Treating characters as real people with autonomous psychological lives instead of deliberate literary and dramatic constructs.

Use active, author-centered syntax (e.g., 'Shakespeare constructs Othello to demonstrate...' instead of 'Othello is jealous because...') to maintain focus on AO2 (authorial methods).

Analyzing the printed extract in Unit 1 Section A in complete isolation, failing to connect its tragic significance to the rest of the play.

Use a 'macro-micro-macro' structure: frame how the extract's structural placement triggers or mirrors the overall tragic trajectory, and explicitly link close-reading observations to developments later in the tragedy.

Ignoring the performance and physical stage elements of dramatic plays (stage directions, physical props, light, sound, and staging) in Unit 1.

Explicitly quote and analyze non-verbal stage directions, props (like the handkerchief), sound cues, and visual spacing to treat the text as an active theatrical medium rather than passive narrative prose.

Creating unbalanced comparisons in Unit 2 Section B (Poetry) by focusing almost entirely on the named poem and treating the second poem as a superficial afterthought.

Structure your essay around comparative thematic arguments, devoting equal paragraph space and analytical depth to both the designated poem and your selected second poem.

Treating 'place' in Unit 2 merely as a passive, geographical background rather than a dynamic agent that shapes character psyche and theme.

Analyze how settings (such as the Valley of Ashes or Darlington Hall) act as symbolic reflections of class, socio-political decay, or the psychological imprisonment of the characters.

Failing to write clear, structured introductions with an explicit thesis statement, leading to rambling, unstructured, and narrative-driven essays.

Always open your essay with a direct response to the prompt's key modifiers, establishing a clear line of argument (your thesis) that you will evaluate throughout.

AQA IAS-Level English Literature (9675) Exam Tips & Study Guide

Paper	Duration	Marks	Questions	Weighting	Question Types
Unit 1	2h	50	2	50%	Extract-Based Essay, Discursive Essay
Unit 2	2h	50	2	50%	Discursive Essay, Comparative/Discursive Essay

Where the Marks Really Hide: Demystifying the Oxford AQA Assessment Objectives

In Oxford AQA International AS English Literature (9675), high-tier marks are not awarded for simply knowing what happens in the text. The mark scheme is governed by three equally weighted Assessment Objectives (AO1, AO2, and AO3). To access Band 5 (Perceptive/Assured), your writing must showcase a balanced integration of these criteria. AO1 demands a coherent, logically structured argument focused on the specific term of the prompt, using sophisticated literary vocabulary. AO2 requires close-reading analysis of authorial methods—specifically how language, structure, and form construct meaning. AO3 is where you explore different interpretations, debate alternative viewpoints, and contextualize your reading within the genre (Tragedy for Unit 1, and Place/Setting for Unit 2).

Top scorers realize that these objectives are interlinked. You should never write a paragraph of pure plot summary (AO1), followed by a random sentence of device-labeling (AO2), and a bolted-on historical fact (AO3). Instead, combine them: analyze how a specific authorial choice (AO2) shapes the audience's tragic response to a theme (AO1), while reflecting historical or generic conventions (AO3).

The 10-45-5 Habit: Master the 60-Minute Essay Window

Each unit gives you exactly 120 minutes to write two essays, meaning you have exactly 60 minutes per essay. Time management is a major differentiator between Band 3 and Band 5 candidates. Do not begin writing immediately. Implement this strict timeline for both essays:

The 10-Minute Blueprint: Read the prompt, isolate the key modifiers (e.g., 'tragically dangerous', 'waste land', or 'unhappiness'), and outline your thesis statement. Select your supporting evidence. If you are sitting Unit 1 Section A (Extract-Based), spend this time annotating the printed passage, looking specifically for linguistic shifts, structural turns, and non-verbal actions.
The 45-Minute Draft: Write three or four deep, analytical paragraphs. Ensure every paragraph begins with an analytical topic sentence that directly addresses the prompt's key words, followed by structured close analysis (AO2) and debate (AO3).
The 5-Minute Polish: Reread your essay to fix technical spelling or grammatical slips, and ensure your conclusion aligns perfectly with your introduction.

