Okay, so you guys are worried. Before you get back your tests on Thursday, here's what I will tell you:
1. 8 people passed.
2. Of those 8, the highest got 13 out of 20.
3. Your results, while dismal, are
normal - for the time of year and given your level of skills.
I set an O-level standard paper so that you know right from the very start what you're up against. Some things you will need to note for future reference:
a. Bad English is not your friend in lit. If I can't understand your answer, I can't give you marks.
b. You need to get used to the kind of questions they ask in the O-level paper, so that you know what kind of answer you're supposed to give. The vast majority of answers had people telling me what is happening in the poem. Okay, good that you know, but so what? Remember the 4 levels of understanding in a poem? Telling me what is happening is only around level 2 or 3.
c. Many of you made admirable attempts to answer the "how does this affect your understanding of the poem" part of the question, but in many weird ways, none of which were the actual way to answer. So we'll need to work on that some more in the coming term.
Literature is difficult. (Hey, count yourself lucky this is only Lit Elective and not Pure Lit... Now THAT sucks.) But you guys are making an effort and I do believe all of you will be able to do decently when it comes to the crunch. What we need to work on are
understanding and
skills. Which is, basically, everything.
I need us to have Lit remedial during the March term holiday, but I can only make Wednesday afternoon. Can? It'll be about 1.5 hours, and I'll pick a poem we can work on together, in-depth.
Don't forget our date with Othello yeah?
