GCSE English Language Paper 1 Explorations in Creative

GCSE English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives What's assessed Section A: Reading • one literature fiction text Section B: Writing • descriptive or narrative writing What's assessed Section A: Reading • one non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text Section B: Writing • writing to present a viewpoint Assessed • written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes • 80 marks • 50% of GCSE Questions Reading (40 marks) (25%)– one single text • 1 short form question (1 x 4 marks) • 2 longer form questions (2 x 8 marks) • 1 extended question (1 x 20 marks) Writing (40 marks) (25%) • 1 extended writing question (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy) Questions Reading (40 marks) (25%) – two linked texts • 1 short form question (1 x 4 marks) • 2 longer form questions (1 x 8, 1 x 12 marks) • 1 extended question (1 x 16 marks) Writing (40 marks) (25%) • 1 extended writing question (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy)

Language Paper 2 • Based on two linked texts – Source A and Source B • ONE is likely to be a broadsheet newspaper-style article, perhaps an opinion piece or editorial • ONE will be ‘modern’, ONE will be ‘older’ • Reading section = 4 questions. • Writing Section = 1 extended question. Q 1 – Choose 4 true statements from a list of options (4 marks) This is designed to ‘ease’ students into the paper – information retrieval Q 2 – Using details from both sources, write a summary of the similarities… (8 marks) Pick out the key ideas from a text and make INFERENCES Q 3 – How does the writer use language to… (12 marks) Very similar to Paper 1 Q 2 and same skills used in the Literature Papers Q 4 – Compare the writers’ ideas/attitudes and how they are conveyed (16 marks) How does the writer feel? How can we tell? How does the writer get these feelings/emotions across to the reader? Q 5 – Writing to express your viewpoint on a topic, persuade/argue • • • (40 marks) NO choice of task Need to PLAN – think carefully about your main points/arguments and the order in which they should appear Use appropriate language for GAP – Genre (what type of writing – article, speech, letter), Audience, Purpose

Statement by His Royal Highness Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex 01 OCTOBER 2019 As a couple, we believe in media freedom and objective, truthful reporting. We regard it as a cornerstone of democracy and in the current state of the world – on every level – we have never needed responsible media more. Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our new-born son. There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper. Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave. She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour. First 3 words connote togetherness, solidarity – sets his tone for the piece. Use of plural pronoun reinforces this idea. Adjective “latest” implies anger, frustration. Repetition of “campaign” suggests harmful intent, further highlights his intense emotional reaction to what has happened. Emotive language and refs to “new-born son” imply anxiety on behalf of partner and/or paternal love.

Exam tips: sniff a lemon or squeeze your ear, says ‘neuroscience’ guide March 18, 2019, The Times Teenagers should ditch the highlighter, stop revising late at night and instead sniff lemons, according to a “neuroscience” revision guide produced by a leading independent girls’ school. Queen Anne’s School, near Reading, has spent five years working with neuroscientists at universities including Oxford, Reading and Goldsmiths, London, to understand how teenage brains work to optimise learning. They have come up with the ultimate revision guide, based on its Brain Can Do programme, in time for this year’s GCSE and A-level exams. It advises pupils not to burn the midnight oil because it is better to revise at the same time of day at which exams are sat. Highlighting or underlining reams of text is dismissed as unhelpful. Instead, pupils should use selfexplanation and practice testing over several months to embed information in their brains. Sniffing lemons, squeezing ears and visualisation of the exam room are the more unusual techniques it recommends, particularly for those who fear that nerves will get the better of them on the day. The guide says: “Prepare yourself by conditioning yourself to associate an object or sensation with a positive mood. Firstly select a trigger — a physical action such as squeezing your ear or a smell such as a lemon. On the day of the exam use your trigger, eg touch your ear or smell a lemon. The act of revisiting your trigger will invoke the same positive emotions that you have associated with it and you can carry these emotions with you in the exam. ” Other tactics for tackling nerves include deep breathing, shoulder rolling, head lifts and “even adopting a Superman pose” to calm a physical stress response in the body. Girls are warned to avoid negative people before the exam, particularly fellow pupils who will distract them by worrying or asking last-minute questions, and to use self-affirmation by reminding themselves what an “all-round brilliant person” they are. Other advice includes: “If possible go and have a look around the room your exams will be in so that you know what the room will look like and you can create a picture of this while sitting past papers in the library or at your kitchen table at home. ” Pupils should finish work no later than 9 pm and put down their phones to get into a good sleep routine. Informal/Colloquial despite broadsheet genre, could link to ‘teen’ topic or writer expecting parents to pass article to children? Use of “__” adds to humorous tone, suggests writer is sceptical of lemon theory. Euphemism implies working overtime or working over normal capacity. Triplet/List of three…

