The exam-style question
This is a drama essay question, in the style of the Literature in English papers. Read it as you would in the exam, then compare your plan with the model.
Read our original scene below. Write an essay on how the playwright creates conflict between Ravi and his father, considering how the scene might work in performance. This is our own teaching scene.
The Kitchen Table
[A small kitchen. Evening. RAVI, seventeen, stands with a rucksack over one shoulder.
His FATHER sits at the table, not looking up from a newspaper he is not reading.] FATHER: You have your coat. RAVI: I told you last week. The audition is tonight.
FATHER: [turning a page] I heard something about a doctor. Last week you were going to be a doctor. RAVI: That was your week, not mine. [A pause.
The FATHER folds the newspaper very precisely, corner to corner.] FATHER: Sit down. Eat first. RAVI: If I sit down I'll miss it.
FATHER: [quietly] Then it can't have mattered very much. [RAVI does not move. The FATHER pushes a plate an inch towards the empty chair. Neither of them looks at it.] RAVI: Why is it so hard for you to just say good luck? [The FATHER opens his mouth, then picks up the newspaper again.
RAVI waits one more second, then goes. The door does not slam; it clicks. The FATHER sits, the plate steaming, the chair still empty.]
Model response: Drama essay
Writing about drama means reading the scene as it would be played. The pauses, movement and silences carry as much meaning as the lines.
Reading a model answer helps. In a paid one-hour trial, a teacher helps your child write one like it on Drama essay.
Common errors we see
- Treating the scene as prose and ignoring that it is performed
- Overlooking stage directions, pauses and stage business
- Not considering how lines might be delivered on stage
- Summarising the argument instead of analysing how it is built
- Missing the meaning of the closing image or tableau
How this maps to the mark scheme
Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.
For drama essay, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English (0475) on our qualification page.
- Show detailed knowledge of the content of literary texts across the three forms (drama, poetry and prose), supporting points with reference to the text.
- Analyse the ways writers use language, structure and form to shape meaning and create effects.
- Communicate an informed, sensitive personal response to literary texts.
Marks reward knowledge of the play, analysis of how the playwright creates effects for an audience and a considered personal response.
Other boards word their objectives differently, but the same skills earn the marks. Your board's official syllabus gives the exact weighting.
Where to go next
Learn the method in our guide to drama essay, then try the drama essay practice tasks. You can browse every annotated model response or see how we teach this in our Literature in English tuition.
When you have written your own answer, take it to a paid one-hour trial lesson and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.