CCEA Identity poetry anthology revision is a collection of materials to support students and teachers with preparation for the examination. The exam for Unit 2 Drama and Poetry is sat in May/June, the summer exam series and is a hefty two hour exam, so there is plenty of revision to be getting on with!
Check out ThinkLit’s collection of resources to get your revision underway:
- Interactive quiz: try our interactive quiz with clickable answer boxes and get feedback straight away. It’s free, quick and easy.
- Download the same version of the quiz above to photocopy for use in class. This is a great lead into a more substantial revision activity, and helps with retrieval practice.
- Print this 5-page PDF revision grid which helps students to collect all of their information on the poems together into one resource, supporting their ability to compare and cross-reference across the anthology.
- Check out this collection of past paper questions and an online timer to help students stay focused on the task.Â
Identity Poetry Revision Quiz
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CCEA Identity Poetry Anthology Quiz
Test your knowledge of the Identity anthology by trying these ten questions. In each one, you are asked to select a poem from the anthology. Good luck!
Printable Quiz
This printable version of the quiz is great for your lesson as a recap and retrieval practice activity. This is a useful task to lead into a longer revision activity such as the table below, or a past paper question.
Revision grid
Use this printable revision grid to help students gather all of their important notes in one place. This resource helps students to recap each poem as well as cross-reference across the poems. This is a lengthy task to complete for all 15 poems. I like to get my class to work in small groups on this together to share ideas (talking and writing helps the ideas sink in better) and we usually complete these poems in clusters. For example, on page 1, I have included Kid, In Mrs Tilscher’s Class and Genetics, all of which share the theme of childhood to some degree. Grouping the poems means you can tackle them in chunks.
Please make use of the study guides for all of these poems when making notes. All study guides are linked at the bottom of this post.
Past Paper Questions
Students can tackle this list in a number of different ways. They do not always have to complete each question in full, but I highly recommend encouraging students to complete questions under timed conditions to help them get used to the exam conditions and time pressure. Students can check out the exact layout and structure of the question papers here at the CCEA website, but this list is all of the questions available. Have a go with the online timer below to help you stay focused.
The Unit 2 examination is 2 hours long with two sections: Drama and Poetry. Marks are split evenly between the two sections, so students should spend 60 minutes on their poetry question. Each year, they are given a choice of two questions and one hour to respond to one of those options, a or b.
Summer 2023
a) Look again at Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare which deals with the theme of discontent, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of discontent.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about discontent. You should include relevant contextual material.
b) Look again at The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost which deals with the theme of looking back, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of looking back.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about looking back. You should include relevant contextual material.
Summer 2022
a) Look again at Kid by Simon Armitage which deals with the theme of growing up, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of growing up.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about growing up. You should include relevant contextual material.
b) Look again at Prayer Before Birth by Louis MacNeice which deals with the theme of facing danger, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of facing danger.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about facing danger. You should include relevant contextual material.
Summer 2021
a) Look again at Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold which deals with the theme of having doubts, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of having doubts.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about having doubts. You should include relevant contextual material.
b) Look again at Invictus by William Ernest Henley which deals with the theme of difficult experiences, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of difficult experiences.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about difficult experiences. You should include relevant contextual material.
Summer 2019
a) Look again at Piano by D.H. Lawrence which deals with the theme of how childhood memories influence identity, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of how childhood memories influence identity.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about the influence of childhood memories. You should include relevant contextual material.
b) Look again at Belfast Confetti by Ciaran Carson which deals with the theme of how place influences identity, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of how place influences identity.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about how place influences identity. You should include relevant contextual material.
Specimen Assessment Questions
a) Look again at Genetics by Sinead Morrissey which deals with the theme of influences on identity, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of influences on identity.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about influences on identity. You should include relevant contextual material.
b) Look again at Here by R. S. Thomas which deals with the theme of a sense of who you are, and at one other poem from the IDENTITY anthology which also deals with the theme of a sense of who you are.
With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about a sense of who you are. You should include relevant contextual material.
Time yourself to complete a past paper question:
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This printable download packs notes on all 15 poems, past paper questions, themes and essential points to learn into two pages! It’s absolutely rammed with important information … so much we had to make the font size tiny! But not so much to overwhelm you. It’s true: good things come in small packages.
Study Guides for Identity Anthology:
