96

Eduqas
English Literature
GCSE Exemplar
for: Component 2
Section C
Unseen Poetry
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 88

SECTION C (UNSEEN POETRY)

Generic Assessment Objectives Grid
Question 17 (a)

The following descriptions have been provided to indicate the way in which progression
within the criteria is likely to occur. Each successive description assumes demonstration of
achievements in lower bands.

AO1 and AO2 are equally weighted in this question.

Total 15 marks

Band AO1:1 a+b, AO1:2 AO2

Candidates: Candidates:
sustain focus on the task, including overview, analyse and appreciate writers’ use of language,
convey ideas with consistent coherence and form and structure; make assured reference to
use an appropriate register; use a sensitive meanings and effects exploring and evaluating
5
and evaluative approach to the task and the way meaning and ideas are conveyed
analyse the text critically; show a perceptive through language structure and form; use precise
13-15
understanding of the text, engaging fully, subject terminology in an appropriate context.
marks
perhaps with some originality in their personal
response; their responses include pertinent
,direct references from across the text,
including quotations.
Candidates: Candidates:
sustain focus on the task, convey ideas with discuss and increasingly analyse writers’ use of
coherence and use an appropriate register; language, form and structure; make thoughtful
4
use a thoughtful approach to the task; show a reference to the meanings and effects of stylistic
secure understanding of key aspects of the features used by the writer; use apt subject
10-12
text, with considerable engagement; support terminology.
marks
and justify their responses by well-chosen
direct reference to the text, including
quotations.
Candidates: Candidates:
focus on the task, convey ideas with general comment on and begin to evaluate writers’ use of
coherence and use a mostly appropriate language, form and structure; make some
3
register; use a straightforward approach to the reference to meanings and effects; use relevant
task; show an understanding of key aspects of subject terminology.
7-9 marks
the text, with engagement; support and justify
their responses by appropriate direct reference
to the text, including quotations.
Candidates: Candidates:
have some focus on the task, convey ideas recognise and make simple comments on writers’
with some coherence and sometimes use an use of language, form and structure; may make
2 appropriate register; use a limited approach to limited reference to meanings and effects; may
the task; show some understanding of key use some relevant subject terminology.
4-6 marks aspects of the text, with some engagement;
support and justify their responses by some
direct reference to the text, including some
quotations.
Candidates: Candidates:
have limited focus on the task, convey ideas may make generalised comments on writers’ use
with occasional coherence and may of language, form and structure; make basic
sometimes use an appropriate register; use a reference to meanings and effects; may use
1
simple approach to the task; show a basic some subject terminology but not always
understanding of some key aspects of the text, accurately or appropriately.
1-3 marks
with a little engagement; may support and
justify their responses by some general
reference to the text, perhaps including some
quotations.
0 marks Nothing worthy of credit. Nothing worthy of credit.

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 89

SECTION C (UNSEEN POETRY)

Generic Assessment Objectives Grid
Question 17 (b)

The following descriptions have been provided to indicate the way in which progression
within the criteria is likely to occur. Each successive description assumes demonstration of
achievements in lower bands. In Section C question 17(b) the focus of the question is
comparison. Therefore examiners must only credit points which are comparative.

AO1 and AO2 are equally weighted in this question.

