Revision for the Controlled Assessment

Next week will be the start of the controlled assessment for the Poetry Reading task for Year 11. For the Y side of the year group, this will take place on Friday 9th and Monday 12th; the X side will be taking them on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th.

One of the biggest problems we have with controlled assessments is that people DO NOT revise for them!

You wouldn’t expect to turn up to an exam without revising – a controlled assessment is exactly the same. You NEED to have an idea of what you are going to write BEFORE you turn up for the exam.

 

Spend some time this weekend and the evening prior to your controlled assessment revising WHAT you have to write/say and HOW you are going to write/say it. That way, when you get into the controlled assessment on Thursday or Friday, you’re not having to waste time deciding what to write and trying to analyse the poem – you can just get straight on with it.

We know you’re under so much pressure at the moment – we all are! – but we’re behind you 100% to make sure that you achieve your true potential. If you have any questions, worries or stresses about the controlled assessment, come and speak to one of your English teachers this week.

Revision Tips:

• Below will be the lesson powerpoints, poetry task mark scheme and a student written model example (A grade). Use these to target certain areas, plan what you are going to write and revise the poem.
• You are not allowed an annotated copy of the poem in the controlled assessment, so ensure you revise at least three language devices and two structural devices that the poet uses in each poem. Also, make sure you know what the poems are about!
• Google the poems – look up the images that are created by each poet, watch videos on Youtube or on this site. Read up about the poet to help you decide WHY they have written about what they have.

Resources:

Edexcel Unit 3 Poetry mark scheme – Exam out of 24

L1 Intro and Base Details Group Work

L2 Base Detail in detail…

L3 PEE Base Details

L4 August 6 1945b

L5 August 6 1945

L6 Parade’s End

Unit 3 Controlled Assessment Example Answer and Writing Frame

Good luck with revision – any questions, leave a comment or ask next week.

Miss Jarvis

Homework Task: Research Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)

Part of your controlled assessment will be to explore the poet’s message in each of the poems. This will be a much easier task if you know something about them! This weekend, spend some time researching Siegfried Sassoon. The links below will get you started:

Siegfried Sassoon

• Wikipedia Entry – further links and information available from the references at the bottom.
• BBC History – Historical and biographical information about the poet
• Poetry Archive – Listen to some readings of his other poems

Concentrate on what Sassoon may have been trying to achieve in his poems – what message did he want to deliver to his readers? Why write the poems he did?

The other two poets you will be studying poetry by are: Alison Fell and Daljit Nagra. It may be worth spending some time looking up information about them too.

Less is More…

Today, our class looked at how to analyse one word quotes in detail, using a ‘graphic organiser’ like this:

This allowed us to ‘pull apart’ the quote and really think of some insightful and perceptive comments to say about it:

Example 1: ‘Toddle’

The word ‘toddle’ could have several meanings. Firstly, the poet could be using it to show what he thinks of the major’s role in the war, as that he sees the majors are treated like children; they stay behind safe away from the war while the ‘men’ are fighting. Secondly, it could suggest the major acts like a child, as he doesn’t seem to care what’s going on and doesn’t take it seriously – sees it as a game, showing his childish behaviour. Furthermore, it seems as if the poet is mocking the major, again linking him to being like a child; he still needs to be taken care of and that is why he is behind the scene of the fight and doesn’t really do anything but ‘toddle to bed’.

Example 2: ‘Scrap’

In the poem, the poet uses the word ‘scrap’ to describe a battle. This tells us many things about the poet and the soldiers in the battle. Firstly, it tells us that the soldiers are viewed by the major as scrap materials, to be discarded on the battle field (the scrap yard) along with other pieces of scrap (other soldiers). Secondly, the poet hints at the idea of the major trading in the soldiers to earn his wage, sort of selling used and scrap metal in the yard. Furthermore, it could suggest that the soldiers are just spare parts and are easily replaced. On the other hand, it could be used to describe a fight, similar to two kids in a playground, and not a big combat battle where many lives are lost. Overall, it gives the impression that the major sees the battle as unimportant and pointless, whilst the soldiers’ lives are meaningless.

Both of these examples explore alternative interpretations and ideas – using only one word. It is far more effective to explore ALL of the ideas a one-word quote can give, rather than write one sentence about many quotes.

TIPS: 

• Try using the graphic organiser above to break down quotes into different ideas
• Use different connectives (firstly, secondly, furthermore, in addition, overall etc.) to structure your explanation clearly

If you missed this lesson, the powerpoint can be downloaded here:

L3 PEE Base Details