The discursive question — Answering the Shakespeare question — OCR GCSE English Literature J352
OCR GCSE English Literature · J352
The discursive question
What you need to know
How the discursive question works: a view of the play to weigh, 'to what extent' or 'how far', using at least two moments from the play, with no extract printed, for 40 marks in about 45 minutes, closed book.
What earns the marks: response (AO1) and language, form and structure (AO2), equally weighted and carrying the most weight; context (AO3) as the play shows it and the question needs it; and 4 marks for vocabulary, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation (AO4).
Building an argument: a thesis in the opening that answers the question, two to four moments analysed closely, other readings weighed, and a conclusion that settles it; an answer built on one moment is held at Level 3, and one with only a brief second moment at Level 4.
Quoting from memory: short, precise quotations learned for each key moment, woven into your sentences, and how the other question's extract can help when it fits.
The worked example: the June 2025 Romeo and Juliet question on how far the lovers' love is fantasy rather than realistic, with a plan, a model answer of about 800 words, the level and mark an examiner would give and why, and a Grade 5 and a Grade 8 paragraph side by side.
The discursive questions OCR set on each play in June 2025 and June 2024, and what examiners said about them.
Common mistakes: rigid paragraph formulas that stop an argument developing, retelling, and context that doesn't serve the question.
