GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVISION GUIDE PAPER 1 Total length of exam: 1 hour 45 minutes What is in the exam? Ø Section A: Reading one fiction text Ø You should aim to spend approximately 1 hour on section A Ø Section B: one writing task from a choice of two Ø You should aim to spend approximately 45 minutes on section B
Paper One, Section A NOTE: only write where you are supposed to write as the papers are scanned. Senior examiners will often mark those that cannot be scanned. Question 1, e.g. Read again the first part of the source from lines 1-5. List four things about the birds in Alex s nightmare. On the source, put a highlighted box around the lines you are being asked to answer about. Make sure that you pick points relevant to the question. E.g. List four things about the bird in Alex s nightmare: you must list things about the bird, not just about the nightmare. Do not copy large sections of the text. Spend no more than 5 minutes answering this question and then move on. If it helps, put the time you need to move on by. Question 2, e.g. Look in detail at this extract from lines 6 to 11 of the source. How does the writer use language here to describe the effects of the storm? Highlight the focus of the question e.g. to describe the storm don t just write about everything. You must ensure you are answering the question. It is important that you correctly identify the techniques, e.g. adjectives, verbs, adverbs, similes, alliteration, metaphor etc. Hint: look at the verbs used as they often give a good indication of the writer s intentions. It is also easier to look at how/whether these change through the extract. Look to see whether there is any shift in mood in the extract. A simple way to answer the question is to use T.E.E.: technique, evidence, effect. E.g. The verbs the wind was lashing and roaring convey the brutal effects of the storm, with lashing implying the houses are unfairly punished. Note that you should underline the identified technique in your example and should try to link evidence to score higher marks. The following are BANNED (they are vague and could be made about ANY text): 1. Makes the reader want to read on 2. Puts an image in the reader s mind (OF WHAT!?!?!?) 3. Makes it interesting/engaging 4. Makes it flow 5. The writer uses language. (The writer isn t going to use pictures!) Don t select things you don t think you can explore that s the danger of feature-spotting rather than picking things that you can write about the effect of. Fully explore the effect of the language used by the writer what exactly does it make the reader think, feel or imagine?, e.g. makes the reader afraid for the characters safety. Remember that it is always good to think of different interpretations of the evidence. Verbs of inference and analysis: conveys, implies, highlights, demonstrates, reveals, reflects, emphasises, echoes.
Sample answer: The consecutive list of verbs making houses, balancing roofs on them, building towers emphasise how the boy is the creator of his makebelieve world. The present participles capture the boy s sense of power where he is in charge in that it helps the reader to visualise him in the continuous act of making and building. It reinforces his energy and shows how he is captivated by his game at this point. In then introducing a simile by describing the lamppost as looking like a tall think man the writer prepares us for a change in mood. The simile can be interpreted at two levels. In the physical world where he is playing on the mound, it can simply imply a link between a tall and thin lamppost and a man that in the dusky light could also appear tall and to tower over him in an opposing way. On another level though, it cleverly blurs the boundary between his game and the possible sinister repercussions of it. The use of a further simile adds to this effect as we are told the glass fragments are like shattered marbles. Here the sibilant s sounds recreate the breaking of glass, giving the impression of a broken game, something ruined, perhaps again foreshadowing the boy s fear as his game develops. Question 3, e.g. You now need to think about the whole of the source. This text is from the beginning of a novel. How is the text structured to interest you as a reader? The most important thing to remember for this question is to be specific about the impact on the reader. DO NOT use any of the banned phrases from above. Instead, think about what exactly the reader will be interested in, will feel etc. An easy way to make sure you do this from the beginning of your answer is to think about how the opening sentence engages the reader. E.g. The first sentence is structured to engage the reader as the reader wants to know why she died. Moreover, by the writer not giving any information about her the reader wants to know who she was and we immediately feel sympathy for the man who was left alone. Useful vocabulary/features: anaphora, pivotal moment, resolution, perspective, climax, linear, tone, motif. When you comment on the type of sentences that the writer has used, again, be specific about the effect. E.g. The use of the simple sentence It was a pleasure to burn interests the reader = limited answer. E.g. In the simple sentence It was as pleasure to burn the writer deliberately leaves out information on what it was a pleasure to burn and how it could have been a pleasure. In this way the reader is interested as they want to discover how such a startling sentence could make sense = better developed answer. In the same way, when you identify a complex sentence, explain why the writer has added clauses, e.g. do they give the reader a better understanding of the character? Do they slow the reader down in reaching the climax of the sentence and so create tension? As indicated in the bullet points, you must also think about the development in the extract. Look for a shift in tone or mood in the extract. Again, be specific about how this change interests the reader. Useful sentence starters At the beginning of the extract the writer focuses the reader's attention on/by which engages the reader because
