argument 3: (E.g. no: 1st Sept. 1939 lots of certainty as its read retrospectively;
comedy of Miss Gee; certainty of time progressing in As I Walked Out One
Evening)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Example from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: do Audens poems always leave the reader with a disturbing
sense of uncertainty? Yes/No? Reasons?

* Yes/No balance is down to your individual interpretation.

Q: Assef is nothing more than an evil thug. How do you respond to Assefs character
and role in The Kite Runner?
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly; state your case (yes or no) and what the writer has
done to make you respond in this way? However,
b) Argument 1: (E.g. yes: his violence, sadism, bullying)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
c) Argument 2: (E.g. yes: provides the villain character; one-dimensional
character)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
d) Argument 3: (E.g. no: created by Hosseini to comment on politics, history,
religion, etc.)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: is he just an evil thug or does he serve other purposes as a
character? Why did Hosseini create him?

* Yes/No balance is down to your individual interpretation.

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy

Q: Meal times in Great Expectations are primarily used by Dickens for humour. What
do you think of this view?
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Answer the question directly; state your case (yes or no) and what the writer has
done to make you respond in this way? However,
b) Argument 1: (E.g. yes: comedy of Herbert teaching Pip manners)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
c) Argument 2: (E.g. yes: tea-time routine in chapter 2)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
d) Argument 3: (E.g. no: meal times used to reflect social class; Pips anxiety at the
Christmas dinner)
a. State your argument (avoid retelling the narrative)
b. Examples from text: What has the writer done to make you feel this way in this
text/passage? What is the writer hoping to achieve/convey/suggest? What is its
significance (what does the method reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
Answer the question.
e) Conclusion:
a. Revisit the question: are mal times used just for comedy or does they serve other
purposes in the text? Why did Dickens create these scenes?

* Yes/No balance is down to your individual interpretation.

PAST QUESTIONS:

Auden:
How far do you agree with the view that Audens poems always leave the reader with a
disturbing sense of uncertainty?

The shadow of death hangs over all of Audens poetry. How do you respond to this view?

How far would you agree with the view that romantic relationships in Audens poetry are far
from happy?

It has been said that the whirr and chime of clocks can be heard throughout Audens poetry.
How important is time in Auden s poetry?
How far do you think that Audens poems are dominated by death?
The Kite Runner:
Assef is nothing more than an evil thug. How do you respond to Assefs character and role in
The Kite Runner as a whole?

How far do you agree that the most moving moments in The Kite Runner are those that Amir
and Hassan spend together as children?

In The Kite Runner the relationships between fathers and sons are never joyful. What do you
think of this view?

The men are more convincingly portrayed than the women in The Kite Runner. What do you
think of this view?
To what extent do you think that The Kite Runner presents a thoroughly depressing picture of
life in Afghanistan?
Great Expectations:
Meal times in Great Expectations are primarily used by Dickens for humour. What do you
think of this view?

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy

Some readers think the marriages that take place in the novel merely highlight Pips isolation.
What significance do you think these marriages have in Great Expectations as a whole?

Some readers sympathise with Magwitch because he is a victim. How do you respond to his
character and role in Great Expectations as a whole?

Some readers have commented on the significance of gothic elements in Great Expectations.
What significance can you find in the dark and disturbing elements in the novel?
Some readers think that Jaggers strikes a note of sinister authority in Great Expectations. How
do you respond to his character and role?

AQA B English Literature AS UNIT LITB1 Aspects of Narrative Exam Miss Healy

Section B: THREE REMAINING TEXTS; ONE HOUR; ONE QUESTION (from a choice
of two)

Section B: (one Hour); AO1,2,3 (4)

You MUST have an even-spread of ALL three

texts
For poetry text, two poems fine; for long
poems, one sufficient
No need to quote critics but you must
show there is more than one way of
responding to a text
NOT a comparison each text should be
dealt with separately

Be aware of nuances of question e.g. the

significance of
Focus on the task
Make relevant use of apt references
Evaluate writers methods
Have sophisticated expression
Be shaped as an argument = consider
ALTERNATIVE ways of responding

Q: Many narratives have one or more significant moments of crisis.

significance of crises in the work of the three writers you have studied.
Essay structure:

Write about the

a) Introduction:
a. Briefly address (and answer) the question, state your texts and how they are
connected to the question.
b) Text 1:
a. State the crisis and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. crisis affects
novels outcome)
b. Why has the crisis been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this crisis? What is their significance (what does the
crisis reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the crisis (form, structure, language)
c) Text 2
a. State the crisis and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. crisis
foreshadows downfall)
b. Why has the crisis been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this crisis? What is their significance (what does the
crisis reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the crisis (form, structure, language)
d) Text 3
a. State the crisis and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. crisis
partially revealed = crisis in reader)
b. Why has the crisis been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this crisis? What is their significance (what does the
crisis reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with the crisis (form, structure, language)
e) Conclusion
a. Revisit the question: why do writers create moments of crises? What purpose do they
serve (their significance)?

* Depending on your choice of crises, you may use more than one example from a single text; you must
address all three texts however.

Q: Write about the significance of the ways the three writers you have studied used places in
their narratives.
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Briefly address (and answer) the question, state your texts and how they are
connected to the question.
b) Text 1:
a. State the place and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. city = decay,
corruption, danger)
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
c) Text 2
a. State the place and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. character in
same place = guilty)
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
d) Text 3
a. State the place and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative): (E.g. name of
place = characters values)
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
e) Conclusion
a. Revisit the question: why do writers use specific places? What purpose do they serve
(their significance)?

* Depending on your choice of place, you may use more than one example from a single text; you must
address all three texts however.

Q: Write about the significance of the ways the three writers you have studied have
structured their narratives.
Essay structure:
a) Introduction:
a. Briefly address (and answer) the question, state your texts and how they are
connected to the question.
b) Text 1:
a. State the aspect of structure and its significance (avoid retelling the narrative):
journeys = ???
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
c) Text 2
a. State the aspect of structure (avoid retelling the narrative):
repetitions/patterns/parallels = ???
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
d) Text 3
a. State the aspect of structure (avoid retelling the narrative): chronology = ???
b. Why has that place been included? What is the writer hoping to
achieve/convey/suggest by using this place? What is its significance (what does the
place reveal about character/theme/plot etc)?
c. How has the writer created meaning with this choice of place (form, structure,
language)
e) Conclusion
a. Revisit the question: why do writers use specific structure choices? What purpose do
they serve (their significance)?

* Depending on your choice of place, you may use more than one example from a single text; you must
address all three texts however.

PAST QUESTIONS:

Write about the significance of the ways the three writers you have studied
structured their narratives.
Write about some of the ways characters are created in the three texts you
studied.
Write about the ways authors use time to shape the order of events in the three
you have studied.
Write about the significance of narrators in the work of the three writers you
studied.

have
have
texts
have

FOR ALL ENGLISH ESSAYS (in all sections)

Top Answers will:

Middle Band answers
Examiners HATE:
will:
Analyse EVERY word of the
Outline the story
Not answering the
Be concise
question
question
Be relevant
Make every word you write
Poor referencing
Think about what IS
The story not pinned down
work for you
Too much on content; not
Develop a sophisticated
significant
Write confidently
enough on method
style
Write about what you
No argument in Section A
Have a structure that
understand
even-nos
carries the reader
No real grasp of
Select points carefully
Be alert to other readings
significance

FORM:
character, narrator,
setting, genre, events,
plot, description V
reflection, etc

STRUCTURE:
sequence of events
(dramatic, chronological,
flashback) , climax ,
patterns in action,
gesture, dialogue, shifts ,
sentence structure

LANGUAGE:
diction (word choices),
connotations, denotations,
literary devices
(figurative), sensory
imagery, style (formal /
informal / humorous) ,
poetic Devices

Band 6

use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/well-structured and coherent
argument/always relevant with very sharp focus on task/confidently ranges around texts

exploration and analysis of key aspects of form, structure and language with perceptive
evaluation of how they shape meanings

detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised through connections between

texts/perceptive consideration of different interpretations of texts with sharp evaluation of
their strengths and weaknesses/excellent selection of supportive references
excellent understanding of a range of contextual factors with specific, detailed links between
context/texts/task