How to Write the Shakespeare Extract Answer
For my next guide, I've rewritten 25+ exam answers to find out exactly what gets each grade.
Mark Scheme at a Glance
Level 6 Convincing, critical analysis and exploration 26–30 marks
Level 5 Thoughtful, developed consideration 21–25 marks
Level 4 Clear understanding 16–20 marks
Level 3 Explained, structured comments 11–15 marks
Level 2 Supported, relevant comments 6–10 marks
Level 1 Simple, explicit comments 1–5 marks
Typical Grade Boundaries
Grade 9 88% = 26
Grade 8 79% = 24
Grade 7 71% = 21
Grade 6 61% = 18
Grade 5 52% = 16
Grade 4 43% = 13
Before we look at what these words might mean, lets look at what students actually do to get marks in each level.
(Exp stands for explanation. Exp L stands for exploratory language.)
What do we notice, on average?
1. Write a thesis statement.
2. Write a conclusion.
3. Write at least 550 words for a grade 4.
4. The more you write, the higher your mark will be. Quantity is more important than quality.
5. The main difference between a grade 5 and grade 6 seems to be the number of quotes you use. This is another way of saying, how much of the rest of the play you write about.
6. You need to write at least 750 words to get a grade 7.
7. You have to write nearly 1000 words for a grade 9.
8. You need 10-13 quotes for a top grade. However, many of these quotes I’ve counted only once, where in fact the student has gone on to zoom in on individual words. So, the true figure is more like 13-15.
9. Naming methods up to grade 6 is no big deal. There are many methods which are not named.
10. Grade 7-9 essays tend to name lots of methods (though this is a correlation – as we will see, it is possible to get the grade without naming them).
11. The way to use context is like a quote, to support your point of view. The more you do this, the higher your grade.
12. Using the writer’s name doesn’t get you any extra marks. However, for the top grades students use Shakespeare’s name when they explain his purpose or point of view.
13. To get grades 7-9, you want your paragraphs to be detailed, at 100+ words each.
14. To move from grade 4 to grade 5 the key difference is to make more points, which is why those essays have more paragraphs.
15. Although top grades require students to explore ideas, using ‘implies’, ‘suggests’, ‘signifies’ and ‘symbolises’ is plenty. Students don’t need to write ‘perhaps’, ‘possibly’, ‘might’, ‘probably’. However, the two combined do show that the answer is “exploratory” and therefore worth top grades.
What does this mean?
1. Write as much as you can – 750 to 1200 words if you are able.
2. Have 10-15 quotes. This will mean 5 – 10 which are not in the extract.
3. Write a thesis statement and a conclusion.
4. Always write about Shakespeare’s purpose.
5. Use context to help you write about his purpose.
How to Plan Your Essay
Step 1
Start with a 3 point thesis statement. This is easy to do in advance, because Shakespeare’s purpose remains the same whatever the question:
1. Macbeth is a cautionary tale, warning any rebellious nobles about the consequences of regicide, particularly following the Gunpowder Plot.
2. The supernatural is introduced in order to please King James, his patron, and to play on the contemporary fear of witches.
3. The violence, madness and death of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are divine punishment for committing regicide and attacking the Great Chain of Being.
4. The play is a tragedy, exploring the hamartia and downfall of a great man destroyed by his own ambition.
5. Lady Macbeth represents either the misogynistic view that women are, like Eve, evil temptresses or the damaging effects of patriarchal control of women.
6. The play explores the theme of kingship both in order to celebrate King James’ noble ancestry, and also as a cautionary tale in order to teach King James not to persecute Catholics and the nobles he suspects might have aided the plotters.
You would pick which 3 fit your essay.
The students in this guide picked only the first 3 of these, because they have not read my Ultimate Guide to Macbeth.
Step 2
Work through the play chronologically, so that you can build an argument in answer to your thesis.
Pick 6 events which are relevant to the title, and quote from these to develop your argument.
Most of the students in this guide don’t do this, and so they don’t write a coherent argument, and so they don’t get top grades.
(The exam paper asks you to start with the extract, which makes a coherent argument very, very difficult. But the mark scheme doesn’t mark where in the play your answer begins - examiners couldn’t care less where your answer starts).
Step 3
Deal with the extract as one of those 6 events, in the right chronological order. These might be 6 separate paragraphs.
Step 4
Write a conclusion which looks at Shakespeare’s final point of view about the topic of the essay.
This gives you an 8 paragraph essay which is going to get grades 7-9, because it will be a coherent argument.