GCSE English Language Paper 1 Revision Booklet

Explorations in creative reading and writing

Summary of the exam

This exam lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes

The total mark for this exam is 80: 40 marks for section A and 40 marks for section
B
This exam requires you to respond to an unseen literary, fictional text.
You will also be required to produce a piece of descriptive or narrative writing

Overall marking descriptors for Section A

Level
Skills Descriptors
Level 4
Detailed, perceptive analysis
Level 3
Clear, relevant explanation
Level 2
Some understanding and comment
Level 1
Simple, limited comment

Overall marking descriptors for Section B

Level
Skills Descriptors
Level 4
Compelling, convincing
Level 3
Consistent, clear
Level 2
Some success
Level 1
Simple, limited

How to use this booklet:

Read the guidance for each question carefully
Use the extracts in each section to revise and practice important skills
Read the example answers and make sure you understand how to produce a good answer
Practise producing an answer for each question
Use the key reminders section for each question to guide your revision
How to interpret and understand the extract

Who
Who is narrating the extract? Is this narrator unreliable or limited in any way?
What type of narrator is the writer using? Why might this be important?
Who else is in the extract? How are the characters connected?
What
What is happening in the extract?
What importance might these events have?
What do we think might have taken place before it?
What do we think might take place after it?

Where
Where is the extract set?
Is the setting urban or rural?
Is the setting very busy and crowded or is it isolated?
What is the weather like in the extract?
When
When is the extract taking place?
Is the extract taking place in the daytime or night time? Why might this be
important?
How much time passes during the extract?

Question 2: Writing about language

To succeed in question 2, you must be able to identify and accurately label a wide
range of language features. You need to make sure that you learn all of the
techniques listed below and that you can identify them correctly within a text.
Language technique
Definition
Example
How confident do I feel about this feature?

Adverb
A word that describes how a verb is done
She stood silently.
*

Adjective
A word that describes
The lion had a fiery, bushy mane.
*

Pronouns
A word that takes the place of a noun
What would you do?(2nd person pronoun)
We can do it; together (1st person pronoun)
But with our help, we can stop this injustice (possessive pronoun)
*

Modal verbs
An auxiliary verb that expresses necessity or possibility. It appears before the
main verb in the sentence
You could revise for your English exam
You should revise for your English exam
You must revise for your English exam

Imperatives
A verb that commands
Talk to your friends about how they feel.
*

Simile
Using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to describe something by comparing it to something else
The water poured into the village as swift as the rushing wind.
*

Metaphor
Where you describe something as if it actually is something else
The water was a hurricane, destroying everything in its path.

*
Onomatopoeia
Using the sound
Crash! Buildings tumbled to the ground.

Personification
A descriptive technique – give something that isn’t human, human qualities
The gentle, calming breeze fluttered through the city.

Rhyme
Using words that have the same vowel sound
What you need to understand is they all just need a helping hand from us.

Anecdotes
Using a story to illustrate, reinforce a point
You still don’t think your health is important? Take Sarah…

Alliteration
Beginning words with the same sound, often words that are next to each other
The rampaging, rushing river ripped its way through the mountain village.

*
Fact
Something which is true and can be backed up by evidence
Kenya is one of the largest African countries.
*

Opinion
A writer says what they think
Animal testing is plain wrong.
*

Repetition
Repeating words or a phrase
Animal testing is wrong; plain wrong.
*

Rhetorical question
A question that doesn’t need to be answered
Would you like to live in a town plagued by death and disease?

Emotive language
Words that have an emotional effect on the reader
Every night, thousands of children in Syria come home to freezing, filthy
conditions.

Exaggeration
Embellishing or overstating a point/idea/opinion
This is surely the most horrendous example of animal neglect that we have seen in
the last ten years.

Statistics
Using numbers, percentages and/or fractions
66% of young adults said that they were worried about debt.

(Rule of) Three

Using a sequence of three words (usually adjectives)
But with your help, we can provide clean water, tools to grow food and shelter for
the most needy.

