Reviewing mode time
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

This year, with its possibilities and challenges, is passing at a rapid pace. External examinations are here and you are all, no doubt, in high gear. By now you should be busy finishing off whatever work you have to do and reviewing that which you did earlier.

Let me remind you that this is the first time that this new set of books and some of the poems will be examined. It is important to remember the skills that will be tested. You have been learning how literature functions and preparing yourselves for further study of the subject. Of course, you have read and now understand a play, several poems and some prose works. Along the way, you have learnt how to analyse, form opinions, make sound judgments, find and use appropriate/relevant information to answer questions, identify literary methods or techniques, distinguish the narrator from the writer, 'grasp the ideas' presented in a literary work, express your ideas in clear, fluent and correct language and organise your responses satisfactorily. All the texts that you have been working on must be read at least twice, more for the poems, please.

Spend some time reviewing both rhyme and rhythm in poetry and familiarise yourselves with the terms applicable to this genre. Each question (there will be two) that you will get on the poetry section of Paper 01 will require answers from two poems. I am suggesting that as you revise, you pair the poems, if you have not yet done so, according to the points they have in common. In other words put them together according to their themes and the ideas explored by the poets. You should know how each poet presents his work: are there references, literary devices used, what is the structure of the poem, who is the speaker, who is the persona, what the language is like and why and the suitability of the title.

Where drama is concerned, it is important that you pay particular attention to the following: stage directions, characterisation, the relationship between time, place and action, dialogue and themes. In this section you will answer single-book questions.

I am sure that some of you will say that of all the literary forms, you find prose fiction the most appealing and the easiest to read and understand. Now that you are doing your revision, do not forget how the work is structured - in sections or chapters; who is telling the story and how this affects the way the story is told; description in the novel; where and under what conditions the action of the narrative takes place and the difference this makes; themes and characterisation.

Useful material

It would be useful for you to attempt some questions, both essay and short answer, giving yourselves the same amount of time that you will be given in the external exams. The aim here, of course, is to prepare you to read through a question, plan your response and write the essay or answer the questions on Paper 2 in the allotted time. In the examination, remember to read through all the questions before deciding which ones you have enough information on to write good, full answers. Ensure that you know the names of all the characters in the works you have studied and that you can spell them correctly.

Make a plan for each essay prior to writing it. You can run into difficulty if you think you have the knowledge required, start to write, then find out, after a paragraph or two, that you really do not know as much as you should. An essay in any subject must have a beginning, some developed paragraphs in which you provide proof for your position on a given topic, and a conclusion. In the body of your essay, please remember to develop each point you are making in separate paragraphs. Please do not skip lines or put each new paragraph on a new page. Write in Standard English, using the necessary punctuation marks.

I wish you my 'students', the very best in all your examinations. Continue to get ready for them, but try to get the sleep you need and eat well. Do not leave any of your preparations to the last moment, but get on with it now. I am aware that the time is stressful so do all you can to avoid people, places and situations that will increase your level of anxiety. Above all, put yourselves in the Master's care. God bless!

A section of the students at the official opening ceremony of careers week at Godfrey Stewart High School on April 30. - Photo by Dalton Laing