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A - Level AQA English Language & Literature Recast Structure Guide | Exam-
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH THE FREQUENTLY USED WORD
LIBRARY, GUARANTEED PASS
AQA English Literature Paper 1 - Macbeth (Guilt & The Supernatural) Included
Introduction
For my recast task I transformed Fitzgerald’s depiction… I aimed to capture the sense of… My piece
balances… By using an _ tone, I reflected on…
Paragraph One: Shaping Meaning Through Language
I used… to reflect… For example, … I reinforced… These choices helped create a tone…
Paragraph Two: Connecting The Base Text And The Transformation
In Fitzgerald’s novel… In my recast, I shifted this to… I retained Fitzgerald’s theme of… For instance, I
reinterpreted…
Paragraph Three: Demonstrating Creativity In Communication
To mimic the style… I used… I also used direct quotes… This differs from…
Paragraph Four
How does your recast reflect the novel’s key themes?
Conclusion
My transformation shifts… By using a _ tone, I mirrored… My linguistic choices… ultimately…
AQA English Language Methods
What is an adjective?
A word that describes a noun (e.g., beautiful, dark, cold).
What is a verb?
A word that shows action or a state of being (e.g., run, think, is).
What is an adverb?
A word that describes how an action is done, often ending in -ly (e.g., quickly, softly).
What is a noun?
A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., teacher, city, happiness).
What is a simile?
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A comparison using like or as (e.g., as brave as a lion).
What is a metaphor?
A direct comparison saying one thing is another (e.g., Time is a thief).
What is personification?
Giving human qualities to something non-human (e.g., The wind whispered).
What is alliteration?
Repetition of the same starting sound in nearby words (e.g., big, bold, beautiful).
What is repetition?
Repeating a word or phrase for effect or emphasis.
What is a rhetorical question?
A question asked for effect, not needing an answer (e.g., Who wouldn’t want to be happy?).
What is emotive language?
Words used to make the reader feel emotions (e.g., heartbreaking, joyful).
What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?
• Fact: Something that can be proven true.
• Opinion: A personal belief or feeling, not provable.
What is direct address?
When the writer speaks directly to the reader using you or we.
What is an imperative?
A command or instruction (e.g., Stop, Listen carefully).
What is tone?
The writer’s attitude or feeling expressed through their writing (e.g., angry, hopeful).
What is mood?
The overall feeling or atmosphere created for the reader.
What is pathetic fallacy?
Using weather or nature to reflect emotions (e.g., dark clouds for sadness).
What is hyperbole?
An extreme exaggeration for effect (e.g., I’ve told you a million times).
What is onomatopoeia?
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A word that sounds like the noise it describes (e.g., buzz, bang).
What is a pronoun?
A word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition and make sentences clearer (e.g., he, she, it, they, we,
you, and I).
AQA English Literature, Spec A - Critical Readings
What does Phillip C. Kolin say about Othello?
“His very place in the script is uncertain and unstable”
How does Carol McGinnis Kay describe Othello?
“A man of low self-esteem who will snatch at any straw to shore himself up”
What does Phillip C. Kolin say about Desdemona?
“Desdemona challenges and provokes”
What does James Calderwood think about Desdemona?
That she is victimised by a “proprietary husband claiming absolute title to his wife’s body”
What does Julian C. Rice say about Desdemona?
“She shares the responsibility for her own murder”
What does Harold Bloom say about Iago?
“It is Othello’s tragedy but it is Iago’s play”
How does William Hazlitt describe Iago?
As a “typical stage machiavel”
What does William Hazlitt say about Iago’s morality?
He has a “perfect indifference to moral good or evil”
What does Ania Loomba suggest about “Othello” ?
The central conflict stems from “the racism of a white patriarchy and the threat posed to it by both a black man
and a white woman”
What did Lisa Jardine say about Desdemona?
She was punished for being “too-knowing” and “too-independent”, her death is a lesson to teach what happens
if you go against the male hierarchy
What is a Marxist view of religion in the Handmaid’s tale?
