Each of the two assignments must be between 600 and 1200 words in length. This word count includes direct quotations but excludes references and bibliographies, ensuring the focus remains on the student's analytical writing.
Students must base each assignment on a different complete literary text. This ensures breadth of study and prevents over-reliance on a single work, encouraging diverse engagement with literature.
While one assignment may be based on a text also set for other exam papers (Paper 1, 2, or 3), it is not a requirement. This flexibility allows students to explore texts that align with their interests or strengths.
For assignments focusing on poetry or short stories, students are required to cover a minimum of two poems or two short stories. This ensures sufficient textual engagement and avoids superficial analysis of a single, brief work.
Assignments can be submitted either electronically or by hand, offering flexibility in preparation. The format does not impact the assessment criteria, as long as legibility and adherence to guidelines are maintained.
Teachers are permitted to discuss assignments in general terms with students, offering guidance on understanding the task or literary concepts. However, they are strictly prohibited from proofreading, correcting, or marking draft assignments to preserve the authenticity of the student's work.
The title of each assignment must be carefully phrased to allow for the assessment of all four Assessment Objectives (AOs). These AOs define the key skills and knowledge students are expected to demonstrate in their responses.
AO1: Show detailed knowledge of the content of literary texts. This objective requires students to demonstrate familiarity with the text through accurate references, relevant quotations, and the ability to explain meanings, significance, and context. For empathic tasks, this means seamlessly integrating textual details into the character's voice.
AO2: Understand the meanings of literary texts and explore beyond surface meanings. Students must show comprehension of main ideas, settings, events, and characters, as well as the ability to discern implied or hidden meanings. It also involves understanding how a specific part of a text contributes to the work as a whole.
AO3: Recognise and appreciate ways in which writers use language, structure, and form. This objective focuses on analyzing the writer's craft, explaining how specific literary devices create meanings, effects, or present elements like characters and settings. For empathic tasks, it involves sustaining a convincing character voice through appropriate language and style.
AO4: Communicate a sensitive and informed personal response to literary texts. This objective assesses how students shape their writing to convey engagement with the text, supported by textual evidence. It involves demonstrating understanding of the question and text in the introduction, being sensitive to imagery and sound, and reinforcing insights in a well-developed conclusion.
Adhere to Word Count: Strictly observe the 600-1200 word guideline for each assignment. Significantly exceeding or falling short of this range can disadvantage your submission, as it may indicate a lack of conciseness or insufficient depth.
Address All AOs: Ensure that your assignment titles and content explicitly allow for and demonstrate all four Assessment Objectives (AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4). A balanced response that integrates textual knowledge, meaning, analysis of techniques, and personal response will achieve higher marks.
Choose Texts Wisely: Select texts that genuinely interest you and for which you can find ample textual evidence to support your arguments. If using poetry or short stories, ensure you cover the minimum requirement of two works to provide sufficient scope for analysis.
Utilize Teacher Guidance: Engage in general discussions with your teacher to clarify understanding of the task, literary concepts, or potential approaches. While they cannot proofread, their general advice can be invaluable in shaping your ideas.
Focus on Analysis: Beyond simply describing plot or characters, concentrate on how the writer achieves their effects. This means dissecting language, structure, and form to explain their impact on meaning and the reader's experience, which is central to AO3.
Ignoring Word Count Limits: A common mistake is either writing too little, which suggests a lack of development, or writing excessively, which can lead to rambling and a lack of focus. Both can negatively impact the assessment.
Insufficient Textual Evidence: Students sometimes make general statements without backing them up with specific, relevant quotations or detailed references from the text. AO1 requires robust textual support for all claims.
Lack of Analytical Depth: Merely summarizing the plot or describing characters without analyzing the writer's techniques (AO3) is a significant pitfall. The coursework demands an exploration of how literary effects are created, not just what happens.
Neglecting a Specific AO: Failing to address all four Assessment Objectives adequately can limit the potential marks. For instance, a response strong on textual knowledge (AO1) but weak on personal response (AO4) will be incomplete.
Over-reliance on Teacher Proofreading: Misunderstanding the teacher's role and expecting them to correct drafts can lead to submissions that do not genuinely reflect the student's own writing and analytical abilities, which is a breach of academic integrity.