Example Question 5 ‘Snow seems like it is picturesque, exciting and fun but in reality it causes accidents, inconvenience and economic disruption. ’ Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this issue. PLAN!! In the exam, you will need to do this process swiftly, as part of your PLANNING! What is the effect on: INDIVIDUALS? OTHER PEOPLE? WIDER SOCIETY:

PAPER 2 – Q 5 – Writing to Persuade/Argue – previous AQA questions… ‘All sport should be fun, fair and open to everyone. These days, sport seems to be more about money, corruption and winning at any cost. ’ Write an article for a newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement. ‘Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and landslides – we see more and more reports of environmental disasters affecting the world and its people every day. ’ Write the text of a speech for a debate at your school or college in which you persuade young people to take more responsibility for protecting the environment. ‘Festivals and fairs should be banned. They encourage bad behaviour and are disruptive to local communities. ’ Write a letter to your local newspaper in which you argue for or against this statement. Homework has no value. Some students get it done for them; and some don’t do it at all. Students should be relaxing in their own time. Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement. ‘Education is not just about which school you go to, or what qualifications you gain; it is also about what you learn from your experiences outside of school. ’ Write a speech for your school or college Leavers’ Day to explain what you think makes a good education. ‘Cars are noisy, dirty, smelly and downright dangerous. They should be banned from all town and city centres, allowing people to walk and cycle in peace. ’ Write a letter to the Minister for Transport arguing your point of view on this statement.

'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. 24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy (Total 40 marks) HOMEWORK IS PLACING EXCESSIVE STRAIN ON STUDENTS AND PARENTS The agruement for and against homework is a perennial topic; homework has been proven to boost exam results but corrispondingly increase students stress levels. Is it really fair to enforce more work on a child after a previous six hours of gruelling work? The senible response may seem to extend the school day to allow students free time at home. Nevertheless, problems then arise of tiredness and the inability to process information if the school day is prolonged. The reasoning behind homework is to implement and engrave what has been taught in the lesson into the childs brain so that information isn’t lost. By revising what has been covered in class the child should then be able to retain the information in the lesson after, thus the teacher doesn’t have to constantly repeat themselves. I agree if the homework is set efficiently and to aid the learning of the pupils it is a good idea, however I do not condone meaningless homework for the sake of giving homework. Excessive amounts of homework can drive a pupil into a state of mind whereby they feel as though they can’t cope or reduce efforts put into homework in order to complete it in time. For this reason a senisble time frame is needed for homework and communication between other teachers is vital to prevent placing too much stress on pupils. I do digress that implementing homework from a young age does prepare children for studing in later life and allows them to become accustomed to it. Moreover, it means they are familiar with time contrainsts which occurs in a real job.

November 19, 2019, THE TIMES I paid £ 134 for a single train ticket, didn’t get a seat, sneaked into first… Last Friday afternoon I boarded the 16. 28 Darlington to King’s Cross train, delayed by 23 minutes, broken rail in the Newcastle area. I’d paid £ 134 for a single ticket. The website had said that the price went down to £ 53 after 17. 00, but when I rocked up at the ticket office those cheap fares had all gone, so I took a deep breath, flashed the plastic and piled on the earlier service. Hey ho. There wasn’t a seat to be had, a consequence of the delay, meaning three trainloads of passengers were jammed on this one service. I’m not precious. I don’t mind roughing it. I know that for millions of commuters in the southeast a seat at any time is an unimaginable luxury. . . but even so, £ 134 is a lot to pay to sit on the floor outside a barely functioning toilet. By York I’d had enough of steerage and, with even more people getting on, I did the decent thing and toddled off to squat in first class. Crowded as it was, ticket inspector nowhere to be seen, under two hours to go, I reckoned it was madness not to give it a punt. I got as far as Newark before the guard turned up and turfed me out. I think the lady with the tea trolley had dobbed me in. The guard, half my age, gave me a stern lecture, but said he wouldn’t issue a fine because I hadn’t “availed” myself of the “complimentary refreshments”. Just my luck to come up against a bloke sufficiently pompous to use verbs like “avail” and parrot phrases such as “complimentary refreshments”. I shuffled back five carriages to rejoin hoi polloi, this time securing a seat as the train emptied.

Q 5