Practice Exam Questions:

1. How to create your own

2. How to plan your answer effectively

3. How to structure your exam answer

Practice Exam Questions:

1. How to create your own

‘[Quotation offering critical statement]’

By considering Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation of [character or theme], evaluate this view.

By considering the dramatic presentation of [character or theme] in [play], evaluate the view that ‘[quotation offering critical statement]’

or

The format of the question: AO1

So... all you need is a quote!

“Helena’s betrayal of Hermia is very natural, a true picture of the lax hold that principles have on the human heart when faced with passion.”

“There are almost no human characters that we can take an interest in. Our interest is in the loveliness, gracefulness and grotesqueness of the dream.”

“Theseus and Hippolyta are children of the day, of clear reason, and practical life.”

“Unruly floods, disorder in the seasons, storms and mud and all natural confusion result from the dissension in fairyland. And the tempest is at the heart of the play, sending ripples outward through the plot, vitalising the whole middle action. Hence our dissension and mistakes, our comedy; in fact, our drama: most of the action is related to the Oberon-Titania quarrel.”

“The double nature of characters is crucial to the way we respond to the play in which nothing is quite as simple as it seems at first.”

For each of the following quotes, fill in the blank:“By exploring [...] in the play, evaluate this view.”

“AMND is the triumph of common sense over irrationality, of the real over the illusory”

“Most of the laughs in AMND are generated by someone’s pain or humiliation”

“A sense of illusion and gauzy fragility is crucial to the atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

“Contrast serves as the defining visual characteristic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“Whether in the fantasy world of the forest or the equally fantastic world of mythological Athens, this play reveals how power, particularly political power, shapes women’s lives.”

“Illusion brings insight, involving the surrender of one way of seeing, one identity, for a new perspective.”

“While the theme of love-madness weaves together apparently unrelated portions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare creates unity of atmosphere chiefly by flooding the play with moonlight.”

“The role of imagination in love is simple and obvious, it is a disrupting irrational influence, which must eventually be purged.”

“The links between love, imagination and reason are key to the main themes of the play.”

Working in pairs, use your notes on character and theme, as well your AO3 notes and resources, to find at least three quotes or statements you could use to set a practice question.

[You can paraphrase if you like!]

Finding your own quotes...

Practice Exam Questions:

2. How to plan your answer effectively

• make sure you understand the play – re-read it!• make sure you can deconstruct and understand the question• write accurately and with appropriate formality• learn your terminology• make sure you plan your answer and structure it effectively

5 marks

How to prepare/answer: AO1

How to prepare/answer: AO2• well-developed and consistently detailed discussion of effects (including dramatic effects) of language, form and structure• excellent and consistently effective use of analytical methods• consistently effective use of quotations and references to text, critically addressed, blended into discussion

• make sure you understand the effects of Shakespeare's use of language, form and structure for each scene – revise your notes!• analyse throughout your answer• prepare clusters of quotes for each theme and character of the play – learn them and use them in your answer

10 marks

How to prepare/answer: AO3

• remember the importance of this AO• prepare notes on significant performances of AMND and how these ‘read’ or interpret the text• collect significant readings and quotes from the AO3 essays provided – make sure you read and understand these different views and can quote from them and explore them in your answer

10 marks

How to prepare/answer: AO4• consistently well developed and consistently detailed understanding of the significance and influence of contexts in which literary texts are written and understood, as appropriate to the question

• revise your notes on AO4 from the start of the year (Shakespeare’s theatre, life, Elizabethan values etc.) as well as those covered as we’ve studied each scene• be able to compare AMND with other texts which deal with the same characters/themes (mythology; R+J [Queen Mab etc.]; Pyramus and Thisbe)

5 marks

Practice Exam Questions:

3. How to structure your exam answer

AO3 in this case means different performances and adaptations of the play as well as critical interpretations

Key AOs for MND: • critical understanding in analysis of language, form and structure• responses informed by interpretations of others

An effective opening. State your viewpoint clearly. You will spend the rest of the essay arguing towards this.

AO2: use of quotes and detailed discussion of their effectsAO4: significance of contextAO3: specific use of critical view

AO1: Clear and effective conclusion.

Useful extracts from examiners’ reports:

“Over recent years the amount of copy generated under examination conditions on this component has been increasing, and some of the best candidates [...] are clearly benefiting by writing more. However good and very good candidates sometimes allow their answers to develop in too leisurely a fashion, as if filling space were an end in itself; others seem to privilege writing over proper organisation and preparation of material, so that answers reach a natural conclusion and then stumble over some of the same ground again until the allotted time expires. As a short answer containing similar content to a longer one tends to attract a higher mark, candidates might consider employing more rigorous editorial skills.”

In other words...

Make sure you plan your answer before you write!

AO1

Useful extracts from examiners’ reports:

“Candidates [...] need to consider different interpretations of their set texts. Many candidates were able to name a range of well-known critics and engage with their debates, which worked very well...”

“Perhaps an active focus in teaching on discovering critics rather than being given a list of critical quotes to learn would be beneficial.”

“With respect to AO3, almost all candidates understood the need to consider different interpretations of their set texts. Some examiners complained that the same critical phrases recurred from text to text and therefore became over-familiar. This is not, of course, a problem in itself but it does suggest that filleted collections of critical materials are being distributed to candidates, rather than allowing them to discover quotable phrases for themselves.”

In other words...

Pick your own quotes and explore different readings of the texts in your answer.

AO3

Useful extracts from examiners’ reports:

“...a substantial amount of comment on the plays in performance. This gave an excellent source of (AO3) dramatic interpretation and informed some very intelligent arguments.”

“...much relevant and useful comment on the recent production of the play at Shakespeare’s Globe.”

“Strong focus on plays in the theatre has led not only to much more efficient writing about how dramatic effects are generated and developed, and how different ‘directorial’ decisions themselves constitute acts of criticism, but also to plays being seen in the context of long and often complex theatrical histories. There were, for instance, many perceptive answers where the modern audience’s response to a particular production was juxtaposed with the likely response of an early modern audience to the same scene..”

In other words...

Make sure you use different performances of the texts as well as written critical works.

AO3/4

“In the end, the key skill to develop is the art of demonstrating an INFORMED PERSONAL RESPONSE.

Individuality and honesty supported by detailed evidence is the key to the highest grades.”