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Language Paper 2
In section B, I want to know if you can create interesting texts, using effectively:
- Techniques to describe and explain
- Good vocabulary
- Punctuation
- Spelling In section A, I want to know if you can:
- Take information from a text.
- Summarise the key information across two texts.
- Identify and explain language features
- Compare and contrast the points of view given in two texts.
Question Marks Max Time % of whole
GCSE
Extract Information 4 5 mins 2.5%
Summary 8 12 mins 5%
Language 12 18 mins 7.5%
Comparison 16 25 mins 10%
Writing to present a
point of view
24 for content
16 for SPAG
45 mins 25%
In your reading paper your timing is very important.
Spend 15 minutes reading the text and then…
Again, look how big a weighting the last two questions are
compared to the first tasks – it is vital that you are leaving
enough time for these.
Language Paper 2 – Extract A Touching the Void This one is a modern account… By Joe Simpson Joe Simpson and his fellow climber Simon Yates successfully climbed to the summit of the remote Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. However, during the descent Joe broke his leg. Convinced Joe was dead, Simon cut the rope that joined them together and Joe fell into a crevasse… I glanced at the rope stretched tautly above me. It ran up the wall and disappeared onto the slope above. There was no possibility of getting back to that slope some twenty feet above me. I looked at the wall of the crevasse close by my shoulder. On the other side another wall of ice towered up ten feet away. I was hanging in a shaft of water ice. The decision to look down came as I was in the process of turning. I swung round quickly, catching my smashed knee on the ice wall and howling in a frenzy of pain and fright. Instead of seeing the rope twisting loosely in a void beneath me, I stared blankly at the snow below my feet, not fully believing what I was seeing. A floor! There was a wide snow-covered floor fifteen feet below me. There was no emptiness, and no black void. I swore softly, and heard it whisper off the walls around me. Then I let out a cry of delight and relief which boomed round the crevasse. I yelled again and again, listening to the echoes, and laughed between the yells. I was at the bottom of the crevasse. When I recovered my wits I looked more carefully at the carpet of snow above which I was dangling. My jubilation was quickly tempered when I spotted dark menacing holes in the surface. It wasn’t a floor after all. The crevasse opened up into a pear-shaped dome, its sides curving away from me to a width of fifty feet before narrowing again. The snow floor cut through the flat end of this cavern, while the walls above me tapered in to form the thin end of the pear barely ten feet across and nearly 100 feet high. Small fragments of crusty snow patterned down from the roof. I looked round the enclosed vault of snow and ice, familiarising myself with its shape and size. The walls opposite closed in but didn’t meet. A narrow gap had been filled with snow from above to form a cone which rose all the way to the roof. It was about fifteen feet wide at the base and as little as four or five feet across the top. A pillar of gold light beamed diagonally from a small hole in the roof, spraying bright reflections off the far wall of the crevasse. I was mesmerised by this beam and sunlight burning through the vaulted ceiling from the real world outside. It had me so fixated that I forgot about the uncertain floor below and let myself slide down the rest of the rope. I was going to reach that sunbeam. I knew it then with absolute certainty. How I would do it, and when I would reach it were not considered. I just knew. In seconds my whole outlook had changed. The weary frightened hours of night were forgotten, and the abseil which had filled me with such claustrophobic dread had been swept away. The twelve despairing hours I had spent in the unnatural hush of this awesome place seemed suddenly to have been nothing like the nightmare I had imagined. I could do something positive. I could crawl and climb, and keep on doing so until I had escaped from this grave. Before, there had been nothing for me to do except lie on the bridge trying not to feel scared and lonely, and that helplessness had been my worst enemy. Now I had a plan.
Language Paper 2 – Extract B cold is checking the evil even as I write. Comfort could only be ensured in the hut either by making a clean sweep of all the ceiling ice or by keeping the interior at a critical temperature little above freezing-point. Sunday, March 17th, 1912 Lost track of dates, but think the last correct. Tragedy all along the line. At lunch, the day before yesterday, poor Titus Oates said he couldn’t go on; he proposed we should leave him in his sleeping- bag. That we could not do, and induced him to come on, on the afternoon march. In spite of its awful nature for him he struggled on and we made a few miles. At night he was worse and we knew the end had come. Should this be found I want these facts recorded. Oates’ last thoughts were of his Mother, but immediately before he took pride in thinking that his regiment would be pleased with the bold way in which he met his death. We can testify to his bravery. He has borne intense suffering for weeks without complaint, and to the very last was able and willing to discuss outside subjects. He did not – would not – give up hope to the very end. He was a brave soul. This was the end. He slept through the night before last, hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning – yesterday. It was blowing a blizzard. He said, ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ He went out into the blizzard and we have not seen him since.
Marks: 4
Time: 5 mins
Need: 4 shaded boxes
Skill : Extracting
Information
Question 1 Guide Same as before, nice easy question to start with. Just like paper 1, this is just a quick snappy one to get your feet under the table. Do not spend long on it!
