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AQA English Language GCSE, Study notes of English Language

Preparing for GCSE (9–1) English language exams (AQA 8700) 2020/21. 1. 8700/1 Explorations in creative writing and reading. Unseen texts.

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2021/2022

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Preparing for GCSE (91) English language exams (AQA 8700) 2020/21
!!!!!!!!!
1!
8700/1 Explorations in creative
writing and reading
Unseen texts
8700/2 Writers’ viewpoints
and perspectives
AQA English
Language GCSE
A guide to the exams
from
William Ellis School
Writing
Reading
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Download AQA English Language GCSE and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity!

8700/1 Explorations in creative

writing and reading

Unseen texts

8700/2 Writers’ viewpoints

and perspectives

AQA English

Language GCSE

A guide to the exams

from

William Ellis School

Writing

Reading

Now you will see a breakdown of the questions for each paper and tips and advice for answering each one as best you can.

Paper 1 - Explorations in creative writing and reading

We strongly recommend that you annotate the extract whilst you are first reading it.

  • Look carefully at the title and the introduction to the text (the contextual information given in italics before the text begins) and read steadily through to the end: consider the closing section carefully and go back to the title: see if you can make some links between the two.
  • Look back through the text and note/underline/highlight any words that are unfamiliar: use the context of the text to work out what they (might) mean. (A glossary may be provided for one or two words that are generally considered as unfamiliar but may not include all words which students could be unsure of). Paper 1 Reading section: Questions 1 – 4 Question 1: 4 marks – 5 minutes AO1 Identify & interpret information Example wording: Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 9. List four things about ____________ from this part of the source This question is a ‘warm-up’ question and requires you to select information by retrieving and extracting information from the text. Your responses can be either quotations or paraphrased (in your own words). However, if you copy out the whole section of the source you cannot be credited, so make sure you are being precise. You should only pick evidence and information from within the lines stated in the question , otherwise you will not be credited.

Question 2: 8 marks – 10 minutes AO2 Analyse writer’s use of language Example wording: Look in detail at this extract, from lines 16 to 26 of the source. How does the writer use language here to describe _____________________? You could include the writer’s choice of:

  • words and phrases
  • language features and techniques
  • sentence forms. This question, together with Paper 2 Q3, assesses language analysis. You should circle the focus of the question so that your ideas and annotations link back. The bullet points are a guide for you, but they do not have specific marks allocated to them. Marks are given for the quality and level of response rather than number of points made. You should only pick evidence and information from within the lines stated in the question , otherwise you will not be credited. This chunk of text is normally boxed off for you already on the question paper. The wording of AO2 which is assessed in this question shows a growing hierarchy of skills, with analysis being at the top. To analyse the language of the text effectively, you should be asking 3 important questions:
    • WHAT is the overall effect of the writer’s language choices with links to the question ( e.g. is it to make a character appear cruel and sinister?)
    • HOW does the writer achieve this, using accurate subject terminology? (e.g. is it an adjective describing the character’s eyes or a simile depicting movement?)
    • WHY does that feature of the language create the effect you have identified? (e.g. is it because the word has connotations of restlessness or because the simile is comparing the character to a snake which is devious?) You must select appropriate and precise evidence from the texts to suit the task. Your answer will be strengthened by finding a range of different quotations to support your points e.g. you might find a pattern of language and/or language features that makes a place seem threatening. All quotations should be embedded and interpreted. Aim to write around 3 paragraphs for this answer with a different topic sentence in each paragraph focusing on a different aspect of the question. Repetition Repetition is where a word, phrase or idea it Is repeated. e.g. ‘ Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river where it rolls…’ Rhetorical question This is a question not expecting an answer. It is used for dramatic effect or to make a point, or convey a feeling. e.g. “‘Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless?’” Simile An image where one thing is compared to another using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to bring out certain qualities, e.g. to help us understand something about a certain figure or thing or to exaggerate. e.g. ‘Okonkwo's rise to fame was like a bush- fire .’ Alliteration This is where nearby words begin with the same letter or sound, perhaps to emphasise an idea or to create a rhythm, even in prose. e.g. ‘the cats… .spitting and snarling… would slide and sidle over the white back-garden walls’.

