AQA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Version: 1.0 Final IB/H/Jun23/E7 7712/2B Thursday 8 June 2023 QUESTION PAPER & MARKING SCHEME/ [MERGED] Mark scheme June 2

AQA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Version: 1.0 Final IB/H/Jun23/E7 7712/2B Thursday 8 June 2023 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 12-page answer book • a copy of the Insert for use with Section B (enclosed) • a copy of each of the set texts you have studied for this paper. These texts must not be annotated and must not contain additional notes or materials. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7712/2B. • Read all of the questions. Then choose either Option 1 or Option 2 or Option 3. Answer one question from Section A and both questions from Section B from your chosen option. You must answer questions from only one option. • Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 75. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. • In your response you need to: – analyse carefully the writers’ methods – explore the contexts of the texts you are writing about – explore connections across the texts you have studied – explore different interpretations of your texts. A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day 2 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Option 1 Section A: Poetry Set Text Answer one question in this section. Feminine Gospels – Carol Ann Duffy Either 0 1 Examine the view that ‘The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High’ has nothing in common with the rest of the collection. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] or 0 2 Examine the significance of violence in Feminine Gospels. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] Skirrid Hill – Owen Sheers or 0 3 Examine the significance of places in Skirrid Hill. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] or 0 4 ‘Sheers presents romantic relationships as utterly doomed in Skirrid Hill.’ Examine this view. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] 3 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Turn over ► Option 1 Section B: Drama and Prose Contextual Linking Read the Insert. Answer both questions in this section. Read the Insert carefully. It is taken from The Village, a novel by Marghanita Laski, published in 1952. The extract is set in the English village of Priory Dean in 1945. World War II has just ended and two middle-aged women, Wendy Trevor and Edith Wilson, are completing their final overnight duty as Red Cross volunteers in the village hall. The extract begins with Wendy explaining how she and her husband came to settle in the village. Answer both questions. 0 5 Explore the significance of barriers between people in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Laski shapes meanings. [25 marks] and 0 6 Compare the significance of barriers between people in two other texts you have studied. Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing. You must use one drama text and one prose text in your response. [25 marks] Turn over for the next section 4 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Option 2 Section A: Drama Set Text Answer one question in this section. A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams Either 0 7 Examine the significance of Stella’s pregnancy within the play. [25 marks] or 0 8 Examine the significance of setting the play in a cramped apartment in a working-class district of New Orleans. [25 marks] Top Girls – Caryl Churchill or 0 9 According to Marlene, to be working class in the 1980s means to be ‘lazy and stupid’. Examine Churchill’s presentation of ideas about social class in the light of Marlene’s comment. [25 marks] or 1 0 Examine the significance of motherhood in the play. [25 marks] 5 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Turn over ► Option 2 Section B: Prose and Poetry Contextual Linking Read the Insert. Answer both questions in this section. Read the Insert carefully. It is taken from The Village, a novel by Marghanita Laski, published in 1952. The extract is set in the English village of Priory Dean in 1945. World War II has just ended and two middle-aged women, Wendy Trevor and Edith Wilson, are completing their final overnight duty as Red Cross volunteers in the village hall. The extract begins with Wendy explaining how she and her husband came to settle in the village. Answer both questions. 1 1 Explore the significance of barriers between people in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Laski shapes meanings. [25 marks] and 1 2 Compare the significance of barriers between people in two other texts you have studied. Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing. You must use one prose text and one poetry text in your response, at least one of which must be a text written post-2000. You must write about at least two poems. [25 marks] Turn over for the next section 6 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Option 3 Section A: Prose Set Text Answer one question in this section. Waterland – Graham Swift Either 1 3 ‘A tragic victim who has the reader’s sympathy.’ Examine this view of Henry Crick in Waterland. [25 marks] or 1 4 Examine the significance of growing up in Waterland. [25 marks] The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood or 1 5 Examine the significance of the Red Centre in The Handmaid’s Tale. [25 marks] or 1 6 Examine the significance of uniforms and costumes in The Handmaid’s Tale. [25 marks] 7 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B Option 3 Section B: Drama and Poetry Contextual Linking Read the Insert. Answer both questions in this section. Read the Insert carefully. It is taken from The Village, a novel by Marghanita Laski, published in 1952. The extract is set in the English village of Priory Dean in 1945. World War II has just ended and two middle-aged women, Wendy Trevor and Edith Wilson, are completing their final overnight duty as Red Cross volunteers in the village hall. The extract begins with Wendy explaining how she and her husband came to settle in the village. Answer both questions. 1 7 Explore the significance of barriers between people in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Laski shapes meanings. [25 marks] and 1 8 Compare the significance of barriers between people in two other texts you have studied. Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing. You must use one drama text and one poetry text in your response, at least one of which must be a text written post-2000. You must write about at least two poems. [25 marks] END OF QUESTIONS 8 IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B There are no questions printed on this page Copyright information For confidentiality purposes, all acknowledgements of third-party copyright material are published in a separate booklet. This booklet is published after each live examination series and is available for free download from . Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team. Copyright © 2023 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. *236A7712/2b* A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Mark scheme June 2023 Version: 1.0 Final *236A7712/2b/MS* MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE A – 7712/2B – JUNE 2023 2 Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are required to refer these to the Lead Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. Further copies of this mark scheme are available from Copyright information AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Copyright © 2023 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE A – 7712/2B – JUNE 2023 3 Level of response marking instructions Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level. Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme. Step 1 Determine a level Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With practice and familiarity you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the lower levels of the mark schem