The Construct Fallacy: Why Characters Aren't Your Friends

The most common critique in Oxford AQA examiner reports is that candidates write about characters as if they were real historical figures with autonomous psychological lives. This is a fatal analytical error. Characters are not real people; they are deliberate linguistic and dramatic constructs designed to serve a thematic purpose.

To fix this, banish descriptive phrases like "Othello is very jealous because..." or "Gatsby really loves Daisy and wants..." Instead, use active, author-focused syntax that highlights the writer's agency. Write: "Shakespeare constructs Othello as a tragic figure whose vulnerability is exploited by Iago's manipulative rhetoric to expose the fragility of domestic trust..." or "Fitzgerald utilizes Gatsby's romanticized obsession with Daisy to symbolize the hollow, illusory promise of the 1920s American Dream." By shifting the subject of your sentences to the author (e.g., "Miller portrays," "Heaney evokes," "Wordsworth structures"), you inherently force your essay to focus on AO2 (Authorial Methods).

The Two-Poem Balancing Act: Surviving Section B

In Unit 2 Section B (Poetry), candidates often lose significant marks because they fail to balance their comparative or reference requirements. If the question designates a mandatory poem (such as Hardy’s 'The Self Unseeing' or Wordsworth's 'Daffodils'), you must discuss it in detail alongside at least one other poem from the selection.

A common pitfall is writing 80% of the essay on the named poem and adding a brief, superficial paragraph on the second poem in the final minutes. This highly unbalanced structure caps your mark. To ensure equity, structure your essay around shared thematic arguments rather than treating each poem in isolation. For instance, if debating Hardy's presentation of setting and unhappiness, devote paragraph one to how the sensory settings of 'The Self Unseeing' and 'Neutral Tones' evoke memory, paragraph two to the role of natural versus domestic spaces in both poems, and paragraph three to structural transitions. This guarantees a balanced, thorough, and highly cohesive comparative analysis.

The Open-Book Illusion: Why Flipping Pages Costs You a Grade

Unit 2 is an open-book exam, which breeds a false sense of security. Many students assume they do not need to memorize quotes or plan arguments because they have clean copies of the texts in the exam hall. This is an illusion that leads to poor time management and disjointed essays.

Flipping through your prose or poetry texts during the 120-minute exam to find a "good quote" destroys your essay's momentum. Top-scoring students enter the Unit 2 exam with their thesis frameworks pre-planned and key quotes already memorized. Use the clean copy of the text *only* as a quick reference to verify lineation, check a specific word choice, or double-check the spelling of a name. Treat the open-book exam with the exact same rigor as a closed-book one.

Tragedy in Motion: Staging the Unspoken

In Unit 1 (Dramatic Tragedy), candidates often write about plays as if they were reading novels, completely ignoring the theatrical medium. Remember that drama is designed to be seen and heard on a stage. Examiners actively reward students who analyze the visual and acoustic architecture of performance.

When analyzing a passage or a play as a whole, don't just quote the dialogue. Analyze:

Stage Directions and Kinesics: For example, in the climax of Othello, look at the dramatic impact of physical stage directions (e.g., Othello falling on the bed, or Iago threatening Emilia with his sword). These physical movements visually externalize the moral collapse and chaos of the tragedy.
Aural and Visual Effects: Analyze Tennessee Williams's use of the "blue piano" and the "Varsouviana" to heighten psychological tension in A Streetcar Named Desire, or the claustrophobic drawing-room design of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler.
Turn-taking and Dialogue Structure: Note stichomythia (rapid, single-line alternating dialogue) which indicates conflict and panic, versus long soliloquies which represent introspection and isolation.

English Literature (9675) Exam Tips

Exam at a Glance

Tips & Strategies