The AQA GCSE Shakespeare Mark Scheme (AQA GCSE English Literature): Model Answers

Assessment Objectives (AOs)

• AO1: Understand and respond to texts.

  • Keep a critical approach and develop a well-informed personal opinion.
  • Use references and quotes from the text to support your ideas.

• AO2: Analyse how the writer uses language, form, and structure.

  • Explain how these techniques create meanings and effects, using relevant terms when needed.

• AO3: Understand the connection between the text and its context.

  • Show how the time and circumstances in which the text was written influence its content and themes.

• AO4: Use a varied vocabulary and sentence structures.

  • Write clearly and effectively, with correct spelling and punctuation.

These levels are derived from the mark schemes. We have simplified them to make them more student-friendly, so use them as a guide!

Level	Assessment Objectives
Lower Level	AO1: You provide some relevant responses to the task and include a few appropriate references. AO2: You recognise some of the writer's techniques, but your analysis may not always be consistent or in-depth. AO3: You show some awareness of contextual factors but struggle to connect them effectively to the text.
Mid Level	AO1: You present a clear response and select appropriate references and quotations. AO2: You make clear references to the writer's techniques to support your analysis. AO3: You establish clear links between some contextual elements and the text.
Good to High Level	AO1: You demonstrate a highly effective understanding of the task and text, selecting references and quotations with care. AO2: You provide careful analysis and consistently insightful commentary on the writer's methods, interpreting ideas with skill. AO3: You establish very effective links between the context and the text.
Very High Level	AO1: You possess a broad, conceptual understanding of the text, making well-judged and wide-ranging use of references and quotations. AO2: You engage in precise and convincing analysis of the text, providing detailed commentary on the writer's use of language, form, and structure. AO3: You write persuasively and relevantly about a wide range of contextual factors.