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It is important whilst practising thematic essay responses to literary texts that you familiarise yourself with the AO’s required. Generally, for AQA & Edexcel you require a combination of AO1, AO2 & AO3 skills. For the AQA paper, Section A is usually a thematic question and section B is a character question. For the Edexcel paper this order is reversed; character first, then thematic.

SELECTING QUOTES IN THE EXTRACT

When selecting quotes from the extract provided try to consider what major events occur prior and after this moment in the text. Consider the setting, tone, and voice of the characters and how this contributes to the overall mood. Highlight who is speaking and how the character uses speech and action to portray the theme/character in the question. Look for key words and/or literary devices that you can use for analysis in your argument.

EXAMPLE: AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE PAPER 1 (JUNE 2017)

Explore how Shakespeare presents ambition.

PEEAL Paragraph with AO Colour Code:

1.In this extract, Lady Macbeth is seen worrying about Macbeth’s inability to act unlawfully as it threatens her ambition to achieve a new royal title. “I fear thy nature, It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” She complains Macbeth is too full of human compassion which damages his chances at unshackling himself from his moral duty as a loyal follower and friend to King Duncan. ‘Milk of human kindness’ is a Shakespearean expression which epitomizes milk as a sign for humility and gentleness. The expression used by Lady Macbeth renders her husband Macbeth too emotional, sympathetic and nurturing like a woman. She frequently resorts to insulting his masculinity in this manner in order to drive Macbeth to act as he should and prove her wrong. Lady Macbeth fears that his emotions tamper with her scheme to usurp the crown because it will prevent him from committing the crime. His status, sympathy, and loyalty to the King threaten his ambition. From this soliloquy, Shakespeare creates tension and drama for his reader as we begin to ponder how Lady Macbeth is going to manoeuvre around her fears and encourage her husband to complete their ambitious plotting of regicide. It is clear from the very beginning of the play that Lady Macbeth acts as the driving force for Macbeth’s ambition in order to achieve their desired goal.

2. “Not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” Here, Lady Macbeth merits Macbeth for having ambition but counteracts this by insulting his manliness. The royal lady doubts her husband’s ability to seize the crown and kill the king. For Lady Macbeth ambition means acting with aggression and force at the first sight of opportunity. The negative connotations around her use of the word “illness” suggests that Macbeth isn’t man enough to murder the King and reward his wife with a new royal status. At this point in the play, Shakespeare seems to connect ambition to Machiavellian traits of deviousness and cunningness. “Illness” implies that Macbeth must act in bad faith and channel a dark behaviour like Machiavelli to perform the crime successfully.
3. “Chastise with the valour of my tongue, all that impedes thee from the golden round.” Lady Macbeth is aware of her influence over Macbeth and in these lines, she claims to use her voice as a method of manipulation. She has a valorous tongue which implies her courage and a powerful voice which enables her to rebuke Macbeth’s doubts so he will kill the King. Her desire to silence Macbeth’s emotional weakness reverses the expected social order and behaviour of men and women at the time. Women were taught to obey, denied the option to voice their opinions and treated as the weaker sex. However, Lady Macbeth defies these social expectations by using her voice as a vessel to manipulate her husband so she can achieve a royal status which renders her impenetrable. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth believe that following their ambition will make them indestructible.

SELECTING QUOTES FROM THE TEXT AS A WHOLE

Use your list of quotes that you have created in class and at home that relate to the theme. Remember to draw your points from different parts in the play as this will show a deepened understanding of the text. You can also consider context for this part of the question as this can bulk up your argument. We suggest including 2 references to the text as a whole.

1. In the extract the quote, “pour my spirits in thine ear,” demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s sense of urgency to pass Macbeth her masculine qualities to achieve the prophecy and therefore fulfil her ambition. This idea of Lady Macbeth as a carrier of masculinity is repeated later in the act when she asks to have her female qualities stripped to achieve ambition in the quote “unsex me here.” This representation of women as aggressive and powerful would have shocked a Shakespearean audience. The readers can infer that Shakespeare is linking masculinity to ambition which foreshadows Macbeth’s suggestion: his wife has a masculine soul due to her ambition.

The blissfully long summer holidays are over and September has come around once again meaning it’s time to go back to school. This year, however, is a lot more different. You’re starting the last year of secondary school, one that ends with your all-important GCSE exams. Your parents and teachers are pestering you to do your homework and revise consistently. Of course, it’s easier said than done, but we’ve tried our best to compile a list of things you should do to start afresh in year eleven!

Revision Timetables

     Revision can be incredibly overwhelming, it’s difficult to identify where to begin: do you start revising your work from year ten, or do you go over the new topics your teacher is going through now? Do you revise for the subjects you enjoy, or focus on the subjects you enjoy least? To tackle these questions, and to put your mind at ease, start by making a list of all the things you need to revise under sub-headings for each subject. This could be topics, like Trigonometry or Circle Theorems for Maths, or texts for English like Macbeth or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Then rank the topics from easiest to hardest so you know what areas you need to spend more time on. You should know that identifying your weaknesses is not a bad thing; you shouldn’t feel bad about getting a lower mark on a test or not getting a question right whilst all your peers whiz through the same work. Knowing what your struggling with will help to focus on these areas when revising – spend more time going over these topics and ask a teacher or tutor if you need help.

    You should revise for at least 3 hours on weekdays and 5 to 6 hours on weekends. Decide on when you want to revise: do you feel more focused early in the morning or are you more productive after school? Set your revision time accordingly giving yourself breaks often; some people like to revise for three hours then have an hour break, others prefer to study for 45 minutes then take a 5-minute break. It’s totally up to you and how you work but ensure that you are never too lenient on yourself. If something comes up and you can’t revise, add it onto another date, if you accidentally sleep in, do your revision in the evening. This type of discipline will put you into a familiar routine and ensure that you are able to focus on your revision. You should also remember that while revision timetables are helpful, they are only a guide – don’t give up just because you missed an hour of Maths or skipped a day because you were ill. Try your best to stick to it, but don’t lose motivation if you can’t.

Staying Healthy

     Being successful in your exams isn’t just about regular revision, you need to make sure you’re improving your lifestyle. To be able to stick to a revision routine, you need to ensure you get enough sleep. Scientists recommend that you should have at least eight hours of sleep per night so try to regulate your sleep pattern – don’t stay awake until 3am, and don’t wake up late either, keep your sleeping schedule balanced. Also, try to maintain a balanced diet; avoid eating junk food and drinking fizzy drinks and replace them with healthier alternatives. As well as this, make sure that you don’t skip breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day as it fuels you throughout the morning helping you concentrate at school – no breakfast equals less productivity, and you can’t afford for that to happen year eleven. Finally, exercise can also really help with your concentration. According to a study at Harvard Medical School, regular exercise can help improve your memory and thinking skills. Whether it’s a quick jog or a game of football, try to do a little bit of exercise every day to get into the right mind-set.

Finding the Right Tutor

     If you do decide to get a tutor, you need to make the right choice for you. But what does a good tutor do? A good tutor should be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses and set targets accordingly. Also, they should mark your work regularly and review it with you, talking through what you did well and what you can improve on. Ensure that your tutor will not be teaching a large group as this will mean that the teacher will not be able to give you enough attention and focus on what you need to improve on. At Ruby’s Tuition, we’re proud to say that we do all the above and more! We work with a teacher-student ratio of 1:6 meaning that all students get the attention that they deserve. Also, we always give detailed feedback to students and review work with them one-to-one making sure that they understand what they need to work on.

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