©2011 Mesher Guides
THE KING JOHN SCHOOL
ENGLISH / ENGLISH
LANGUAGE Unit 1
REVISION GUIDE
November 2012
th
Tuesday 7 November 2012 – PM
Foundation Tier Edition
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©2011 Mesher Guides
Exam Times
English / English Language Unit 1 - 2 hours 15 min
Tuesday 10th January AM
Exam Overview
Section A - Reading
Time: 1 hour
Section B - Writing
Time: 1 hour
Three non-fiction sources
Questions:
1a) Gather information
Questions:
5) Writing to inform or describe
(4 marks)
(16 marks)
1b) Explain what we learn
6) Writing to persuade
(4 marks)
(24 marks)
2) Explain what we learn
(8 marks)
3) Explain how the writer uses
language
(12 marks)
4) Compare two of the texts
(12 marks)
Total: 40 marks
Total: 40 marks
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Section A – Reading
IMPORTANT – Before you attempt to answer any of the questions in
this section you MUST read all three sources through at least once
– you’ve been given an extra 15 minutes to do this so you might as
well make the most of it. Before you answer Question 1, read Source
1 again; before you answer Question 2, read Source 2 again; before
you answer Question 3, read Source 3 again AND before you attempt
to compare two sources, you’ve guessed it, read them again!
Question 1a) (4 marks)
For this question you are simply being asked to list 4 things that you have found
out about a particular subject from reading the source. What you have to be
careful about is that you’ve read the question carefully. The answer booklet
has four spaces for you to write your answers – put what you find into your
own words.
Marking your answer:
You get one mark for every piece of information you list – up to 4 marks of
course!
Question 1b) (4 marks)
For this question you are being asked to interpret some of the information from
the source to show that you have understood it. You need to select
information carefully and back up what you’ve learned with a short quotation.
Give at least 3 things that you have learned and use this sort of format:
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From the extract I have learned that…
I know this from the quotation ‘_________’ which is about…
Another thing that I have learned is…
This is shown in the phrase, ‘____________’ which reveals that …
Question 2 (8 marks)
For this question you are being asked to select key information (a bit like
question 1b but more detailed!). You need to select the information carefully and
use quotations to back up your findings. Try to write about between 4 - 6
things that you have learned from the source. You can use a format like in
question 1b.
From the source I have learned that…
I know this from the quotation, ‘___________’ which…
Do this at least 4 times!
Marking your answers:
Band
Question 1b Question 2
Marks
Marks
3
4
6-8
Check list:


2
2-3
3-5


1
1
1-2

0
marks
0
0

It’s clear that you have read and
understood the text and that you’ve
learned a few things by reading it.
You’ve explained in your own words
and chosen quotations to help show
what you’ve learned.
You seem to have understood
some of the text.
You’ve included a couple of good
quotations and you’ve explained
some of what you’ve learned
It doesn’t seem as though you’ve
understood the whole text but
you’ve at least written something
about it.
You’ve either written nothing or
you’ve written something that has
nothing to do with the question!
So, you’re going to have to write in more detail for Question 2 because
there are more marks available!
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Question 3 (12 marks)
For this question you are being asked to explain how the writer has used
language and why the writer has used language in this way for this piece of
writing. You’ll need to include a few quotations to show what you mean, you’ll
need to mention some of the techniques that have been used and you’ll need
to write in detail.
FACT: In June there were hardly any students who managed to get a Band 3 for
this question!
The person who wrote this answer got zero, nothing, nada!
‘Honorin and her sister live one hundred yards away from the water
tap. Honorin and her sister walk to the water tap every morning
before they go to school, one day they went to the water tap and
there were flowers and people already there laughing that was
because they were happy that there was clean water. Honorin and
her sister got the water and took off Honorin took her sister to school.
Honorin had been frightened because people came to talk about
illness but grown-ups gathered and listened. Before Honorin was
getting very tired and couldn’t really walk with being really tired so
she was late all the time but since the fresh clean water has come
she hasn’t been late or tired anymore. When Honorin grows up she
said she wants to be a teacher and explain to their children how it’s
important to wash your hands before eating. So children are trying to
say they don’t get a life like any ordinary people they don’t live like us
but they also don’t get food like us and the main they don’t get and
that’s education.’
Why do you think the student failed to get any marks for this answer?
Language Devices Task
Remind yourself of the ways in which a writer uses language to engage the
reader by completing the table on page 6, 7 and 8.
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Language Devices
Term
What is it?
A describing word.
Adjective
Adverb
Alliteration
Assonance
Connotation
Dialogue
A word or phrase that
gives information about
an action (or verb).
The repetition of words
beginning with the same
letter.
The repetition of similar
or identical vowel sounds
in words which follow
each other.
An idea or feeling that is
often associated with a
specific word or phrase.
Where a conversation is
included in the text.
What is it used for?
To help build up a picture of a person, a
place, a feeling or an event. ‘Bold’,
‘powerful’, ‘determined’, ‘successful’ and
‘driven’ are all adjectives but what type
of person do they make you imagine?
To help build up a full idea of what’s
happening. Adverbs tell you when,
where, how often and in what way the
action took place. There are three
adverbs in the following: ‘Michael ate
noisily at the table every evening.’
To draw attention to a particular sound
and/or movement, to intensify meaning,
or to bind words in a sentence together.
Like alliteration, to draw attention to a
particular sound and/or movement, to
intensify or emphasise something, or to
connect words in a sentence.
To hint to the readers that there is a
bigger theme or idea behind the words.
Example?
To develop characters or to make the
reader feel empathy (to share
someone’s feelings) with the people
involved.
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Imagery
Metaphor
Use of word-pictures
(images), figures of
speech (similes,
metaphors) and
description.
Comparing one thing with
another thing by saying
that one thing is another.
For example, ‘That girl is
a monkey’ is a metaphor.
A naming word.
Noun
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Personal
Pronouns
Use of words which
sound like the things they
are describing.
A phrase combining two
terms that seem to be
opposites.
‘First person’ means
using ‘I’, ‘My’ (singular) or
‘we’, ‘us’ (plural). ‘Second
person’ means using
‘you’ or ‘your’.
To create ideas feelings, objects,
actions, states of mind …
To allow people to create a clear picture
in their heads, by comparing the thing to
something else that is striking.
To tell the reader who or what the text is
about. Writers choose from a great many
nouns (e.g. man, adult, driver, person,
fool, monster and boss could all be
names for one person!) so you need to
think why they have gone for each
particular noun.
To further describe the scene by
communicating to the reader/listener the
sounds that are heard.
The writer can use it to show confusion,
unpredictability or that things could
change at any moment.
Using ‘you’ makes the reader feel they
are being addressed personally. Using
‘we’ makes the reader included in the
text. Using ‘I’ gives the impression that
the writing is personal.
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Term
What is it?
Giving human qualities to
Personification
things that are not human.
A play on words, in which
two different meanings are
Pun
suggested either by the
same word or two similar
sounding words.
Repeating a word or phrase.
Repetition
Simile
Tone
Verb
Comparing one thing to
another thing using the
words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
The general mood or
atmosphere that is
communicated in the text,
often by the way in which
something is expressed.
A doing word.
What is it used for?
Connects us to that thing being
described; gives us more sympathy for it.
Sometimes for humorous effect,
sometimes to allow the writer to
communicate to us more than one
meaning in a headline.
Example?
Emphasises whatever is being repeated.
Like a metaphor, it allows us to build up a
clear picture of the thing being described.
Controls your emotional response to the
text.
To let the reader know what has
happened, what is happening or what is
going to happen in the future. Most
sentences have to contain at least one
verb.