This question is still focused on AO2 skills but assesses structure. As in Q2, there are bullet points as a guide but they do not have specific marks allocated to them. Marks are given for the quality and level of response rather than number of points made. You need to respond to the structure of the whole text. This focus of the question: ‘ interest you as a reader’ will be consistent in every paper. It allows you the freedom to choose your own examples but should also remind you to consider the effects on you as a reader. The most effective answers will demonstrate a detailed analysis of the writer’s choices of structural features, and frequently offer an overview of the source’s structure before then focusing on one or two specific examples. Look below for an example of what that might look like: “The text is divided into two parts that are linked by one character and an increasing sense of foreboding. At the beginning, the writer immediately establishes person, place and time by focusing our attention on Alexander waking in his bedroom ‘at dawn, startled by a nightmare’, before narrowing to the specific details of the dream, where a black bird ‘carried off his mother’. The use of the word ‘startled’ in the first sentence creates an urgent, abrupt opening, and this, together with a focus on the nightmare which follows, generates an atmosphere of unease in the reader that is carried over into the second half of the text when Alex interacts with the rest of the family at breakfast.” As with Q2,to analyse the structure of the text effectively, you should be asking 3 important questions:

  • WHAT is the overall effect of the writer’s structural choices? ( e.g. is the character scared of an eerie noise in the background?)
  • HOW does the writer do this with accurate subject terminology? (e.g. is there repetition of a word or phrase?)
  • WHY does that feature of the structure create the effect you have identified? (e.g. does the repetition constantly remind us that something isn’t right and build tension?) Consider the key questions below that move from the what, to how and on to why: Be specific and avoid generalisations. You should aim for precise detail where possible , and include reference to particular points and how they might relate to the meaning as a whole. This means you may or may not be using quotations, depending on the point you are making.
  1. When I first start to read the text, what is the writer focusing my attention on?
  2. How is this being developed?
  3. What feature of structure is evident at this point?
  4. Why might the writer have deliberately chosen to begin the text with this focus and therefore make use of this particular feature of structure?
  5. What main points of focus does the writer develop in sequence after the starting point?
  6. How is each being developed?
  7. Why is the writer taking me through this particular sequence?
  8. How is this specific to helping me relate to the intended meaning(s) at these points?
  9. What does the writer focus my attention on at the end of the text?
  10. How is this developed as a structural feature?
  11. How am I left thinking or feeling at the end?
  12. Why might the writer have sought to bring me to this point of interest/understanding?

You might find the acronym OFFICE SHIFTS helpful as a reminder of structural features to look out for. We recommend writing in detail about three or so well-chosen structural features:

  • O pening of text
  • F ocus
  • F oreshadowing
  • I ntroduction of new ideas
  • C ontrasting/cyclic
  • E nding
  • SHIFTS from:
    • Out/in
    • Individual/group
    • Thought/action
    • Past/present/future Question 4: 20 marks – 20 minutes AO 4 Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references. Example wording: Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source, from line 31 to the end. A student said, ‘This part of the story, where the men encounter the Tyrannosaurus Rex, shows Eckels is right to panic. The monster is terrifying!’ To what extent do you agree? _In your response, you could:
  • consider your own impressions of Eckels’ reaction to the Tyrannosaurus Rex
  • evaluate how the writer describes the monster
  • support your response with references to the text._ Q4 is the longest comprehension response on the GCSE English Language papers, worth 20 marks. You should therefore treat it as if it is a mini-essay. It doesn’t need to be double or triple the length of Question 2 or 3, but if you write just a side, you need to consider if you’ve responded in enough depth. In terms of time, you should be thinking of around 2 0 – 25 minutes. This question is designed to stretch you and whilst there won’t be much difference in marks

Paper 1 Writing section: Question 5 Question 5: 40 marks – 45 minutes AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Example wording: Describe a market-place as suggested by this picture Or Write a story with the title ‘Abandoned’. For Paper 1 you have a choice of two questions. There will always be a photograph that is loosely related to the text in some way. You may be asked to describe , and you may be asked to narrate. The two questions are most likely to be one describe and one narrate, but they won’t always be so and there will be years where there will be two descriptions or two stories. In other words, don’t only prepare for one! You could find that the task related to the photo is to describe, but it could also be to narrate. There are 40 marks available for Question 5, and they are divided into 24 marks for content and organisation, with 16 marks for technical accuracy. Content and organisation: Technical accuracy:

  1. Is the way you’re writing matched to the audience?
  2. Is what you’re writing a clear narrative or clear description?
  3. How effective is your vocabulary, phrasing and use of language features?
  4. How clearly is your writing structured?
  5. Is the writing engaging? Are the ideas clearly connected?
  6. Are the paragraphs clearly linked and well-organised? 1. Is the sentence demarcation accurate? 2. Is there a range of punctuation? Is it accurate? 3. Are there a range of sentence forms? 4. Is the language and grammar secure? 5. How accurate is the spelling? 6. How broad is the vocabulary?

Descriptive choice Much descriptive writing is vastly improved through careful planning. Since there is no natural order to description, it’s important that you plan it carefully, even if you are only including a short paragraph of it in a story. A useful strategy to use for description sometimes is to start with prepositions. These placing words will help you order your writing later on. They also help you think beyond ‘in front’, and should help if you want to take a ‘guided tour’ approach. Look at this example from Bleak House by Charles Dickens Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ’prentice boy on deck. Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds. The prepositions are highlighted – they are not fancy or flashy. We have no ‘ betwixts ’ or ‘ yonders ’. There are lots of ons and ins. But what you have is patterning. Can you see how we have up and then among , down and then among? That’s a pattern on which the description rests. There is a thoughtfulness about that. All of those i ns, ons, downs, intos, overs … they all support that notion of ‘Fog everywhere’. When you plan like this, try and think of 360° around you, as Dickens has done. So if it were a passage entitled ‘The Park’ you could think § through the gates § up above § yet higher still § far in the distance § beyond that § just out of reach § beneath § below § beside me § alongside that § through the gates, [sound] the laughter of children, squawks of pleasure, squeals of joy § up above [sight] kites soared, making busy stitches on the fabric of the sky § yet higher still [sight] birds circled and plummeted, aerial acrobatics, weaved and dived, § Above it all [sight] a cloudless sky, cold, deceptive, § far in the distance, [sight]a dog chasing squirrels [sound] yips of joy § beyond that, [sight], trees, the woods, [sight] the alien structures of the city,[sight] towers rising up like… (simile?) § next to me, [sight] a family picnic underneath a cherry tree, picnic rug showered with blossom, excited children in brightly-coloured coats, parents shivering over a flask, discarded sandwiches, crinkled napkins. “Zak, no!” and parents trying to wipe the dirty, chocolate-smeared faces of their uncooperative offspring. § behind them, [sight] the lido, drained for winter. [flashforward] In the summer, busy with families, teenagers, gossip, sunbathers, office workers. [now] drab, flash of fake turquoise, forlorn § in the very heart of the park, [sight] an overgrown, derelict manor house, conservatory – a lost world, sanctuary from the icy spring winds § Inside, [sight] warm, air rich with the [smell] smells of tropical plants, heavy, muggy, unpleasant

§ Don’t feel like you need to give an explained ending. If you get to the point where you can’t find a solution to your story, just leave it open. This is much better than a ‘and then I woke up’ or ‘it was all a dream’ ending.

Paper 2 – Writer’s Viewpoints and Perspectives

We strongly recommend that you annotate both extracts whilst you are first reading them.

  • Look carefully at the title and the introduction to the text (the contextual information given in italics before the text begins) and read steadily through to the end: consider the closing section carefully and go back to the title: see if you can make some links between the two.
  • Look back through the text and note/underline/highlight any words that are unfamiliar: use the context of the text to work out what they (might) mean. (A glossary may be provided for one or two words that are generally considered as unfamiliar but may not include all words which students could be unsure of). Paper 2 Reading section: Questions 1 – 4 Question 1: 4 marks – 5 minutes AO1 Identify & interpret information Example wording: Read again the first part of Source A from lines 1 to 12. Choose four statements below which are true. This question is a ‘warm-up’ question. Statements are in chronological order , in the same sequence as they appear in the relevant section of the text, so consider each statement in order, from A to H. Choose only four statements as every statement beyond four means losing a mark.