Pun
A play on words/double meaning
Ronaldo is going to kick himself for missing that open goal.
Question 2: Writing about language
To achieve excellent marks in this section of the exam it is essential that you not
only accurately identify a range of language features, but that you also analyse
the effects of the features that you find in detail. Therefore, the following
phrases are banned. If you use these phrases you are limiting your chances of
achieving anything above Level 1 (the lowest level)

Banned phrases:
It makes the reader want to read on
It makes the reader think
It is effective
It has an effect
It puts a picture in the reader’s head
It stands out
It draws the reader in
It grabs the reader’s attention

Look at this extract from Survivor by Chuck Palahniuck. It is from the opening of
the novel.

Testing, testing. One, two, three.

Testing, testing. One, two, three.

Maybe this is working. I don’t know. If you can even hear me, I don’t know.
But if you can hear me, listen. And if you’re listening then what you’ve found is
the story of everything that went wrong. This is what you’d call the flight
recorder of Flight 2039. The black box, people call it, even though its orange and
on the inside is a loop of wire that’s the permanent record of all that’s left.
What you’ve found is the story of what happened.
Feature
Quotation
Effect
Repetition
“I don’t know. If you can even hear me, I don’t know.”

The repetition of “I don’t know” reinforces the panic and desperation felt by the
narrator. It highlights the sense of chaos established within the extract, which is
further emphasised by the fact that the narrator is on a crashing plane.
Imperative verb
2nd person pronoun

Add in your own language feature

How to produce a successful answer

Look at this extract from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson.
Here, a young girl is describing her encounter with the character Mr Hyde.

Question 2: How does the writer use language here to describe Mr Hyde?
words and phrases
language features and techniques
sentence forms

Presently her eye wandered to the other, and she was surprised to recognise in him
a certain Mr Hyde, who had once visited her master, and for whom she had conceived
a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy cane, with which he was trifling; but he
answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And
then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his
foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a
madman. The very old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much
surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr Hyde broke out of all bounds, and
clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his
victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were
audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these
sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

The writer uses verbs to demonstrate the ferocity of Mr Hyde and emphasise his
animalistic qualities. For example, the present participle verb “trampling” implies
that the character is able to use significant force and in fact is able to almost
flatten his victim, suggesting that this character is devoid of any human emotion
or empathy for his victim. His inhumane qualities are also reinforced by the adverb
“audibly” which further demonstrates his almost superhuman, abnormal abilities and
heightens the danger and threat that he poses.
This answer demonstrates level 4 skills. The student is able to pick out relevant
features, quote them precisely and offer a detailed and perceptive analysis of
their effect. They have clearly thought about the connotations of the words and
then use these to explain what effect this has on the reader and what it implies
about the character.
You should now write two more paragraphs demonstrating these skills.

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Key reminders for question 2

In my answer have I….

or X
Focused specifically on language

Used precise terminology when naming a language feature

Used a small and relevant quotation

Discussed the effects of the language feature: how it makes the reader feel/what it
implies or suggests/what sort of atmosphere it creates

Discussed the connotations of a word/words within the quotation and linked this
back to the effect