The writer takes the reader on a journey from to The author then moves us on to... The effect of this is... This is effective because... Perhaps the writer wanted to... The repetition of the one word sentences gives the impression that The writer has done this to The change here indicates The writer is showing As the extract develops The focus of the text shifts to This helps to establish a link between the reader and the character because Sample answer: The writer structures the text at the start in order to confirm the place and perspective for the reader, that it is evening and that a boy is on top of a mound making a new town. This is important because in establishing a clear sense of time and place, the reader is perhaps lulled into a false sense of security. It seems like an ordinary boy playing an innocent game. It describes in third person perspective a single character in a pleasant setting in which sunlight glinted in the tiny glass walls of his city. However, through the structural device of time shifts the writer makes use of references to nine chimes. These don t just indicate that it is nine o clock but also signal a change, that the boy is perhaps moving from real play into more darker aspects of his imagination. The chimes further signal movement from a singular character to the introduction of a second, in the lamppost man. In this way, dialogue between them widens the scope of the text and adds increased tension. The motif of glass and glinting light is repeated, but this time, it is gloom and the glass is broken. This is compounded through the use of the interrogatives, Where were the sounds of the cars? and the plaintive question, Mum? as the extract shifts from the exterior of the town to the interior of the boy s home. As a structural feature it is a reminder of his game at the start and leaves us with the same unanswered questions. Is it a game or something more sinister? Sample answer 2: 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 Cold waking in his bedroom at dawn, startled by a nightmare, before narrowing to the specific details of the dream, where a huge black bird carried off his mother. The use of the word startled in the first sentence creates an urgent, abrupt opening with a sense of immediacy, 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. Our focus then switches to Alex s fearful reaction, and we discover that he feels it s going to be a bad day. The key sentence There had been a lot of days like that since his mother got sick is structurally important because it is the first mention of his mother being ill. It takes us back to the nightmare at the beginning and we now understand the significance of his mother being
carried off: the black bird is a symbol of death. In particular, the words watched helplessly take on a new meaning for the reader at this point in the text: possibly the reason Alex feels so bad is that he can do nothing to protect his mother. Question 4, e.g. Focus this part of your answer on the second half of the source from line 16 to the end. A student said This part of the story, set during breakfast time, shows that Alex is struggling to cope with his mother s illness. To what extent do you agree? First, on the source, put a highlighted box around the lines you are being asked to answer about. The next thing to do with this question is to break it down to work out what the different points you could argue are. Once you have done this, you need to begin with the point you don t agree with and then move on to evidence proving what you do agree with. So, for the example question above, if we break it down we need to decide if Alex was or was not struggling, and whether he was struggling because of his mother s illness. You then begin with the argument that you do not agree with. E.g. One could argue that Alex was not strugglling as Allende writes that Alex was thinking of ice cream, pizza and Chinese food. The list of nouns show that his thoughts concern food rather than his mother. Moreoever, the use of the simile it was almost like a party suggests that Alex is having a good time. However, as we can see, Allende writes it was almost like a party and indeed it is clear that although Alex seems okay, he is in fact struggling. We see further undertones of Alex s struggle in the verbs You MUST REFER TO LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES. Your answer needs to focus on the section idenitifed in the question. However, it is okay to briefly refer to other parts of the extract if it is relevant to your point. Extract of sample answer: The ending to the extract is extremely effective in conveying the narrator s loss of emotional control whilst in the library. The way the writer describes the narrator s movements adds both to his sense of nervousness and his anxiety. He began to edge forwards, and then to stop, move and stop : the repeated verbs which contrast between movement and mobility suggest indecision and hesitation reinforced by the use of the verb phrase edge forwards which compounds the sense of anxiety which the writer has built up throughout the extract. These high levels of anxiety also affect the narrator s ability to perceive the world around him: he imagines that every corner concealed some dreadful shape ; this sense of impending danger reinforces the gothic atmosphere of the text and adds to the narrator s emotional instability. The writer s use of the phrase There was nothing. There was everything also foregrounds the uncertainty of the narrator s mind and his emotions. These two short sentences are contradictory, as if he cannot believe his own eyes, doubting his own mind. For me, the writer has succeeded in conveying the narrator s fractured psyche which also puts in doubt the events of the previous passage: if he is falling apart psychologically, then perhaps everything is in his imagination.