Total 25 marks

Band AO1:1 a+b, AO1:2 AO2

Comparison is critical, illuminating and sustained across AO1 and AO2. There will be a wide ranging
discussion of the similarities and/or differences between the poems.
Candidates: Candidates:
sustain focus on the task, including overview, analyse and appreciate writers’ use of language,
5 convey ideas with consistent coherence and use form and structure; make assured reference to
an appropriate register; use a sensitive and meanings and effects exploring and evaluating the
21-25 evaluative approach to the task and analyse the way meaning and ideas are conveyed through
marks texts critically; show a perceptive understanding of language structure and form; use precise subject
the texts, engaging fully, perhaps with some terminology in an appropriate context.
originality in their personal response; their
responses include pertinent, direct references
from across the texts, including quotations.
Comparison is focussed, coherent and sustained across AO1 and AO2. There will be a clear discussion
of the similarities and/or differences between the poems.
Candidates: Candidates:
4 sustain focus on the task, convey ideas with discuss and increasingly analyse writers’ use of
coherence and use an appropriate register; use a language, form and structure; make thoughtful
16-20 thoughtful approach to the task; show a secure reference to the meanings and effects of stylistic
marks understanding of key aspects of the texts, with features used by the writer; use apt subject
considerable engagement; support and justify their terminology.
responses by well-chosen direct reference to the
texts, including quotations.
Comparison is focussed across AO1 and AO2 with some valid discussion of the similarities and/or
differences between the poems.
Candidates: Candidates:
3 focus on the task, convey ideas with general comment on and begin to evaluate writers’ use of
coherence and use a mostly appropriate register; language, form and structure; make some
11-15 use a straightforward approach to the task; show reference to meanings and effects; use relevant
marks an understanding of key aspects of the texts, with subject terminology.
engagement; support and justify their responses
by appropriate direct reference to the texts,
including quotations.
Comparison is general with some discussion of the obvious similarities and/or differences between the
poems.
Candidates: Candidates:
have some focus on the task, convey ideas with recognise and make simple comments on writers’
2
some coherence and sometimes use an use of language, form and structure; may make
appropriate register; use a limited approach to the limited reference to meanings and effects; may
6-10 marks
task; show some understanding of key aspects of use some relevant subject terminology.
the texts, with some engagement; support and
justify their responses by some direct reference to
the texts, including some quotations.
Comparison is very limited. There may be a basic awareness of the obvious similarities and/or
differences between the poems.
Candidates: Candidates:
have limited focus on the task, convey ideas with may make generalised comments on writers’ use
1 occasional coherence and may sometimes use an of language, form and structure; make basic
appropriate register; use a simple approach to the reference to meanings and effects; may use some
1-5 marks task; show a basic understanding of some key subject terminology but not always accurately or
aspects of the texts, with a little engagement; may appropriately.
support and justify their responses by some
general reference to the texts, perhaps including
some quotations.
0 marks Nothing worthy of credit. Nothing worthy of credit.

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 90

SECTION C (UNSEEN POETRY)

INDICATIVE CONTENT
17. Read the two poems, A Gull by Edwin Morgan and Considering the Snail by Thom
Gunn. In both of these poems the poets write about the effect animals have on
people.
(a) Write about the poem A Gull by Edwin Morgan, and its effect on you. [15]
You may wish to consider:

 what the poem is about and how it is organised;

 the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about;
 the poet’s choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they
create;
 how you respond to the poem.
This question assesses AO1 and AO2.
Indicative content
Responses may include:

AO1
 An understanding of the key aspects of the gull, e.g. the intimidation or fear induced
by him

 The use of setting

 The narrator’s ambiguous stance towards the bird

 The gull’s mysterious dignity

 The gull’s exit

AO2
 Comments on Morgan’s use of language to describe the gull

 The imagery used to describe the predatory, secret life of the gull, e.g. ‘foundered
voyages’ and ‘dread of open waters’

 The sinister tone of A Gull, e.g. ‘Did he smell my flesh?’

 The way the gull’s thoughts are represented in the poem through the use of direct
speech ‘I tell you, my chick,’ to create an intimidating atmosphere

 The symbolic nature of the gull for example, the way he offers a glimpse of a wild
landscape

 The use of words and phrases, such as a ‘supergull’ and ‘a visitation’ to imply the
almost supernatural power of the gull

 The discomfit of the poet as evidenced through his final questioning

This is not a checklist. Please reward valid alternatives.

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 91

(b) Now compare Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn and A Gull by Edwin Morgan.
[25]

You should compare:

 what the poems are about and how they are organised;
 the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about;
 the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create;
 how you respond to the poems.

This question assesses AO1 and AO2.

Indicative content

Responses may include:

AO1
 An understanding of the poet’s view of the snail in Considering the Snail and how this
compares with the view of the gull in A Gull
 The poet’s engagement and fascination with the progress of the snail and how this
compares to the awe and intimidation evoked by the gull in A Gull
 The presentation of the snail as an admirable and passionate creature and how this
compares to the presentation of the gull
 How both poems deal with the theme of nature through a focus on every day creatures

AO2
 How Gunn uses language to achieve specific effects and how this is compared to
Morgan’s use of language in A Gull
 The use of personification to describe the snail in Considering the Snail and the gull in A
Gull
 The elevated language used to describe the snail and the way the snail is imbued with
powerful emotions such as ‘desire’, ‘fury’ and ‘passion’ and how this compares to the
presentation of the gull
 The use of the first person to reveal the poet’s thoughts and feelings about the animals in
both poems

This is not a checklist. Please reward valid alternatives.

