Revision InstructionsYear 7 – You will sit an exam that will ask you to analyse language (question 2) and write a description or narrative (question 5)

Year 8 – You will sit an exam that will ask you to analyse the effects of language (question 2), the effects of structure (question 3) and write a description or a narrative (question 5)

Year 9 – You will sit a full GCSE paper aimed at reading age expectations for year 9. You will analyse language (question 2), analyse structure (question 3), evaluate (question 4) and write a description and a narrative (question 5)You will need to have a go at the full paper

Language terms

• You need to be familiar with the names of word classes and linguistic devices

• Below is a list of the basics

• You should learn these then add to them through your own research.

• You might start by finding out about different versions of the main word classes like dynamic and passive verbs.

Word level Noun Adjective Verb Adverb

Technique Imagery Simile Metaphor Personification

Sound Alliteration Onomatopoeia Repetition Plosive sounds

Sentences Simple Minor Complex Question

Language analysis

• This will be based on a short extract of text

• You will be asked to explain the effect of language

• You should write 2 clear paragraphs

• You need to select evidence of language that is effective or powerful

• You need to explain the connotations of words

• You need to explain the effects of techniques

• You should use a PEAE, PEALE or PEADE structure

Language analysis

• Read the extract highlighting powerful language

• Decide on two ideas that you want to explore

The children did not play with it. It sat at the bottom of the

old wooden toy box, which was the same size and age

as a pirate’s treasure-chest, or so the children thought.

The Jack-in-the-box was buried beneath dolls and trains,

clowns and paper stars and old conjuring tricks, and

crippled marionettes3 with their strings irrevocably4

tangled, with dressing up clothes (here the tatters of a

long-ago wedding dress, there a black silk hat, crusted with

age and time) and costume jewellery, broken hoops and

tops and hobbyhorses. Under them all was the Jack’s box.

How does the writer use language here to

describe the toy box and its contents?

It seems mysterious

It is overflowing, chaotic and neglected

Language

Mysterious Overflowing, chaotic, neglected

same size and age as a pirate’s treasure-chest, …buried beneath dolls and trains, clowns and paper stars and old conjuring tricks, and crippled marionettes3 with their strings irrevocably tangled,

Comparison (to a treasure chest)

• Treasure chests are often full of valuable treasure• The link to pirates and treasure might suggest

adventure and excitement

List• Makes it seem like it is very full, chaotic and

overflowingImagery – conjuring tricks, marionettes, tangled• Makes the reader think of magical and mysterious

possibilites

The children did not play with it. It sat at the bottom of the

old wooden toy box, which was the same size and age

as a pirate’s treasure-chest, or so the children thought.

The Jack-in-the-box was buried beneath dolls and trains,

clowns and paper stars and old conjuring tricks, and

crippled marionettes3 with their strings irrevocably4

tangled, with dressing up clothes (here the tatters of a

long-ago wedding dress, there a black silk hat, crusted with

age and time) and costume jewellery, broken hoops and

tops and hobbyhorses. Under them all was the Jack’s box.

• Identify features of language

• Think about connotations and effects

Language analysis

• You now need to write your answer using a PEAE, PEALE or PEADE structure

PPoint

P The writer suggests that the toy box is full of exciting mysterious things. He describes it by comparing it to a

EEvidence

E ‘pirate’s treasure chest.’

AAnalyse

A The image of a pirates treasure chest brings to mind ideas of treasure which is valuable and exciting.

LLink

DDevelop

Pirates are also associated with adventure and crime on the sea.

EExplain

E Therefore the writer uses the comparison to suggest that the chest is full of exciting possibilities and discoveries.

Language analysis

• You now need to write your answer using a PEALE or PEADE structure

PPoint

P The writer develops this sense of mystery by using a list to suggest just how chaotic and neglected the toys in the chest are.

EEvidence

E He describes, ‘dolls and trains, clowns and paper stars and old conjuring tricks, and crippled marionettes.’

AAnalyse

A The list makes it seem like there are lost of strange things in the chest almost as if it is overflowing. The way that they are grouped into pairs using the conjunction ‘and’ makes the reader feel almost overwhelmed by how many things are in the chest. It also creates a little mystery as the toys are combined in a chaotic way.

LLink

DDevelop

The list also includes a wide variety of strange toys that suggest fantasy and strange magic. The image of a ‘crippled marionettes’ suggests that the toys have been neglected however.

EExplain

E The list as a whole creates an image of a mysterious selection of toys that the children can discover. The imagery appears mysterious and magical.

