Paper 3, Shakespeare and Drama: If candidates answer the passage-based question, in how much detail should they also refer to the play as a whole?

When candidates answer the passage-based question, successful responses focus securely on analysis of the writing in the selected extract in great detail. However, it is sometimes important to position the extract in its larger context in order to make a point about structure, theme or characterisation, whilst avoiding excessive narrative.

Candidates can interpret ‘context’ widely, in terms of literary, social and cultural contexts from the time in which the text was written; they can also use the time in which a text might be received. The important point, however, is that any context provided should be integral to a candidate’s argument and supported from the detail of the text.