Question 3: Writing about structure

Structure Toolkit
Chronological/ Linear Structure: ordering of events in the order that they occur
Flashback: where characters/ narrators remember and retell events that have
happened in the past
Parallel Narrative: a narrative structure that switches between two narrative
perspectives
Multiple Narrative: a narrative structure that switches between several narrative
perspectives
Nonlinear Narrative/ Disjointed Narrative/ Disrupted Narrative: a narrative
technique, where events are portrayed out of chronological order, often moving
backwards and forwards in time
Cyclical Narrative: A narrative structure that revisits the idea at the end of the
text which was presented at the start
Framed Narrative: where a story is presented within the overall narrative e.g.
within a letter or diary entry
Comparison and Contrast: where comparisons and contrasts are drawn within a text
Cause and Effect: where consequences of events are detailed
Inductive Structure: where detail moves from the specific to the more general
Deductive Structure: where details move from the more general to the specific
Shifting of focus: other movement within a text e.g. from outside to inside, from
inside to outside, from the collective to the individual etc.
Exposition: the part of a text where setting, characters and background information
is introduced
Rising Action: the part of a text where some form of problem or crisis begins to
emerge
Climax: the part of the text where there is the highest level of tension, usually
involving a turning point
Falling Action: the part of a text where characters begin to solve their problems
or crisis
Resolution/ Denouement: the part of the text which offers closure and problems/
crises are resolved
Foreshadowing: where future events of the text are hinted at (usually in early
parts of a narrative)
Foreboding: a suggestion or hint that something bad or dangerous might occur later
in a text
Plot: story or sequence of events
Anticlimax: where expectations of dramatic events are raised, and then dashed
Accumulation: where lists of details are piled up to create a cumulative effect
Anaphora: a type or repetition where the opening detail of a phrase is repeated
Perspective Shifts: where the narrative perspective (e.g. first ‘I’, second ‘you’,
third ‘he’ / ‘she’) changes
Topic sentence: the opening sentence of a paragraph which introduces the focus on
that paragraph
Repetition: where a word, phrase or idea is repeated through a text
Beginnings and Endings: these should be considered when analysing introductions,
changes, developments and resolutions in texts
Paragraphs: sections that a text is broken down into, often separated by changes in
topic, time, person or place
Paragraph length: consider the length of the paragraph and how this impacts upon
the idea and shape of the text as a whole
Clause: a group of words that include a verb. Clauses can sometimes be complete
sentences e.g. ‘It was raining’
Main Clause: sentences are made up of at least one main clause – the main idea of a
sentence e.g. ‘It was raining’ Sometimes sentences can be made up of more that one
main clause e.g. ‘It was raining but the sun was shining’.
Subordinate Clause: A clause which is subordinate to another part of the same
sentence e.g. ‘The apple that I ate was sour but it looked very tasty’.
Single-clause Sentence: A sentence made up from one main clause e.g. ‘It was
raining’.
Multi-clause Sentence: A sentence that includes two or more clauses e.g. ‘She went
shopping but took back everything she had bought because she didn’t like any of
it.’ Multi clause sentences can be made up of sentences of more than one main
clause e.g. ‘It was raining but the sun was shining.’ Multi-clause sentences can
also be made up of main and subordinate clauses e.g. ‘The apple that I ate was sour
but it looked very tasty’.
Declarative Sentence / Statements: sentences that are statements e.g. ‘You are my
friend.’
Commands: Sentences that give commands e.g. ‘Be my friend!’
Interrogative Sentences / Questions: sentences that ask questions e.g. ‘Are you my
friend?’
Exclamatory Sentence / Exclamation: sentences that exclaim e.g. ‘You are such a
good friend!’

Question 3: Writing about structure

In this section of the exam you will be required to look at the whole of an extract
and analyse how it is structured to interest the reader. You will be asked to focus
on what is written about in the beginning, middle and end of the extract as well as
picking out any other structural features.
Key questions to ask myself:
What does the writer focus my attention on at the beginning, middle and end? What
does the writer zoom in on?
How does the focus of the extract change as the text progresses? Does the writer
zoom out to look at the whole at any point?
What are the effects of the change in focus?
Look at this extract from ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. In this extract,
the character Scout is describing her father, Atticus.
Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty. When Jem and I asked him why he was so
old, he said he got started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and
manliness. He was much older than the parents of our school contemporaries, and
there was nothing Jem or I could say about him when our classmates said, ‘My father
– ’
Jem was football crazy. Atticus was never too tired to play keep-away, but when Jem
wanted to tackle him Atticus would say, ‘I’m too old for that, son.’
Our father didn’t do anything. He worked in an office, not in a drugstore. Atticus
did not drive a dump-truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm,
work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of
anyone.
Besides that, he wore glasses. He was nearly blind in his left eye, and said left
eyes were the tribal curse of the Finches. Whenever he wanted to see something
well, he turned his head and looked from his right eye.
He did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did; he never went hunting, he
did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the living-room and read.
With these attributes, however, he would not remain as inconspicuous as we wished
him to; that year, the school buzzed with talk about him defending Tom Robinson,
none of which was complimentary. After my bout with Cecil Jacobs when I committed
myself to a policy of cowardice, word got around that Scout Finch wouldn’t fight
any more, her daddy wouldn’t let her. This was not entirely correct: I wouldn’t
fight publicly for Atticus, but the family was private ground. I would fight anyone
from a third cousin upwards tooth and nail. Francis Hancock, for example, knew
that.
When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack
instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns,
Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but
I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em,
but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’
That was the only time I heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I
asked Miss Maudie about it.
‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music
for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they
don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill
a mockingbird.’
What emotion, idea or concept is suggested in the opening, middle and end of the
extract? The three boxes below have been completed for you.