Structure question

• You will be asked to write about the entire extract (approximately 1 A4 side)

• You will need to write about 4 paragraphs to cover the different things the writer focusses on

• You need to select evidence that represents the main focus of each section fully

• You need to explain the reasons why a write might have chosen to develop the text in this way

• You will need to think about how each section is affected by what came before and how each section makes you feel about what is to come

• You will use a PEEE structure to answer this question

Structure Beginning What is focussed on?

What effect is created?Why does the writer focus on this?Why begin this way?

IntroduceConnectionSympathy/antithesisAnticipateForeshadow

Develop What is developed or contrasted or added?What effect does this have?

Why does the writer develop/contrast/add?How was the bit before important?

DevelopBuildIncreaseZoom inComplicationConflict

Turning points/ structural features

What is the major structural change?What structural features are included?

Why does the writer use these changes and features?How do they impact on what you have read?

ForeshadowFlashbackRepetitionInside/outsideShift in perspective

End What kind of ending is it? Why did the writer end this way? ReturnCliff-hangerResolution

• Start by thinking about the ‘what’

• What is the focus at different points in the text? What is added?

• What evidence would you choose to demonstrate this

• As you read bracket your text and label the focus

The ‘toy’ in the box -mysterious

Develop the focus on the toy and what the children think about it –repeated sentence

Contrast – the secret.The effect on children

Cliff -hanger

Now you need to think about the ‘Why’you would do this as a few words on the extract in the exam

What How Why

The ‘toy’Sense of mystery

‘Nobody knew where the toy had come from’It seems mysterious

• To intrigue the reader• Ask questions about the toy• Foreshadow the mysterious effect of the toy on the children

The toy during their childhood and the sense of threat

‘The children did not play with it.’‘hide it away once more in the darkness’It seems threatening and intimidating

• Because of the beginning, it feels like the writer is building up the mystery of the toy

• It builds the sense of the threat the toy poses to the children• It makes the reader anticipate a strange effect from the toy

Shift perspective to adulthoodContrast their attitude

And there in the moonlight, he told them each things they could never quite remember, things they were never able entirely to forget.The two boys dieThe girls are afraid to return

• The way that they all come separately as adults implies a hold over them established at the beginning

• Because of the beginning the reader is made to feel that the toy is responsible for the deaths of the boys

• The writer leaves doubt in the readers head and tension as two girls still survive

Focus on the Jack in a Box He is waiting for the children. He can wait forever.Personified to suggest that the toy waits to do harm.

• Because the previous section says two girls survived it feels like they are in danger

• The Cliff – hanger leaves the reader asking questions about how dangerous the toy is

The writer begins by introducing a toy. He begins with the phrase ‘Nobody knew where the toy had come from.’ This sentence is very vague and creates a sense of mystery. The writer begins this way to intrigue the reader and make them ask questions about how the toy ended up there if no body knows where it came from. It could even be said to foreshadow something sinister as the focus on something unknown implies how significant it is.

The writer then develops the description of the toy to show that it is a Jack in a Box and to shows the way the children reacted to it. He repeats three times at the start of the next three paragraphs that ‘The children did not play with it.’ This repetition adds to the mystery of the Jack in a box from the opening and makes the reader feel anxious about the effect that the Jack in a box might have as the story develops.

In the next section of the story, the writer changes perspective and describes the children returning as adults and then shows what happened to them as if the two things are connected. He describes how they came ‘separately’ but then how they all did the same thing, ‘almost like sleepwalking’. This makes the reader think that the toy is in charge and has hypnotised them. He goes on to describe how they could ‘never quite remember, things they were never able entirely to forget.’ The writer then tells the reader how one of the boys died, another was taken to a mad house and the two sisters never returned. The write seems to indicate that through the structure that the lives and the deaths are directly linked to their visit to the jack in a box as one immediately follows the other.

The ending leaves the reader on a cliff hanger stating that the Jack in the box is ‘waiting for the children. He can wait forever.’ This ending personifies the toy to suggest that the danger has not gone away. It would make the reader feel uneasy and leave them with a great deal of tension as the sisters seem to be still in danger and the mystery of the toy has not been solved. The structure links the lives and deaths directly to the jack in a box. While life moves on for the children and the house, the Jack in a box remains and is the focus throughout.

Look closely at each paragraph. Can you spot where I have:• Used structure

terms• Made a clear

point about what the focus is.

• Included some evidence. You will often need more than one quote to help you show how something develops.

• Explained what the evidence suggests to the reader.

• Explained the effect of the structure: looking back and looking forward.