How to Write an a-Star Poetry Response

7/31/2019 How to Write an a-Star Poetry Response

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The poetry task is the on the GCSE English Literature exam paper. It is perhaps the moredemanding of the tasks on the paper, because unlike the question on the prose, in this section you are being askedto compare simultaneously throughout your answer.

Given the greater demand of the task, your response to the poetry is worth more marks than the response to theprose. In order to perform at the highest level on this paper, it is important that you develop a nuanced andsophisticated comparative written style. However, this is achievable if you adopt a systematic approach toordering and writing your responses. It does, however, demand considerable practice prior to the finalexamination.

TThhee eexxaamm iiss ddeessiiggnneedd ttoo tteesstt yyoouurr aabbiilliittyy ttoo ddoo tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg tthhiinnggss::

Can you respond to the poems , , and using ?Can you respond to the poems , , and using ? Can you , contribute to the of texts Can you , contribute to the of texts Can you the ways that and are in the poems by selectingCan you the ways that and are in the poems by selecting

from the texts?from the texts?

Write a detailed and nuanced comparison of the poems considering how the language and form contribute to theoverall meaning of the poems, and the relationships, themes and ideas that the poets are trying to present to the

audience.

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An A* response is characterised by a and approach to the texts thatcombines an and use of detail in each poem individually with acrossall of the four poems discussed in the answer.

Essentially, an A* response will set itself apart from the hundreds of other responses because it has an and approach that shows the writer has developed their own about the texts. Thisapproach is characterised by a with the themes, ideas, relationships and technicalconstruction of the poems. Equally, the writer of an A* response will show ; making links and

the poems using to form the basis of between the poems.

A and to the themes, ideas, relationships of the poems; of the themes, ideas and relationships of the poems; and use of into the response to support the argument; of and and their ; of and AAtt ffiirrsstt tthhiiss mmaayy aappppeeaarr ddaauunnttiinngg bbuutt wwiitthh aa rruutthhlleessss aanndd ssyysstteemmaattiicc aapppprrooaacchh iitt ccaann bbee aacchhiieevveedd.. EEsssseennttiiaallllyy,, tthhee

kkeeyy ttoo ppeerrffoorrmmiinngg aatt tthhiiss lleevveell iiss hhaavviinngg yyoouurr oowwnn iiddeeaass;; iiffyyoouu ccaann ffoorrmm yyoouurr oowwnn ooppiinniioonnss aabboouutt eeaacchh oofftthheeppooeemmss tthheenn yyoouu wwiillll bbee aabbllee ttoo wwrriittee tthhiiss kkiinndd ooffeessssaayy.. TThhee rreeaall sskkiillll hheerree iiss ttoo mmaarrrryy tthhee iiddeeaass tthhaatt yyoouu hhaavvee wwiitthh

aa wwrriitttteenn ssttyyllee tthhaatt aalllloowwss yyoouu ttoo sshhoowwccaassee tthheemm iinn tthhee eexxaammiinnaattiioonn.. TThhee ffoorrmmeerr ddeeppeennddss oonn yyoouu kknnoowwiinngg tthheeppooeemmss iinnttiimmaatteellyy;; tthhee llaatttteerr oonn aa rruutthhlleessss ddeetteerrmmiinnaattiioonn ttoo mmaasstteerr tthhee pprroocceessss oouuttlliinneedd iinn tthhee rreesstt oofftthhiiss

ddooccuummeenntt..


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TThhee ffoolllloowwiinngg iiss aann eexxaammppllee ooffaa ttyyppiiccaall ppooeettrryy qquueessttiioonn sseett iinn tthhee LLiitteerraattuurree eexxaamm::

CCoommppaarree tthhee wwaayyss tthhaatt ppooeettss pprreesseenntt ddeeaatthh iinnMMiidd--TTeerrmmBBrreeaakkbbyy SSeeaammuuss HHeeaanneeyy,,TThheeAAfffflliiccttiioonnooff

MMaarrggaarreettbbyy WWiilllliiaamm WWoorrddsswwoorrtthh aanndd ttwwoo ootthheerr ppooeemmss..