It is weaponised to control the masses
How would a structuralist analyse the Handmaid’s tale?
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Through Atwood’s use of binary opposition (opposite groups + their conflicts)
What did Carol Ann Howells say about “The Handmaid’s Tale” ?
Atwood’s choice of a female narrator turns the traditionally masculine dystopian genre upside down. Instead of
focusing on state oppression it looks at the political effect of the patriarchy.
How does Pilar Somacarrera describe the aunts’ power in “The Handmaid's Tale” ?
It “is disguised as a spirit of camaraderie”
How does Pilar Somacarrera analyse “The Handmaid's Tale” through a Foucauldian lens?
“Gileadean regime…aims to be ubiquitous and internalised by the population”
How can a streetcar names desire be analysed through a Marxist lens?
Human relationships have been inevitably warped by forces of political and capitalist systems
What does Carol Ann Howell’s argue about the Handmaid's tale's structure?
“Offred creates a mosaic of alternative female worlds which deny patriarchal myths of women's submissiveness
and silence.”
What does Laura Mulvey argue about the male gaze?
Media is “constructed for the pleasure of the male viewer.” + women are “the bearer of meaning and not the
maker”
What is a Marxist view of “A Room With A View” ?
George + Lucy defy class barriers
How do John Locke’s ideals align with “A Room With A View” ?
Lucy’s development is based on her experiences
What does Bernard Deckle say about Williams’ writing?
“His plays deal consistently with a serious theme - self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its
grip and will not let them go with their lives.”
How could “The Handmaid's Tale” be analysed through a Freudian lens?
When discussing the tulips’ petals like teeth it links with the theory Vagina Dentata - Offred is tired of her
subjugation under the patriarchy + wishes to emasculate those in power
What does Clum argue about Blanche?
“Blanche is a wild card in the seven card stud game that is the sex / gender system”
What does Cohn argue about Stanley?
“His cruelty defends his world.”
A - Level AQA English Language & Literature Recast Structure Guide | Exam-
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH THE FREQUENTLY USED WORD
LIBRARY, GUARANTEED PASS
AQA English Literature Paper 1 - Macbeth (Guilt & The Supernatural) Included
Introduction
For my recast task I transformed Fitzgerald’s depiction… I aimed to capture the sense of… My piece
balances… By using an _ tone, I reflected on…
Paragraph One: Shaping Meaning Through Language
I used… to reflect… For example, … I reinforced… These choices helped create a tone…
Paragraph Two: Connecting The Base Text And The Transformation
In Fitzgerald’s novel… In my recast, I shifted this to… I retained Fitzgerald’s theme of… For instance, I
reinterpreted…
Paragraph Three: Demonstrating Creativity In Communication
To mimic the style… I used… I also used direct quotes… This differs from…
Paragraph Four
How does your recast reflect the novel’s key themes?
Conclusion
My transformation shifts… By using a _ tone, I mirrored… My linguistic choices… ultimately…
AQA English Language Methods
What is an adjective?
A word that describes a noun (e.g., beautiful, dark, cold).
What is a verb?
A word that shows action or a state of being (e.g., run, think, is).
What is an adverb?
A word that describes how an action is done, often ending in -ly (e.g., quickly, softly).
What is a noun?
A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., teacher, city, happiness).
What is a simile?
,2|Page
A comparison using like or as (e.g., as brave as a lion).
What is a metaphor?
A direct comparison saying one thing is another (e.g., Time is a thief).
What is personification?
Giving human qualities to something non-human (e.g., The wind whispered).
What is alliteration?
Repetition of the same starting sound in nearby words (e.g., big, bold, beautiful).
What is repetition?
Repeating a word or phrase for effect or emphasis.
What is a rhetorical question?
A question asked for effect, not needing an answer (e.g., Who wouldn’t want to be happy?).
What is emotive language?
Words used to make the reader feel emotions (e.g., heartbreaking, joyful).
