GCSE English Language

Unit One Exam

English Language Unit One: Understanding and Producing Non-

Fiction Texts

We will spend the first two lessons today focusing on Section A, then spend third lesson on Section B.

You know how to answer the questions – so today I’m simply going to recap what skills you need to use for each, so that you’re clear on what each question

requires you to do.

1. What is the date of your English Language exam?2. How much time do you get on the whole paper?3. How many marks is question one worth?4. What will question two always be?5. How much time should you spend on question three?6. Which texts do you answer question four on?7. How much time should you spend on question four?8. What skill is section B testing?9. How many marks is question five worth?10. What types of writing might you be asked to produce

in question six?

What do you know?

Exam FactsThe exam is split into two sections. You have 2 hours and 15 minutes for this exam.

Section A READING: Four QuestionsYou will be given a selection of non-fiction texts to read and respond to.

Section B WRITING: Two QuestionsYou will write two non-fiction texts.

15 minutes reading time1 hour answering section A1 hour answering section B

Section A: Reading1. Question One always asks: “What do we learn from the

text about…?” (8 marks: 12 minutes)

2. Question Two always asks: “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.” (8 marks: 12 minutes)

3. Question Three asks you to consider the thoughts and feelings in a text, normally worded: “Explain some of the thoughts and feelings in the text.” (8 marks: 12 minutes)

4. Question Four will always be: “Compare the different ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts.” (16 marks: 24 minutes)

Question One

Question One always asks:

“What do we learn from the text about…?”

8 marks: 12 minutes

This was the question that the majority of you did the best in in your mock.

Question One: What skills do you need to be successful?

Ability to read carefullyAbility to understandAbility to infer from what the

writer is implyingAbility to communicate this

clearly and accuratelyAbility to select appropriate

evidence from the texts (quotes, facts and statistics) and use them to support your ideas.

1. “What do we learn from the text about…?”

Question One: The mark scheme says...

To achieve 7 or 8 marks you need to:

• Show that you fully understand the article and have evidence to prove your understanding.

• Show an engagement with the text.• Make perceptive comments and connections

about places, people and events.• Offer appropriate quotations or references to

support your understanding of the text.

1. “What do we learn from the text about…?”

Question One

• Read source one the online travel guide called Rafting on the Grand Canyon by Elizabeth Hyde.

• What do you learn from Elizabeth Hyde about where she has been and what she has been doing? (8 marks)

Question One

• A couple of minutes reading time.• Twelve minutes for this question!• This is a what question. What do we learn?• Put an L next to everything you learn as you read.• Do not write about techniques!• You are identifying things that you learn and how you

know. Back it up with a quotation.• Remember this is a question about selecting relevant

information and commenting on what you select

Together check and improve your ideas

Read through your answer as a pair and

improve anything you don’t think is quite

right.

Now swap your response with another pair and

mark it. Using the mark scheme,

give them a score.Give them any advice you

think they may need before their exam

tomorrow.

1. “What do we learn from the text about…?”

This question is actually in two parts:– ‘explain effectiveness of headlines and images’– ‘explain how they link with the text’

There is no particular way to structure your answer, but think about writing:

– A paragraph on how the headline is effective and links with the text

– A paragraph on how the image is effective and links with the text

– A paragraph on the subheading (if there is one) or how the headline/image link to each other

Question Two: What skills do you need to be successful?

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Question Two (part 1): Effectiveness of headlines and images

Person A: What features do we look for in a effective headline?

Create a checklist that you will teach to your partner.

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Person B: What features can we comment on in an image?

Create a checklist that you will teach to your partner.

Did you think of…Headline:•Puns/play on words•Rhetorical questions•Alliteration•Power/rule of three•Emotive language •Hyperbole•Colloquial language•Rhyme•Assertion

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Images:•Background•Foreground•Main focal point•Use of colour•Body language•Facial expressions•Size•Positioning

Question Two

• Now read Source 2, the article and the picture which goes with it called Fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex Sue may have died of a sore throat by Ian Sample.

• Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text. (8 marks)

Question TwoFearsome Tyrannosaurus rex Sue may have died of a sore throat A parasite that infects pigeons made it increasingly difficult for the T. rex to swallow and led to starvation, a new study suggests.

Question Two (part 1): Effectiveness of headlines and images

Person A: Using what person B has taught you, make notes for 3 minutes on the effectiveness of the image.

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Person B: Using what person A has taught you, make notes for 3 minutes on the effectiveness of the headline.

Question Two (part 2): Links to the text

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Now that we know what makes headlines and images effective, we have to consider their relation to the text,

as question two also asks us to make links to text:

“Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

In order to do this, we have to quote from the text where we see connections to the images and headline.

Task: Independently, in 4 minutes, read through the text.

As you read the text, identify anywhere you think you could make links to the headline or the image by underlining or highlighting key points in the text that you think relate to what is in the headline or image.

Question Two (part 2): Links to the text

2. “Explain how the headline, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text.”

Top Tip …• State the obvious!!! The mark scheme highlights:1. The disbelief which attract readers – Sore throat and

named Sue! (Amusing and unexpected)2. The word ‘fearsome’ links to aggressive picture3. Repetition of ‘S’ sound – sibilance in headline4. Link with harmless pigeon in sub-headline5. Big, awesome skeleton picture6. Picture dominates the article7. Picture is dramatic which makes the ‘pigeon parasite’

theory mysterious8. Linking the Rex with a pigeon is engaging and this theory is

explained in the article

Question Three

Question Three asks you to consider the thoughts and feelings in a text, normally worded:

“Explain some of the thoughts and feelings in the text.”

