English Language Paper 1 Section A Hand in

English Language Paper 1 Section A Hand in your homework!

What do you know? Q 1

What do you know? Q 2

What do you know? Q 3

What do you know? Q 4

What do we know? • The AO is AO 4 • Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references • The question will give you a line number and be in the second half of the text to the end • The phrase ‘A student said…’ is fixed.

Advice 3 bullet points mean • Your own impressions • how the writer shows that • Support your response Decide whether you agree or disagree and stick to that You are being asked to make a judgement

Q 4 • This question has the most marks and so it is important that you all attempt to answer it as even a limited response will gain you valuable marks • The key is to write about methods as well as respond to the quotation • Focus on word choice and connotation

A student, having read this extract said: ‘although the vampire is bored and unhappy, it is difficult to feel sympathy for it. ’ To what extent do you agree? In your response, you could: - consider your own impressions of how the vampire feels evaluate how the writer guides your response to the vampire support your opinions with references to the text.

Time to kill? It was the hunger that awoke her – a gnawing and relentless hunger. It was always this way. She turned her head towards the window. She gazed at the last moments of what surely must have been a glorious sunset. It seemed to her that the sky was awash with blood. The sun had already disappeared from view. It was going to be a long night. Her stomach growled. On the table was a tower of Domino pizza boxes. Unopened. A black cloud of flies swarmed over the soggy cardboard surfaces, where thick tomato sauce pooled and congealed. Out of habit, she glanced at her watch. It was broken. She sighed. Time stretched out before her, endlessly. She eased herself out of bed: ‘Better order dinner, I suppose. ’

What do you need to look for? • Quotations that support the vampire being bored and unhappy • Quotations that make the vampire seem a less sympathetic character • Sentence structures and style which suggest the vampire’s unhappiness and/or make the character less sympathetic

Time to kill? It was the hunger that awoke her – a gnawing and relentless hunger. It was always this way. She turned her head towards the window. She gazed at the last moments of what surely must have been a glorious sunset. It seemed to her that the sky was awash with blood. The sun had already disappeared from view. It was going to be a long night. Her stomach growled. On the table was a tower of Domino pizza boxes. Unopened. A black cloud of flies swarmed over the soggy cardboard surfaces, where thick tomato sauce pooled and congealed. Out of habit, she glanced at her watch. It was broken. She sighed. Time stretched out before her, endlessly. She eased herself out of bed: ‘Better order dinner, I suppose. ’

Time to kill? It was the hunger that awoke her – a gnawing and relentless hunger. It was always this way. She turned her head towards the window. She gazed at the last moments of what surely must have been a glorious sunset. It seemed to her that the sky was awash with blood. The sun had already disappeared from view. It was going to be a long night. Her stomach growled. On the table was a tower of Domino pizza boxes. Unopened. A black cloud of flies swarmed over the soggy cardboard surfaces, where thick tomato sauce pooled and congealed. Out of habit, she glanced at her watch. It was broken. She sighed. Time stretched out before her, endlessly. She eased herself out of bed: ‘Better order dinner, I suppose. ’

Time to kill? It was the hunger that awoke her – a gnawing and relentless hunger. It was always this way. She turned her head towards the window. She gazed at the last moments of what surely must have been a glorious sunset. It seemed to her that the sky was awash with blood. The sun had already disappeared from view. It was going to be a long night. Her stomach growled. On the table was a tower of Domino pizza boxes. Unopened. A black cloud of flies swarmed over the soggy cardboard surfaces, where thick tomato sauce pooled and congealed. Out of habit, she glanced at her watch. It was broken. She sighed. Time stretched out before her, endlessly. She eased herself out of bed: ‘Better order dinner, I suppose. ’

Getting Started With GCSE Language Paper 1 Q 4 Steps Tips & Techniques 1. Draw a box around the section of the text that the question directs you to focus on. E. g. from line 16 to the end. 2. Identify the focus(es) of the pupil’s statement in response to the extract. It is useful to consider the bullet points in relation to the statement, but you must focus on the pupil’s statement in your response. 3. Write an initial response to the pupil’s statement. Although the question asks to what extent you agree with the statement, it is okay to agree completely. You do not have to propose alternative interpretations. 4. Paying attention to the lines you have been directed to in the question, read the extract and highlight textual references which support your response to the statement. 5. Look at the quotations that you have identified. Which ‘methods’ has the writer used to create a particular impression, or to convey certain information? It is important to use the correct terminology when writing about methods. Has the writer chosen positive or negative words to describe character/ setting? Has she chosen words because of their connotations (associations)? There are further prompt questions on your planning checklist.

6. Identify the writer’s use of syntactic effects to guide your response to the event, character or setting. Has the writer used short, simple sentences to create a sense of drama, or to emphasise a particular idea? Has the writer used elliptical and minor sentences to create an informal ‘chatty’ tone? Has the writer used effects like listing? What effect do they have on the reader? 7. Identify the writer’s use of structural effects to guide your response to the character and add these to your mindmap. Are there any repeated words or images? Is the extract in the first or third person? What is the effect of this? How does the extract begin and how does it end? Is there a contrast (e. g. over confident boxer at the beginning of the bout, but physically crushed by the end)? Does the focus shift during the course of the extract (e. g. from one character to another? ) What is the effect of this? Get Writing …

Sentence Starters I agree with the statement because I feel that… I fully agree that … It seems to be typical… The writer shows that I strongly disagree that… The writer does give the impression that… The writer clearly intends The writer uses … to convey… An example of this is…This makes the reader feel/think of… • The writer also uses … One example is…This makes the reader feel • •

The writer clearly intends for the reader to feel sympathy for William in this part of the book. He uses the weather to indicate that this character is vulnerable – even a ‘thin chill’ can get to him – ‘the thin chill of the late fall day cut through his clothing’. The writer could also be using pathetic fallacy here to indicate that something negative will happen to this man. These could lead us to understand that he is not a happy character at this point in the novel.

The Language of Evaluation • Use terminology • Embed ‘mini’ quotations • Connect the method with the effect on the reader • Write in the third person e. g. ‘the reader’ rather than I

Homework • Analysis of extract Q 4