Look at this extract from ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. In this extract,
the character Scout is describing her father, Atticus.
How has the text been structured to interest you as a reader?

Example
Effect
Link to the question
In the opening of the extract, the writer focuses the reader on the idea of
disappointment.
For example, “Atticus was feeble”
This suggests that the character of Atticus is regarded as weak, certainly in the
eyes of his children. They do not seem to value the qualities that he has and
instead wish he was like the parents of their classmates.
This would interest the audience because it is a contrast to a stereotypical father
figure who the reader would expect to be strong and highly respected. Therefore,
the character of Atticus is not what we expect, which could potentially foreshadow
his role within the novel.
Then, the writer shifts our attention to the many ways in which Atticus is viewed
as different.

However, at the end the writer finishes with a warning.

How has the text been structured to interest you as a reader?

Example
Effect
Link to the question
In the opening of the extract, the writer focuses the reader on

Then, the writer shifts our attention to

However, at the end the writer focuses my attention on

Look at this extract from ‘1984’ by George Orwell. The novel is set in a dystopian
future set in the fictional super-state of Oceania.
'Comrades!' cried an eager youthful voice. 'Attention, comrades! We have
glorious news for you. We have won the battle for production! Returns now completed
of the output of all classes of consumption goods show that the standard of living
has risen by no less than 20 per cent over the past year. All over Oceania this
morning there were irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched
out of factories and offices and paraded through the streets with banners voicing
their gratitude to Big Brother for the new, happy life which his wise leadership
has bestowed upon us. Here are some of the completed figures. Foodstuffs-'

The phrase 'our new, happy life' recurred several times. It had been a favourite of
late with the Ministry of Plenty. Parsons, his attention caught by the trumpet
call, sat listening with a sort of gaping solemnity, a sort of edified boredom. He
could not follow the figures, but he was aware that they were in some way a cause
for satisfaction. He had lugged out a huge and filthy pipe which was already half
full of charred tobacco. With the tobacco ration at 100 grammes a week it was
seldom possible to fill a pipe to the top. Winston was smoking a Victory Cigarette
which he held carefully horizontal. The new ration did not start till tomorrow and
he had only four cigarettes left. For the moment he had shut his ears to the
remoter noises and was listening to the stuff that streamed out of the telescreen.
It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for
raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he
reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty
grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-
four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons swallowed it easily, with the stupidity
of an animal. The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically,
passionately, with a furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone
who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grammes. Syme, too-in
some more complex way, involving doublethink, Syme swallowed it. Was he, then,
alone in the possession of a memory?