What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?
• Fact: Something that can be proven true.
• Opinion: A personal belief or feeling, not provable.
What is direct address?
When the writer speaks directly to the reader using you or we.
What is an imperative?
A command or instruction (e.g., Stop, Listen carefully).
What is tone?
The writer’s attitude or feeling expressed through their writing (e.g., angry, hopeful).
What is mood?
The overall feeling or atmosphere created for the reader.
What is pathetic fallacy?
Using weather or nature to reflect emotions (e.g., dark clouds for sadness).
What is hyperbole?
An extreme exaggeration for effect (e.g., I’ve told you a million times).
What is onomatopoeia?
,3|Page
A word that sounds like the noise it describes (e.g., buzz, bang).
What is a pronoun?
A word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition and make sentences clearer (e.g., he, she, it, they, we,
you, and I).
AQA English Literature, Spec A - Critical Readings
What does Phillip C. Kolin say about Othello?
“His very place in the script is uncertain and unstable”
How does Carol McGinnis Kay describe Othello?
“A man of low self-esteem who will snatch at any straw to shore himself up”
What does Phillip C. Kolin say about Desdemona?
“Desdemona challenges and provokes”
What does James Calderwood think about Desdemona?
That she is victimised by a “proprietary husband claiming absolute title to his wife’s body”
What does Julian C. Rice say about Desdemona?
“She shares the responsibility for her own murder”
What does Harold Bloom say about Iago?
“It is Othello’s tragedy but it is Iago’s play”
How does William Hazlitt describe Iago?
As a “typical stage machiavel”
What does William Hazlitt say about Iago’s morality?
He has a “perfect indifference to moral good or evil”
What does Ania Loomba suggest about “Othello” ?
The central conflict stems from “the racism of a white patriarchy and the threat posed to it by both a black man
and a white woman”
What did Lisa Jardine say about Desdemona?
She was punished for being “too-knowing” and “too-independent”, her death is a lesson to teach what happens
if you go against the male hierarchy
What is a Marxist view of religion in the Handmaid’s tale?
It is weaponised to control the masses
How would a structuralist analyse the Handmaid’s tale?
, 4|Page
Through Atwood’s use of binary opposition (opposite groups + their conflicts)
What did Carol Ann Howells say about “The Handmaid’s Tale” ?
Atwood’s choice of a female narrator turns the traditionally masculine dystopian genre upside down. Instead of
focusing on state oppression it looks at the political effect of the patriarchy.
How does Pilar Somacarrera describe the aunts’ power in “The Handmaid's Tale” ?
It “is disguised as a spirit of camaraderie”
How does Pilar Somacarrera analyse “The Handmaid's Tale” through a Foucauldian lens?
“Gileadean regime…aims to be ubiquitous and internalised by the population”
How can a streetcar names desire be analysed through a Marxist lens?
Human relationships have been inevitably warped by forces of political and capitalist systems
What does Carol Ann Howell’s argue about the Handmaid's tale's structure?
“Offred creates a mosaic of alternative female worlds which deny patriarchal myths of women's submissiveness
and silence.”
What does Laura Mulvey argue about the male gaze?
Media is “constructed for the pleasure of the male viewer.” + women are “the bearer of meaning and not the
maker”
What is a Marxist view of “A Room With A View” ?
George + Lucy defy class barriers
How do John Locke’s ideals align with “A Room With A View” ?
Lucy’s development is based on her experiences
What does Bernard Deckle say about Williams’ writing?
“His plays deal consistently with a serious theme - self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its
grip and will not let them go with their lives.”
How could “The Handmaid's Tale” be analysed through a Freudian lens?
When discussing the tulips’ petals like teeth it links with the theory Vagina Dentata - Offred is tired of her
subjugation under the patriarchy + wishes to emasculate those in power
What does Clum argue about Blanche?
“Blanche is a wild card in the seven card stud game that is the sex / gender system”
What does Cohn argue about Stanley?
“His cruelty defends his world.”
