How To Answer The Poetry & Prose Questions

• Paper 1 has two sections: Section A (Poetry) and Section B (Prose) — each worth 25 marks, each with 45 minutes, each assessing all four Assessment Objectives (AO1–AO4) equally.
• Every question asks you to explore how a writer conveys meaning — always with a specific focus word in bold (e.g. "vividly", "movingly", "memorable").
• The single biggest mark-losing mistake is not answering the actual question — writing everything you know instead of staying locked onto the focus word.
• Full marks come from ideas and meaning first, using the writer's methods (language, structure, form) as evidence — never technique-spotting for its own sake.
• Aim for 6–7 well-chosen quotations, embedded naturally into your sentences, covering the whole text/poem in chronological order.
• Never retell the story — every sentence must analyse, not narrate.
• Context is not assessed — don't waste time on historical background unless it directly sharpens your personal response.
• Section B gives you a choice: a passage-based question (extract given) or an essay question (whole text, no extract).

What The Question Is Asking

You choose one question from a choice of two. Each option gives you a different poem from your studied anthology, printed on the exam paper itself — so you don't need to memorise the poems word-for-word, just know them well.

Notice the two moving parts: an adverb (strikingly, vividly, movingly, memorably) and a focus (grief, death, power, sadness). The focus is what you must track through your whole answer — highlight it the second you read the question.

Suggested Timing (45 minutes total)

What Skills Earn Full Marks — The Four AOs

All four Assessment Objectives are tested in every single answer — you don't get separate marks "for AO3" — examiners are looking for one seamless essay that naturally does all four at once.

Form