A Level English Language and Literature Specification B

Unit Support Booklet
The Principles behind the Examination

This examination focuses on spoken language in life and literature. In Question 1 the focus is on the genre of drama, and the way in which successful dramatists exploit particular aspects and features of naturally occurring speech to create particular dramatic effects. Question 2 explores the way in which writers in different literary genres (poetry and fiction as well as drama) craft everyday speech for their own artistic purposes by comparing spontaneous talk with crafted dialogue or monologue in a similar context. Candidates need to have a good understanding of how speech works in everyday life, and how discourse conventions as well as context and purposes affect the way people talk. On this secure basis, they will be in a strong position to understand how writers change and adapt these strategies and conventions to suit particular artistic purposes.

Key Concepts
Dramatic effects (particular focus in Question 1)
Context (particular focus in Question 1)
Discourse (Question 1 and 2)
Genre (particular focus in Question 2)
Language functions (particular focus in Question 2)

Question 1: How Candidates Can Improve Their Performance English Drama to 1770

1) know the text thoroughly and its context*

• learn exactly what happens in each scene as well as in each act
• always be aware of key moments in the play
• learn the sequence of events
• map the progress of each main character on a chart, identifying significant events
• be aware of the relationships between characters, and the trajectory of each

2) read the question and do exactly what it says
• don't assume they know what the question says (based on previous questions)
• be ready for the occasional minor change in wording (significant changes are notified in advance by the board)
• if bullet points are provided to help candidates to structure their answer, these must not be ignored
• underlining key words is a well-tried strategy

3) don't compare the passages directly

• consider each passage separately
• individual points of comparison can be made on occasion, but only if they enrich rather than narrow the discussion

4) ensure each passage is placed in its exact context*

• what happened just before extract?
• what is about to happen?
• where does scene /passage fit in play as whole?
• what particular effects are achieved here and what is the audience about to find out?

5) be able to identify

• specific dramatic effects* in each passage be able to explain
• what kinds of effects they are be able to show
• how the effects are achieved * key concept

WHAT IS A DRAMATIC EFFECT? Below is a list of some likely kinds of effects to be found in the passages in Question 1.

• effects produced by particular features of spoken language including discourse conventions (relevant theory such as politeness theory, theories explaining successful/unsuccessful conversation, co-operation/competition can be cited to support argument)
• effects achieved by choice of vocabulary, register and idiolect (Anglo-Saxon, French, Latinate lexis?)
• effects achieved by use of rhetorical devices (eg hyperbole, litotes, antithesis, listing, paradox, incrementum)
• effects achieved by dramatic and situational irony (relationship with audience)
• effect of revelation of character through plot/action/dialogue/soliloquy
• effects achieved by sound patterning, prosody, verse/prose variation
• effects achieved by performance (delivery, including pace, volume, pitch, intonation)
• effects achieved by literary devices (figurative language including simile, metaphor, personification etc)
• effects created by grammatical features (variation in use of tense, transitivity, active/passive voice, deictic reference, aspect, pronominal usage) and syntactic variation (use of subordination, length of sentence, short or long phrases)

* key concept

HELPING STUDENTS TO SUCCESS IN QUESTION 1

Suggested strategies for developing detailed knowledge of play

• students taking individual responsibility for single scene in each act (eg present scene to group picking out important features, dramatic effects, providing rest of group with brief notes)
• chart events (classroom wall?) using colours, scene references, key moments for individual characters, to show rise/fall/ overall trajectory in play
• invite students to explore ways in which dramatist creates scene / situation in words
• how does figurative language create particular effects in given scene?
• how do rhetorical devices create specific effects?
• look at grammatical representations of time in text (tense, mood, aspect)
• look at ways of conveying interpersonal relations via grammar (pronouns, number, active/passive voice, transitivity) Suggested strategies for using linguistic theory confidently
• look at scene (from any play) where conversation/ dialogue is working well. Can this be explained by applying Grice's maxims of successful conversation? Are politeness strategies recognisable? (Leech, Holmes) Can the exchange be described as co-operative? (Leech, Coates). Is power evenly balanced? (Fairclough) Is gender of any significance in the exchange? (Tannen, Cameron, Coates). Has the dramatist's purpose been supported by linguistic means?
• look at scene (from any play) where conversation/dialogue is not working well, where characters misunderstand each other, are competitive and uncooperative - can this be explained by applying theory (e.g Gricean maxims not fulfilled, negative face used, disempowerment strategies used, failure of politeness strategies etc). Does this failure in communication suit the author?s dramatic purposes?
• are these successes / failures in communication also conveyed via normal conversational features like length of turn, interruption, terms of address, lexical choice and normal nonfluency features?
• reference to theory should never be forced or imposed on a text - make a reference if it's useful and illuminating to an argument, otherwise don't!

