Outcomes and Skills
These outcomes describe what students should be able to do by the end of the combined revision cycle. They are formative: use them to plan, self-check and give feedback. They do not rank students or record results.
Knowledge
- Know the four text groups, their genres, contexts and central concerns.
- Know the difference between plot, technique, effect and claim.
- Know how structure and narration shape meaning in each text group.
- Know how comparison works: a claim about both texts, not two summaries placed side by side.
- Know a small bank of accurate short quotations and structural details, and where each comes from.
Skills
| Skill | What it looks like | Next step if it is not yet secure |
|---|---|---|
| Retrieval | Recalls a timeline, character relationship, poem form or story ending without notes, then checks it. | Use a blank grid, write what you know, then correct it in a different colour. |
| Close reading | Selects short evidence, names what it does, explains the effect and links it to the whole text. | Annotate one sentence at a time: word, pattern, tone, implication. |
| Structural thinking | Connects sequence, frame, turn, chapter shape or ending to meaning. | Ask what would change if this information came earlier or later. |
| Comparative thinking | Uses a shared question or lens, explains a difference in construction and says why it matters. | Replace "both texts show" with "both texts do X, but Y does it by..." |
| Contextual thinking | Uses context only where it changes the reading of a specific detail. | Delete any context sentence that could sit beside any text. |
| Argument | States a contestable claim, supports it with evidence, explains effect and answers a counter-reading. | Write the strongest objection to your claim before you draft. |
| Redrafting | Improves a draft for evidence, clarity and effect, not just surface errors. | Do three separate passes with one purpose each. |
| Seminar | Contributes a claim, evidence and question, and builds on another student's idea. | Prepare one question that begins "How do you account for...?" |
What progress looks like
| From | To |
|---|---|
| Listing the texts and their themes. | Explaining how one text produces a particular effect or argument. |
| Describing a character. | Explaining how the character is constructed and positioned in a system. |
| Quoting a line because it sounds important. | Explaining what the line does and how it supports a claim. |
| Saying "both texts show..." | Explaining a difference in form, voice or context and why it matters. |
| Using context as a fact to display. | Using context to sharpen a reading of a specific detail. |
| Writing a first draft and stopping. | Redrafting for a named purpose and explaining the change. |
Formative success criteria
- I can explain the shape of each text group without notes.
- I can name a structural or stylistic choice and explain its effect.
- I can use a short quotation accurately and explain it in the same paragraph.
- I can compare two text groups around a shared question.
- I can use context only where it changes the reading.
- I can state a counter-reading and respond to it.
- I can redraft a paragraph for evidence, clarity and effect.
- I can contribute a claim, evidence and question to a seminar.
These criteria are formative. They are not a ranking tool. Use them in conferences, peer feedback and self-checks, and revise your judgement as your understanding changes.