How to Write About Context (Edexcel GCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 1ET0
Writing about context well shows the examiner that you understand why the writer made their choices, not just what happens in the text. Done badly, it takes time away from your analysis and earns very few marks.
This page shows you what context is, how to use context in an essay, where to put it, and the common mistakes to avoid, with worked examples from An Inspector Calls and Macbeth.
What is context in English Literature?
Context means the ideas and attitudes that a text responds to, and the ways different readers or audiences might react to it. It can include:
When the text was written: the attitudes the writer was responding to. For example, many people in Shakespeare’s time believed that God chose the king, which helps explain why Macbeth’s murder of Duncan is shown as so unnatural
When the text is set: if a text is set earlier than it was written, the audience has hindsight (they know what happened next). For example, An Inspector Calls is set in 1912 but was written in 1945, so when Mr Birling calls the Titanic “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”, the audience knows it will sink. This makes him look foolish, so they doubt his other views too
The genre: for example, Macbeth is a tragedy, so the audience expects the hero’s flaw to destroy him
Universal ideas: ideas that still matter to people today, such as guilt or the cost of ambition. For example, Macbeth’s inability to sleep after the murder still shows a modern audience how guilt can take over someone’s mind
In your exams, context only earns marks in three places: Shakespeare part (b), the Post-1914 essay and the poetry anthology.
You don’t need to learn lots of historical facts to write about context. You do need context that explains the writer’s choices, because the Shakespeare part (b) and Post-1914 questions both say you must refer to it. Context can take many forms, so choose the kind that fits the question.
How to use context in an essay
Here is how to use context in an essay in four steps:
Start with the question: its key words, such as poverty, power or gender, point to the ideas you need
Ask why the writer presents it this way: think about which attitudes the writer was responding to, or trying to change
Link it to a specific moment: connect the idea to the quotation or moment you are analysing
Keep it short: a clause or a sentence is usually enough, so your focus stays on the text
The table below shows the same point written three ways, using An Inspector Calls. This shows you how to embed context in a single clause.
Question (June 2024): Sheila: I got that girl sacked from Milwards. And now you’ve made up your mind I must obviously be a selfish, vindictive creature. In what ways is selfishness important in the play? You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.
Version | An example using An Inspector Calls |
|---|---|
Weak | Priestley shows selfishness when Mr Birling says that “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”. In 1912, all rich people were selfish and never helped the poor. Priestley also wrote many other plays and novels. |
Better | Priestley shows selfishness when Mr Birling says that “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”. This shows Birling only cares about himself and his family. The play is set in 1912, before the First World War, but Priestley wrote it in 1945. |
Strong | Mr Birling’s advice that “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own” comes in 1912, just before two world wars that Priestley’s 1945 audience had lived through. The repeated “his own” makes selfishness sound like a rule for living. Because the audience knows what came next, Priestley makes Birling’s confidence sound dangerous, and he pushes them to reject this selfish attitude. |
Weak: makes a sweeping claim about 1912 and adds a fact about Priestley’s life, but links neither to the quotation
Better: includes accurate, relevant context, but adds it at the end, so it doesn’t explain Priestley’s choice
Strong: uses the same 1912 and 1945 fact in a single clause that explains Birling’s exact words, then analyses how they sound and shows how Priestley wanted his audience to respond
Where should context go in a paragraph?
Context works best inside your analysis. If you add it as an extra sentence at the end of a paragraph, it becomes a “bolt-on”, because it isn’t linked to your point. Put it where it explains a choice the writer has made, for example:
In your thesis statement: say what the writer wanted readers or audiences to think
Straight after you analyse a quotation: explain why the writer chose those words for readers at the time
In your conclusion: zoom out to the writer’s message and why it still matters
The same applies in the poetry anthology: short comments on context, woven through your comparison, work better than a separate paragraph at the start or end.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Context doesn’t have to be historical. The genre of a text and the universal ideas in it count too, because they explain why the writer made their choices. This is often a more convincing use of context than incorporating historical facts.
For example, you could write: “Macbeth admits that only his ‘vaulting ambition’ drives him, which is his tragic flaw. As this is a tragedy, the audience can already sense that his ambition will destroy him.” You’ve explained the effect of Shakespeare’s choice through the genre of the play, which is a great use of context. Save it for part (b), where context earns 5 marks, because part (a) doesn’t assess context.
What are the common mistakes when writing about context?
Historical facts: long explanations of historical events take time away from your analysis, and they often add little to an answer:
For example, in an answer about Macbeth’s ambition: “In 1605, a group of Catholics tried to blow up Parliament and kill King James I. This was called the Gunpowder Plot.”
Bolt-on context: a sentence of background added to the end of a paragraph, without a link to your point, earns very little:
For example: “Mr Hyde attacks with ‘ape-like fury’, which shows he is violent. Victorian London was a crowded and dangerous city.” The last sentence has nothing to do with the point about Hyde
Biography: facts about the writer’s life rarely help, unless they explain a choice the writer made in the text:
For example, in an answer about how Sheila changes: “Priestley fought in the First World War and later presented radio programmes for the BBC.”
Sweeping generalisations: claims about what everyone at the time believed or did are rarely true, so they weaken your argument:
For example: “In Shakespeare’s time, all women did was cook and clean, so Lady Macbeth is very unusual.”
Writing about context (AO3) in your Edexcel GCSE English Literature exam
Edexcel calls context AO3. It’s worth 16% of the qualification, so use it to support your argument and keep the text at the centre of your essay. This table shows where context is assessed:
Paper | Section | Is context assessed? | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
Paper 1 | Part (a): no. Part (b): yes, 5 marks | Leave context out of part (a), which is about the extract’s language, form and structure. In part (b), link the theme to the attitudes Shakespeare was exploring, because the question says you must refer to context | |
Paper 1 | Yes: 16 of 40 marks | Link the ideas to what the writer wanted their audience or readers to think about society, and keep the text at the centre of your answer | |
Paper 2 | No, in either part | Focus on language, form and structure in part (a), and on your knowledge of the whole novel in part (b) | |
Paper 2 | Yes: 5 marks | Link the ideas in both poems to the contexts in which they were written; mention a poet’s life only where it explains the poem | |
Paper 2 | No | Don’t write about context: focus on the poems’ ideas and the poets’ methods |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Avoid the formula “A 1945 audience would think… whereas a modern audience would think…”. It splits your answer into two general statements about audiences, and blanket comments about what an audience understood make context less effective. Check your terms too: Priestley’s first audiences saw the play in the 1940s, so they weren’t Jacobean or Victorian.
Explain which idea still matters and why. For example, you could write: “The Inspector’s warning that ‘We are members of one body’ still echoes in arguments about responsibility today, which keeps Priestley’s message urgent for a modern audience.” You’ve linked the text to the present day through one of Priestley’s ideas, which is exactly the kind of relevant context the Post-1914 question rewards.
Sources
Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor (eds), 2005, The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Second Edition), Oxford University Press
Priestley, J.B. (1992). An Inspector Calls. Heinemann.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. (2016). The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Scholastic.
Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in English Literature (1ET0) Specification, Issue 2 (June 2019). Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 1 Question Papers, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 1 and Paper 2 Examiners’ Reports, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 1 Examiners’ Report, June 2019. Pearson.
Unlock more, it's free!
Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
Was this revision note helpful?