GCSE English Literature Specimen Assessment Materials from 2015 RH/GH

ED 13/11/14 (FINAL 01 12 14 HT)

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 36

SECTION C (Unseen Poetry)

17. Answer both part (a) and part (b)

You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on part (a) and about 40 minutes on part (b).

Read the two poems, A Gull by Edwin Morgan and Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn. In
both of these poems the poets write about the effect animals have on people.

(a) Write about the poem A Gull by Edwin Morgan, and its effect on you. [15]

You may wish to consider:

 what the poem is about and how it is organised;

 the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about;
 the poet’s choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create;
 how you respond to the poem.

A Gull

A seagull stood on my window ledge today,

said nothing, but had a good look inside.
That was a cold inspection I can tell you!
North winds, icebergs, flash of salt
crashed through the glass without a sound.
He shifted from leg to leg, swivelled his head.
There was not a fish in the house – only me.
Did he smell my flesh, that white one? Did he think
I would soon open the window and scatter bread?
Calculation in those eyes is quick.
‘I tell you, my chick, there is food everywhere.’
He eyed my furniture, my plants, an apple.
Perhaps he was a mutation, a supergull.
Perhaps he was, instead, a visitation
which only used that tight firm forward body
to bring the waste and dread of open waters,
foundered voyages, matchless predators,
into a dry room. I knew nothing.
I moved; I moved an arm. When the thing saw
the shadow of that, it suddenly flapped,
scuttered claws along the sill, and was off,
silent still. Who would be next for those eyes,
I wondered, and were they ready, and in order?

Edwin Morgan

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Specimen Assessment Materials 37

b) Now compare Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn and A Gull by Edwin Morgan.
[25]

You should compare:

 what the poems are about and how they are organised;
 the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about;
 the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create;
 how you respond to the poems.

Considering the Snail

The snail pushes through a green

night, for the grass is heavy
with water and meets over
the bright path he makes, where rain
has darkened the earth’s dark. He
moves in a wood of desire,
pale antlers barely stirring
as he hunts. I cannot tell
what power is at work, drenched there
with purpose, knowing nothing.
What is a snail’s fury? All
I think is that if later
I parted the blades above
the tunnel and saw the thin
trail of broken white across
litter, I would never have
imagined the slow passion
to that deliberate progress.

Thom Gunn
.

© WJEC CBAC Ltd.

99

Reference to
language and effect

Thoughtful

Selects evidence to support

viewpoint

A valid point
 100

Unclear what the

candidate means

Simple point

Quite thoughtful
inference

Focus on the
question

Hasn't quite grasped

this

This is a focused response but it is a bit underdeveloped. Nevertheless, there are some comments on the use of
language and there is some understanding of the key aspects of the poems. This response would be placed at the
top end of Band 3.
101

Unseen poetry - Example 2

(a)

Firstly, “A Gull” is a poem by Edwin Morgan and it is

written from a first person point of view. The voice of the
poem suggests that we, as humans, underestimate a
seagull and that we are not clear of its true intentions.
Moreover, in the second line it becomes clear to us that
Valid point
the poem attempts to personify the bird. He does this by
stating that the seagull is just standing there on his
“window ledge” and he says “nothing” as if the poet
expected the gull to talk. Perhaps some kind of
explanation as to why the gull is invading his privacy by
having a “good look inside” of his window.
Furthermore, the poet uses certain words to emphasise a
sense of feeling threatened by this gull. Morgan uses
words such as “icebergs” and “cold inspection” to Selects textual
emphasise how uncomfortable he feels, knowing that the evidence to support
bird is still there. This is emphasised even further when the point
the poet says that “there was not a fish in the house - only
me” as if the narrator was describing himself as prey and
almost like the gull was there to hunt him. The candidate
Even more so, this poem becomes even more interesting grasps this point
when the narrator starts talking to the gull, “I tell you my well
chick” as if the narrator knows the bird and therefore tries
to communicate with it. Also, the use of that speech
suggests as though the narrator was inside the mind of
the gull and could tell that it wanted to to eat something.
This is ironic as it refers the narrator to being like the bird Working hard to
in the same way that the narrator tries to personify the interpret meaning
bird.
Nonetheless, we begin to feel as though the narrator
admires the gull as the poem progresses. By describing
the bird as having a “tight firm forward body” it further
emphasises the attempt to personify the bird. Maybe...
Alternatively, towards the end of the poem it would appear
as though the narrator becomes somewhat scared of the
gull. This is clearly shown when he describes the bird as
being a “thing” as though it was no longer a seagull but
something else. Therefore, by using the words “scuttered
Close reference
claws” which would create a sense of abnormality
to the text and
especially considering the bird is now being described as
a “thing.” some
appreciation of
'how'
 102

