Author
NickThe best way to improve any essay is to know how you are assessed, and what skills you are being assessed on. This page has been created to give you a sense of what examiners are looking for in a full-mark response. It contains:
In part (a) of Section A, you are required to analyse a short extract (approximately 30 lines) from the play in close detail. You should only refer to the extract in this part of the question. For part (a) the only assessment objective is AO2, which requires you to analyse the ways in which Shakespeare has used language, form and structure to shape meaning.
The mark scheme for Edexcel GCSE English Literature can seem intimidating at first. However, it is crucial that you have a thorough understanding of the mark scheme because once you do, you will know exactly what you are being assessed on and how to improve.
For part (a) AO2 is the only assessment objective. Therefore the weighting for this question is:
Here is a simple version of the Edexcel mark scheme for the Shakespeare part (a) question.
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AO2 |
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What makes a level 5 answer?
Below are some key questions which your response should always adhere to
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Key Questions |
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The following task is taken from the June 2019 Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 1, based on Romeo and Juliet. However, the commentary is designed to highlight how to structure your response and integrate all aspects of the assessment objectives, and therefore the model could be applied to any of the Shakespeare plays.
A close reading is an in-depth, careful analysis of a short extract. In part (a) you are required to give a mеticulous and in-dеpth analysis of thе languagе, form and structure usеd in thе extract from the Shakespeare play you have studied.
The illustration below shows an example of how you might start annotating the extract.
Once you have read through the extract, it is useful to analyse Shakespeare’s use of language in the following way:
Below is an example of how you might approach this process:
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Text |
Quotation |
Concepts and terminology |
Effect |
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Romeo and Juliet |
“I’ll call them back again to comfort me. Nurse! - What should she do here?” |
Interrogative sentences |
Conveys Juliet’s conflicted character |
The final step is to show you can write your analysis in an accurate and coherent manner.
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Form, Language and Structure (AO2) |
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Shakespeare presents Juliet as a conflicted character in this extract. This is shown when she states that “I’ll call them back again to comfort me. Nurse! - What should she do here?” Throughout the extract, she constantly uses hypophora and interrogative sentences. This signals to the audience that she is confused and conflicted as she asks herself whether she’ll “die strangled ere and her Romeo comes?” or that “Romeo will come and redeem” her. |
Once you have analysed your quotation, you could choose another quote from the extract. Below is another example of how you might do this:
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Text |
Quotation |
Concepts and terminology |
Effect |
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Romeo and Juliet |
“cold fear thrills” and “heat of life” |
Monosyllabic words and juxtaposition |
Exemplifies Juliet’s confusion |
Again, the final step is to show you can write your analysis in an accurate and coherent manner:
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Form, Language and Structure (AO2) |
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The exclamatory and interrogative sentences show a mixture of emotions, demonstrating Juliet’s conflicted character. The monosyllabic words slow the pace down and build up dramatic tension. Shakespeare intentionally progresses from short to long sentences throughout the soliloquy as it signifies how conflicted she is. Shakespeare also uses juxtaposition, such as “cold fear thrills” and “heat of life”, and this exemplifies Juliet’s confusion even more. |
Model Answer
Below you will find a full-mark, grade 9 model answer for this unseen extract task. The commentary labelled in each section of the essay illustrates how and why it would be awarded a grade 9. Despite the fact it is an answer on Romeo and Juliet, the commentary is relevant to any of the other Shakespeare plays because it is modelling how to structure an answer incorporating the relevant assessment objectives. AO2 is demonstrated throughout in terms of the essay’s focus on language, form and structure.
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Question: Romeo and Juliet - Act 4 Scene 3, lines 14 to 45 In this extract, Juliet is thinking about taking the potion. JULIET Farewell. – God knows when we shall meet again. I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life. I’ll call them back again to comfort me. (She calls) Nurse! – What should she do here? My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no. – (Taking out her knife) This shall forbid it. (Placing the knife inside the curtain by her bed) Lie thou there. What if it be a poison which the Friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured Because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is. And yet methinks it should not, For he hath still been tried a holy man. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me? There’s a fearful point! Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? Or, if I live, is it not very like The horrible conceit of death and night, Together with the terror of the place – As in a vault, an ancient receptacle, Where, for this many hundred years, the bones Of all my buried ancestors are packed – Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth, Lies festering in his shroud – where, as they say, At some hours in the night spirits resort - Alack, alack! (a) Explore how Shakespeare presents the character of Juliet in this extract. Refer closely to the extract in your answer. |
Examiners often comment that students perform most successfully when they think flexibly and creatively during the examination, even when the extract chosen and question for the text were perhaps not as expected. This is better than offloading pre-prepared information about the play.
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In this extract, Shakespeare presents Juliet as a conflicted character through various methods, such as fragmented speech, interrogative sentences and monosyllabic words. Shakespeare demonstrates her conflicted state when she states that “I’ll call them back again to comfort me. Nurse! - What should she do here?” Throughout the extract, she constantly uses hypophora and interrogative sentences. This signals to the audience that she is confused and conflicted as she asks herself whether she’ll “die strangled ere and her Romeo comes?” or that “Romeo will come and redeem” her. The exclamatory and interrogative sentences show a mixture of emotions, demonstrating Juliet’s conflicted character. The monosyllabic words slow the pace down and build up dramatic tension. Shakespeare intentionally progresses from short to long sentences throughout the soliloquy as it signifies how conflicted she is. Shakespeare also uses juxtaposition, such as “cold fear thrills” and “heat of life”, and this exemplifies Juliet’s confusion even more. Shakespeare portrays Juliet as independent. This is presented when she concludes, “My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Come vial”. The use of the possessive pronoun “my” and the use of the word “I” consistently throughout the soliloquy exaggerates her independence. One could suggest that Juliet is presented as self-obsessed due to her confusion about what could happen to her. The imperative sentence suggests that she is an independent and powerful woman. The sentence is composed of monosyllabic syllables yet it is dominated by the two polysyllabic words “alone” and “dismal”. This could be interpreted that Juliet is strong and independent enough to handle things “alone”, in spite of how dismal her circumstances are. The juxtaposition of prose and blank verse emphasises her control over herself and the use of the adverb “must” highlights her independence. Shakespeare also portrays Juliet as nervous. This is exemplified in Shakespeare’s use of fragmented sentences at the end of the extract. This could perhaps reflect how Juliet feels nervous due to her hesitation (explained by the repeated use of caesura) and the exclamatory ending of the extract emphasises how nervous she is. The quote, “There’s a fearful point!” illustrates Juliet’s emotional fragility and the adjective “fearful” highlights her vulnerability. In summary, Juliet is presented as a character who undergoes a range of emotions throughout this scene. She is portrayed as nervous and fearful but is also portrayed as an independent character with a forceful will. |
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Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.