IInn oorrddeerr ttoo mmeeeett tthhee ddiiffffeerreenntt rreeqquuiirreemmeennttss ooffaann AA** rreessppoonnssee yyoouu wwoouulldd eexxppeecctt aa rreessppoonnssee oonn tthhiiss ttiittllee ttoo ttaakkee tthheekkiinndd ooffaapppprrooaacchh sshhoowwnn bbeellooww uunnddeerr eeaacchh ccrriitteerriiaa.. TThhee kkeeyy ddiiffffeerreennccee bbeettwweeeenn tthhee eexxaammiinnaattiioonn aanndd ccoouurrsseewwoorrkk

eessssaayyss iiss tthhaatt iinn tthhee eexxaammiinnaattiioonn yyoouu oonnllyy hhaavvee ttoo hhiitt eeaacchh ccrriitteerriioonn tthhrroouugghhoouutt yyoouurr eessssaayy..

YYoouu mmiigghhtt aanndd yyoouurr rreessppoonnssee wwiitthh ssoommee tthheeoorreettiiccaall ddiissccuussssiioonn oofftthhee ccoonncceepptt iinn tthhee ttiittllee qquueessttiioonn.. IInntthhee ccaassee oofftthhiiss qquueessttiioonn,, tthhee ccoonncceepptt iiss ddeeaatthh,, tthheerreeffoorree yyoouu mmiigghhtt bbeeggiinn yyoouurr eessssaayy iinn tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg wwaayy::

The finality of death is presented in a range of ways throughout the poems in theAnthology; it forms a central concern of the poets and each one focuses on different

aspects such that we might come to see the poems as exploring the process of death.That is, while in Mid-Term Break, Heaney centres the narrative of his poem on an thenature of grief the longer term impact of a death conversely, Gillian Clarkes TheField Mouse is concerned with the genocidal murder of a people during the ethniccleansing in the Balkans during the 1990s. However, ironically, given the scale ofClarkes deaths her poem is imbued with a sense of anonymity it is more focussed onthe concept rather than the event because we never see a death, but instead, the effect ofits magnitude, in turn, this foregrounds Clarkes attempt to locate her exploration ofdeath as an abstract meditation on the concept itself. Another poet concerned withdeath as a concept is William Wordsworth in The Affliction of Margaret who presentsthe impact of a possible but unconfirmed death, in turn, the persona of the poem isforced to confront the uncertainty and guilt presented by a hypothetical bereavement.This forms an effective contrast with the reality of the death in Heaneys poem, despite

the lack of a death in The Affliction of Margaret, it is Heaneys persona who confrontsdeath in more detached and cold way. However, in the same way that both Heaney andWordsworth focus on the impact of a death in the family, so too does Ben Jonson in OnMy First Sonne. However, Jonsons approach is much more concerned with the longer-term effect of death, of how a man recovers from not just the death of his son, but hisown metaphorical death; that is, the son that defined his role as father has died and sotoo the purpose of the personas life.

It engages with the death as an idea rather than just an event that happens; It deconstructs the idea of death and discusses specific elements or characteristics of death; It understands that death is an idea the poets use as a theme that is explored through the events, characters

and relationships of the poem.

Also note how the writer establishes a tone from the outset this is a real positive because alreadythe examiner is aware that this essay has comparison at its centre.