Remember the standard procedure

• Identify the language feature
• Explain how it works
• Relate it to the overall meaning and purpose of the passage

 

Question 2: How Candidates Can Improve Their Performance
UNSEEN TEXTS

They should:

1) read all four passages carefully paying attention to information provided about each

• be aware that the literary genre in Question 2a and Question 2b will be different
• decide which genre is preferred and which question
• re-read texts for chosen question and re-read the information given about each extract

2) start to compare the passages

• either look for common context* /situation/genre*
• or look for common function* or purpose

3) note that bullet points are provided to structure the comparison

4) use each bullet point to focus comparison between passages

5) remember that:

• in spontaneous speech everything from purpose and function to language choice will be determined by the speakers/participants according to audience and context
• in a crafted text everything will be determined by the author in relation to his or her literary purposes (ie creating character, furthering plot, expressing feelings/ ideas)
• in spontaneous speech, the purpose of conversation can be anything from phatic to persuasive, depending on who is speaking to who about what
• in a crafted text, the writer?s purposes will be affected by genre* (e.g. expressing emotion in poetry, revealing character and plot in drama, describing a scene in fiction)

6) compare the ways in which features such as

• discourse conventions
• figurative language
• rhetorical devices
• grammatical features are used to suit the purposes of speakers / writer / genre / audience

HELPING STUDENTS TO SUCCESS IN QUESTION 2

Suggested strategies to gain confidence in reading transcripts

• practise making sense of wide range of transcribed speech
• practising identifying context*or situation
• practise identifying purpose(s) of conversation
• candidates need to be comfortably familiar with reading transcribed speech under time constraints
• they should have experience of making their own transcripts (however short) of a range of spontaneous speech
• they need to confidently identify purposes of conversation
• they need to be aware of schema (frequently encountered situations for which they have preexisting structures and frames in their own experience)
• they need to be aware that there is always an audience for spontaneous speech (even monologue is addressed to the self!)
• they need to remember the importance of the audience in determining what happens in an exchange, and what lexical choices are being made
• they need to be able to empathise / put themselves in the place of the speakers to fully understand what's happening in a transcription of spontaneous speech

Suggested strategies to develop skills in comparing spontaneous and scripted texts
• look at past papers and list bullet points
• referring to any pairing of spontaneous /scripted passages, brainstorm similarities and differences in relation to an individual bullet point

Answering Question 1

Successful candidates:

know the set play back to front, including exactly what happened in each act and scene (it's not enough to know the 'story' )
are always aware of the effect on the audience of whatever literary, linguistic or phonological devices are being used can identify and explain interesting literary and linguistic features without taking a ' checklist' approach

Less successful candidates:

fail to check the exact wording of the question
get the context wrong or spend too long talking about the play as a whole
make unsupported assertions about dramatic effects
don't even mention dramatic effects

Answering Question 2

Successful candidates:

read the information about each set of data carefully so they can identify genre, purpose and audience.
are aware of the differences in function between literary and non-literary texts
use the bullet points in the question to help make comparisons between the texts

Less successful candidates:

fail to read the information about each text
are unaware of either the writer's purpose in crafting the text or the speakers' purposes in the transcribed text
describe the texts but evaluate rather than comparing them

Answering Question 1

Outline Plan
(NB This is a suggested plan; there is no intention of being in any way prescriptive)

Opening paragraph
Brief contextualising of passages in relation to immediate situation (before and after) and position in play as whole. What is happening in relation to key characters in each passage, and what is the overall effect on audience likely to be? What are the dramatist's purposes in each passage?

