English Language Texts

Question 1

The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Answer 1

P - inform/persuade, A - live audience, F - speech, Perspective - positional point of view: from her personal experiences, thoughts and feelings: single stories of things are very dangerous, main techniques: anecdotes, emotive language, self-deprecates herself, uses colloquial tone, repetition, personal pronouns

Question 2

A Passage to Africa, George Alagiah

Answer 2

P - inform, A - western audience , F - memoir, Perspective - positional point of view: journalist + his personal experiences, thoughts and feelings: people are really suffering, suffering + poverty are shocking, war is horrible, but humanity is still there, main techniques: emotive language, repetition, semantic field of journalism, juxtaposition

Question 3

The Explorer’s Daugther, Kari Herbert

Answer 3

P - inform + , A - western audience or urban city people, F - memoir, Perspective - positional point of view - onlooker + from her personal experiences, thoughts and feelings: nature is beautiful, peaceful + still, narwhals are intelligent, hunts have tension + suspense in them, she doesn’t know which side to pick (narwhals or hunters), she is powerless in outcome of hunt, main techniques: facts, light imagery, contrast, semantic field of waiting, distance + stillness

Question 4

Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill, Steven Morris

Answer 4

P - inform, A - domestic audience, F - newspaper article, Perspective - positional point of view: from his personal opinions, thoughts and feelings: rich men are messing about + they’re wasting time of armed forces, main techniques: humour, facts

Question 5

Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston

Answer 5

P - inform/entertain, A - people who are interested in climbing + extreme sports, F - memoir, Perspective - positional point of view: experienced climber + then he was one in event, thoughts and feelings: tension + suspense, danger, unfamiliarity, main techniques: vernacular of climbing, hyperbole, alliteration, sense of disconnection between his body + mind

Question 6

Young and dyslexic? You’ve got it going on, Benjamin Zephaniah

Answer 6

P - inform/advise/persuade, A - dyslexic people + non-dyslexic people, F - opinion article in newspaper, Perspective - positional point of view: dyslexic person, thoughts and feelings: dyslexic people can do things, dyslexic people are more accepted + understood now, main techniques: anecdotes, opinion as fact, repetition, semantic field of empowerment + positivity, personal pronouns, emotive language