In order to hit this criterion you need to show that you can not only identify what the different themes, ideasand relationships are, but instead, that you can consider the different possible meanings that the poet is trying toconvey. So for example, at some point you would want a passage that shows this kind of exploration:

The arrangement of Mid-Term Break and The Field Mouse is central to the way thatboth poets present the concept of death. Mid-Term Break adopts a rigid three-linestanza structure which is counter pointed in the final single line that is intended toenhance the horror of the childs death. However, Clarke sustains the regularity of her


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stanzas throughout in order to convey the powerlessness of the victims of war who are atthe mercy of the unbreakable horror of war. In turn, the regularity of Mid-Term Breakmay be representative of the strong exterior the persona feels compelled to uphold inorder to support his father who he meets crying on his arrival. However, the final line,a four foot box, a foot for every year transposes the focus of the poem from the externalto the internal; that is, into the mind of the persona who is struck by the horror of a

wasted life whose meagre years are presented by the morbid symbol of the coffin inwhich his brother lies. However, undermining the personas rigid outward appearance,and foreshadowing the final moment of realisation at the end of the poem, is theenjambment that runs between stanzas three, four and five. While attempting tomaintain the dignity and stoicism exhibited by men like Big Jim Evans whoeuphemistically characterise the death as a hard blow, the enjambment hints at a youngboy projecting an outward appearance of strength but internally struggling to repress thechaotic and unpredictable feelings of an incomprehensible death. However, whereasHeaney is concerned with a persona trying to repress the feelings brought about by adeath that defies reason; Clarkes poem is about how death can be ignored andrationalised. The Field Mouses stanzas of equal length allude to the regularity of lifebeyond the place of death in the countries where people are not affected by the events ofthe radios terrible news. The idea of distance, evoked by the idea of people receiving

the news over the radio as opposed to first-hand is crucial because it creates the senseof how war and by definition, death is a concept that the outside world can accept ata distance, while to the people who suffer its wrath it is an overwhelming presence ofbrutality. This marks a key contrast between the two poems: Heaney presenting a poemabout a death that we all find futile and tragic; while Clarke presents a death that isnegated by those to whom it does not reach, this is a central part of the tragedy of theBalkans genocide to which Clarke might be referring: thousands of people were ethnicallycleansed while the rest of the world looked on indifferently. The stanza structure ofboth poems enhances the

It clearly understands possible layers of meaning in relation to the concept of death; It doesnt just identify possible meanings, it develops on them, using textual detail to draw out the ideas totheir logical conclusions in other words it explores the ideas; It draws its conclusions from a close understanding of the text as shown by the references to specific detail

in the poems and is therefore sustainable.

Notice that there is a balance here between close analytical reading of each poem and then some importantcomparative remarks that again further the sense that this is at its centre a comparison. Another importantfeature to note is the way that detail or quotations are embedded into the body of the argument and that the

paragraph isnt punctuated by long, overwhelming quotations.

and use of into the response to support the argumentYou will notice that in order to support the points being made, the writer has used the specificreference to the stoicism of Big Jim in Mid-Term Break or the radio in The Field Mouse which are or into the body of the argument. The passage would be rewarded for and use ofdetail because the details used by the writer are used to make an about death in the poems for example, that death in Mid-Term Break creates conflicting emotions in people which have to be repressed orcontrolled in someway dependent on other people. This then becomes an comment because of the waythat the writer then comments on how the persona is projecting an outward appearance of stoicism, showing thatthey understand that there is a duality of purpose in Heaneys presentation of the poem; he isnt simply showingthe boy is trying to act like the men around him, but instead, he is being forced into a much more complexdilemma about how to deal with grief.

of and and their ;



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2. Comparison of The initial proposition at the beginning of the paragraph achieves credit for this element of the criteria:

The arrangement of Mid-Term Break and The Field Mouse is central to the way thatboth poets present the concept of death. Mid-Term Break adopts a rigid three-line

stanza structure which is counter pointed in the final single line that is intended toenhance the horror of the childs death. However, Clarke sustains the regularity of herstanzas throughout in order to convey the powerlessness of the victims of war who are atthe mercy of the unbreakable horror of war.

This moves beyond a simple comparison of fact; that is, the writer does not just state that there is a difference inthe arrangement of the stanzas. It becomes an because it explores and explains the effectthe difference in form has on the central concept of the question: death. In turn, the writer of the essay is makinga sophisticated comparison of how directly affects in relation to the concept of death.

