Summary:

Student Text Guides are written by experienced teachers and examiners for the specific needs of students of AS/A-level English Literature, whether attempting a coursework assignment or revising for an examination. They are the perfect accompaniment to the set text, providing invaluable background and exam advice.

This combination provides students with the opportunity to:
develop a deeper understanding of the text
form a more considered response to essay questions
strengthen your exam technique and improve your grades

Each guide comprises three sections:

an Introduction, which outlines the aims of the guide, the relevant exam board specifications and their Assessment Objectives, and offers a revision scheme with a suggested programme for using material in the guide

Content Guidance, which presents succinct and accessible coverage of key aspects of the text, including contexts, controversies and interpretations, glossaries and timelines, and sections on character, theme and symbol

Questions and Answers, which focus on various types of essay question and offer specimen plans and sample answers, together with mark schemes

• Succint and accessible coverage of all the key aspects of the set text, including contexts, interpretations and controversies
  

• Clear outline of the exam board specifications and their Assessment Objectives
  

• Invaluable Question and Answer section with various types of questions, plans, mark schemes and answers
  

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Aims of the Guide
Assessment Objectives
Revision Advice
Writing Examination Essays
Text Guidance
Contexts:
Life and works of Tom Stoppard
Regency England
Classicism versus Romanticism
Byron and the Romantic poets
Gardens and Landscapes
Et in Arcadia Ego
Science, Art and Nature
Fermat, Newton and Mandelbrot
Scene summaries and notes
Dramatis personae
Plot, structure and time
The Changing Garden
Sex, literature and death at Sidley Park
The genius of the place
Mystery, discovery and knowledge
Maths, music and philosophy
Themes and theories
Images and symbols
Comic devices
Language and postmodernism
Set speeches
Critical comments
Essential quotations
Historical characters
Literary terms and concepts
Questions and Answers
Essay questions
Sample essays
Further study

About the Author(s):
Marian Cox has been Head of English and A-level literature teacher in a variety of schools
in the UK and overseas. She has written many teacher resource packs, student guides and
literary articles, and is also an experienced literature examiner.
Robert Swan is a headteacher who has extensive experience of teaching. He has written the Philip Allan teacher packs and Student Text Guides for 'The Poetry of Carol Ann Duffy' and for 'Atonement' and 'Spies'.