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Task 2: Model Answer

The best way to improve any essay is to know how you are assessed, and what skills you are being assessed on. This page has been created to give you a sense of what examiners are looking for in a full-mark response. It contains:

Overview
Mark scheme
Example task
Model answer and commentary

Overview

For Task 2: Comparative Essay, you are required to make connections between the writing and concerns of two texts. The task should ask you to compare or contrast between the texts, and focus the comparison or contrast on a literary aspect of the texts (such as the presentation of a key theme). The recommended word count for this task is 2000 words, excluding quotations, task title, footnotes and bibliography.

Mark scheme

The mark scheme in English Literature is quite broad and can seem difficult to understand. This is because there is no “correct answer” for any essay: the exam board does not provide points that need to be included in any essay, and instead, examiners have to use the mark scheme to place an answer into a level. This task is worth 25 marks and all five assessment objectives are equally weighted.

In simple terms, to achieve the highest marks (Level 6 = 22–25 marks), this means:

AO1	Demonstrate excellent understanding of the two texts and task undertaken Write fluently and accurately in an appropriate tone and register Use critical concepts and terminology accurately and confidently Develop a well-structured and coherent argument
AO2	Write a well-developed and detailed discussion of the ways in which language, form and structure shape meanings, contributing to the development of your argument Use focused and precise analytical methods Effectively and consistently use quotations and references and blend these into your discussion
AO3	Demonstrate a well-developed and detailed understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which your texts were written and received
AO4	Purposefully explore the connections between the texts in detail
AO5	Explore different readings or ways of reading the text in detail and with confidence

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Although there are five assessment objectives assessed in this task, it is not the case that a certain number of marks are awarded for any one objective. Instead, the examiners are looking for a well-constructed and coherent essay that seamlessly combines and integrates all of the skills into a well-developed argument.

Example task

The following task is an example of one submitted and approved by OCR for the Comparative Essay. The texts chosen are “North” by Seamus Heaney and “Translations” by Brian Friel.

Both Friel and Heaney delve into history in order to consider contemporary Irish politics. Compare the methods they use in “Translations” and “North” to create a link and illuminate their own time by an examination of the past.

This question clearly focuses on the methods the writers have used and directs the response to an exploration of context and interpretation.

Model answer and commentary

Below you will find a part of a Level 6 candidate exemplar taken from OCR’s English Literature Non Exam Assessment Guide Version 2 for the above task, which can be accessed here (opens in a new tab). The guide contains the full model answer, along with other, lower-marked examples.

English-Literature-A-level-Ocr

task-2-model-answer