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Marking your answer:
Band
Question 3 Check list:
Marks
3
9 – 12
 You clearly understand how and why the writer
has used language devices
 You have analysed the effect of words and
phrases from the extract
 You have included carefully chosen and relevant
quotations to support your response
 You have clearly answered the question in detail
2
5–8
 You understand how and why the writer has used
some language devices
 You support your answer with some quite well
chosen quotations
 You have attempted to relate your comments on
language to the question you were asked
1
1–4
 You have only made a couple of very simple
comments about the language in the text. For
example, ‘It makes the reader want to read on’ or
‘It puts a picture in the reader’s head’.
 You have just translated the quotation into your
own words. For example, ‘The phrase ‘blue sky’
suggests that the sky was blue’!
0
0
 You’ve either written nothing or you’ve written
marks
something that has nothing to do with the
question!
Practice Task
1.
2.
3.
4.
Read the text on page 9
Highlight interesting examples of the writer’s use of language
Read the sample band 3 answer on page 10
Highlight quotations in the answer and see how many of them you chose
too.
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Out of habit, Honorin skirted around the pile of stones at the end of the village (the pile
where her brother had once fallen down and hurt himself). “No, not that way,” she
called to the toddler who always came with her to the rice field to collect the water. “A
different way today.”
Then she stopped, wonder filling her eyes. “Oh look. Baby sister, look ...”
A hundred yards away, a pipe with a tap stuck out of the ground. Someone had put
flowers around it. Already two other laughing children were carefully filling buckets with
cool, fresh, clean water.
Not the yellow water from the faraway field with worms wriggling in it, so horrible
tasting every drop had to be boiled – but sweet, clear running water from the newly-dug
well. Like the other children, Honorin had been frightened of the people who came to
talk about stopping illness. But the grown-ups had gathered and listened, and nodded.
Making a well was an enormous task. The villagers gathered sand and stones, while the
people helped dig the well.
She took her turn filling the bucket and held the toddler’s hand to walk back. She’d be in
plenty of time to have breakfast and go to school, not late and tired like she used to be.
Honorin thought she’d like to be a teacher herself when she grew up, and explain to
other children how important it is to keep clean and wash your hands
before eating.
Before the people left she’d summoned up the courage to ask why they
came to her village. They’d told her that someone on the other side of
the world had given some money so children like her needn’t die from
drinking dirty water.
She thought that was nice.
______________________________________________________
If you’d like to be that person, please complete the direct debit
form.
Honorin isn’t one girl. She’s many. Last year WaterAid
helped over one million people around the world to
gain access to clean water.
Call now on 0300 123 4240 or fill in the form.
Thank you.
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Sample answer – Question 3
How does the writer use language:
 to describe
 to show the child’s (Honorin’s) point of view?
The writer uses interesting verbs to describe the difficult journey Honorin
has to make everyday to get water. For example, ‘skirted around’ suggests
the route wasn’t direct and that she had to take care. The description of
her brother who had ‘fallen’ and ‘hurt himself’ shows it can be dangerous.
The writer uses brackets to add the information about Honorin’s brother
which suggests that it’s important extra information.
There are several adjectives in the text to describe the difference between
the old water supply in a ‘faraway field’ which was ‘horrible tasting’ and the
new water supply which is ‘cool, fresh, clean’, ‘newly-dug’ and made ‘laughing
children’. The new water is described very positively as ‘sweet clear running
water’ which contrasts with the old ‘yellow water’. The writer also uses
metaphors like ‘wonder filling her eyes’ to describe her feelings of
excitement when she saw the tap for the first time.
The story is told by someone else but dialogue is included, “Not that way…”
to show what Honorin is doing and feeling. Some of the words used show that
Honorin is a child, for example, ‘worms wriggling in it’ and ‘grown-ups’. We
also know that she’s young because she’s scared of the people who work for
the charity, they are called ‘the people’ to show they are strangers. Later
she ‘summoned up the courage to ask’ which shows she felt nervous about
talking to them. It also includes what she wants to do in the future ‘she’d
like to be a teacher herself’ to show that she has a future and that she
really appreciates what the charity has done for her village.
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Question 4 (12 marks)
This question asks you to compare two of the texts. The question will tell you
what to compare so read it carefully; it could be to do with language or
presentational devices. You’ll need to choose which two texts to compare so
make sure that you find a couple of things that they have in common and a
couple of things that they do differently.
Comparing texts
Use some of these words to makes links between the two texts:
For things that are the same…
For things that are different…
Similarly
Contrastingly
In the same way
In a different way
Also
By comparison
Equally
Alternatively
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Term
Audience
Bold print
Broadsheet
Bullet points
Columns
Font styles
Frames and
borders
Graphs and
charts
Headlines
Definition
The people who will read the text
Makes important writing stand out
Newspaper aiming to inform and report rather than entertain –
traditionally larger than a tabloid. For e.g. The Guardian, The
Telegraph, The Times etc.
Marked with a small symbol, they make short sentences stand
out
Used to break up the page and make it look more interesting –
actually fools the eye into thinking there’s less to read
Different styles used to make the text look more interesting
To form groups of information or make something seem
important
Used to back up information in the text, often in a dramatic way
In newspapers these are important to grab the reader’s
attention
Pictures
They are used to back up a story and can be emotive and
dramatic
Pull-quotes
A quotation taken directly from the main text but reprinted in a
larger font (and often bold text) to emphasise the importance of
the phrase
Quotations
Direct comments from people involved in the story, they give a
personal feel but can be biased (one-sided)
Short paragraphs So as not to put readers off – they hold the reader’s attention
Slogans
Catchphrases attached to a product, often using alliteration,
repetition, puns and questions
Strapline
A secondary headline, usually found directly above or below the
main headline, adding detail or explanation. Written in smaller
font, sometimes in italics or bold
Subheadings
Signposts to important parts of the text
Text size
Important information is in large print. For e.g. Terms and
conditions are often smaller
Topic sentence
The first sentence of the story, linked to the headline, saying
who, when, what, where the story is about
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About the non-fiction question
The non-fiction question will be the second one to appear on English paper 1 on
the 8th November 2011. You will be asked to look at a non-fiction extract you’ve
never seen before. You will have 30 minutes to answer a question on the extract.
Below is some information about tackling the question and the skills you will need
to practise before the big day.
The text
 Diary, journal, letter, travel writing, biography, autobiography, etc.
 One A4 side long – usually made up of 4 paragraphs.
The question
Usually 3 bullet points (often 2 on foundation tier):
 ‘Explain what you learn about…’ or ‘Describe what is happening’. Whatever
the wording, it should be a straightforward content question.
 A question about perspective – could be that of the reader (which bits create
tension for the reader), the writer (how the writer feels about something / their
opinion) or the people in the writing (how would they have felt, what kind of
effect, etc.) You must explain and justify your response.
 A language question. Usually ‘Analyse the effectiveness of some of the
words and phrases in the extract’, or something to that effect. Take care, as it
may be more specific. For example, it could ask how words and phrases
create a sense of peace, etc.
To summarise – 3 parts to the question, 30 minutes to do the question = 10
minutes per bullet. Answer about content, perspective, language. You may not
need to do PQC for the content bullet, but you will need to do it for the bullet on
language.
The skills
You will have to practise the following skills to succeed in the exam:
 Skimming and scanning
 Identifying key words
 Interpreting questions
 Writing focused comments
 How to devise useful points
 Evaluating your work
 Finding the best quotations
 Timing yourself
You have learnt how to do these in lessons, so you need to practise as much as
you can.