Question 2: 8 marks – 10 minutes AO1 Synthesis of implicit and explicit ideas Example wording: You need to refer to Source A and Source B for this question. The writers in Source A and Source B are travelling on very different types of boat. Use details from both sources to write a summary of what you understand about the different boats. To begin this question, make sure you underline the focus point that you are looking for in each question, as in the example below. Next, locate everything to do with the focus point in Source A and underline all of it. Do the same with source B. Then go back to Source A, having Source B fresh in your mind, and focus in on the points that are connected or come under a bigger idea. For instance, both sources refer to the boys making noise, or their relationship with adults, enjoying contact with parents. Underline once again and pick out a few pairs of things that are different. Follow the guidance from the examiners’ report (box above) and start with a difference, a quotation, some inferences, then contrast, more quotations, more inference. In Source A, the boy seems to enjoy making a lot of noise, as he ‘throws his entire body’ into ‘bark[ing] gibberish’ which suggests that he is so enthusiastic about this shouting that he does it whole-heartedly and without any reserve or hesitation. However, in Source B, whilst the boy also seemed to enjoy making noise as a child, as he had a ‘a habit of whistling’ and his mother mentions a number of noisy toys or behaviours such as ‘pop guns’, ‘a hearty shout, a shrill whistle, the crack of little whips’, it seems that he has a wider range of noises. Also, it may be that the ‘barking gibberish’ is related more to the fact that the younger child in Source A is ‘tired’ rather than actually enjoying it. It could be frustration rather than pleasure which is causing

Example wording: For this question, you need to refer to the whole of Source A, together with the whole of Source B. Compare how the writers convey their different perspectives and feelings about their experiences at sea. In your answer, you could:

_- compare their different perspectives and feelings

  • compare the methods the writers use to convey their different perspectives and feelings
  • support your response with references to both texts._ This question is worth the most in the reading section for Paper 2 and asks students to compare VIEWPOINTS/PERSPECTIVES. What is meant by a VIEWPOINT?
  • What a writer feels about…
  • What a writer focuses on might give us a clue
  • The writer’s attitude towards…
  • Tone – how do they ‘come across’? You need to identify WHAT the writer feels/thinks and HOW they get across these feelings – so you need to comment on and analyse METHODS – and WHY those methods emphasises the writer’s feelings. The focus of this question is to compare one writer’s viewpoints to another’s , so judge if the writers are feeling the same or differently from one another in each. Consider the framework: Feelings and perspectives – detail (evidence) – methods – comparison
  • Identify a feeling or viewpoint in Source 1
  • Use a quotation to support my point
  • Mention the method and explore the quotation’s meaning
  • Explain the method and effect
  • Comparison link to point in Source 2
  • Use a quotation to support my point
  • Mention the method and explore the quotation’s meaning
  • Explain the method and the effect Paper 2 Writing section: Question 5 Question 5: 40 marks – 45 minutes AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise Comparing similarities Similarly… Likewise… In the same way… Also… Equally, we see.. Comparing differences On the other hand.. Conversely… However… Alternatively… In contrast

information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Example wording: “Homework has no value. Some students get it done for them; some don’t do it at all. Students should be relaxing in their free time.” Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement. This writing task is loosely linked to the topic or theme of the reading sources and the following aspects of the writing task will remain the same :

  • a statement at the start of the question setting out a clear audience, purpose and form
  • an enabling, provocative/controversial statement that prompts students to write a response offering their own attitude/viewpoint. What will be subject to change :
  • the specified audience, purpose and form
  • the exact wording of the question stem and choice of command words. The assessment objectives for this question are the same as the Q5 in paper 1, so the expectations of imaginative style and technical accuracy remain the same. However, the type of writing required is very different. One of the most crucial elements of preparation for this question is to understand the genre/form, audience and purpose. The range of purposes (think about purpose as WHY you are writing) could be:
  • writing to explain
  • writing to instruct/advise
  • writing to argue
  • writing to persuade

Look at the grid below to see how tone and style can change depending on the genre/form, audience and purpose but with the same statement to respond to.