Paper 1, Section B, Question 5 You may be tempted to spend less time on this question, but need to remember that it is worth just as many marks as section A. You will be given a chice of two tasks, one of which will focus on the description of a picture. Generally, the better responses are the ones which use the picture. In this question, you need to apply the skills you just commented on in section A. So, you need to think about the language techniques and structure that you use, e.g. verbs, alliteration, similes, simple sentences, one-sentence paragraph etc. Pupils often forget about the five senses, so one of the ways to develop a paragraph can be to think about concentrating on what you can hear, smell, taste, etc. Remember that it is easiest to write in the PAST TENSE as this is what you naturally do. Although you are given marks for sophisticated vocabulary, do not go overboard. It is important to show you can control your writing and choose the best words, not the most complicated word. An easy way to structure your writing is to think of yourself as a camera and to ZOOM IN on the picture in your different paragraphs. Of course, do not forget to use paragraphs; you can only achieve a Level 1 if you do not use paragraphs. Examiners particularly like it when you zoom in on small details, e.g. a frayed cuff, the wing of an insect, the veins on a hand The focus needs to be on the description, rather than the narrative. Always try to link your first and final paragraph. Don t forget about SPAG. In particular, ensure you use a range of punctuation as you cannot get to level 5 without different types of punctuation. This does not mean that you can commit word crimes! Good luck!
Mock Paper One: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, published in 1950 Source A: Four adventurous siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. Edmund, alas, is drawn to the wicked White Witch. And there, on the other side of the river, quite close to him, in the middle of a little plain between two hills, he saw what must be the White Witch's House. The House was really a small castle. It seemed to be all towers; little towers with long pointed spires on them, sharp as needles. There was a drawbridge over the frozen moat, which was guarded by two giants made of stone. The Castle was part hidden under a blanket of ice and snow. Edmund was afraid of the House. But it was too late to think of turning back now. He crossed the drawbridge over the river on the ice and walked up to the House. There was nothing stirring; not the slightest sound anywhere. Even his own feet made no noise on the deep newly fallen snow. He crept past the scary stone giants and around to a huge arch, where the great iron gates stood wide open. Edmund crept up to the arch and looked inside into the courtyard, and there he saw a sight that nearly made his heart stop beating. Just inside the gate, with the moonlight shining on it, stood an enormous lion crouched as if it was ready to spring. And Edmund stood in the shadow of the arch, afraid to go on and afraid to go back, with his knees knocking together. He stood there so long that his teeth would have been chattering with cold even if they had not been chattering with fear. How long this really lasted I don't know, but it seemed to Edmund to last for hours. Then at last he began to wonder why the lion was standing so still for it hadn t moved one inch since he first set eyes on it. Edmund now ventured a little nearer, still keeping in the shadow of the arch as much as he could. He now saw from the way the lion was standing that it couldn't have been looking at him at all. ("But supposing it turns its head?" thought Edmund.) In fact it was staring at something else namely a little: dwarf who stood with his back to it about four feet away. "Aha!" thought Edmund. "When it springs at the dwarf then will be my chance to escape." But still the lion never moved, nor did the dwarf. And now at last Edmund remembered what the others had said about the White Witch turning people into stone. Perhaps this was only a stone lion. And as soon as he had thought of that he noticed that the lion's back and the top of its head were covered with snow. Of course it must be only a statue! No living animal would have let itself get covered with snow. Then, very slowly, and with his heart beating as if it would burst, Edmund ventured to go up to the lion. Even now he hardly dared to touch it, but at last he put out his hand, very quickly, and did. It was cold stone. He had been frightened of a mere statue! He turned away and began to cross the courtyard. As he got into the middle of it he saw that there were dozens of statues all about - standing here and there rather as the pieces stand on a chess-board when it is half-way through the game. There were stone satyrs, and stone wolves, and bears and foxes of stone. There were lovely stone shapes that looked like women but who were really the spirits of trees. There was the great shape of a centaur and a winged horse and a long lithe creature that Edmund took to be a dragon. They all looked so strange standing there perfectly life-like and also perfectly still, in the bright cold moonlight, that it was eerie work crossing the courtyard. Right in the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but as tall as a tree, with a fierce face and a shaggy beard and a great club in its right hand. Even though he knew that it was only a stone giant and not a live one, Edmund did not like going past it.