Biggest tip
If you do nothing else, practise. You can find many examples of this text type,
you can make up the questions easily and you can even just practise individual
skills from the list. Make up questions or challenges for each other if it’s easier.
Your teachers will always be happy to have a look at it and give you advice.
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PQC – a reminder
All reading responses (media, non-fiction, poetry) need to be written
in point, quotation, comment format. Here’s a reminder of what to do
for each section:
POINT – make a statement that answers the question in some way.
Each of your points should contain a different idea. If you’re really
stuck, try rephrasing the question, but don’t do it all the time as it’s
not a very sophisticated way of writing.
QUOTATION – Choose the best quotation, not just the first one you
come across. Make sure the quotation is not too long. You must
copy it exactly and use quotation marks. (If you can remember, try to
call them quotations, not quotes – some examiners get a bit stroppy
about it, and you want to keep on their good side don’t you?)
COMMENT – Your comment should explain how the quotation
answers the point. You must make sure you refer to the quotation or
your answer will be vague. If it helps, you can start with ‘This
shows…’, or ‘This suggests…’, but don’t overdo it, as your answer
can get very repetitive! Try this way of structuring a comment to
ensure it is focused:
1. Pick out key words (you don’t always need to do this if your
quotation is very short).
2. If relevant, refer to the technique used, e.g. ‘The simile “fell like
rain” suggests that…’
3. Explain the effect of the quotation or key words.
4. Suggest why the writer has used these words.
Try to integrate your P, Q and C so they flow smoothly. You can also
do PQCQC if you’re feeling confident and have more than one thing
to say about a point – your work will be less repetitive and the
examiner will be impressed!
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Non-fiction practice questions
Example 1
Nigel Slater recounts the role of food in his childhood during this extract from his
memoir, Toast, published in 2010.
Forget scented candles and freshly brewed coffee. Every home should smell of baking Christmas
cake. That, and warm freshly ironed tea towels hanging on the rail in front of the Aga. It was a
pity we had Aunt Fanny living with us. Her incontinence could take the edge off the smell of a
chicken curry, let alone a baking cake. No matter how many mince pies were being made, or pine
logs burning in the grate, or how many orange-and-clove pomanders my mother had made, there
was always the faintest whiff of Aunt Fanny.
Warm sweet fruit cake, a cake in the oven, woodsmoke, warm ironing, retriever curled up
by the Aga, mince pies, Mum’s 4711. Every child’s Christmas memories should smell like that.
Mine did. It is a pity there was a passing breeze of ammonia.
Cake holds a family together. I really believed it did. My father was a different man when
there was a warm cake in the house. Warm. The sort of man I wanted to hug rather than shy away
from. If he had a plate of cake in his hand I knew it would be alright to climb onto his lap. There
was something about the way that my mother put a cake on the table that made me feel that all
was well. Safe. Secure. Unshakeable. Even when she got to the point where she carried her
Ventolin inhaler in her left hand all the time. Unshakeable. Even when she and my father used to
go for long walks, walking ahead of me and talking in hushed tones and he would come back with
tears in his eyes.
When I was eight my mother’s annual attempt at icing the family Christmas cake was
handed over to me. ‘I’ve had enough of this lark, dear, you’re old enough now.’ She had started
to sit down a lot. I made marginally less of a mess than she did, but at least I didn’t cover the
table, the floor, the dog with icing sugar. I followed the Slater house style of snowy peaks brought
up with the flat of a knife and a red ribbon. Even then I wasn’t one to rock the boat. The idea
behind the wave effect of her icing was simply to hide the fact that her attempt at covering the
cake in marzipan resembled nothing more than an unmade bed. Folds and lumps, creases and
tears. A few patches stuck on with a bit of apricot jam.
I knew I could have probably have flat-iced a cake to perfection, but to have done so
would have hurt her feelings. So waves it was. There was also a chipped Father Christmas,
complete with a jagged lump of last year’s marzipan round his feet, and the dusty bristle tree with
its snowy tips of icing, I drew the line at the fluffy yellow Easter chick.
Baking a cake for your family to share, the stirring of cherries, currants, raisins, peel and
brandy, brown sugar, butter, eggs and flour, for me the ultimate symbol of a mother’s love for her
husband and kids, was reduced to something that ‘simply has to be done’. Like cleaning the loo or
polishing the shoes. My mother knew nothing of putting glycerine in with the sugar to keep the
icing soft, so her rock-hard cake was always the butt of jokes for the entire Christmas. My father
once set about it with a hammer and chisel from the shed. So the sad, yellowing cake sat round
until about the end of February, the dog giving it the occasional lick as he passed, until it was
thrown, much to everyone’s relief, on to the lawn for the birds.
Read the extract above and write an essay about the writer’s view of his
childhood.



Describe what you learn about the writer.
Explain how the writer feels about food and his family.
Analyse the effectiveness of the words and phrases used by the writer.
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Example 2
In this extract Todd McEwen describes a stop-over at an airport in Chicago, USA.
As a New-yorker himself he finds that he is overwhelmed by the sheer size of
everything.
Airports like abattoirs are white. All this moving meat, these great bodies
laughing, phoning, making valuable contacts, astonished me. I was overwhelmed by the
size of everything and everybody, their huge bigness! I had to sit down. But where?
Everything I sat in dwarfed, engulfed me. I was a baby opossum, writhing in a tablespoon
in a Golden Nature Guide. I felt fear, tininess and hunger. I decided the only way to
become as big as the Big People was to begin eating.
In the infinite coffee shop, my eyes struggled to take in the polyptych menu and
its thousand offerings. Eggs with legs, friendly forks and spoons marched across it.
GOOD MORNING! Barnyard Suggestions … What! I thought. Wanna meet this chicken
in the hayloft in half an hour, fella? But these were not that kind of barnyard suggestion.
Here in Big People Land, land-o-lotsa wholesomeness, they were suggesting I eat the
following: (1) 3 strips of bacon, 2 pancakes, 2 eggs (any style), 2 sausages, juice, toast
and coffee; (2) 6 strips of bacon, 5 pancakes, 4 eggs (any style), 3 sausages, juice, toast
and coffee; or (3) 12 strips of bacon, 9 pancakes, 7 eggs (any style), 1 ½ gallons of juice,
3 lbs of toast and a ‘Bottomless Pit’ (which I took to be a typographical error for ‘Pot’) of
coffee. Thus emptying any barnyard I could imagine of all life. Again I was lost. I felt I
was visiting Karnak. I pleaded for half an order of toast, eight pieces.
Outside the window, far away, Chicago was dawning. Obsidian towers, an art
deco pipe-organ sprouting from the gold prarie, Lake Michigan still dark beyond. A
brachycephalic woman was seated opposite me, biting big things. Her teeth were the size
of horse teeth. She said we could see into the next state. She was eating such big things
and so quickly a wind was blowing at our table. I turned from this and peered out through
the clear air, into the next state. In the far distance I saw great shapes which I knew
weren’t mountains but my giant Mid-western relatives I am too small ever to visit.
Now I was filled with huge toast. I crawled, miniscule, back through the tubes to the gate.
I bought a newspaper and my money looked puny and foreign in the vendor’s big paw. In
the chairs of Big People Land, my feet never touched the floor. I began to open the SunTimes. But. It was big. Here it wasn’t even Sunday and I was suddenly engaged in a
desperate battle with what seemed to be a colossal duvet, a mural made of incredibly stiff
paper. It unfolded and unfolded. It was a whale passing by, it covered me and all my
possessions. It surged over the pillar ashtray and began to creep like fog over the
gentleman next to me. Help I said. Scuse me, watch your paper there he said. His tongue
was the size of my dog.
Read the extract above and write an essay about the writer’s account of the
airport.



