Get exam ready for GCSE English Literature: Part 1 – quotations
11 April 2024
Lydia Ridding, English Subject Advisor
This blog was originally published in 2017, and has been updated with current resources.
This is the first of four blogs to support you with last minute exam practice for the OCR GCSE (9-1) English Literature exams.
With revision jitters no doubt needing to be quelled in classrooms across the land, I wanted to share some practical tips and activities around some of the key aspects of the OCR GCSE (9-1) English Literature assessment.
This series of blogs includes suggested activities designed to support effective preparation for GCSE English Literature in an engaging, student-friendly way and have been devised by practising teachers. Whilst some text-specific examples are provided, the activities are designed to be used with any of the chosen texts. Here’s the order of play:
All about quotations
Upfront, it’s worth clarifying that the English Literature exams are not designed as a memory test, rather to provide an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their understanding of and engagement with their reading. The introduction of unseen texts as part of the assessment arguably further supports this, as candidates can respond to unfamiliar texts in a fresh and personal way, making connections with their studied texts.
As far as quotes are concerned, we do not prescribe the number that should be included, it is very much about how quotes are used judiciously to illustrate or develop a particular point. It’s also worth noting that short quotes can be very powerful to bring to life a particular character, idea, relationship, plot device or development, etc. Assessors will always seek to mark positively what a candidate has written so a slightly misremembered quotation will not be marked down, especially if it is embedded to good effect.
Suggested activities
Here are some activities you can suggest that your students try:
- Look at a range of unfinished quotations your teacher or classmates have provided and complete them.
- Match quotations your teacher or classmates give you with characters / events / settings from the text.
- Choose a quotation from your studied text and decide which is the most important word or phrase in this quotation and why.
- Make a habit of learning key words or short phrases from the text, such as we do not live alone / horrible / bees in a hive (An Inspector Calls). These can be embedded into your response in the exam and are quicker and easier to learn if you find learning quotations difficult.
Remember that students can paraphrase from the text (use their own words) as a way of illustrating the points they make. This way they are showing that they know the text well but without using the exact words the writer used.
Where else to look
It’s worth having a look at a range of our published candidate exemplars published on our teacher site Teach Cambridge (login required, contact your Exams Officer for help). This will give you a sense of how the most successful answers have used textual references including quotes effectively and also hopefully reassure you that it is not an absolute requirement for candidates to pepper their responses with quotes to secure the highest marks.
You might also be interested in a blog post from the Confident Teacher focusing on strategies for memorising quotes.
Stay connected
If you have any other questions you can leave comments below, email us at English@ocr.org.uk or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_English. You can also sign up to receive email updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.
About the author
Prior to joining OCR in June 2023, Lydia spent 20 years working in a range of sixth form colleges across the country, teaching A Level and GCSE qualifications in English. She was a coursework moderator with OCR for a number of years and has an MA in Victorian Studies from Birkbeck University.
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