Coursework: The Empathic Response

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What an empathic response is

You write in the voice of one character from a novel or play, at a particular moment in the text.
It is 600–1000 words and marked out of 25, like the critical essay.
It tests the same four AOs as an essay — knowledge, understanding and response — but lets you engage imaginatively by assuming a suitable voice.
"Voice" means the character's manner of speaking: vocabulary, rhythm, attitudes, concerns and relationships.

The rules

The text must not be a Paper 3 set text and must not be the critical-essay text.
Short stories must not be used for the empathic task — it must be a novel or a play.
The task prescribes a specific moment, which may be the end of the text.
The full wording of the task, including the character's name and the chosen moment, must appear at the start of the assignment.
Across your two assignments you need one prose and one drama text from different countries/cultures.

Choosing a character and a moment

Choose a character with a rich inner life and something at stake at that moment.
The best moments are turning points: just after a revelation, a decision, a loss or a victory.
Your character must only know what they could know at that moment — no knowledge of later events.
Good example:×You are Mama at the end of Act 2 of×A Raisin in the Sun×, just after Walter has lost the money.×
Minor characters can work well if the text gives you enough detail about them.

Creating an authentic voice (AO3)

Study how the character actually speaks in the text: formal or informal, clipped or expansive, confident or hesitant.
Echo their characteristic phrases, images and preoccupations, but do not simply copy whole lines.
Match the period and culture: avoid modern slang in a nineteenth-century mind.
The top level "sustains an entirely convincing voice"; a weak answer only "begins to assume a voice".

Showing knowledge and understanding (AO1 and AO2)

Weave in precise textual detail: events, other characters, objects, places and remembered words.
Level 8 seamlessly uses well-selected textual detail.
Show the character's understanding and misunderstanding of the situation — including what they reveal without meaning to.
Your character's thoughts should reflect the text's themes (power, family, freedom, guilt) in their own terms.

Form, structure and reflection

Most responses are an interior monologue — the character's thoughts at that moment.
Let thoughts move naturally between the present moment, memories of earlier events and fears or hopes for the future.
Vary pace: short sentences for shock, longer ones for reflection.
End on a thought that fits where the character is heading in the text, without revealing later events.

Common pitfalls

Retelling the plot in the first person instead of reflecting.
Giving the character knowledge they cannot have yet.
Writing in your voice, or in modern teenage slang.
Inventing events that contradict the text.
Leaving out the task wording, character name and moment at the top.

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1.What is the word range for the empathic response?
Easy
- A600–1000 words
- B800–1200 words
- C300–500 words
- D1200–1500 words
2.Whose voice does an empathic response use?
Easy
- AThe author's
- BA literary critic's
- CYour own
- DOne character from a novel or play
3.Which kind of text must NOT be used for the empathic response?
Easy
- APlays
- BTranslated novels
- CShort stories
- DNovels
4.What must appear at the start of the empathic response?
Easy
- AThe author's biography
- BThe full task wording, including the character's name and the chosen moment
- CA bibliography
- DA plot summary
5.In the syllabus, 'voice' means…
Easy
- Athe character's manner of speaking
- Breading the text aloud
- Cthe author's opinion
- Da recording of the essay
6.Which is the best-chosen moment for an empathic task?
Medium
- AA moment when the character is asleep
- BA chapter in which the character does not appear
- CA scene summarised in one line
- DJust after a character learns something that changes everything
7.Your character is writing at the end of Act 2. What should they NOT know about?
Medium
- ATheir own family
- BWhere they live
- CWhat happens in Act 3
- DWhat happened in Act 1
8.Which form do most successful empathic responses take?
Medium
- AA list of events
- BAn interior monologue
- CA formal essay
- DA newspaper report