Describe what you learn about the writer and his situation.
Explain how he felt about the people he saw and the food he was offered.
Analyse the effectiveness of the words and phrases used by the writer.
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Example 3
This extract from An Indian Summer recalls a visit to an Indian village by the
writer James Cameron.
In the days of my brash and impertinent inexperience I once went to a village in the South.
At that time when I was learning – and it is just as true today – if you took a circle about
three hundred miles in diameter including the contiguous corners of Madras and the States of
Hyderabad and Mysore, you had a place known in terse officialiese as a Scarcity Area. This was
where the monsoon failed. The rain that should have fallen did not fall, no one knew exactly why,
nor ever will. Without the rain the crops failed, when the crops failed people starved, and that was
that. I had seen a great deal of hunger and indeed starvation in post-war Europe; that could be
explained by human aberrations, or criminalities, like wars and nationalist fatuities of one kind or
another; hunger is different from famine. Here people were obliged to die simply by the
perversity of their environment, by the simple fact that nature had betrayed them. This was
something I knew nothing about then, just as nobody knows anything about it now, however
sincerely and angrily they protest from afar. A hundred thousand lives, more or less, do not drag
at the emotions when read about in long-range newspapers, the more so if they are Asian lives,
which are brief and uncountable and expendable anyway. Famine, for full bellies, is the biggest
bore in the world.
Thus I had my first experience of the countryside. The word somehow suggests
something altogether different from those endless horizons, those arid plains studded with sudden
outcrops of sculptured rock, the glaring skies. Miles from railways, even from roads, were
clusters of established life with intricate names like Hanumantharayanagudi and
Devaresgondanadoddi. For no reason at all, or so it seemed, a wilderness of stony plain would be
punctuated by a collection of huts built of mud and roofed with palm thatch, windowless, doors
guarded by the Hindu thread of mango-leaves, dark and secret boxes shared by family and cattle.
To such a place I came in an old car, with a haversack of sandwiches and soda-water bottles. It
was a strangely rash and ignorant and cruel thing to do, had I only known.
I arrived on ration-day, among the Foodgrains. For a long time I had supposed this to be a
pedantic word for rice. Here it was ragi, and jola, and haraka, and navana, and save, and saje;
seeds which in Europe one would never see except perhaps at the bottom of a birdcage. Mostly it
was ragi – we call it, I believe, black millet. Of this each person got twelve ounces a day. Never
more, occasionally less. On this they had to work. At full pressure it took three Indian peasants to
do in an hour what one English farmhand could have done in fifteen minutes.
I walked a mile or two up the track past the brilliant flame-trees and laburnum; somehow
the place was profligate with useless beauty. Then I came back to the hut that served as meetingplace for the panchayat, the ration-store, the general rendezvous, and they gave me some papaya
and a pan, as I was a guest. I sat alone on the floor while the village gathered around, observing
critically yet indulgently, peering in the door, dark shaven heads coloured with esoteric marks in
lime and yellow earth. Outside the solemn grey water-buffalo dreamed at their tethers, the
families of monkeys disputed overhead. A million insects moaned around on their trivial
occasions and the air was alive with gaudy birds. It was strange and bitter that this land could
support so much teeming life – almost everything, it seemed, except man.
Read the extract above and write an essay about the writer’s experience of India.



Describe what you learn about the writer’s situation
Explain how he feels about the villagers and their situation
Analyse the effectiveness of the words and phrases used by the writer
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Example 4
Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management was first published in 1861 and
features all the advice the mistress of a middle-class Victorian household could
possibly need. In this extract she writes about cookery.
76. AS IN THE FINE ARTS, the progress of mankind from barbarism to civilization is
marked by a gradual succession of triumphs over the rude materialities of nature, so in
the art of cookery is the progress gradual from the earliest and simplest modes, to those of
the most complicated and refined. Plain or rudely-carved stones, tumuli, or mounds of
earth, are the monuments by which barbarous tribes denote the events of their history, to
be succeeded, only in the long course of a series of ages, by beautifully-proportioned
columns, gracefully-sculptured statues, triumphal arches, coins, medals, and the higher
efforts of the pencil and the pen, as man advances by culture and observation to the
perfection of his facilities. So is it with the art of cookery. Man, in his primitive state,
lives upon roots and the fruits of the earth, until, by degrees, he is driven to seek for new
means, by which his wants may be supplied and enlarged. He then becomes a hunter and
a fisher.
As his species increases, greater necessities come upon him, when he gradually abandons
the roving life of the savage for the more stationary pursuits of the herdsman. These beget
still more settled habits, when he begins the practice of agriculture, forms ideas of the
rights of property, and has his own, both defined and secured. The forest, the stream, and
the sea are now no longer his only resources for food. He sows and he reaps, pastures and
breeds cattle, lives on the cultivated produce of his fields, and revels in the luxuries of the
dairy; raises flocks for clothing, and assumes, to all intents and purposes, the habits of
permanent life and the comfortable condition of a farmer. This is the fourth stage of
social progress, up to which the useful or mechanical arts have been incidentally
developing themselves, when trade and commerce begin. Through these various phases,
only to live has been the great object of mankind; but, by-and-by, comforts are
multiplied, and accumulating riches create new wants. The object, then, is not only to
live, but to live economically, agreeably, tastefully, and well.
Accordingly, the art of cookery commences; and although the fruits of the earth, the
fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea, are still the only food of
mankind, yet these are so prepared, improved, and dressed by skill and ingenuity, that
they are the means of immeasurably extending the boundaries of human enjoyments.
Everything that is edible, and passes under the hands of the cook, is more or less changed,
and assumes new forms. Hence the influence of that functionary is immense upon the
happiness of a household.
Read the extract above and write an essay about Mrs Beeton’s view of cookery.

Describe what you learn about the writer’s values and attitudes

Explain how she feels about cookery

Analyse the effectiveness of the words and phrases used by the writer
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Non-fiction / Media Mark sheet
1. Understanding and interpretation
Level 1
(0– 3 marks)
I have responded to the writing. My ideas about the writing are quite
vague.
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
I have explained what the writing means to me although my
explanation is sometimes muddled. I have tried to find a ‘deeper
meaning’ from one or two parts of the writing.
I have explained my understanding of the writing clearly and in full. I
have used my own skill to interpret the writing. I have identified which
features are facts and which are opinion. I have shown how I can
‘read between the lines’. I have identified the writer’s purpose and the
impact the writing is expected to have upon the reader.
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
2. Quoting from the text
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have not used quotations from the text.
I have used some quotations from the text to back up my points.
I have quoted fully and appropriately from the text.
3. Understanding use of language
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have written about the piece of writing without mentioning how the
writer has used language.
I have made general comments about the writer’s use of language,
without mentioning particular words or images or I have only selected
one or two words to comment on.
I have analysed the writer’s use of language, commenting on the use
of literary techniques such as: metaphors, similes, dialogue, emphasis
and emotive language; I have also analysed the visual techniques
such as layout, bold type, pictures etc. in articles from the media.
How did you do?
(25 – 27)
A* (22 – 24)
A–
(19 – 21)
B–
(16 – 18)
C–
(13 – 15)
D–
(10 – 12)
E–
(7 – 9)
F–
(4 – 6)
G–
(0 – 3)
U–
Congratulations! You’re a genius!
Outstanding! Go to the top of the class!
Brilliant! You’ll breeze it!
Well Done! Passed with flying colours!
Getting there! Keep going!
Could do better! What’s missing?
Scraping through! Write more!
Not at your best! Work harder!
Oh dear! Were you asleep?
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About the APA question
The argue, persuade, advise question will be the third one to appear on English
paper 1 on the 8th November. Yes, there is a third question, it appears on the
back of the exam paper so make sure you don’t miss it! You will be given a
statement and then given an instruction. You will be asked to argue, persuade,
advise or, possibly, more than one of these.
You have 40 minutes to complete the task. Spend 5 minutes planning and 5
minutes checking your work at the end. A third of the marks are awarded for
spelling, punctuation, grammar, ambitious vocabulary and for sentence variety.
Use PASCOE to help you plan (see next section).
A really effective way of promoting one view is by recognizing and rejecting
opposing arguments.
You can use this easy to remember format to do just that.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Point…
I think…
I believe…
Counterpoint…
Some might argue…
Others disagree…
In my opinion…
The only way forward
is…
It has been said…
Opponents claim…
But…
However…
What they fail to
realise is…
Nevertheless…
But they are wrong…
5.
The sentence starters are just examples, try and think of alternatives yourself.
How does a paragraph sound? A simple example…
Point –
Counterpoint But… -
I think that in order to prevent the further deterioration of this,
our planet, we must begin to recycle all our rubbish.
You might argue that one person cannot hope to make a
difference.
Nevertheless, I say if we all ‘do our bit’ then we can quite
literally save the world!
Ending your argument (two ‘forceful’ options):
Machine gun: Bombard your reader with a complete list of all the points you have made.
Embellishing
writing
Cannonball: Use your best argument
to make a your
really
strong point.
Try ending with a rhetorical question.
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You have been studying persuasive writing techniques every year since year 7,
so they should be pretty much imprinted on your brains, but just in case…
Emotive
words
Statistics
Slogans
Pictures
Reliable
sources
Lists of three
Appeal to
guilt
Commands /
Orders
Sense of
Urgency
Short
sentences
Appeal to
greed
Personal
Pronouns
Alliteration
Repetition
Threats
Imagery
Exaggeration
Humour
Appeal to
pride
Appeal to
sympathy
Rhyme
Informal style Shock tactics
Rhetorical
questions
How many can you spot in the passage below?
It is nothing short of an outrage that slippers are to be banned.
They are vital for our warmth, hygiene and our very sense of who we are. Our
sense of who we are, I hear you ask. How many of us do not cherish a personal
memory about slippers?
Perhaps your memories are of lovingly choosing slippers for Grandfather at
Christmas time, or of bounding about the house in a pair made to resemble your
favourite Disney character, or even of something as simple and rewarding as
slipping your cold foot into a warm slipper after a hard day at school. And shall
we let them rob us of those memories? If we do, what further liberties will they
take, what further intrusions in our lives will we be forced to suffer?
Campaigners feel let down by the lack of support for their cause and Marjorie
Bennett of ‘Slip-on a Slipper UK’ warns, “We cannot save the slipper without
adequate funds and the lack of interest from the general public is alarming,
something has to change, quickly.”
It is indisputable that the greatest civilisations are those that wear slippers. By
taking away the human right of slipper wearing, they evidently want to turn us
back into the primitive bare-footed people we once were.
So join with me in resisting this invasion of our civil liberties! We can see all too
clearly how it would lead to the very collapse of the civilisation we have worked
so hard to build.
Slippers must stay!
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Planning – PASCOE
Use PASCOE when planning your answer to a writing question. It will
ensure you have considered all the elements the exam board requires. Use
it at the end of the exam to check your work – you need to ensure no areas
have been missed out!
Purpose
Why are you writing? To persuade? To analyse? The exam question will tell
you. In fact, it’s a good idea to highlight this information on the question paper.
But you need to make sure you include features of that kind of writing, e.g.
rhetorical questions for writing to persuade.
Audience
Who are you writing for? An MP? Your peer group? Teachers? Again, the
question will tell you and you should highlight the information so that this is very
clear to you. It is up to you to choose an appropriate tone and register for your
work and to include devices that are intended to appeal to your target audience.
Style
Different genres of writing require different writing styles – leaflets, speeches,
letters, essays, etc. Yes, the exam question will tell you what to do, but you need
to make sure you know how to write in these styles. Tip: collect examples of
different texts to act as style models.
Content
Although the exam question will give you a topic to write about, you must think of
specific ideas to, say, support an argument or balance an analysis. Lots of
students are weak at this. Tip: there are lots of ways you can improve your
skills: choose a topic and give yourself 3 minutes to come up with as many
related ideas as possible; get into the habit of asking questions – ‘But what if…?’,
‘What could be the consequences of…?’, etc. Also, try revising with friends, each
person approaching the question from a different perspective; put all your ideas
together and you will see just how complex an issue can be.
Organisation
This is up to you. The beginning should introduce the idea in a compelling way.
The conclusion should be designed to have a big impact. The rest of your writing
should introduce ideas in a clear and logical way. Use connectives and topic
sentences to introduce new ideas and try to make the end of a paragraph lead on
to the following topic in some way. Remember TiPToP when paragraphing –
start a new paragraph for a new Time, Place, Topic or Person.
English
A third of the marks is allocated to spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary
and sentence variety. Get used to checking your work and make yourself aware
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of what things you often get wrong. Remember to use short sentences for
impact. You can include different types of sentences such as statements,
questions, instructions and exclamations. Use more ambitious vocabulary – you
can’t use a thesaurus in the exam, but you can now! Don’t use words that you
don’t understand. And remember, if you spell an ambitious word incorrectly, the
examiner will at least give you credit for using the word!
___________________________________
If you want to practise writing questions, choose a topic – maybe something
that’s been in the news – then decide on a purpose, audience and style. Try to
vary the PAS elements each time you practise as it gets you used to writing in
different ways.
Advanced vocabulary
You will be given credit for using ambitious vocabulary in your writing responses
(argue, persuade, advise and analyse, review, comment). Here are some words
that might be useful to learn, either because they are words that are often
misspelt, or because they may prove useful in constructing an argument.
Necessary
Recently
Responsible
Separate
Corruption
Unfortunately
Association
Opportunity
Emphasise
Argument
Realise
Ironic
Embarrassed
Figurative
Exciting
Remember
Beautiful
Analyse
Believe
Awkward
Inevitably
Deceitful
Vulnerable
Bewilderment
Definitely
Circumstances
Ostensibly
Beginning
Probably
Persuade
Business
Feel
Ambiguous
Interesting
Article
Moral
Different
A lot
Outrageous
Favourite
Conscious
Laughable
Sentence
Naïve
Aggressive
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Advanced punctuation
You will also be rewarded for using advanced punctuation in your
writing responses. Here’s a reminder on how to use it:
'
:
Used to indicate
possession of
apostrophe something
Used to mark an
omission of one or
more letters
Used to introduce
an example or a list
colon
,
comma
()
dash or
brackets
.
full stop
Used to separate
items in a list or
clauses in a
sentence (extra
information)
Used to interrupt a
sentence with a
phrase that doesn’t
fit grammatically
Used at the end of
all sentences that
are not
exclamations or
questions
They can also be
used for
abbreviations
the boy’s book
Nicholas’ coat
he’s
we’ll
Please send the following
items: a passport, two
photographs and the
correct fee.
The British flag is red,
white and blue.
Zinedin Zidane , the best
footballer in the world, was
bought recently for 55
million pounds!
My son - he was here a
moment ago - would like to
meet you.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(scary stuff!) was on TV
last light.
I went to the local shop to
buy some milk.
Jan. (January) a.m. p.m.
etc. H. G. Wells
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!
exclamatio
n mark
?
question
mark
;
semi colon
Used when a word
or sentence has
been shouted out
or said suddenly
Get lost!
