Quiz Flashcards
How long is the exam
2 hours 15 minutes
How many questions are there on the exam
6
How many minutes of reading time do you have
15 minutes
What does section A involve
You will be given three non-fiction texts to read and 4 questions on these texts. These are testing your reading ability - you need to show understanding and the ability to analyse texts you have not studied in class.
Make sure you answer the question on the source the question mentions.
You should spend 1 hour answering the 4 section A questions.
What does section B involve
You will have 2 questions which will test your writing ability. This includes: ideas, vocabulary, techniques, spelling, punctuation, sentence structures, paragraphing.
What is question 1
- What do you understand from the article about the issues…?
How many marks is question 1 worth
8 marks
How long should you spend on question 1
12 minutes - 4 paragraphs
What you need to do for question 1
This question is asking you to pick out information from the text and be able to identify the main points as well as interpreting this information.
1) Retrieve, Support, Interpret.
2) Pick out 4 key points from the article.
3) Write 4 short paragraphs using connectives.
4) For each paragraph you must have at least 1 quotation. You should aim to use short quotations (1-5 words) incorporated into your sentences.
5) Show that you can infer from the text and interpret the issues and concerns. You should be using phrases like this shows, I can infer from this that, this demonstrates..
6) If there are two sides to the issue, you should cover both of these.
7) If there are two elements in the question (e.g. rainfall and flooding) you MUST write about both of these.
What is question 2
- Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link to the text.
How many marks is question 2 worth
8 marks
How long should you spend on question 2
12 minutes - 3 paragraphs
What do you need to do for question 2
You need to interpret and analyse the headline and sub-headline, looking at the language and how it relates to the article as a whole. With the picture, you should look at the connotations of colour, body language, facial expressions, layout etc. Sometimes there won’t be a sub-heading, in which case you still need to write 3 paragraphs about the headline and picture!
1) Make 2 points about the headline (language, how it interests the reader) and explain how it links to the text.
2) Use quotes and look at the effect of specific words.
3) Make 2 points about the sub-headline (language, how it gives extra information to engage the reader) and explain how it links to the text. Use quotes.
4) Make 2 points about the picture and how it links to the text.
5) When linking to the text, you should be including quoted from the article itself.
DO NOT LINK THE HEADLINE AND PICTURE
What is question 3
3) Explain some of the thoughts and feelings the writer has about…
How many marks is question 3 worth
8 marks
How long should you spend on question 3
12 minutes - 4 paragraphs
What do you need to do for question 3
Question 3 is asking you to pick out opinions and interpret how the writer is feeling. It won’t say ‘I felt nervous..’, this will be implied and you need to pick it out.
1) Select, Identify, Interpret.
2) Pick out 4 thoughts/feelings from the text and interpret how the language shows you these.
3) Write 4 short paragraphs using connectives.
4) For each paragraph you must have at least 1 quotation. You should aim to use short quotations (1-5 words) incorporated into your sentences.
5) Do not choose obvious quotes - if it tells you how the person feels, then you can’t interpret. Look out for things the writer says/does and what this implies about how they are feeling.
6) Look for a change in feelings - if there is one, you need to recognise this and include it in your answer.
What is question 4
- Compare the ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts. Give some examples and analyse the effects.
What percentage of your English Language GCSE does the exam make up
60%
How many marks is question 4 worth
16 marks
How long should you spend on question 4
24 minutes - 2-3 detailed paragraphs where you look at both texts (or 4-6 separate alternating paragraphs)
What do you need to do for question 4
You need to analyse the language and compare how it is used in the 2 texts. Source 3 will be named and the other one, you will need to choose. Make sure you always compare the two - look at the way they use language in relation to their intended audience/purpose.
1) In every paragraph, analyse a language technique of text 1 and the effect on the reader. Use a connective, then analyse a language technique in text 2 and whether this has a similar/different effect on the reader. Ideally, look at the same technique but how they have been used differently.
2) Use connectives.
3) You must use quotations - aim for at least 4 from each text.
4) Analyse language techniques and specific words/phrases in detail.
5) Look at the effect on the reader.
6) Source 3 will be a piece of literary non- fiction and source 1 and 2 are usually newspaper articles. Consider this difference to make your comparison easier.
7) Your analysis is the most important thing here - the comparisons don’t have to be too complex.
Language to look out for when doing question 4
1) Facts and Opinions.
2) Language Techniques - similes, metaphors, personification.
3) Rhetorical Devices - questions, facts and figures, anecdotes, quotes, professional opinions.
4) Style - narrator, humour, sarcasm, empathy, emotive, formal, informal, vocabulary.
What questions are in your question 4 toolkit
1) Is their mainly descriptive writing? Are there lots of adjectives and descriptive verbs?
2) Is figurative language used like similes and metaphors?
3) Is the vocabulary emotive?
4) Are there lots of facts and statistics?
5) Does the text contain opinions? Whose?
6) Is the text written in the first or third person?
7) Objective/Subjective?
8) Does the text contain contrasting views or ideas?
9) Does the text contain any persuasive features?
