Feminine Gospels Comprehensive Guide for A Level AQA A

Set text for:
  • AQA A A Level

Feminine Gospels travels through history and over class and cultural boundaries, examining issues relating to women’s identity as they affect historical queens, modern shopaholics and Carol Ann Duffy herself. Share in the collective experiences of marginalisation, identity and change with this ‘comprehensive and detailed’ resource.

Comprehensive and detailed

T Garland, Head of English & Peer Reviewer

The pack tackles the key stages of text analysis:

Consolidate and deepen learning!

Throughout:
  • discussion prompts
  • active learning tasks
  • key literary and linguistic terms
  1. Walk-through
    Thorough chapter-by-chapter commentary walks students through each poem
  2. Drawing it all together
    In-depth discussion of all poems focuses on: characterisation, genre, themes, attitudes and values, language, form, structure, context and literary approaches
  3. Indicative content
    Supports teaching by ensuring all key areas are covered

Plus! A Further Reading List and Glossary of Key Terms

What do teachers say about this resource? (11470)

The notes on each poem are in depth with clear links to AOs and cross-literary references - I cannot imagine a more thorough guide... The clear and logical approach to analysis of each poem is excellent, with clear key terms and discussion prompts as well as teacher answer section with model answers for the suggested tasks... For teacher knowledge, this resource is fantastic - comprehensive is an understatement.

C Peake , Head of English & Peer Reviewer

I am extremely impressed by this resource. It is well constructed, researched, and links to the examination criteria throughout... The resource will provide many opportunities for discussion and also help students to ensure there is a sense of debate in their essays to ensure they can reach the top level of the examination criteria for AQA. I like how the resource is clearly focused on the examination criteria, but this does not prevent it from extending knowledge beyond the specification. As I have analysed the resource, I have found myself excited by the opportunities the discussion questions will create in the classroom... I enjoyed the comprehensive coverage of the assessment objectives. There is lots of material to engage students of all abilities. The critical reception and discussion of Duffy as a feminist poet is more effective than any resource I have previously engaged with... The AO5 coverage in the resource is particularly helpful for a teacher. By covering three literary approaches in detail, there are plenty of opportunities to focus on AO5 as a whole but also linking at a macro level... The benefits of this resource are vast, from the detailed language analysis to support with annotation and understanding of Duffy’s intentions to the thought-provoking and well-constructed essay questions, this resource will help all students to become an accomplished critic of Feminine Gospels... This resource is particularly effective at leading students to their own understanding. It does not provide just one answer or discussion prompt, it covers the range of issues associated with Duffy's poetry... I would use this resource with my sixth-form students. I would purchase the resource to use this coming academic year and in the future.. An excellent resource.

K Cuff, Head of English & Peer Reviewer

A very impressive resource! Very detailed. Can be hard to locate resources on Feminine Gospels and these are excellent – systematic and detailed. Packed with useful information. Good range of tasks too. Explicit connections to AOs, which is really helpful for exam preparation. Really effective to look at the collection as a whole as well as zooming in in great depth on individual poems. The section on genre is thought provoking – nice inclusion... Highlighted vocabulary is impressive – good to extend students and show terminology integrated within points. Range of questions / activities at the end are good – like how there is a discussion, active learning task as well as an extended writing challenge. Relevant vocab at end of poems too – very structured. Good range of themes explored... Students will have a very comprehensive insight to writer’s methods. Critical perspectives section would extend all students, and encourage to think from new angles – a really useful inclusion. Answers at end are very helpful too... Thoughtfully structured. Challenge increases throughout. Matches and interprets the specification very well... A fantastic resource and would be really useful for A Level students and teachers!

N Phillips, Head of English & Peer Reviewer

I am very impressed with the resource. It is extensive and thorough... I particularly liked the poem by poem analysis. This is the most thorough analysis I have seen of this type, covering all the AOs... This resource significantly enhances learning. It provides everything a student would need to analyse / interpret each poem independently and the active learning and discussion prompts after each analysis section provide students with food for thought to begin to consider their own interpretations of the text. The depth of the analysis provided also gives students the confidence to approach these poems, knowing they have a sufficient amount of information about each that however they interpret them, they’re not going to get it ‘wrong’. In addition, this resource would also significantly enhance learning by inspiring teachers to provide a range of activities for students which encourage personal response and slightly abstract thinking... I thoroughly enjoyed reading [this resource].

N Selwood, Head of English & Peer Reviewer

Indeed a very comprehensive resource: as I was reading it, I couldn't help but wish that I had owned this the first time I taught this text! It would have saved me many hours of work. It was perfectly designed to give the busy teacher everything they need at their finger tips to teach this text, but also it gave further insights and knowledge to teachers who might have already taught this text before... I really appreciated the comprehensive walk-throughs of each poem. They were detailed and extensive. I also liked the way that each poem gave potential themes or ideas of how they could be used thematically to respond to an exam question. I liked the helpful text boxes which gave extra information about certain poems as appropriate... I also appreciated the introduction to the resource and the wide range of critical opinions that were given about the text and Duffy's poetry as a whole... The educational value of this resource lies primarily in the detail it gives to teachers in helping them prepare delivery of this text: it gives everything a teacher needs to equip themselves with . I could also imagine the information on set poems being given out to pupils as a flip-teaching activity. The questions and activities at the end of each poem would be natural formative assessment opportunities to check and develop knowledge and understanding... I love the sheer level of detail of this resource. It represents a deep-dive into this collection and explores the links between these very different poems exceptionally well.

J Hathaway, Head of English, Glenalmond College & Peer Reviewer

Detailed information about each of the poems in the collection. The use of stanza-by-stanza analysis is good... The reference to specific terms in the discussion is good. The terms were clear and well used... The poetic analysis of structure and rhyme scheme provides useful information to be provided to students... The footnotes provide excellent references to assist students in the discussion of the other critics... Clear and repeated reference to the assessment objectives is good. The holistic approach of the AQA specification means the individual objectives are expected to be incorporated into a larger argument. The resource is certainly providing the student and teacher with all the necessary elements to put the elements together... Comprehensive and detailed.

T Garland, Head of English & Peer Reviewer