Used after every
question
Used to separate
parts of a sentence
which require a
more distinct break
than a comma but
are too closely
connected to be
broken by a full
stop
Why is he here? Who
invited him?
Homer Simpson is stupid;
he thinks milk comes from
trees.
Tip Off! The questions from May were…
Higher:
Recent evidence suggests that school dinners don’t work. Students either choose
the least healthy option or don’t choose school dinner at all. School dinners
should be banned and students should make their own arrangements to eat at
midday.
Write a letter to your local newspaper which agrees or disagrees with the above
statement.
Foundation:
Charities are always in need of support.
Write an article for a local newspaper to persuade readers to support a charity of
your choice.
Remember:
 Your purpose is to write to persuade
 To keep the audience in mind
 To write accurately and express yourself clearly.
It’s unlikely that the same questions will come up again; you can see from
these that they are likely to be linked to the Media texts – what questions
could you get?
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Argue, persuade, advise practice questions
The government has announced plans to reduce the amount of food that goes to
waste in the UK. They will fine households whose consumable waste exceeds a
limit set by local councils.
Write a letter to your local MP, arguing either for or against the plans to fine
those households who throw away too much consumable waste.
Your local council is committed to providing free leisure facilities to 20 local
youngsters during the summer holiday. They are opening up a competition to 11
– 16 year olds who be rewarded for writing the best letter.
Write a letter to your local council persuading them that you should be allowed
free access to your local leisure centre.
Children should not be forced to eat less they should simply be forced to exercise
more.
Write an article for your school newsletter where you argue either for or against
this idea.
The government is introducing plans for restaurants to include calorie counts on
their menus.
Write an essay which argues for or against this idea.
As a member of your school council, you are concerned about the amount of
unhealthy snacks still being consumed on the school premises.
Write a speech, to be given to your year group, persuading students to stop
bringing unhealthy snacks into school.
A group of high street greengrocers are getting together to do something about
the huge amount of food that goes to waste in their shops once it’s reached its
sell-by date. Write a letter to them, advising them what they should do. Include:
 A suggestion of what they could do with the food
 How to coordinate any ideas you suggest
 How to motivate local communities to support the scheme.
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‘People need to think for themselves and do not need the Media to tell them
what’s what.’
Write an article for the school magazine in which you argue this point of view and
advise students on how best to form their opinions.
Plan your answers:
Purpose
Audience
Style
Content
Organisation
English
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Argue, Persuade, Advise - mark sheet
1. Communication of ideas:
Level 1
(0– 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have responded to the task, giving one or two ideas which are
connected to the subject matter. I have given one argument or
persuasive idea in favour of the chosen subject.
I have given at least two arguments or persuasive ideas in favour of the
chosen topic. I have given reasons for the argument. I have used a
formal tone. I have made my writing interesting for the reader.
I have introduced my writing clearly. I have used several arguments or
persuasive ideas. I have used examples to back up my points. I have
used argumentative /persuasive markers in my writing, such as:
‘responsibility’, ‘duty’, ‘blame’, ‘conscience’, ‘how would you like it if…?’
I have used devices such as rhetorical questions, lists and exaggeration
to make my writing more interesting. I have used a formal tone which is
appropriate for the subject matter. Overall, my writing is well planned
and thoughtful.
2. Organisation of ideas:
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have not used paragraphs and have used very little punctuation.
I have used paragraphs which follow some sort of order. My paragraphs
are mainly the same length.
I have used paragraphs which would help the reader to make sense of
my writing. I have used a selection of shorter and longer paragraphs. I
have linked my paragraphs using a variety of connectives. I have used
dialogue or bullet points to make my writing more interesting.
3. Accuracy:
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
My sentences are very long and are not broken up with commas. I have
spelt most simple words correctly. I have used some slang in my writing.
I have used long sentences and some of them are split up into smaller
sections using commas. I have used capital letters and full stops
correctly. I have spelt most simple words correctly and some more
difficult words. I have used standard English.
Level 3
I have used words which are difficult to spell and spelt them correctly. I
(7 – 9 marks) have used a variety of short and long sentences and have used some
complex and compound sentences. I have used all punctuation correctly
and have attempted to use less common punctuation such as colons,
semi-colons, exclamation marks etc. I have used standard English
correctly.
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About the poetry question
The poetry question will be the first one to appear on English paper 2
on the 11th November. You will be given a poem to read that you
will not have seen before. You will be asked to answer a question
on it. Part of this question will ask you to compare the poem to one in
your pre-release.
You have 45 minutes to complete the task. The task will usually
contain 3 bullet points. You will probably be asked about the content
or theme of the unseen poem in the first bullet point. The second
may ask about the language and tone of the unseen poem. The third
bullet will ask you to compare something about the unseen and the
pre-release poems.
REMEMBER: This is a reading question, testing your reading
skills not your recall skills – the first two bullets are just about
the unseen poem…
Top Tips:
1. Write in PQC.
2. Use a MITS table to find similarities and differences between
the two poems.
Meaning
Intends to… Tone
Style
Unseen
poem
Pre-release
poem
3. Remember to include what you learn about the ‘other culture’.
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Poetry from different cultures – glossary of terms
Tip Off! The poems that came up in May were…
Higher Tier: ‘Requiem for a Country Town’
Foundation Tier: ‘Island Man’
It’s unlikely that the same poem will come up again but you never know –
remember that the main focus of the question is on the poem you have not
seen before…
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Poetry practice questions
Question one
Read the poem Brendon Gallacher by Jackie Kay and then remind yourself of the
poem Memories on page 13 of the pre-release booklet.
Write a comparison of the poems which includes:
 An explanation of what is being described in Brendon Gallacher
 Reference to the effect of words and tone in Brendon Gallacher
 Comment on the similarities in theme and style between the poems.
Brendon Gallacher
He was seven and I was six, my Brendon Gallacher.
He was Irish and I was Scottish, my Brendon Gallacher.
His father was in prison; he was cat burglar.
My father was a Communist Party full-time worker.
He had six brothers and I had one, my Brendon Gallacher.
He would hold my hand and take me by the river
where we’d talk all about his family being poor.
He’d get his mum out of Glasgow when he got older.
A wee holiday some place nice. Some place far.
I’d tell my mum about my Brendon Gallacher.
How his mum drank and his daddy was a cat burglar.
And she’d say. ‘Why not have him round to dinner?’
No, no, I’d say, he’s got big holes in his trousers.
I like meeting him by the burn in the open air.
Then one day after we’d been friends for two years,
one day when it was pouring and I was indoors,
my mum says to me, ‘I was talking to Mrs Moir
who lives next to your Brendon Gallacher.
Didn’t you say his address was 24 Novar?
She says there are no Gallachers at 24 Novar.
There never have been any Gallachers next door.’
And then he died, my Brendon Gallacher,
flat out on my bedroom floor, his spiky hair,
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his impish grin, his funny, flapping ear.
Oh Brendon. Oh my Brendon Gallacher.
Jackie Kay
Question two
Read the poem Below the Green Corrie by Norman MacCaig and then remind
yourself of the poem Late Winter Months on page 15 or Escape Journey, 1988
on page 16 of the pre-release booklet.
Write a comparison of the poems which includes:
 An explanation of what is being described in Below the Green Corrie
 Reference to the effect of words and tone in Below the Green Corrie
 Comment on the similarities in theme and style between the poems.
Below the Green Corrie
The mountains gathered round me
like bandits. Their leader
swaggered up close in the dark light,
full of threats, full of thunders.
But it was they who stood and delivered.
They gave me their money and their lives.
They filled me with mountains and thunders.
My life was enriched
with an infusion of theirs.
I clambered downhill through the ugly weather.
