Developing strategies to deal with the demands of AQA Section B

Mat Walters
Sunday, March 1, 2020

Section B of the AQA written exam can present a real challenge for students and they must be well prepared for lighting, sound, costume and set design questions. This scheme of work focuses on knowing how to deal successfully with the technical Question 3 on the extract of the Component 1, Section B set texts: twentieth and twenty-first century drama. The timings of Section B of the paper are significantly different to Sections A and C and all three questions are compulsory, so there is no chance this time to hide from design, and sketches may be required. There is also a need to remember that students are writing about the extract and not the whole play or their own chosen section, even though a copy of the entire play will be sitting on their exam desk. The aim of this scheme of work is to help teachers and students prepare in advance for this exam, provide some useful revision tips, show how to scaffold practice essays and how to help students plan so they can cover the whole three-hour paper in the allotted time. The approach taken here will reference aspects of Yerma and Our Country’s Good, look at technical elements in the plays, and provide examples of design suggestions and how to structure Section B Question 3 essays.