8 marks: 12 minutes

Again, in your mocks, this was a question that you all did very well on!

You are being asked to do THREE things:

1. Select parts of the text which convey thoughts and feelings (quotes)

2. Identify the thoughts or feelings

3. Infer/Interpret them i.e. work out what is really being said.

Question Three

Start with an overview sentence to show you have a grasp of the whole extract

Select the parts that show thoughts and feelingsRead between the lines to explain his thoughts

and feelings, based on what is happening at the time

Work through the extract in the order in which things happen to discuss the range of thoughts and feelings.

Take your quotes from various places in the extract – not all just from the start.

Question Three

• Now read Source 3, Everest The Hard Way, which is an extract from a non-fiction book

• Explain which parts of Pete Boardman’s story of the return to Camp 6 you find tense and exciting. (8 marks)

Question Three• This is about making inferences.

• This is a what and how question. The how could be language, events, change in tone

• Use words like:• ‘this shows . . .’, ‘this

suggests . . .’, ‘because . . .’, ‘we can infer . . .’, ‘it can be interpreted . . .’

Top Tips

• Explain your ideas• Use quotes to support your points• Only comment on the use of language or

techniques if RELEVANT!• Look out for examples of irony, rhetorical

questions, exaggeration or understatement as these can be used to infer meaning.

Question Four

• Now you need to refer to Source 3, Everest The Hard Way and either Source 1 or Source 2. You are going to compare the two texts, one of which you have chosen.

• Compare the different ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts. Give some examples and analyse what the effects are(16 marks).

Question Four – Source three and one other

• 24 minutes on this question. • You can’t write about everything. You need to select

key points of comparison.• Take care with your timing, you may be tired by this

time in the exam.• Pick three points to compare. It’s more than just PEE.• Point, Evidence, Explain, Analyse, Evaluate.• Remember the focus on this question is the use of

LANGUAGE not the CONTENT

Remember …

• COMPARE means explain what is the same and what is different about the texts.

• Try to use COMPARING words and phrases to demonstrate this to the examiner: “In comparison” “On the other hand” “Whereas in item 3 “ “Similarly” etc

• Give examples from both texts – QUOTES!!• Don’t waste time explaining what each text is about• Plan your response – it is worth the MOST MARKS!!

Features to look out for …

• Sentence lengths and types: Short sentences – can suggest speed, excitement, surprise etc whereas longer sentences can build a climax

• Paragraphs: Short ones attract the reader’s attention

• Imperative Verbs – ‘follow’, ‘begin’ – instruct the reader

• Connectives – link ideas• Complex or specialist

vocabulary• Slang and

colloquialisms• Similes and Metaphors

Features to look out for:

• Rhetorical questions• Emotive Language• Irony• Exaggeration• Contrasts• Ambiguity• Anecdotes

• Nouns• Adjectives• Alliteration• Personal Pronouns• Use of facts/ opinions• Lists• Humour

Let’s have a go at this together …

• You have exactly 5 minutes. Working in exam conditions …

• Read again “Everest the hard way …”

Annotate the extract with any language features you think are appropriate …

How did you get on? Mark your annotations

The mark scheme comments on the following:1. Short dramatic sentences evoking a sense of determination2. The various references to time3. ‘I fumbled in my sack’ suggests rush and panic4. ‘We had to fight for our lives’ evokes tension and desperation5. ‘Our success was turning into tragedy’ and ‘I felt panic surge inside’

makes the reader apprehensive6. ‘powder snow avalanche’ provide a sense of danger which engages the

reader7. ‘miracle’ and ‘mercilessly’ have a religious connotation8. ‘burst into tears’ – arrest the reader – a stark conclusion9. The use of short sentences reflects the punctuation of time, drama/

arduousness of task10. Understanding of personal voice and level of formaility

Repeat the task for “Rafting on the Grand Canon”

• You have exactly 3 minutes to annotate this with the language features you feel are relevant …

The Mark Scheme Says …• Ed’s speech – joke – is both serious but humorous which sets

the tone for travel writing• Factual detail for information with some evocative description

– “you can’t be shy” “bathing together”• A sense of awe and beauty and thrill is given out – “rocks,

rocks everywhere” “massive maroon cliffs.” The description of the rapids – “Disneyland-like”, “foaming madness”

• The use of active verbs is effective – “sucked down …spun around … spat up …” with punchy, short sentences as if short of breath

• The unpleasant description of “a pound of silt” but the idea of wanting to “become a river guide” brings the sense back to the beginning with Ed.

Pulling Question 4 Together

• You now need to take the examples of language features and more importantly their EFFECTS and COMPARE how they have been used for different purposes and contexts made by the writers.

Where to start?• Source 3 starts with a short, simple sentence “A decision was

needed.” This is done deliberately to engage the reader and evoke a sense of determination. The focus is then shifted to the time: “I pointed at my watch and said ‘We’ll wait ten more minutes.’” The effect of this is to develop the tension for the reader as well as give a sense of impending doom. However, the beginning of Source 1 is different as it opens with speech in the form of a joke: “Just two rules!” our guide Ed shouted …” this sets a both serious and humorous tone from the outset, highlighting the danger of the situation they are facing.

• YOU WRITE THE NEXT PARAGRAPH …