And when I turned to look goodbye
to those marvellous prowlers
a sunshaft had pierced the clouds
and their leader,
that swashbuckling mountain,
was wearing
a bandolier of light.
Norman MacCaig
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Question three
Read the poem Wherever I Hang by Grace Nichols and then remind yourself of
the poem Island Man on page 19 of the pre-release booklet.
Write a comparison of the poems which includes:
 An explanation of what is being described in Wherever I Hang.
 Reference to the effect of words and tone in Wherever I Hang.
 Comment on the similarities in theme and style between the poems.
Wherever I Hang
I leave me people, me land, me home
For reasons, I not too sure
I forsake de sun
And de humming-bird splendour
Had big rats in de floorboard
So I pick up me new-world-self
And come, to this place call England
At first I feeling like I in dream
De misty greyness
I touching de walls to see if they real
They solid to de seam
And de people pouring from de underground system
Like beans
And when I look up to de sky
I see Lord Nelson high - too high to lie
And is so I sending home photos of myself
Among de pigeons and de snow
And is so I warding off de cold
And is so, little by little
I begin to change my calypso ways
Never visiting nobody
Before giving them clear warning
And waiting me turn in queue
Now, after all this time
I get accustom to de English life
But I still miss back-home side
To tell you de truth
I don't know really where I belaang
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Yes, divided to de ocean
Divided to de bone
Wherever I hang me knickers - that's my home.
Grace Nichols
______________________________________________
Question four
Read the poem My Village. Then remind yourself of the poem Requiem for a
Country Town on page 17 of the pre-release booklet.
Write a comparison of the poems which includes:
 An explanation of what is being described in My Village.
 Reference to the effect of words and tone in My Village.
 Comment on the similarities in theme and style between the poems.
My Village
This poem is about the poet’s return visits to her village in rural India; it has been
translated from the Indian language Maithili.
Panchayat means local council.
Whenever I come back to my village
The village and only the village sits in my mind.
On the edge of the wide makana leaf
In the tossing of the karmi vines
Swaying at the border of the moonlit night
In the midst of endless natural beauty.
Sitting here
On the banks of a canal
I sing in the midst of struggle A song of life
And weave honeyed dream.
My village
In the monsoon, drenched;
In summer, bathed in the heat of the sun;
Huddled up in winter.
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During the Panchayat elections,
Turning over on its side.
Squabbling and bickering
In harmony and balance,
Blossoming and ripening
My village.
There on the banks of the river Koshi
Always before my eyes.
Like the golden jasmine of my dreams.
The bird of Time flies off
And
What remains in memory
Its colours changing like the sky,
Biting into the makana leaf,
Is the snake,
Slithering among the karmi leaves.
Shefalika Verma
______________________________________________
Read the poem The Dream by Sujata Bhatt and then remind yourself of the poem
Late Winter Months on page 15 of the pre-release booklet.
Write a comparison of the poems which includes:
 An explanation of what is being described in The Dream.
 Reference to the effect of words and tone in The Dream.
 Comment on the similarities in theme and style between the poems.
The Dream
In the dream
I was ten or eleven –
It was a windy morning – it was
late morning. I had been ill –
I had slept for a long time
and the whole family had been
waiting for me to wake up –
My mother walking back and forth
from my room to the kitchen –
My brother wandering outside
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in the garden, approaching my window
My father walking through all the rooms
in the house and pausing always
to peer into mine –
Suddenly the wind was louder
and I woke up thinking leaves
and vines had blown into
my hair – I tried to brush
a vine away – but the bright
greenness moved
and turned into a small snake –
And then I tried harder
to fling the green snake away
from me – but then it turned
into a cobra and after that it rippled
blue and orange as I tried
to get rid of it –
Oh I was frantic,
desperate with fear as the snake
simply grew stronger
and larger – constantly changing
its colours –
as if trying to win me over
with its shimmering scarlets and blacks –
then always slipping out
of my grasp – and yet
refusing to go away –
And my father, who stood
watching in the doorway
laughed – and said, ‘Don’t resist.
You must accept it.
There’s no point
in fighting with the snake –‘
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Poetry from other cultures (Mark sheet)
1. Understanding and interpretation:
Level 1
(0– 3 marks)
I have responded to one or both of the poems. My ideas about the
poem(s) are quite vague.
Level 2
(4 – 6
marks)
I have explained what the poems mean to me although my
explanation is sometimes muddled. I have tried to find ‘a deeper
meaning’ from one or two parts of the poems. I have identified one
or two similarities or differences between the themes of the
poems.
I have explained my interpretation of the two poems clearly and in
full. I have used my own skill to interpret the poems. I have shown
that I am able to ‘read between the lines’ and offer alternative
interpretations. I have identified the cultural aspects of the
poems. I have identified the writers’ intended effect upon the
reader. I have identified and compared several similarities and/or
differences between the themes of the poems.
Level 3
(7 – 9
marks)
2. Quoting from the text:
Level 1
(0 – 3
marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6
marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9
marks)
I have not used quotations from the poems.
I have used a few quotations from one or both of the poems to
back up my points.
I have quoted fully and appropriately from both poems.
3. Understanding use of language, style and structure:
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have written about one or both of the poems without mentioning
how the writer has used language, style or structure.
I have made general comments about the poets’ use of language,
without mentioning particular words or images or I have only
selected one or two words to comment on. I have made general
comments about rhyme and structure.
I have analysed the poets’ use of language, commenting on the use
of literary devices such as: metaphors, similes, enjambment,
alliteration and onomatopoeia. I have analysed the way the poems
are structured and the rhyme-schemes that have been used. I
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have drawn comparisons between the two poems, commenting on
similarities and/or differences in the use of language, style and
structure.
How did you do?
(25 – 27)
A* (22 – 24)
A–
(19 – 21)
B–
(16 – 18)
C–
(13 – 15)
D–
(10 – 12)
E–
(7 – 9)
F–
(4 – 6)
G–
(0 – 3)
U–
Congratulations! You’re a genius!
Outstanding! Go to the top of the class!
Brilliant! You’ll breeze it!
Well Done! Passed with flying colours!
Getting there! Keep going!
Could do better! What’s missing?
Scraping through! Write more!
Not at your best! Work harder!
Oh dear! Were you asleep?
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About the ARC question
The analyse, review, comment question will be the second one to
appear on English paper 2 on the 11th of November. You will be
given a statement and then given an instruction. You will be asked to
analyse, review, comment or, possibly, more than one of these.
You have 45 minutes to complete the task. Spend 5 minutes
planning and 5 minutes checking your work at the end. A third of the
marks are awarded for spelling, punctuation, grammar, ambitious
vocabulary and for sentence variety.
Top Tip:
Use PASCOE to help you plan.
The six-point structure (the Organisation part of PASCOE)
 Underlined are the points which give the essay its structure
 In italics are some possible sentence starters
1. Identify the issue – what are you going to discuss?
The evidence suggests… We are sometimes told…
2. Examples from one (possibly your own) perspective - If you
think it’s true, why? If not, why not? (Give examples to
support your view.)
In my opinion… I have found… Evidence suggests…
Reports have found…
3. Examples from other perspectives - What do those that
disagree with you think?
On the other hand… Some might say… From another
perspective… Dr. Smith of…says…
4. Implications - What are the effects of this problem/issue?
If this continues… By doing this… Consequently…
5. Recommendations - Are there any alternatives/solutions?
In view of this fact… One way forward…
6. Conclusion – Sum up your views.
In the end… Ultimately…
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TIP: It’s good to include a comment from a reliable source in this
question but there are certain things to remember when you do:
 1. Make them sound real!
 2. Punctuate properly!
 3. Never say ‘Mr Smith (for e.g.) quotes’, this implies that they
aren’t his own words!