It important that you write in an imaginative way showing that you have a personal engagement with theIt important that you write in an imaginative way showing that you have a personal engagement with thepoems; this will ensure that your ideas are individual and set you apart from the many other responses.poems; this will ensure that your ideas are individual and set you apart from the many other responses.

You must use carefully selected quotations from the poems that are embedded into the body of your essay.You must use carefully selected quotations from the poems that are embedded into the body of your essay.You want to avoid a situation where each paragraph is punctuated by huge quotations which are not gainingYou want to avoid a situation where each paragraph is punctuated by huge quotations which are not gainingyou credit; carefully selected words or phrases which are embedded into the body of your argument wilyou credit; carefully selected words or phrases which are embedded into the body of your argument willlwork much more efficiently.work much more efficiently.

You must develop your ideas fully based on the textual details that you use, this will ensure that you areYou must develop your ideas fully based on the textual details that you use, this will ensure that you arerewarded for insight and exploration which is neces ary characteristic of an A* response.rewarded for insight and exploration which is necesssary characteristic of an A* response.

It is important to engage with the texts as poems; that is, you need to show you understand that poetic formIt is important to engage with the texts as poems; that is, you need to show you understand that poetic form

and technique is central to how the meaning of the poems is derived. In order to do this, it is important toand technique is central to how the meaning of the poems is derived. In order to do this, it is important tolearn key terms and concepts related to the creation of poems.learn key terms and concepts related to the creation of poems.

You need to write in a consistently comparative way an A* response will compare the poemsYou need to write in a consistently comparative way an A* response will compare the poemssimultaneously in the same paragraph of the response.simultaneously in the same paragraph of the response.

Although you only need to hit each criteria once in your essay, an A* essay will tend to repeatedly hit theAlthough you only need to hit each criteria once in your essay, an A* essay will tend to repeatedly hit thecriteria throughout. Indeed, as you can see from the paragraph above, you can hit many of the criteria in onecriteria throughout. Indeed, as you can see from the paragraph above, you can hit many of the criteria in oneparagraph. If you write in an exploratory and insightful way you will automatically use detail in a sensitiveparagraph. If you write in an exploratory and insightful way you will automatically use detail in a sensitiveway to make comparisons between the texts.way to make comparisons between the texts.


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The key difference between the coursework essay and an examination essay is that the structure is less elaborate.This is to take account of the time restriction that an exam presents; you will only have an hour to write yourpoetry response and it is important that each minute of the examination is used to gain marks. Therefore, youwill see below that there is a three-part structure to the essay you will write in the examination, each one with a

series of things you need to include.

:: TThheeIInnttrroodduuccttiioonn

Your introduction needs to do the following:

Address the terms of the question referring directly to the key words of the question;Some conceptual discussion of the key concept in the title question;An initial comparison of how the key concept in the title question is presented in each poem you need tomake sure you include in this the titles and names of the poets you are going to discuss.

:: BBooddyyPPaarraaggrraapphhss

EEaacchh bbooddyy ppaarraaggrraapphh nneeeeddss ttoo ddoo tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg::

Make a point of comparison between the poems in direct response to the title question;Embed useful and pertinent details from the text to support your argument;Make some detailed comment about how language, form or structure compare;Explore meaning commenting how language, form or structure contribute to the overall meaning;Conclude with a comparative remark that is directly related to the title question.Throughout you should use discourse markers to show you are making comparison.

: Conclusion

Your conclusion needs to do the following:

Directly answer the title question based on the exploration of the poems that you have completed;Make some comparative remarks in relation to the title question;End with a final, original idea about the key concept of the title question.

If you practice using this structure then you will ensure that you not only write in a way that allows you to meetall the criteria in the examination, but you will afford yourself the opportunity to showcase the sophisticated ideas

that you have about the poems. This structure is designed deliberately to achieve an A* response to the poetry inthe examination, however it is worth remembering that you cannot simply follow the structure in a methodicaland mechanical way, the central characteristic of an A* response is imagination and originality. This comes withknowing the poems but also finding ways to express yourself imaginatively; the structure above is simply aframework to help you do that.

