Difficulty Verdict
The 2022 AS Level English Literature exam presents a fair but intellectually rigorous assessment. H072/01 challenges students with close textual detail in poetry extracts, while H072/02 demands sophisticated comparative skills by pairing core modern texts with complex unseen historical prose. Overall, the papers reward candidates who move beyond plot summary to engage directly with structural and dramatic mechanics.
Where the Marks Are Won or Lost
High-scoring scripts are distinguished by active engagement with the Assessment Objectives. In the Shakespeare section, candidates who integrate theatrical staging and performance history (AO3/AO5) consistently score higher than those treating plays as mere prose novels. In the poetry extract section (such as Rossetti's Goblin Market), marks are heavily concentrated in AO2, meaning that precise identification of meter, rhyme schemes, and linguistic devices (like the 'branch/launch' half-rhyme) is vital.
Examiner Pitfalls
- Pre-packaged Context: Sweeping biographical summaries about John Milton or Christina Rossetti that fail to illuminate the specific extract provided.
- Weak Comparative Balance: In the prose section, giving the unseen passage token attention rather than executing a balanced, side-by-side thematic analysis with the studied text (e.g., comparing The Great Gatsby's green light to Willa Cather's winking waterfront lights).
- Neglecting Form: Analyzing poetry extracts purely through thematic content while completely ignoring the verse form and rhythm.
Preparation Strategy
To maximize marks in upcoming series, focus on practicing close-reading techniques on short, dense extracts under timed conditions. Learn to blend technical terminology (such as caesura, blank verse, and dramatic irony) seamlessly into your arguments, using them to show how the author actively shapes meaning rather than merely listing literary devices.