Example: Glenn Brooks, a representative of St. Peter’s College,
agrees, “We are constantly trying to urge our students to include
quotations from reliable sources in their analytical writing. We are
fully aware that including them increases the chance of obtaining a C
grade by 6.5%, the same can be said for statistics.”
Below is a sample answer which follows the six-point plan, read it and
identify how the plan has been put into practice, while you’re doing
that try to spot as many rhetorical devices as you can.
Some people like to take their
holidays abroad and some people
prefer to stay in their own country.
Your local newspaper is offering a
prize for the most interesting article
on the subject.
Write your entry for the competition, analysing the advantages and
disadvantages of holidaying at home and abroad.
Step 1: Identify the issue…
Cannes or Canvey? Seychelles or Skegness? Barbados
or Blackpool? Decisions, decisions, decisions… While
many people would automatically opt for the former
destination in every case, there are undoubtedly those of
you reading this article for whom the familiarity of a
holiday at home would be first choice. However,
traditional British holidays such as a fun-filled week at
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Butlins or the rather more sedate option of boating on the
Norfolk Broads are becoming sidelined by cheap
sunshine breaks in exotic locations where holidaymakers
are guaranteed a week of sun and the ‘cheaper-than-at home’ beer flows freely.
Step 2: Examples from own experience…
I will never forget sitting in my French oral examination
and cringing when my teacher asked where I had been on
holiday the previous year, “J’ai vacance a Scarborough,” I
replied, or words to that effect. Then he asked me where
we had been this year and I gave the even more
embarrassing reply of “Norfolk”, no wonder my French
was so appalling, I had never been abroad in my life. Not
that I didn’t have a very nice time in all these places and
my goodness, I have seen enough castles and ruins to
last me a lifetime.
The problem is that many of my friends went abroad all
the time and the souvenirs that they brought back,
coupled with the fantastic tans, made me feel that I was
missing out on something. There is a certain allure to
foreign climes and there always will be.
Step 3: Examples from other perspectives…
English Tourist Board brochures claim that:
“Nowhere on Earth can offer British holidaymakers the
history, culture and convenience of a holiday on your
doorstep. England’s countryside is packed with beautiful
scenes and the coastline offers unmatched variety from
classic seaside towns to peaceful, secluded strips of
sand.” Where else can you spend the day building
sandcastles on a quiet stretch of beach that’s minutes
from your door and the evening tucking into unrivalled fish
and chips straight out of the newspaper? Some might
suggest Spain or the countless other continental resorts
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which now supply traditional British holidays but with good
weather.
Step 4: Implications…
As more and more foreign resorts cater to the
British market and costs come further down, it is
understandable that more and more of us will take the
opportunity to holiday abroad. What this means for the
tourist industry at home is that they will have to appeal to
a new breed of holidaymakers, foreigners…
Step 5: Recommendations…
Tour operators need to crack the Foreign market,
hasn’t every American got some kind of distant bloodline
connection to Britain? If we can successfully convince
foreign holiday makers that now is the time to get in touch
with their roots, so to speak, then us Brits are free to
venture abroad without leaving a trail of disused
riverboats, caravans and seaside chalets in our wake.
Step 6: Conclusion…
It couldn’t be simpler, don’t change anything about
the good old-fashioned holidays to Scarborough, Norfolk
or Skeggy, but if someone wants to go abroad then they
should be able to; how else are we supposed to learn
first-hand about other cultures and civilisations? British
holidays are there for the Brits who love them and they
can also be there for visitors who want a taste of our
culture and of course, our fish and chips!
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Analyse, review, comment practice questions
Tip Off! The questions from May were…
Higher Tier:
Your local paper is asking for articles for a series called Never to be forgotten.
Write your article which analyses why a particular place or person is, for you,
never to be forgotten.
Foundation Tier:
Write about the past year of your life, commenting on what has happened to you.
Remember:
 To organise your ideas
 To write accurately and express yourself clearly.
It’s unlikely that the same questions will come up again but you should
notice that the themes tie-in with the poems that came up – so what might
your next questions be…
You are going to make a speech to your class. The topic is:
“People in society today are far too selfish and don’t look out for each other.”
Write out your speech, in full, analysing and commenting on this opinion.
Some people say that “revenge is sweet”. Others warn against taking revenge,
saying that we can go too far.
Write an essay in which you analyse these two opinions.
_____________________________________________________
“A little bit of what you fancy does you good.”
Write an essay in which you analyse whether or not it is a good thing to indulge
oneself.
“Our family background and upbringing determine the kind of person we become
later in life.”
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Write an essay in which you analyse the effects that families and childhood
experiences have on moulding our personalities.
_______________________________________________________
Some people might say the pace of modern life leads us to neglect the more
important things. Write an essay in which you analyse the problems and virtues
of modern life.
You have been asked to give a speech to a group of pupils and teachers on the
topic: ‘The global community’.
Write the text for your speech, analysing and commenting on the view that
modern inventions such as global business, air travel and the internet have
brought countries of the world closer together.
Comment on the old saying ‘There’s no place like home’; analysing why home
can be important to people no matter what path their life takes.
Review a significant journey that you have made. Give details of the journey
including good and bad parts and explain why it was important to you.
Families can be a source of both joy and irritation! Comment on your own
experiences of family relations. You may wish to comment on:



Family celebrations
Differences of opinion
What family means to you
‘67% of people in Britain would like to retire to the country rather than spend the
whole of their lives in the city.’
Analyse this point of view commenting on the good and bad aspects of each
option.
Some people would argue that Britain has become a classless society.
Comment on this opinion, saying whether or not you think that in Britain everyone
has the same opportunities.
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Analyse, Review, Comment mark sheet
1. Communication of ideas:
Level 1
(0– 3 marks)
I have responded to the task, giving one or two ideas which are
connected to the subject matter. I have only given one point of view
connected to the subject.
Level 2
I have given reasons why I agree with the statement and reasons why
(4 – 6 marks) I don’t. I have included one or two examples which are connected to
the subject. I have used a formal tone. I have made my writing
interesting for the reader.
Level 3
I have introduced my writing clearly. I have written about several points
(7 – 9 marks) for and against the statement. I have used examples to back up my
points. I have connected my paragraphs with connectives such as
‘however’ and ‘alternatively’. I have used devices such as rhetorical
questions, lists and humour to make my writing more interesting. I
have used a formal tone which is appropriate for the subject matter.
Overall, my writing is well planned and thoughtful.
2. Organisation of ideas:
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
3. Accuracy:
Level 1
(0 – 3 marks)
Level 2
(4 – 6 marks)
Level 3
(7 – 9 marks)
I have not used paragraphs and have used very little punctuation.
I have used paragraphs which follow some sort of order. My
paragraphs are mainly the same length.
I have used paragraphs which would help the reader to make sense
of my writing. I have used a selection of shorter and longer
paragraphs. I have linked my paragraphs using a variety of
connectives. I have used dialogue or bullet points to make my
writing more interesting.
My sentences are very long and are not broken up with commas. I
have spelt most simple words correctly. I have used some slang in
my writing.
I have used long sentences and some of them are split up into
smaller sections using commas. I have used capital letters and full
stops correctly. I have spelt most simple words correctly and some
more difficult words. I have used standard English.
I have used words which are difficult to spell and spelt them
correctly. I have used a variety of short and long sentences and
have used some complex and compound sentences. I have used all
punctuation correctly and have attempted to use less common
punctuation such as colons, semi-colons, exclamation marks etc. I
have used standard English correctly.
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