The fabulous statistics continued to pour out of the telescreen. As compared with
last year there was more food, more clothes, more houses, more furniture, more
cooking-pots, more fuel, more ships, more helicopters, more books, more babies --
more of everything except disease, crime, and insanity. Year by year and minute by
minute, everybody and everything was whizzing rapidly upwards. As Syme had done
earlier Winston had taken up his spoon and was dabbling in the pale-coloured gravy
that dribbled across the table, drawing a long streak of it out into a pattern. He
meditated resentfully on the physical texture of life. Had it always been like
this? Had food always tasted like this? He looked round the canteen. A low-
ceilinged, crowded room, its walls grimy from the contact of innumerable bodies;
battered metal tables and chairs, placed so close together that you sat with elbows
touching; bent spoons, dented trays, coarse white mugs; all surfaces greasy, grime
in every crack; and a sourish, composite smell of bad gin and bad coffee and
metallic stew and dirty clothes. Always in your stomach and in your skin there was
a sort of protest, a feeling that you had been cheated of something that you had a
right to. It was true that he had no memories of anything greatly different. In any
time that he could accurately remember, there had never been quite enough to eat,
one had never had socks or underclothes that were not full of holes, furniture had
always been battered and rickety, rooms underheated, tube trains crowded, houses
falling to pieces, bread dark-coloured, tea a rarity, coffee filthy-tasting,
cigarettes insufficient -- nothing cheap and plentiful except synthetic gin. And
though, of course, it grew worse as one's body aged, was it not a sign that this
was not the natural order of things, if one's heart sickened at the discomfort and
dirt and scarcity, the interminable winters, the stickiness of one's socks, the
lifts that never worked, the cold water, the gritty soap, the cigarettes that came
to pieces, the food with its strange evil tastes? Why should one feel it to be
intolerable unless one had some kind of ancestral memory that things had once been
different?

He looked round the canteen again. Nearly everyone was ugly, and would still have
been ugly even if dressed otherwise than in the uniform blue overalls. On the far
side of the room, sitting at a table alone, a small, curiously beetle-like man was
drinking a cup of coffee, his little eyes darting suspicious glances from side to
side. How easy it was, thought Winston, if you did not look about you, to believe
that the physical type set up by the Party as an ideal-tall muscular youths and
deep-bosomed maidens, blond-haired, vital, sunburnt, carefree - existed and even
predominated. Actually, so far as he could judge, the majority of people in
Airstrip One were small, dark, and ill-favoured. It was curious how that beetle-
like type proliferated in the Ministries: little dumpy men, growing stout very
early in life, with short legs, swift scuttling movements, and fat inscrutable
faces with very small eyes. It was the type that seemed to flourish best under the
dominion of the Party.

How has the writer structured the text 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.

The writer begins with somebody talking and shouting and the writer focuses our
attention on what the person says. This is interesting to the reader because they
are shouting and they want to know what they are shouting about. This is good for
the first part of the extract because it would make the reader pay attention

This answer makes some good points and makes some reference to methods. The student
refers to the structure by mentioning what the extract “begins” with and talking
about the “first part”. They make some link back to the question and attempt to
comment on the effect. However, there is no use of quotation and no real
explanation, therefore if this answer were written in full it couldn’t be awarded
more than 2/8.

In the opening of the extract the writer focuses our attention on the announcement
“Comrades! cried an eager youthful voice” The use of punctuation and short,
exclamatory sentences in the opening signals to the reader that something important
is about to be announced. It creates a sense of drama and tension as it uses words
from the semantic field of war like ‘won’, ‘battle’, ‘glorious’ and ‘comrades’
making the reader immediately feel as if they are in place of conflict and fighting
implying that this world is not a safe one. However in the second half of the
opening the “eager youthful voice” is taken out of focus and the narrator zooms
into the character’s thoughts. The fact that this shift in narrative perspective
happens mid-sentence and rather abruptly “Foodstuffs-“ emphasises the sense of
disdain that the narrator feels for the announcement and imbues a sense of cynicism
and contempt. This interests the reader as it suggests it provides a distinct
contrast to the patriotic and jingoistic voice established in the opening.
This answer uses a range of relevant quotations and explains their effects in
detail with a clear focus on the structure of the text. The point that it makes
about the shift in narrative perspective is perceptive and detailed, showing a more
insightful understanding of how the text is structured. The answer also talks about
other structural features such as sentence types. If this were completed in full it
would receive a minimum of 7/8.