It is important from the outset that you are conscious of the time that you have in the examination, it should beat the forefront of your mind. This structure is almost a safe-guard against the perils of running out of time, intheory if you write a relatively small amount, you should still cover enough ground. However, at first you willneed to spend longer than an hour writing to learn the style, but towards the end of Year 11, you will want to beregularly producing practice essays that cover all of the ground in an hour.



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One very logical way to plan a poetry response is to use the Timeline approach which allows you to think aboutprecisely where in the essay each point of comparison will be made, with specific reference to key details you willuse and explanations you will give. It is an effective visual way that you can check that you have included

everything necessary in your answer. You simply use the timeline to sequence the structure of your essay in thesame way would use a timeline to record a sequence of events in history.

CCoommppaarree tthhee wwaayyss tthhaatt ppooeettss pprreesseenntt ddeeaatthh iinnMMiidd--TTeerrmmBBrreeaakkbbyy SSeeaammuuss HHeeaanneeyy,,TThheeAAfffflliiccttiioonnooffMMaarrggaarreettbbyy WWiilllliiaamm WWoorrddsswwoorrtthh aanndd ttwwoo ootthheerr ppooeemmss..

Introduction

Death processes of death, each poem shows

different aspect.

Poems Mid-Term Break, Affliction, FieldMouse, Sonne.

Body Paragraph 1

Heaney grieving, confusion over how to feelJonson despondent, loss of self (ie. ref father)

Cf. rigidity of language in SH with much moreelaborate rhythm/structure Jonson.

Rigidity SH reflects personas confusion Vs.

Elaborateness of Jonson much more of alamentation on death.

Body Paragraph 2

Clarke a tension between distance & immediacyof death radio & field bleeding.

Wordsworth is distant because its hypothetical death isnt assured but still personal.

The internalised imagery of hell in WWorth cf.

with the more understated imagery of theimmediacy of death.

Conclusion

Death presented in contrasting ways someinternal others external key difference

But, also they form an interesting dialogue withone another about the process of deathdeath,grief, regret

Also an interesting debate about how we valuedeath, and in turn, life.



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is writing that holds together logically. That is, text that has a clear sense of structure andprogression and shows the reader through the use of the direction that it is taking. It isimportant that your essays are cohesive the effects of writing cohesively are two fold: firstly, it will ensure thatyour written argument can be followed in a logical fashion and secondly, it will demonstrate that you understandthe importance of carefully constructed prose.

Creating cohesive prose can be easily achieved by using discourse markers, in the tables below are a range ofdiscourse markers that have a range of purposes in written text. It is absolutely imperative that you use discoursemarkers in a poetry response because it is another way of indicating to the examiner that you are writing in acomparative way.

Besides Furthermore

In addition Indeed

In fact Moreover

Firstly, secondly

As a result Consequently

For that reason Therefore/thus

Since Because of

For fear that In the hope that

In order to With this in mind

For example For instance

In particular Particularly

Specifically To demonstrate

To illustrate This exemplifies

Accordingly Finally

Consequently Hence

Therefore Thus

Although HoweverIn comparison In contrast



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1. Highlight the of the title question.2. In your own words re-write the question keeping its meaning.3. What is the of the title question?4. Explain what you think the question means by the importance of history.5. Now look again at both questions and complete the chart below to show the similarities and

differences in the way that the poets present the importance of history in the poems.

EEvveennttss//CChhaarraacctteerrss//RReellaattiioonnsshhiippss

TThheemmeess//IIddeeaass::

LLaanngguuaaggee//FFoorrmm//SSttrruuccttuurree::











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6. Write a paragraph that succinctly explains the differences between the ways that the poets presentthe importance of history in the poems.

7. Complete a Timeline Plan in response to the essay question as this is the first time you haveplanned one of these questions you need to give specific detail in each box about what you intendto do.

