GCSE English Literature analysing the Macbeth paragraph advice please 🙏

[bloomsburyavenue]

DS has spent days learning characters, quotes, context and themes for Macbeth and is confident he could write an essay for the second part of the Macbeth question. Analysis of the passage is a different matter. He’s been looking at past papers and really struggling to translate what Shakespeare has written into modern day language which makes it hard to answer the first part of the question. Is there any advice I can give him to maximise his score?

Op which board is this?

Edexcel

He really ought to move away from the idea of 'translating' the language. What has he done about the quotes he has learnt? Hopefully not translated them but identified 'juicy' bits he can analyse to show understanding of Shakespeare's methods - eg use of a metaphor, symbolism, imperatives etc? I know it's hard with the extract as you don't know what you're getting, but hopefully he knows the play pretty well and he'll obviously have the bit above the extract in which the exam board tells him which part of the play the extract is from and what the main events are at that point. He needs to read that carefully and then he won't need to worry about translating, but can look for 2 or 3 juicy quotes to show his appreciation of the language. Hopefully the extract will be one he's quite familiar with and that he already knows some quotes from and has an idea of what to write. However, if not, it doesn't matter if he writes more about part 2 (the rest of the play) than the extract itself.

Disclaimer - I teach AQA, but everything I say will stand except perhaps the final point, which he should check with his teacher/online.

He needs to stop thinking of it as a separate language to 'translate'. It creates a fear and mental block. There will be a few unfamiliar words, but you can usually work those out from context.

To get the feel for it, he could watch a couple of productions with the script in front of him. Hearing it spoken well, with context, makes a big difference.

@coffeerevelsrule could I ask you a quick question about AQA? The questions all say “starting with the extract” but if the argument to be developed could be better phrased by talking about another part of the text first would that be ok or should the first substantive para after the introduction focus on the extract? Ds has got some contradictory advice!

@bloomsburyavenue apologies for the hijack! Has he looked at any sample essays online or read examiners reports? My son is doing AQA but they seem to want the extract put in the context of the whole play so the work he has done on characters / themes etc will all help

We have lit paper 1 markers in our department luckily so I'm confident in saying they can begin with the extract or a different section of the play as they choose. They can essentially do two separate essays if they want, or they can cross reference throughout. Those who reach the top bands will tend to take the latter approach but there's no hard and fast rule and they definitely don't have to start with the extract, despite what the question actually says.

AQA really need to have a look at how some of their questions are worded, for lit and lang.

Thank you, that’s great. - so much for my advice about answering the question written :)

@Glwysen I mark AQA lit 1 and it matters not a jot whether they start with the extract or the rest, as long as they cover both, and all the Assessment Objectives.

Hi OP I think some of the responses here are more weighted towards AQA (obviously those answering @Glwysen's query, but also some of the more general responses like @coffeerevelsrule ).

I know more about AQA for sure, but for Edexcel the candidate has to write a separate answer about the extract specifically - then going on to write about a theme in general. The extract usually asks the candidate to analyse the character as shown in the extract, so it does require a close reading.

Agree with others tho - encourage him to forget about 'translating' anything. He needs to look at the text in detail and see what key points he can find. A past paper has the sleepwalking scene and asks for analysis of Lady M character - so he could pick out things like her short sentences showing her state of mind, the way she seems to be talking to Macbeth and reliving what the pair have done, and what that shows about her character, pick up on techniques like the language used - in this case lots of refs to blood, grave, hell - relating to violence and the horror she is feeling at what she has done. The way the points are presented will also win or lose marks - can he talk confidently about structure of the extract and the language used, can he use correct terms (thinks like simile, metaphor, pathetic fallacy, personification) to develop his argument?

There are 20 marks for this text analysis so it is important he does his best.