Whose Reality?

1. Whose Reality? AOS 2 – Creating & Presenting

2. Text Based • Unit 3 – Spies • Unit 4 – Streetcar Named Desire • Exam – can refer to one or both texts.

3. The prompt • The prompt is usually quite generic (broad/general) so students can explore ideas from either text. • You are required to deal with the CONCEPTS it raises.

4. Previous Exam Prompts • 2011 Exam - ‘Shared experience does not mean that people see things the same way.’ • 2010 Exam - ‘Sometimes people find themselves living in a world created by other people.’ • 2009 Exam - ‘We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.’ • 2008 Exam - ‘We can evade “reality” but we cannot avoid the consequences of doing so.’

5. The prompt • Your piece should clearly address the prompt but does not have to provide a definite ‘answer’ or stick rigidly to the prompt. • Shape your ideas around the prompt, using it as a starting point for wider discussion on the context . • DO NOT write a generic or pre-prepared piece that is unrelated to the prompt.

6. Assessing key ideas in prompts • Highlight/underline the key words • Look up any words in the dictionary you’re uncertain of • Rephrase the prompt • Consider the context ideas that are relevant to it • How does this link to your chosen text? • What’s your opinion on it? • What texts, images, songs, quotes, theories spring to mind?

7. Writing Requirements • Expository • Persuasive • Creative/imaginative • ‘Hybrid’ or combined form

8. Texts • Draw upon the ideas related to “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams or “Spies” by Michael Frayne. • You can draw on both if you want! • DO NOT focus only on your selected text/s – these pieces tend to resemble text response essays and can only result in a mid-range mark of 4-7 out of a possible 10.

9. Written Explanation • You will have an opportunity to write a written explanation for your SACs • This allows you to make the link between your piece and the prompt concrete • You can be creative whilst you have this, experimental even • You will NOT have an opportunity to write one in the exam

10. Good writing? • Dependent on the quality of your writing, the quality of your ideas and your ability to deal with the prompt. • ‘There can be no good writing without good ideas.’ Sophisticated understanding of the context; sophisticated and clear expression. • Be accurate and specific not general and vague. Assessors have found that the weakest responses are those that are too general and only ‘superficially’ explore key ideas.

12. Whose Reality? • Yours • Someone else’s • Michael Frayne • Stephen Wheatley • Keith – mother, father • Tennessee Williams • Blanche, Stella • Stanley, Mitch • What is reality? • Multiple realities? • Constructed realities • Emotional realities? • Subjective reality? • Objective reality? • Real? Truth? • Unreal? Fake?

14. Context ideas & statements • Reality is hard to define. Reality can be harsh. • There can be multiple realities/versions – sometimes these clash. • We can consciously shape our reality – writing is reflexive and involves revising reality • There are universal truths • We all perceive reality differently – why? • Our past experiences impact on our perceptions • Significant people/events compel change

15. Context ideas & statements • We all (consciously/subconsciously) seek to avoid reality at times. • We can only imagine what it’s like to ‘walk in someone else’s shoes’. • The past affects the present. • Our ability to perceive something clearly can be limited by our current mental state. • Who’s to say what is real and what is not? • There’s a fine line between illusion, madness, conception, deception, genius, madman.

16. Context ideas & statements • William Wordsworth – ‘The child is father to the man.’ The experiences we have as a child shape who we are as adults. • Plato’s ‘cave allegory’ – Only those who truly question the world get to see it for what it is, not just ‘shadows on a wall’ (think ‘The Matrix’). • We construct reality by reflecting on and editing events from the past – this involves value judgments. • The brain shelters us from the harshness of reality by sustaining us with dreams and illusions – dangerous?

17. Sample prompts • 'The line between illusion and madness is a fine one.' • 'When we attempt to make order out of chaos then we risk distorting reality.' • 'Believing is seeing. The reality that we perceive is the reality that we want to perceive.' • 'An experience becomes real when others feel what it felt like for you.' • 'People's memories shape their understanding of themselves, their world and others.'

18. Sample prompts cont… • 'We can never attain a fully objective view of reality because we remain trapped in the prison of our subjectivity.' • 'When competing realities clash the result can be only tragedy.' • 'Our sanity depends on a clear understanding of what is and isn't real.' • 'A person's self-image can interfere with their ability to perceive reality clearly.'

19. Sample prompts cont… • ‘There are no facts, only interpretations.’ • ‘The truth means different things to different people.’ • ‘People re-create their memories to suit their current reality.’