A revision guide to Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for GCSE and A-Level English Literature — including which exam boards study it and how to revise effectively.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a 19th century prose text on several UK English Literature specifications. Use the section below to find your specific exam board and level, then work through the revision focus and exam-technique guidance further down the page.
We have a comprehensive study guide for Great Expectations, written for the specification listed below. Each guide covers themes, characters, key quotations, exam technique and worked examples.
Great Expectations
Unlock top marks in your OCR GCSE English Literature exam with this comprehensive guide to *Great Expectations*. This guide provides a deep dive into Dickens' classic novel, focusing on the key themes, characters, and literary methods you need to know to impress the examiners. It is packed with worked examples, memory hooks, and exam-style questions to help you revise effectively and write with confidence."
For 19th century prose questions, examiners reward analytical depth over plot summary. Focus your revision on:
Embed short quotations rather than long block quotes. Analyse word choice, then connect to a wider point about character, theme or context. Aim for a sustained argument rather than a chronological retelling.
The most efficient approach is to alternate between two activities. First, build deep familiarity with themes and characters through active recall — close the book, write down everything you remember about a theme, then check what you missed. Second, practise essay structure by drafting paragraph plans for past-paper questions. Five focused plans will teach you more than one polished essay.
MasteryMind's adaptive quizzes cover Great Expectations content alongside spaced-repetition scheduling, and the AI marker grades your written paragraphs against the official mark scheme — telling you exactly which assessment objectives you hit and missed.
Great Expectations is studied on: AQA (GCSE); Edexcel (GCSE); OCR (GCSE). Check your exam board's specification document for the current academic year — set texts can change between series.
Aim for 8–12 short, flexible quotations per character or major theme — enough to support a range of essay questions without overwhelming your recall. Short quotes (3–6 words) embedded mid-sentence earn more credit than long block quotes.
Yes. Submit a typed or handwritten essay on any Great Expectations question and our AI marker will grade it against the official mark scheme for your exam board, showing which assessment objectives (AO1, AO2, AO3) you covered and where to improve. Learn more about AI marking →
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