- Read again the first paragraph of Source A. Choose four statements below which are true. Shade the boxes of the ones that you think are true. [4 marks] A. The rope above him was loose. B. He could not see the end of the rope. C. He could have climbed back up the rope. D. He wasn’t brave enough to look at the snow wall by him. E. He was suspended in a chute of water ice. F. He hit his elbow as he turned and he screamed in pain. G. There was a floor of snow below him. H. He was delighted to see snow fifteen feet below him. Question 1 – Your Go!
You need to refer to Source A and Source B for this question. Both people deal with the loss of their team member in different ways. Use details from both sources to write a summary of the different ways the people deal with the loss of their team member. (8 marks)
Question 2 - Your go!
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Question 2 - Your go!
You now need to refer only to Source A, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. How does the writer use language to describe the crevasse? (12 marks)
Question 3 - Your go! This is another language question (like Q2 on paper 1) and you answer it in exactly the same way. The only difference is: this one is worth 12 marks. Review my tips and structures in paper 1 and give it a go…
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Question 3 - Your go!
Both texts give accounts of experiences in extreme conditions. Compare how the two explorers present their opinions of the extreme conditions. In your answer, you should:
- Compare their different opinions of the conditions.
- Compare the methods they use to convey their attitudes
- Support your ideas with quotations from both texts. [16 marks] Your question will look a bit like this…. Marks: 16 Time: 25 mins Need: An introduction , 3 – 4 comparative paragraphs Skill : Comparison Question 4 Guide
It is very easy to get lost in this
one – but if you attack it
methodically, you will be fine.
This is 10% of your whole GCSE – so it is really important that you give it a good chunk of time and your full application. Edna’s Top Tips
- You must, must know the same bank of writer’s methods for this question. As well as the language features and structural features already explored, learn those on the next page as a starting point.
- Know the PEEZL structure and aim for 4-6 in 20 minutes.
- The examiner loves it when you can offer multiple and differing points of view. When you make a point, you need to considering: What else? Can this evidence argue against this too? Are there additional interpretations?
- It is paramount that you are comparing: make reference to features of similarity and difference and link your paragraphs together throughout. Edna’s Strategy
- Whilst you read through the extract, highlight 3 or 4 bits of evidence from each text that presents their opinion of the conditions.
- Then, select the ‘rich quotes’ – the ones that have clear writers methods in them that you can pick out and explain.
- Start with an introduction. Give your overall view, considering the text as a whole. All your points going forward will link back to this overall view and become increasingly specific as you move through. This question is all about the writers purpose. What do they want to tell us about the conditions?
Both writers regard the extreme conditions in different ways: In source A, Simpson sees the conditions as a challenge to overcome and a saviour in his peril, whereas Scott fluctuates between appreciation of the beauty of the environment, and a recognition it’s hostility and danger. Scott has a particular appreciation for the scale of the white landscape and the opportunities that this presents him, as demonstrated through his focus on “the small green tent and the great white road.” The fact he is able to identify the juxtaposition between his minimal shelter and the huge white expanse, without suggestion of concern, highlights that he is comfortable with the extreme conditions at this time. Having this focus as part of an incremental list demonstrates the multiple things he admires about the place, and he does not need to cloud the specific references to the beauty with any further imagery or complications. The metaphor of “road” suggestions opportunity and a continuation of a journey – highlighting that the conditions are something to be embraced and not shunned. This is similar to Simpson for he also embraces the difficult environment because…. Point and evidence – Make a point about their opinion with evidence. Explanation – what does this quote tell us about their opinion? Zoom on writer’s methods – How do the writer’s methods communicate this opinion? Link – How is this similar or different to the other text?
You need to follow this structure in each paragraph…
Below is an example paragraph. Each line has been coloured to
match each requirement above.
Question 4 Guide Edward the AQA Examiner says: Introduction gives an overview of the opinions and focuses specifically on the writer and not the text. Developed explanation with more then one comment. Focus on writer’s methods beyond just language choices. Exploration of connotations of key words with additional inference of attitude. Identification of similarity / difference in link
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Question 4 - Your go!
Self-Assess Mark Scheme Perceptive, Detailed (13-16)
- Shows a detailed understanding of the differences between the ideas and perspectives
- Compares ideas and perspectives in a perceptive way
- Analyses how methods are used to convey ideas and perspectives Clear, relevant (9-12)
- Shows a clear understanding of differences between the ideas and perspectives
- Compares ideas and perspectives in a clear and relevant way
- Explains clearly how methods are used to convey ideas and perspectives Some, attempts (5-8)
- Identifies some differences between the ideas and perspectives
- Attempts to compare ideas and perspectives
- Some comment on how methods are used to convey ideas and perspectives I would give myself _____ marks. To improve next time I need to: In this question, I must remember to:
‘There is no point going out to hostile and dangerous environments like mountains and the south pole, as TV is now so good at bringing us images of these places into our living rooms.” Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement. (24 marks for content and organisation 16 marks for technical accuracy) [40 marks]
Question 5 - Your go!
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Question 5 - Your go!
