The Gothic: Student Guide for A Level OCR

Gloomy, foreboding, shocking, distressing – features of the Gothic that have been prominent in literature since its supposed establishment in the eighteenth century. Steer students through this dark and despondent genre, with enlightening notes and activities covering key texts from Frankenstein to Beloved.

Component 02: Comparative and Contextual Study

I will be redesigning my teaching ... to use and incorporate this guide, as I think it is such a valuable resource

J Hathaway, HoD & Peer Reviewer (on The Gothic)

Arm your students with an arsenal of ideas!

Give students a firm grounding in your chosen topic with student-friendly notes, essential context, and activities on carefully-chosen key aspects. A broad selection of extracts from set texts and unseen prose are analysed against topical features to prepare for the exam.

Thorough, interesting and extremely relevant in meeting the specification

L Churchill, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer
Key areas include…
  • Authorial Techniques
  • Characterisation
  • Themes and Motifs
  • Context
  • Setting
  • Literary Criticism
...and many more topic-specific areas

Target exam skills

  • Extract analyses model critical appreciations for unseen extracts
  • Reflective activities – matched to the AOs – encourage engagement and consolidate learning
  • Exam preparation questions build confidence and develop essay-writing skills
  • Practice essay questions and peer/self-assessment mark schemes track student progress

Answers included for easy delivery and marking

What do teachers say about this resource? (7218)

A very workable teaching resource... Saves a lot of planning time... [Matches] OCR perfectly.

M Litton, Customer & Teacher

Another superb resource. Thorough, interesting and extremely relevant in meeting the specification.

Detailed focus on critics and explanations which help independent evaluation. The start is great with the way it handles the broader reading by not only making suggestions, but gives overviews on how they link to the Gothic.

It makes broader reading more accessible and offers a selection of texts. Also, concise and clear is the language, form and structure section which will work with a student at any level and can be extended for more able students. I especially like the sample essay extracts for individual and peer review. Very good coverage of critics.

It develops a student's self-evaluation skills as well as making comparisons on a wider spectrum. Furthermore, as it runs parallel with course delivery, there is support for student and teacher throughout with reading and short tasks to encourage independent and collaborative learning.

The resource covers the specification from all angles e.g. wider reading, understanding genre, marking assessment and writing. It really maps the specification well. It is well thought out.

A superb stand alone guide and will work with any other related texts or ZigZag guides.

L Churchill, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Really well put together. I liked the fact that it had a range of different extracts from different Gothic novels, both set texts and wider reading... Would act as a brilliant starting point to introducing pupils to the Gothic... The presentation and layout were excellent... There were regular activities, and the focus on examination skills was present throughout.
I liked the various 'Applying this to your set texts' questions. The educational value of this resource lies not just in the high-quality information, but also in the clearly thought through questions that give pupils the chance to practise key skills and develop their writing. This guide is so comprehensive that it would be enough to give to a new member of staff in order to get them going on teaching this topic... It is targeted at the specification with precision. Regular links to various Assessment Outcomes, exam-style questions and development of knowledge specifically linked to the exam featured throughout... The self- and peer mark grids were really useful to encourage pupils to reflect on their learning and identify any areas to develop... I will be redesigning my teaching in the first few weeks to use and incorporate this guide, as I think it is such a valuable resource.

J Hathaway, HoD & Peer Reviewer (on The Gothic)

A thorough resource for the topic and provides students and teachers with a methodical way to approach the course... Good focus on the AOs, always focusing students’ response to the questions... It introduces the main elements of Gothic fiction using extracts from a range of well-judged texts. It is focused on building students’ ability to critical appraise texts, which is crucial for this specification.

E Iles, Teacher & Peer Reviewer (on The Gothic)