My main points of feedback:
- Topic sentences – starting with the idea rather than the 1st paragraph, then the 2nd paragraph, and so on…
- Using the guiding question and key words to explore characterisation (especially in the prose).
- Mentioning tone and emotion in the poem.
- Be careful with using terminology such as “oxymoronic” and “allegory”, and ensuring key words are utilised to maximum effect.
Overall, even though I don’t know the mark I was given, I’d say I was likely within a 5-6 grade boundary for this mock exam; on one hand, I was somewhat disappointed with my lacklustre job on the prose extract, but I also feel happy with the analysis I produced for the poem. The use of topic sentences and references to guiding questions are definitely something I need to work on, as using paragraphs as a means of structuring my analysis is primitive, and I definitely need to keep the guiding question in mind, as I feel that (especially my prose analysis) veered too far off from the question, leaving an analysis that was not as grounded or as firm in its foundations as I would’ve liked.