Understanding Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

This large page size, 177 page Study Guide has been written especially for UK students taking exams in Summer 2015. It has three main aims: * to help develop your understanding of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" and so give you every chance to raise your exam grade. * to act as a fast read when you do not have the 30 hours or so it takes to read Dickens' lengthy novel. * to give you confidence with tackling exam questions. How can one study guide do this? Simple! The Gavin's Guide series of study guides is different from others you can buy. Written by an experienced tutor with an Oxford English Degree, each one is written as if a personal tutor is showing you how to outperform your expectations. Think of it as a series of personal tutor lessons in a book. This book comes with a valuable extra, for which there is no additional charge - buyers of the book are invited to email the author, Gavin Smithers with any additional queries. It's the extra free service that makes Gavin's Guides great. More on this particular Gavin's Guide and what it can do for you ... Dickens' "Great Expectations" is one of the most colourful and characterful of all 19th century novels. No wonder that it is such a success as a core text for English Literature Exams at both GCSE and A-Level. It is part fairy tale, part love story, part detective drama, with elements of the gothic, and a healthy dash of humour. But - and here is the problem for every student sitting more than one exam this summer - it is a long read. .. Even at a brisk pace, it is likely to take 30 hours cover to cover. And, at this stage in your exam preparation, that may well be time you just do not have. This Study Guide is structured so that, if you are unable to re-read the whole novel, you can still master the plot and analyse Dickens' methods with both narrative and characters. Gavin's Guides are Study Guides packed with insight to help you raise your exam grade. Inside you'll: *Find a thorough breakdown of what happens in each chapter, so that you will understand the flow of the plot. *Discover characters' true (if changing) motivations, you will be able to answer questions about them with confidence. *Learn how good use of quotations defines and strengthens an argument. * Become confident in using the text of "Great Expectations" under exam conditions to support your argument. *Be prepared on popular themes and master a strong essay technique . *Use handy reference guides to track the locations and the chapters where each character appears. * This is great value - it has above 175 large pages of insight. Totally comprehensive.