Of Mice and Men Revision
Of Mice and Men Revision
Of Mice and Men Revision
Band 3
Students demonstrate: 3.1 Sustained response to task 3.2 Sustained response to text 3.3 Effective use of details to support interpretation 3.4 Explanation of effects of writers uses of language and/or form and/or structure and effects on
Sustained: quote Interpretation: because, therefore, consequently Writer: Steinbeck Effects on audience: we, us
Band 4
Students demonstrate: 4.1 Considered/qualified response to task 4.2 Considered/qualified response to text 4.3 Details linked to interpretation 4.4 Appreciation/consideration of writers uses of language and/or form and/or structure and effect on readers/audience 4.5 Thoughtful consideration of ideas/themes Information is presented in a way which assists with communication of meaning. Syntax and spelling are generally accurate.
Band 4
Qualified: alternatively, on the other hand, whereas, in contrast, however Considered: appears, suggests, implies Thoughtful: perhaps, might, may, possibly
How to get an A or A*
Band 5:
Students demonstrate: 5.1 Exploratory response to task 5.2 Exploratory response to text 5.3 Analytical use of details to support interpretation 5.4 Analysis of writers uses of language and/or structure and/or form and effects on readers/audience 5.5 Exploration of ideas/themes Structure and style are used effectively to render meaning clear. Syntax and spelling are used with a high degree of accuracy.
Band 5: AWE!
Analysis: have more than one interpretation Writer: Steinbeck Exploration: have more than one interpretation of character, God, the ending and Steinbeck
Band 6
interpretation of ideas/themes
context(s)
Information is presented clearly and accurately. Writing is fluent and focused. Syntax and spelling are used with a high degree of accuracy.
Band 6
Insightful exploratory interpretation Close analysis Evaluation Writer Response to context(s) Telling detail
Band 6
Evaluation Writer Response to context(s) Telling detail
Past Questions
Context
Question 21 Read the passage and then answer part (a) and part (b) Part (a) (a) What methods does Steinbeck use in this passage to present Candy?
and then Part (b) (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?
The methods were often not identified, let alone analysed or explained. Instead, details were picked out and a gloss or paraphrase provided
Context: Exam Mark Scheme AO4 shows another form of discrimination in society at the time segregation of society theme of loneliness and isolation roles and work in society
Question 21 Part (a) How do the details in this passage add to your understanding of George and his relationship with Lennie? and then Part (b) How does Steinbeck use their relationship in the novel as a whole to convey ideas about America in the 1930s?
AO4 their support for each other in an individualistic world the way Lennies disability is viewed in 1930s America attitudes towards women, shown by George in the passage and others elsewhere
Context
Context
Backdrop of the Great Depression and the American Dream fear of being canned and being kept going by an unattainable dream Some ranch workers subject to prejudice and discrimination
many candidates took a word or phrase, giving various suggestions as to what it may connote many of which were not connected to a writers intentions or purpose.
Question 21 Part (a) (a) How does Steinbeck use details in this passage to present the bunkhouse and its inhabitants? and then Part (b) (b) In the rest of the novel, how does Steinbeck present the lives of ranch workers at that time?
How the impersonal, harsh almost formal nature of the bunkhouse is created, e.g. rectangular, square, straight up, boxes Significance of the word littered in contrast with the ordered nature of the rest of the bunkhouse The sameness of each bunk and each mans possessions Lives of ranch workers presented through different characters The structure of the novel reflecting the ranch workers lives
Some candidates merely wrote about the meaning of the details rather than Steinbecks methods;
Context
The problem was that they did not link their knowledge of contexts to the text clearly enough, resulting in unsupported comments with few details. Most candidates could write about the Depression, the American Dream and the plight of itinerant workers but this tended to be through generalisations which were not rooted in the text.
A* Context
The very best candidates wrote about an interesting range of contexts, for example identifying the role of Aunt Clara in George and Lennies friendship and then contrasting the presentation of Aunt Clara as an idealised portrayal of a homemaker, who makes cakes and shows concern for the childlike Lennies welfare, with that of Curleys wife and coming to the conclusion that women were viewed as either selfless domestic goddesses or tarts.
Carlson
Lennie
Lennie
George
George
George, on life without Lennie: " God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. "
Curley
Curley
Curley
"You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs."
Slim
Slim
'Never you mind,' said Slim. 'A guy got to sometimes.'
Slim
George looked over at Slim and saw the calm, godlike eyes fastened on him
Crooks
Crooks
Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his torture
Curleys Wife
Curleys Wife
Candy
Candy
Fate
George, on the lost dream: "-I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would"
Friendship
The Boss, on George and Lennie: "Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is"
Men
George, on loneliness and Lennie: "I ain't got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. "
Hope
Crooks, on George and Lennie's dream: "I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an' on the ranchesevery damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. "
Loneliness
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place....With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us."
The Ending