Now continue this answer, reflecting the skills demonstrated in the second sample
response.
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Key reminders for question 3

In my answer have I….

or X
Focused specifically on structure

Written about what my attention is focused on at the beginning, middle and end of
the extract.

Used small and relevant quotations

Discussed the effects of quotations, with a focus on how the extract changes as the
text develops

Linked back to the question and explained how this interests the reader

Remember! You can also write about any structural features that you think are
worthy of note. Use your structure toolkit to help you pick
out these features.
Question 4: evaluating an interpretation of the text

In this section of the exam you will be provided with a statement about part of the
text. The statement will be a comment that a student has made about their own
personal interpretation of the text. You will need to decide to what extent you
agree with the statement and provide detailed evidence to back up your response.

The first step to succeeding in this question is to make sure that you understand
the statement. Underline and annotate key words in the statement:

A student having read this section of the text said ‘The writer creates a
horrifying image of a brutal attack. The writer creates the impression that Mr Hyde
is a highly dangerous, almost inhuman character’.

In your answer, try to address every part of the statement and focus on how the
writer creates this effect.

Look again at this extract from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson.
Here, a young girl is describing her encounter with the character Mr Hyde.

Presently her eye wandered to the other, and she was surprised to recognise in him
a certain Mr Hyde, who had once visited her master, and for whom she had conceived
a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy cane, with which he was trifling; but he
answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And
then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his
foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a
madman. The very old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much
surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr Hyde broke out of all bounds, and
clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his
victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were
audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these
sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

I agree with the statement because in the text it says “with ape-like fury” which
makes me feel really scared about what the character of Mr Hyde can do. He seems
like a merciless man who can destroy any enemy that stands in his path. Also the
fact that the maid “fainted” tells me that the attack was horrific as it shocked
her so much that she actually passed out so it must have been awful for the victim.

This answer has a lot of positive points. It addresses points of the statement
(although not directly) and uses relevant quotations with some explanations.
However, it makes no reference to methods that the writer uses and doesn’t explain
in enough detail. If this answer was in full then it would receive a minimum of
8/20.

I agree with the statement because the metaphorical description of “ape-like fury”
implies that the character of Mr Hyde is more animal than human. This suggests that
he is wild and primitive and doesn’t possess any human qualities such as morality
or rationality. This in turn makes the reader feel that he is devoid of any regard
for his victim’s feelings, making him even more threatening and dangerous.
Therefore I also fully agree that this was a brutal attack, as the verb “fainted”
implies that the character of the maid was so overwhelmed by the viciousness that
it caused her to lose consciousness. This implies that the maid was unable to
comprehend how someone could treat another human being in such a way conveying the
sense that Mr Hyde is cold and callous.

This answer, importantly, focuses on methods mentioning ‘metaphorical description

and ‘verb’. It also analyses the effect of the quotations it selects in depth and
then links these back to why they agree with the statement in clear detail. If this
answer was longer it would achieve a minimum of 16/20.

Write at least three more detailed paragraphs continuing the answer.

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In most cases, it is likely that you will agree with the statement. However, as a
final paragraph you may want to disagree with the statement or find another way to
interpret the text. Only include this in your answer if you can think of valid and
insightful ideas. An example has been done for you below.

However, in some ways I also disagree with the statement. Whilst there is no doubt
that the attack described was brutal, as emphasised by “audibly shattered”, to some
extent I do not agree that the character of Mr Hyde is ‘almost inhuman’. Rather, I
think that the writer is trying to show the reader just how human Mr Hyde is and
reveal to the reader the cruel and terrible side of human nature: that human beings
are capable of inflicting horrible pain and suffering. The writer might be using
the character of Mr Hyde to imply that there is both a very good and indeed very
bad side to humanity.
Key reminders for question 4

In my answer have I….

or X
Made sure I understand the statement and its relevant parts

Focused my attention on why I agree or don’t agree with the statement

Focused on methods

Used small and relevant quotations

Analysed the effects of the quotations and linked these back to the statement
Section B: Question 5. Writing to describe or narrate

This section of the exam requires you to produce a piece of narrative or

descriptive writing that is based on an image or a story prompt/idea. You need to
produce a piece of writing that is structured, engaging, well planned and written
with a high level of accuracy.