Second paragraph
Lead in by checking the following:
Is the scene in prose or verse, or a mixture - why?
What is the overall tone or mood - does it change?
What does the audience learn about theme, character, plot or relationships?

Then start to look for textual evidence to support arguments and decide how to structure the rest of the answer.

The question may provide bullet points in the question to help, or candidates can use the headings in the Specification (also used in the Mark Scheme) to guide their discussion.

Third, fourth or fifth paragraph (ordering depends on content of individual passages)

Interactional features What everyday speech features are used to tell the audience more about character etc? What discourse strategies are being used to reveal relationships, attitudes etc? (refer back to first and second paragraph for general points needing illustration/ support/ examplification)

Lexico-grammatical features This is where comments on lexical choice (including figurative language, rhetorical features), sentence structures, and grammatical features (such as mood, tense, voice) fit in. Any comment should explain what effect is achieved by the usage (eg to create character, reveal relatioships etc). Refer back to paragraphs 1 and 2 for key points. Phonological features This is where candidates can talk about delivery of lines if they have seen a performance, and about the sort of effects different kinds of sound patterning can produce (including pitch, pace and volume as well as alliteration) to create character, atmosphere, reveal relationships etc

Answering Question 2

Outline Plan KEY CONCEPTS FURTHER EXPLAINED
• It's important that candidates thoroughly understand the meaning of genre or text type and are aware of the conventions of literary sub-genres.
• They also need to be aware that every act of spoken communication has a function or purpose; too many candidates still think that spontaneous speech is purposeless! The purpose is, of course, linked with audience and context - and an awareness of audience is equally crucial in life and literature.
• In literary texts, the writer crafts speech for a particular purpose, and is 'in charge.'
• In spontaneous speech the speakers themselves are 'in charge', whatever the context or situation, and have their own individual or collective purposes.

SOURCE MATERIAL FOR QUESTION 2
Each question has two sets of data; consisting of a passage of transcribed spontaneous speech, and an extract from a literary text. There will be elements in common between the texts (i.e. similar participants, purposes or situations such as passengers on a train, interviews, family conversations). Contextual information is given about each passage and should not be ignored by candidates!

LIKELY AREAS OF COMPARISON discourse conventions and features of spoken language; lexical, grammatical and syntactical features; selective crafting of speech for literary purposes unstructured spontaneous speech; standard and non-standard usage (different functions in literature and life) phonological features, sound patterning and prosodic features

OUTLINE PLAN
(NB This is a suggested plan; there is no intention of being in any way prescriptive) The formulation of the question is similar in Question 2a and Question 2b, but the bullet points are different. Candidates should use the bullet points to structure their answer, which must be in the form of a comparison
Opening paragraph
The first task is to identify the common situation or context in each text, the genre and the key differences in purpose between the writer (crafted text) and the speakers (spontaneous speech). (If a candidate finds it hard to work out the purpose of a conversation, trying to imagine oneself in the situation can be helpful)
Second paragraph The comparison should be based on the bullet point, and should show similarities and differences between the texts with detailed examples to support points.
Third paragraph Again, use the bullet point as a focus for detailed comparisons Fourth paragraph Use the bullet point to structure comparisons and always give detailed examples to support points.
Fifth paragraph and/or conclusion Assess the effectiveness of each text in achieving its purposes, and include any other interesting differences and similarities noted.

QUESTION 2 Unseen texts mark scheme Note to examiners This question requires candidates to compare two unseen texts: a transcribed conversation in real life and an example of talk in literature (poetry, prose, fiction or drama). In making these comparisons between texts, candidates need to be aware of:
• the significance of context and situation
• variations in form and expression
• the ways in which attitudes and values are conveyed.
Candidates must also be aware that:
• talk in real life is spontaneous; its purposes can be phatic, transactional, informational, instructional, expressive, evaluative, expository, persuasive, collaborative or performative or any combination.
• talk in literature is crafted; its purposes can be to create or reveal character; to advance plot; to describe a place or set the scene; to convey mood or emotion, create atmosphere; to express opinion or emotion; to address the reader or listener/audience.

The best answers will offer a sustained comparison between the texts, showing clear awareness of the differences between spontaneous talk and crafted speech.