Furthermore, it is evident that a sense of danger is

brought to mind at the end of the poem considering the The candidate has
narrator asks “who would be next” as if he was not the a secure overview
only victim of this “thing.” He then goes on to asking and makes some
whether or not the next victim would be “ready” for this considered and
encounter. evaluative points.
Moreover, it is as if the reader feels as though the bird is
purposely trying to bring fear upon him by glaring into the
window. Also, the way the poet describes the bird as a
“supergull” it seems that Morgan was trying to promote the
idea of there being more than meets the eye and although
it would seem as though the gull is inferior to humans, the
poem suggests that animals in general should not be
underestimated.

There is a sustained focus on the task and some pertinent references to the text including quotations. The
candidate analyses and appreciates the writers' use of language. Overall this would be just into Band 5.
103

(b)
The poem called “Considering the Snail” by Thom Gunn is
also similar to “A Gull” in the way that both poems seem to
suggest that animals should not be underestimated. This Overview and
is evident when the snail is described as being a hunter, links between
“as he hunts”, which of course is ironic as they are not the two poems
seen as being harmful and considering they are
herbivores and they do not eat meat, then surely they are
not hunters. However, this just further emphasises how
snails are underestimated perhaps because of their size
or their speed of movement.
Furthermore, a sense of irony is once again created when
the slime a snail leaves behind is described in the poem Reference to the
as being a “bright path” which relates to a point that was poem and good
made about “a gull” known as the expression, there is point of comparison
more than meets the eye.
Similarly, the narrator questions “what power is at work”
which relates to the snail being more than just a snail in
the same way the gull was described as a “supergull.” Textual
Also, both narrators of the poems speak of their animals in reference
a way that would suggest that they are both fascinated by
them.
A clear grasp of
Even more so, both animals in both of the poems seem to
the task here
be searching for food as the snail is travelling through a
“green night” and the gull is told that there is “food
everywhere:” which would suggest this. Also, both poems Spotting
speak of the animals in first person. technique, link
To conclude, both poems create an essence that animals this to 'how'
should be appreciated for what they are and that they
should not be underestimated. “Considering the Snail” is
about appreciating the snail instead of the usual idea of A valid point
seeing it as being disgusting. “A Gull” is about how the gull
should not be underestimated and that there is more to an
animal than what would first seem to appear.

This is a thorough and thoughtful discussion although the discussion of the second poem could have
been more developed. The candidate would receive a mark at the top of Band 4.
 104

Focus on the
question and grasps
the key idea

Selects appropriate
detail but this could be
developed further

Maybe...

A valid response

There is some discussion of and focus on the key ideas. There is some reference to the use of language
although this needs to be developed further. The candidate would receive a mark just into Band 3.
 105

Focus

Selects relevant
detail

Valid, if very
straightforward

Simple comments

There is limited development here but there is some understanding with some of the points supported by
reference to the text. There are only very simple comments on the language used. Overall this candidate would
receive a mark at the top of Band 2.
 106

Valid discussion of
structure

Close reference to
language and
some assurance
evident in the
response

This is succinctly appreciative. There is a sustained focus on the task and there is understanding of the key
aspects. The candidate begins to comment on and evaluate the writer's use of language although this could be
developed further. Overall the candidate would receive a mark just into Band 4.
 107

Overview and focus on

the task

An interesting
interpretation

Perceptive
comments

Exactly!

Relevant and
assured
discussion of
language and its
effects

This is a focused and sustained response. It has an overview, analyses language, structure and form and there
is an appreciation of the writers' use of language. Overall this would receive a mark into Band 5.