A Christmas Carol — AO overview (superseded)

Use this as your checklist when planning and writing an A Christmas Carol essay.

AO1 — Response + references (what you say)

• State your argument clearly (what Dickens is saying about the theme).
• Build 3–5 points that track the question.
• Use short, embedded quotations (one per paragraph is fine if you analyse properly).
• If there’s an extract:
  • Explain what the extract shows.
  • Then link to elsewhere (2–3 moments) to prove it’s a pattern across the novella.

AO2 — Writer’s methods (how Dickens creates meaning)

Zoom-in method:

• Word/phrase → connotations
• Method (imagery, symbolism, contrast, narrative voice)
• Effect on reader
• Link back to question

ACC methods to notice:

• Contrast (Scrooge vs Cratchits; warmth vs cold; light vs dark)
• Symbolism (chains, food, fire, light)
• Structure (Staves as a journey from isolation → empathy → change)
• Narrator voice (humour/irony + moral judgement)

AO3 — Context (Victorian England, used precisely)

High-yield context links:

• Poverty + inequality in Victorian Britain
• Attitudes to the poor (workhouses, “deserving/undeserving”)
• Industrialisation and urban hardship
• Dickens’ purpose: social criticism + moral responsibility

Keep it relevant: context should support the claim you made about Dickens’ message.

AO4 — Technical accuracy (how you write it)

Checklist:

• Clear topic sentences
• Embedded quotes and correct punctuation
• Analytical vocabulary (not plot retell)
• Accurate spelling of key names/terms

Useful sentence stems:

• “Dickens uses ___ to criticise ___.”
• “The contrast between ___ and ___ highlights ___.”
• “Structurally, Dickens places this in Stave __ to show ___.”