Flashcards · 9695 · A Level Topic 4

Paper 4 – Pre- and Post-1900 Poetry and Prose (A Level) flashcards

10 cards on A Level Topic 4, subtopics 4.1 to 4.2. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What does 9695 Paper 4 cover?: Poetry and prose from two eras: texts written before 1900 in Section A and after 1900 in Section B. It completes the full A Level with Paper 3 and assesses AO1–AO5.
How should context be used in a pre-1900 answer?: Woven in to explain a writer's choice or how the text belongs to its time, then returned to the text. Detached background does not earn marks.
What is a sonnet?: A fourteen-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter, with a set rhyme scheme (Petrarchan octave and sestet, or Shakespearean three quatrains and a couplet), often with a volta or turn.
How should you plan each Paper 4 answer?: In about five minutes: underline the question's key words, jot a thesis, list evidence in order and note the context to weave in. End with a conclusion that gives a final judgement.
Which pre-1900 texts are set for 9695 Paper 4 Section A in 2027?: Prose: Mansfield Park, Middlemarch, Jude the Obscure. Poetry: Byron selected poems, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, Shakespeare's Selected Sonnets.

What is free verse, and what can it achieve?: Poetry without regular metre or rhyme. Its freedom can mirror natural speech or thought, and line breaks become the main way to create emphasis.
What is stream of consciousness?: A narrative method that presents a character's thoughts as a continuous, often unpunctuated flow, recreating the movement of the mind.
How should a conclusion end a Paper 4 essay?: With a final judgement that answers the question directly, not a repeat of the introduction.
Why should time be allocated in proportion to marks on Paper 4?: An over-long first answer leaves the second underdeveloped. Check the marks for each question on the paper and plan both answers into the time available.
Which post-1900 texts are set for 9695 Paper 4 Section B in 2027?: Prose: Waiting for the Barbarians, Katherine Mansfield's Selected Stories, The Overstory. Poetry: Elizabeth Bishop, Gabriel Okara and Ocean Vuong selections.