Flashcards · 9275 · Topic 2

Route A: Poetry and unseen texts flashcards

12 cards on Topic 2, subtopics 3.2.1 to 3.2.3. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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How is 9275 Paper 2a set out?: 2 hours 15 minutes, open book, 90 marks, 60% of the qualification: Section A anthology poetry, Section B unseen poetry, Section C unseen prose, 30 marks each.
What is the 9275 poetry anthology?: People and Places, a collection of 20 thematically linked poems, supplied in the exam.
How should you revise the People and Places anthology?: By theme rather than poem by poem: prepare two or three pairings across themes such as identity, displacement, place and memory, each with one real similarity and one real difference.
Why does "both poems are about..." score poorly?: It states a shared subject and stops. Strong comparison explains how each poem treats the theme differently through its methods.

What does Paper 2a Section B (Unseen poetry) reward?: Close reading of a poem you have not studied: the whole mark comes from what the poem contains, with no biography or context to fall back on.
In what order should you work through an unseen poem?: Structure (stanza shape, line length, rhyme or its absence), then language (word choice, imagery, sound), then tone, asking what effect each choice creates.
What is the effect of a line break placed mid-phrase?: It suspends meaning briefly, so the reader holds an idea alone at the line end before the next line completes or changes it.
What is imagery, and why analyse it?: Language that appeals to the senses, including similes and metaphors. It shapes how the reader pictures and feels about the subject.

What does Paper 2a Section C (Unseen prose) require?: Analysis of how viewpoint, structure and language create meaning within an unseen prose extract. It is taken on Route A only.
Why should you not speculate about the wider novel in unseen prose?: The assessment rewards close reading of what is on the page. Guessing at plot beyond the extract earns nothing.
What three-step method works for both unseen sections?: Structure: where the text opens, shifts and ends, and why. Language: which words or images stand out and what they suggest. Effect: what the reader is meant to feel or understand.
What is the effect of a close third-person viewpoint?: The narrator stays near one character's perceptions and feelings, so the reader shares their experience while still seeing from outside.