Your introduction box should include some comment on each of the following in note-form:

What are the key terms of the question title?The key concept of the question;The names of the poems you will use;An initial comparison about the key concept across the poems.

Your body paragraphs boxes should include some comment on each of the following in note-form:

A key point of comparison that you want to make;Specific textual quotations that you will use;Comments on how the language, form or structure of the quotations compare;Comments on what you will write to explore the meaning;A final comparative remark to conclude the paragraph.A note of key discourse markers that you will use to show you are making comparisons.

Your conclusion box should include some comment on each of the following in note form:

A direct answer to the title question;Some final comparative remarks in response to the title question;A final original idea in response to the title question.

8. Begin to draft your response in full.



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In preparation for the examination, it is important to revisit what you know about punctuation. This is becauseyou will want to be able to express some highly complex ideas fluently. The most effective way to do this is to

use a broader range of punctuation in your response.

Outlined below are the rules and principles regarding the use of some more complex punctuation marks that allowyou to express complex ideas with greater fluidity.

: punctuation marks should be used to enhance the and of your writing theybe used sporadically and erroneously just because you know what they are.

The colon is used to indicate that what follows it is an or of what precedes it. A colon is preceded by ; what follows the colon . A colon is not usually followed by a except where normal rules governing the use of the capitalletter applyfor example, names of people or places.

Africa is facing a terrifying problem: perpetual drought.[Information after the colon .]

The situation is clear: too many teenagers are drinking too much alcohol. [Information after the colon is.] In the closing moments ofThe Crucible, Proctor understands one certitude: to allow the

confession to stand would be to live a lie. [Information after the colon .]

- When he left the Whitehouse he was clear he had left in shame.

- In the deepening shade he saw just one thing the abyss.

- The Crucibletranscends time for one reason it confronts us with the perils of denial.



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sentences into a when the

following conditions are met:

The two sentences are felt tobe to be separated by a full stop. There is which would require a comma. The reasons for using a to the construction.

Tolkien published The Hobbitin 1937; the first volume ofThe Lord of the Ringsfollowed in 1954.

Womens conversation is largely cooperative; mens is competitive.

Students should aim to complete their coursework on time; their failure to do so can often lead to severepenalties.

Note how the semicolon in each example is used to separate .

- Steven Spielberg directed in Munichin 2005 War of the Worldswas completed just six months later.

-Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer in Britain alcohol is the second most significant cause ofother cancers.

- As John Proctor lifts Elizabeth his salvation is affirmed his goodness reclaimed amidst the amoral horrors ofthe theocrats.

Certain conjunctions (transition words) require a preceding semicolon they arehowever, therefore, hence, thus,consequently, nevertheless and meanwhile (plus other words that serve a similar function)

-Saturn was long thought to be the only ringed planet; however, this is now known not to be the case.

- The two warring sides have refused to withdraw from the airport; consequently aid flights have had to besuspended.

Accurately place the semicolon in the following example:

- Proctor and Elizabeths relationship in Act Two is characterised by an inherent stasis however by Act Fourthis has been supplanted by a regained sense of love and adoration.



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The dash has only one purpose in written prose .

Dashes are used in pairs and show thebeginning and end of a digression Dashes should be usedonly when the digression isabsolutely relevant to the point that is being made in the

sentence but causes the information to besignificantly interrupted.

Dashes should be used sparingly to avoid the overall cohesion of the text becoming disjointed andunintelligible.

An honest politician if such a creature exists would never agree to such a plan. The destruction of Guernica and there is no doubt that the destruction was deliberate horrified the

world.

When the Europeans settled in Tasmania, they inflicted genocide there is no other word for it upon theindigenous population, who were wiped out in thirty years.

- The Iraq war has claimed over 400,000 civilian lives nearly four times the number Saddam Hussein isthought to have murdered since the beginning of the conflict in 2003.

- Theoretically, there is a link between poverty and academic performance albeit a circumstantial link which issomething the government needs to rectify.

How to Write an a-Star Poetry Response

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