AQA A-Level English Literature A Paper 1: Love Through The Ages Section A: Shakespeare Text: Othello This is an A*/full mark (25/25) essay for A-level English literature. As it explores examples from the wider play, as well as the given extract, the essay is useful for wider revision/topic knowledge as well as being an exemplar essay/written response. Question: ‘In the literature of love, the happiness of lovers is threatened by forces external to their relationship’. In the light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents the destruction of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship in this extract and elsewhere in the play. (The given extract that this essay engages with is included at the start of the document for ease of reference). This essay: Sets out a debate in its thesis derived from the given question/interpretation (AO5). This essay explores and considers the ‘external’ threat of the antagonist of Iago in regard to the demise of the relationship between Othello and Desdemona. However, it ultimately argues throughout its response (AO1/AO5) that the happiness of lovers is actually threatened by forces within their relationship – in this case, Othello’s inner insecurities. It analyses a wide variety of literary techniques and authorial methods (including: similes, modal verbs, apostrophe, imagery, tone, foreshadowing, metaphor, allusion, the verse form etc.) from both the given extract as well as elsewhere within the wider play (AO2). It incorporates relevant contextual links that are influential in regards to the question and debate of this essay/question, including: the tragic context, race and reputation (AO3). It explores connections across literary texts, focusing on the destructive interference of malicious third parties and it considers ideas about the play as a tragedy (AO4).

This essay explores the theme of belonging in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea, written by Jean Rhys. Question: ‘I know that house where I will be cold and not belonging.’ Discuss the idea of ‘belonging’ in Wide Sargasso Sea. Word Count: 2199 The essay argues that, for the protagonist of Antoinette Cosway, belonging is an unattainable goal. It explores her futile attempts to belong through various examples including: Her relationship with her mother, Anette. Her relationship with Tia. Her relationship with her husband. Throughout, the essay explores how her inability to belong is linked to her crisis of identity and the insoluble problems associated with hybridity as a Creole heroine. It explores her failed attempts to assimilate into her home community in the West Indies and into her husband’s society in Europe. Positioned between two cultural identities, this character is thereby coerced into playing the role of the outsider whose partial belonging to multiple locations results in complete and ubiquitous rejection everywhere. All quotations used from the novel as well as all critical quotations are footnoted in this essay for ease of reference. (Page references refer to the Penguin Classics edition). This essay will be useful for any student studying Wide Sargasso Sea as part of their KS5 curriculum or writing on it for their NEA. It would be especially useful for those students looking to engage with the ideas/themes of identity and differences.

Full Mark Coursework Essay for the Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) component of the AQA English Literature A Level. Question Title: It has been said that, in gothic texts, ‘the resolve and identity of female characters is often determined by the type of male tyranny inflicted upon them.’ In light of this view, compare and contrast the ways in which Angela Carter and Jane Austen present the imbalance of power between the sexes within The Bloody Chamber and Northanger Abbey. A comparative critical study comparing Jane Austen’s novelNorthanger Abbey (pre-1900 text) with Angela Carter’s short story collection The Bloody Chamber.

Revision Document for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Chapter by Chapter Breakdown. Bullet points include the key quotations from each of the 9 chapters as well as key analytical comments.

English Literature (AQA) Modern Times A Level Essay Level 5/A* Question: ‘Modern literature is primarily concerned with the struggle for identity.’ Explore the significance of identity in The Handmaid’s Tale. Word Count: 1989

Level 5/A* Exam Response. English Literature (AQA) Love Through the Ages Comparative Essay comparing Brontë’s Jane Eyre with Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Question: ‘Lovers are driven primarily by a desire to escape the past’. By comparing two prose texts, explore the extent to which you agree with this statement. This essay has also been colour-coded so that you can easily note where the different Assessment Objectives (AOs) have been hit.

Question: ‘Duffy excludes men as subjects in her collection’. Examine this view of the collection. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. The essay explores the following poems from Duffy’s collection in its analysis: The Long Queen Beautiful The Diet This essay contests strongly against the given view, arguing that men are pervasive throughout Duffy’s collection. Paper 2B Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the Present Day. Section A: Poetry Set Text. Carol Ann Duffy’s Feminine Gospels. Exam Board: AQA Level 5/A* Essay. Exam Question Practice. Timed Exam Response.

Level 5/A* Exam Response. Essay discussing William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello Question/Topic: Examine the view that Othello is presented as a flawed character who is controlled by jealousy. This essay has also been colour-coded so that you can easily note where the different Assessment Objectives (AOs) have been hit.