Paper 1 - Section B Flashcards
How should you approach Section B of Paper 1?
1 - Choose ONE task
2 - Write in paragraphs
3 - Check carefully if you are writing a description or a narrative piece
How many marks are spelling, punctuation and grammar worth in Paper 1, Section B?
16 Marks
What does a descriptive piece use and not have?
A descriptive piece uses sensory detail (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to describe a place, person or feeling. It has no story line.
What techniques should you use to enhance your descriptive writing?
1 - Use figurative language
2 - Use vocabulary correctly to create the right tone
3 - Use a range of language devices
What are the features of a narrative piece?
- Tells the reader about some sort of experience that happened (either real or fake)
- Follows a story line
- Has action
You are asked to write an opening for a fairy tale story about childhood sweethearts. What should you focus on most?
Describing the childhood sweethearts in detail and the setting of their blossoming romance.
How long should you spend answering Section B of Paper 1?
In total 45 minutes broken down into:
- 10 minutes planning
- 30 minutes writing my answer
- 5 minutes checking
You are describing a police chase. You want to quicken the pace of your narrative. What kind of sentences should you use?
Short Simple Sentences
You are describing a beautiful sunset over a beach. What kind of sentences should you use to create the right tone?
Long complex or compound sentences
What techniques should you use to enhance your narrative writing in your exam?
1 - Use a range of language devices
2 - Identify the part of the narrative you are being asked to write about
3 - Show rather than tell your reader things
4 - Use vocabulary and sentences effectively to create the right tone
What will you get top marks for using in the writing section B of Paper 1?
1 - More complex/sophisticated vocabulary
2 - A range of punctuation
What should you NOT do in the writing Section B of Paper 1?
Prepare a perfect answer beforehand and adapt it to the question
What are three common methods for planning in an exam?
- Spider Diagram
- Bullet Points
- Flow Charts
Will you be marked down if you make mistakes in your writing exam (Section B)?
No - You are allowed to cross things out. But you must leave time to correct your marks at the end.
Invent a story in which one person helps another.
“Thank you,” he said, eyes brimming with tears. It was the least I could do. For years, he had been my inspiration. Much more than that, of course, but these days, I viewed him in those terms: an inspiration. And now he needed me. How could I refuse?
The flight was delayed, something we both laughed at. Even on such a momentous week, the comedy of life was ever present. I don’t recall much of the journey, really. We did a crossword and ate some of the freeze-dried, taste-free food. There wasn’t much conversation. The time for that was over. Any interaction was functional. Emotion wasn’t needed. It wouldn’t help.
We’d planned a few days sight-seeing in this beautiful country. Laughter. Ale. Food. Was there anything better? In later life, we’d spent less time together, simply because geography and parenthood got in the way. But this felt like old times. When I was 8, he took me and my brother camping. It rained all week, but it was the best holiday ever. It might seem disloyal, but I think it was so good because my mother didn’t come. It was a boys’ adventure: me, my brother and my dad, the man who I now shepherded through this city in a strange reversal of carer and cared-for.
We only took one picture. A selfie in which his eyes are shut and I look a bit grubby. It’s on the shelf in my study.
When he asked for my help, I knew it could spell danger. I talked it through with my wife, but there was no way I would refuse. The legal ramifications were endless.
When he was first diagnosed, he knew. He was a proud man and wouldn’t allow himself - and us - to go through the protracted, undignified tragedy of a slow, painful demise.
On entering the hospital doors, I was struck by how un-hospital like it all seemed. Maybe this was how the Swiss did medicine, or maybe it was because it wasn’t the type of hospital which required the usual desperate machinery and chirpy staff. It was transactional, a business deal.
I wondered what we would say. What would be our parting words? There are no rules for these encounters it seems. In the end, we simply hugged and he thanked me. Words were superfluous. I let him go and returned home.