Thêm câu hỏi

9.What does the top level require for voice?
Medium
- AAn entirely convincing voice sustained throughout
- BSome attempt at a voice
- CFrequent use of modern slang
- DCopying whole speeches from the text
10.What does Level 8 require for textual detail?
Medium
- ANo detail at all
- BDetail copied in long quotations
- CDetail from other texts
- DWell-selected detail used seamlessly
11.Which is the most common weakness in empathic responses?
Medium
- AUsing the character's typical phrases
- BReferring to earlier events
- CRetelling the plot in the first person
- DWriting too reflectively
12.A character from a 19th-century novel says 'That was totally random.' What is the problem?
Medium
- ANothing — slang shows personality
- BThe voice does not fit the character's period
- CThe sentence is too long
- DIt uses textual detail
13.Which assignments must use one prose and one drama text between them?
Medium
- AThe critical essay and the empathic response together
- BOnly the critical essay
- COnly the empathic response
- DNeither
14.How can an empathic response show AO2 (understanding)?
Medium
- ABy listing themes in the first paragraph
- BBy adding the author's comments
- CBy summarising critics' views
- DBy revealing the character's understanding and misunderstanding of events
15.Which ending suits an empathic response best?
Medium
- AThe author's message stated directly
- BA sudden change of narrator
- CA thought that points to where the character is heading, without revealing later events
- DA summary of the rest of the novel
16.Which piece of advice about echoing the text is right?
Medium
- AOnly use your own invented events
- BEcho typical phrases and images, but do not copy whole lines
- CCopy as many lines as possible
- DNever mention anything from the text
17.Why can a minor character be a good choice?
Medium
- ATheir private thoughts are unexplored, so there is room for insight — if the text gives enough detail
- BMinor characters need no textual detail
- CThey always know more than the protagonist
- DThe word count is lower
18.Which rules apply to the empathic response? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ANot a short story
- BMust be written as a letter
- CMust compare two characters
- DNot a Paper 3 set text
- ENot the critical-essay text
19.Which features help create a convincing voice? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AKnowledge of the text's final chapter
- BModern slang for realism
- CThe character's typical vocabulary
- DTheir attitudes and preoccupations
- ESentence rhythms that match their manner
20.Which of these would be good empathic moments? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AA time before the story begins, with no textual detail
- BJust after a betrayal is revealed
- CThe night before a key decision
- DThe end of the text
- EA moment the character is not present for
21.The empathic response can be based on a play.
Easy
True or false?
22.The moment chosen may be the end of the text.
Easy
True or false?
23.The empathic response is assessed on different objectives from the critical essay.
Easy
True or false?
24.Inventing events that contradict the text is a good way to show imagination.
Medium
True or false?
25.You can use the same text for both coursework assignments.
Easy
True or false?
26.Varying sentence length can show a character's changing state of mind.
Medium
True or false?
27.The character should refer to events that happen after the chosen moment.
Medium
True or false?
28.Match each weakness to its fix.
Medium
- Plot retold in the first person
- Modern slang in an old text
- Character knows the ending
- No task wording at the top
- Reflect on feelings and memories instead
- Use vocabulary suited to the character's time
- Limit thoughts to what they know at that moment
- Copy the full task, name and moment first
29.Match each descriptor to its level.
Medium
- Sustains an entirely convincing voice
- Sustains a convincing voice
- Develops a generally authentic voice
- Begins to assume a voice
- Level 8
- Level 7
- Level 6
- Level 4
30.Match each AO to how it appears in an empathic response.
Medium
- AO1
- AO2
- AO3
- AO4
- Well-selected textual detail woven in
- Insight into motives and the situation
- A convincing voice for the character
- Imaginative, sensitive engagement
31.Put the planning steps in a sensible order.
Medium
- Draft the monologue
- Choose the character and moment
- Collect the character's typical phrases and concerns
- Check nothing refers to later events
- Write the task wording at the top
32.Order a typical monologue's movement.
Medium
- Hopes or fears for what comes next
- Reaction to the moment itself
- Memories of earlier events it recalls
33.Complete the sentence.
Easy
The empathic response assumes the ____ of one character.
34.Complete the sentence.
Medium
The task must name the character and the chosen ____ in the text.
35.Complete the sentence.
Medium
A character's thoughts written as a continuous flow are called an interior ____.
36.What is the maximum mark for the empathic response?
Easy
37.Which two kinds of text may be used for the empathic response?
Medium
38.Explain how an empathic response is assessed on AO3 when there is no essay analysis.
Medium
39.Explain why an empathic response must avoid knowledge of later events.
Medium
40.Describe how you would plan an empathic response for a character of your choice.
Hard

Ghi chú ôn tập

## The task - Write **as one character** from a **novel or play** at a **prescribed moment** (may be the end). **600–1000 words**, out of **25**. ## Rules - Not a Paper 3 set text; not the critical-essay text; **no short stories**. - **Full task wording**, character name and moment at the start. ## Voice (AO3) - The character's **manner of speaking**: vocabulary, rhythm, attitudes, concerns; true to period and culture. - Level 8: **entirely convincing** voice; Level 4: **begins to assume** a voice. ## Detail and understanding (AO1, AO2) - Precise, **seamlessly** woven detail. Show what the character understands and misunderstands. Themes in their own terms. ## Form - Usually an **interior monologue**: reaction → memory → hope or fear. Vary pace. ## Pitfalls - Retelling the plot; knowing later events; your own voice; contradicting the text.

Empathic response: Coursework written in a character's voice at a specific moment in a novel or play.
Voice: A character's manner of speaking: vocabulary, rhythm, attitudes and concerns.
Interior monologue: A character's thoughts presented as a continuous flow.
Prescribed moment: The point in the text named in the task at which the character is thinking.
Anachronism: Something out of its proper time, such as modern slang in an old text.
Authentic: Convincingly true to the character as the text presents them.
Turning point: A moment after which a character's situation or outlook changes.
Seamless detail: Textual detail woven naturally into the character's thoughts.

Thẻ ghi nhớ

Empathic response word range?

600–1000 words.

Which texts can be used for the empathic response?

A novel or a play — not short stories, not a set text, not the essay text.

What goes at the top of an empathic response?

The full task wording, including the character's name and the chosen moment.

What does 'voice' mean here?

The character's manner of speaking — vocabulary, rhythm, attitudes.

What is the top-level voice descriptor?

Sustains an entirely convincing voice for the character.

What form do most responses take?

An interior monologue.

What must the character not know?

Anything that happens after the chosen moment.

Biggest weakness in empathic writing?

Retelling the plot in the first person instead of reflecting.

How is AO1 shown?

Well-selected textual detail woven seamlessly into the character's thoughts.

How is AO2 shown?

Insight into the character's understanding (and misunderstanding) of events and themes.

Can the moment be the end of the text?

Yes.

What makes a good moment?

A turning point — just after a revelation, decision, loss or victory.

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