Writing to describe, suggested by/inspired by an image

How to plan your answer:

Divide your image up using a grid. An example has been done for you
Pick a between 5-8 boxes or key details to write about
Annotate each of the boxes/details with adjectives, similes, metaphors, examples of
personification and impressive examples of vocabulary.
Each of these annotated boxes will form a paragraph, ensuring that each paragraph
of your writing has a different focus. Most importantly, it will ensure that you
write a lot about a little.

Annotate between 5 and 8 of the boxes below.

Read the example paragraph completed for you. This is based on the bottom left hand
box.

In the shadows, the crowd gathers to look upon the hulking, towering monument.
Huddled together for warmth and comfort, dirty, grimy shoes scuff the shining,
cream paving stones. In the distance, a dome gleams gold in the sunlight,
contrasting the darkness of the crowds. The hectic, busy city turns ever-onwards;
the city is forever alive and glowing with life. Not here though. Here, there is a
dimness, a stillness, a peacefulness. The gaudy and showy lights of the city don’t
permeate here – rather, there is an aura of contemplation, as hushed tourists
gather to gaze at the monolith that glowers over them.

Now, write a minimum of three more paragraphs, based on three boxes that you have
annotated. Like the above paragraph, your aim is to use lists of adjectives and
varied punctuation. These techniques have been underlined for you.

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Write a description suggested by this image:

Annotate between 5-8 of the boxes/details in the grid with your writing ideas

The man walks. The girl walks. The boy, inquisitive and curious walks. His
youthful, fragile face stares at the man with interest. His shirt and chino shorts
are a pristine white, not too dissimilar to the man sitting on the ground. The boy
cannot help but notice however, that his own shirt is pressed and ironed, his own
shirt is clean and free from dirt, his own shirt is one of many. Not so the man on
the ground. His shirt is crumpled and creased, his shirt is stained and old, his
shirt is the only one he has. The boy stares at the man with wide, naïve eyes,
gawps at his well-worn feet, his calloused hands. The boy, young and stupid, does
not understand; he has not yet known the cruelties of life.
Now, write a minimum of three more paragraphs, based on three boxes that you have
annotated. Like the above paragraph, your aim is to use the short, short stretch
technique, embedded clauses and repetition for effect. These have been underlined
for you.

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Practise annotating and planning ideas inspired by an image using the photographs
below.

Writing to narrate

Use the following tasks to help you practise writing to narrate:

Write the opening to a short story that is set in place that is new to the
narrator.

Write a story that begins “Just one look outside told me that it was a bad idea”.

Write a story that ends with the sentence “The door slammed shut, never to be
opened again”.

Write a short story that is inspired by a colour.

Write the opening to a short story in which something unexpected happens.

Write about a place that is very different at night in comparison to the day time.

Write a story that begins “The world was different now, it would never be the same
again”.

Write the opening to a short story that is set in a famous place.

Write the opening to a short story that involves water in some way.

Write a story that ends with the sentence “He would never go back to that place,
not even if his life depended on it”.

Write the opening to a short story that begins with a journey.

Key reminders for question 5

In my answer have I….

or X
Planned each paragraph

Used engaging and impressive examples of vocabulary throughout

Used a range of language techniques (check your language toolkit)

Used a range of structural techniques (check your structure toolkit)

Checked that my punctuation is accurate

Written in paragraphs that link together and used features like one sentence
paragraphs for effect

Carefully checked my spelling and grammar to ensure that it is as accurate as

possible

Used a range of punctuation accurately and for effect