Mock Paper One, Questions 1) Read again the first part of the source, paragraph 1. List four things from this part that describe the castle. [4 marks] 2) Look in detail at this extract below from from lines 7-21. But it was too late to think of turning back now. He crossed the drawbridge over the river on the ice and walked up to the House. There was nothing stirring; not the slightest sound anywhere. Even his own feet made no noise on the deep newly fallen snow. He crept past the scary stone giants and around to a huge arch, where the great iron gates stood wide open. Edmund crept up to the arch and looked inside into the courtyard, and there he saw a sight that nearly made his heart stop beating. Just inside the gate, with the moonlight shining on it, stood an enormous lion crouched as if it was ready to spring. And Edmund stood in the shadow of the arch, afraid to go on and afraid to go back, with his knees knocking together. He stood there so long that his teeth would have been chattering with cold even if they had not been chattering with fear. How long this really lasted I don't know, but it seemed to Edmund to last for hours. Then at last he began to wonder why the lion was standing so still for it hadn t moved one inch since he first set eyes on it. Edmund now ventured a little nearer, still keeping in the shadow of the arch as much as he could. How does the writer use language here to describe Edmund s fear? You could include the writer s choice of: words and phrases language features and techniques sentence forms. [8 marks] 3) You now need to think about the whole of the source. This text is taken from an important chapter in the novel. How is the text structured to interest you as a reader? You could write about: what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops any other structural features that interest you. [8 marks] 4) Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source from paragraph 3 until the end. A student reading this said The writer has made the Witch s house look like a frightening and intimidating place to be. To what extent do you agree? In your response, you could: consider your own impressions of the house evaluate how the writer shows the Witch s house support your response with referenes to the text. [20 marks]
Section B, Writing You are advised to spend 45 minutes on this section. Write in full sentences. You are reminded of the need to plan your answer. You should leave enough time to check your work at the end. 5) You are going to enter a Young Writer s competition. Either: Write a description of a house as suggested by this picture: Or: Write the opening to a story about a mythical place. [24 marks for content and organisation 16 marks for technical accuracy]
Mock Paper Two: Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, published in 1937 Source A: Set during the Depression, drifters in search of work, George and his childlike friend Lennie, have nothing in the world except the clothes on their back - and a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool. They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders. The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely. The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. The small man stepped nervously beside him. "Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God' sakes don't drink so much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night." Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back. "That's good," he said. "You drink some, George. You take a good big drink." He smiled happily. George unslung his bindle and dropped it gently on the bank. "I ain't sure it's good water," he said. "Looks kinda scummy." Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across the pool to the other side and came back again. Lennie watched them go. "Look, George. Look what I done." George knelt beside the pool and drank from his hand with quick scoops. "Tastes all right," he admitted. "Don't really seem to be running, though. You never oughta drink water when it ain't running, Lennie," he said hopelessly. "You'd drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty." He threw a scoop of water into his face and rubbed it about with his hand, under his chin and around the back of his neck. Then he replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them. Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was.
Mock Paper Two, Questions 1) Read again the first part of the source, paragraph 2. List four things from this part that describe the first man. [4 marks] 2) Look in detail at this extract below from from lines 8-15. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely. The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat- band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off. His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. The small man stepped nervously beside him. How does the writer use language here to describe the second man? You could include the writer s choice of: words and phrases language features and techniques sentence forms. [8 marks] 3) You now need to think about the whole of the source. This text is taken from the beginning of a novel. How is the text structured to interest you as a reader? You could write about: what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops any other structural features that interest you. [8 marks] 4) Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source from paragraph 4 until the end. A student reading this said George almost behaves like a parent to Lennie. To what extent do you agree? In your response, you could: consider your own impressions of George and Lennie evaluate how the writer shows George and Lennie support your response with referenes to the text. [20 marks]
Section B, Writing You are advised to spend 45 minutes on this section. Write in full sentences. You are reminded of the need to plan your answer. You should leave enough time to check your work at the end. 5) A magazine has asked for contributions to their creative writing page. Either: Write a description of a journey as suggested by this picture: Or: Write a story that begins with the sentence: She was tired of this, this breathing of bricks. So, she decided it was time to make a change. [24 marks for content and organisation 16 marks for technical accuracy]