Exam Preparation

Section B: Of Mice and Men Exam Preparation

Exam Quiz 1) How many questions do you have to answer on the exam? 2) How long do you have to respond to each question? 45 minutes 3) What is important to remember about each question? They have part a and part b 4) What do you need to remember about Section B that doesn’t apply to Section A? You have to address context.

Breaking Down the Question • Have a look at the questions. • In pairs, annotate each question – what is it asking you to do? • Underline the key words.

(a) What methods does Steinbeck use in this passage to present Candy? • (b) How do you think Steinbeck uses the character of Candy in the novel as a whole to convey important ideas about society at that time?

Part (a) • Now that you’ve broken down this question, read through the extract. • You can underline/highlight/annotate as you read to pick out ideas that might be useful to answering the question • How much time should you take to do this?

Have a look at the work you submitted in March. • Transfer all of your targets onto the target sheet, then have a good look at what you need to do to improve.

Part (a) • Now, in groups of 3, pick out 3 key things that you could talk about to answer the question (3xP). • Write these three things down – think about what order would make sense. • Then, find quotations from the text that would best work to demonstrate these three things (3xEg).

Part (a) • Divvy up the three points amongst the three you were working in. • Each of you will be responsible, right now, for writing a detailed paragraph using that PEG (from yesterday) to write a PEGEX. • How long should you each take to write your paragraph? • 7 minutes max! (3x7=21, you have about 22.5 minutes to deal with each part)

Part (a) – 5 minutes • Share your paragraphs and make any improvements your group sees as necessary. • Decide on a logical order for presenting your points and number them accordingly.

Mark Scheme • This exam has 6 bands instead of the 5 we’ve had on controlled assessments. • Band 1 is the bottom and Band 6 is the top. • For the skills to be demonstrated: • .1 and .2 refer to AO1 • .3 refers to AO2 • .4 and .5 refer to AO4

Part (a) – 5 minutes • Swap your three paragraphs with another group. • Using the mark scheme as a guide and focusing on AO1 and AO2, give the group a target area to improve upon.

Part (b) • Take 2.5 minutes to plan, individually, what you could write for part (b). • Again, try to think of about 3 strong points and jot them down on paper. • Remember that these need to come from across the whole text – so try to think of 3 things from different parts of the book. • Take a minute to share and develop one another’s points in pairs.

Example Responses - • These are copies of actual answers given in this exam. • Working in pairs, read each of the responses and try to figure out what skills they’ve used and which band they’re in. • EG: If you think they’ve shown: ‘4.1 Thoughtful consideration of ideas/themes’ then write 4.1 in the margin beside that section. • Then, try to give it an overall mark out of 30. • What is one thing that the candidate(s) do well that you would like to improve upon? Write this down on your paper under the heading ‘Section B Target:’

Band Descriptors • Band 1 – Limited • Band 2 – Some • Band 3 – Clear understanding • Band 4 – Thoughtful • Band 5 – Analytical • Band 6 – Insightful

Part (b) – 7 minutes • Okay, finally: take 7-10 minutes and write one of the points into a detailed, developed PEGEX. • Take a look at the mark scheme now – between your point for part (a) and your point for part (b), in which band do you think you are working?

Peer Assessing • Give it a band and a mark. • Give a very specific target of what they need to do to improve.

Exam Preparation