GCSE English Language Skills Booster.

GCSE English Languageskills booster.Name:Date:Language Paper 1,question 2, level 4.TaskDate completed Attend booster session Redraft mock examanswer, using the skillsI have been taught. Complete new examquestion. Return for marking. Practice on GCSE POD.

Contents:December PPE insert (June 2018)page2,3Tips and advice4Worked examples7Model full mark answers with commentaries8Space to redraft your answer10New texts and exam question(June 2017)1

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Question 2 on Language paper 1 assesses the same skills as Question 3 on Language paper2. But to students they may appear to be different because--On paper 1 you are given 3 bullet points in the question, to suggest what you mightinclude in your answer.Paper 1 Q2 will ask you how the writer uses language for effect in a fiction text,whereas Paper 2 Q3 will ask you how the writer uses language for effect in a nonfiction text.Paper 1 Q2 is worth 8 marks whereas Paper 2 Q3 is worth 12 marks. The secret is:this is just so that the marks balance out when they’re added up! So you have to doexactly the same thing for both questions, and write the same amount. As always, itis quality, not quantity here.Your target grade is a grade 9.Last year, students who achieved a grade 9 were consistently working at level 3 and 4. To confidentlysecure a grade 9, we need to make sure you can consistently produce a level 4 answer,Let’s look at the mark scheme:Level 4Detailed,perceptiveanalysis.Shows detailed and perceptive understanding oflanguage:- analyses the effects of the writer's choices oflanguage- selects a judicious range of textual detail- makes sophisticated and accurate use of subjectterminologyAt the top of the level, a student'sresponse will meet all of the skillsdescriptors.At the bottom of the level, astudent will have level 3 and atleast 1 of the skills descriptors. The question requires depth of analysis. Analysing one quotation indetail is better than quoting several quotations and not getting thedepth of analysis. You will do well in this question if you can analyse in detail the effectof the writer’s choices of language. The mark is driven by analysis ofeffect. The effect bullet point overrides the others in the markscheme. This means that if your analysis of effect is extremelydetailed but you only have one quotation, for example, you can getinto level 4. You can access L3 and 4 using just one language term IF your analysisof effect is perceptive. With regards to subject terminology, no term is better than another.So you could talk about adjectives or you could talk about anaphora:you would get the same mark if you analyse the effect.4

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The exam board have clearadvice about this last bulletpoint: ignore it.CROSS IT OUT.To achieve level 3: You must explain how does the language used works in thissentence / text; why is this method in this quotation used inthis way in this piece? You MUST zoom in. eg: within a simile, zoom in on the effect ofthe different words and types of words in it, and identify themethods used within the simile.6

Here are snippets of 4 different level 3 responses. Part of eachparagraph demonstrates clear understanding of language using adifferent quotation. Be careful: there are some mistakes too. But ifa student can display a skill once they are in that level: you cannever lose marks.For each one, highlight the part that is level 3. Why do you thinkthe lines you have highlighted are level 3 rather than level 2?TASK Every one of these examples shows “zoomed in” analysis.What do you understand by that?7

Response A:The writer uses metaphors Mr Fisher says ‘books were golden’, and ‘golden’ showsthat they were valuable and precious and they contained something unique andspecial, that real life couldn’t compare to it. Books from the past may have had a hugeaffect on Mr Fisher hence why he remembers them and cherishes them. He is unableto forget the stories within them as they were so fantastic, like treasure.The writer uses a variety of positive imagery to convey Mr Fisher’s views on booksand stories of the past. The writer uses similes like ‘pounced like tigers’ to show thatonce the stories used to have a dramatic affect on the reader as ‘pounced’ couldimply that the stories engaged the reader so much that they didn’t want to put thebook down.Mr Fisher also describes stories that ‘ran like gazelles ’. This suggests Mr Fisherbelieved books in the past were more thrilling and exciting, this also supported by theverbs ‘ran’, ‘pounced’ and ‘exploded’ which gives connotations of energy and fastpaced action to the reader. Overall, the reader can see Mr Fisher views books in thepast being more entertaining and appealing.This is a level 3 response:Level 3Clear, relevantexplanation--Shows clear understanding of language:- explains clearly the effects of the writer's choicesof language.- selects a range of relevant textual detail.- makes clear and accurate use of subjectterminology.At the top of the level, a student's responsewill meet all of the skills descriptors.At the bottom of the level, a student will havelevel 2 and at least 1 skills descriptor.The student has identified language method that the writer has used. They have alsozoomed in: so not only have they talked about a simile, they have talked about the verbs inthe simile.They have given examples of how the methods are used.They have zoomed in on their examples to analyse the effect of the language on thereader. To do this, they have thought about the connotations and associations of thewords. So if golden precious, valuable, special, then if books are “golden”, they must beprecious, valuable and special too. Your analysis has got to make sense! Some responses say things like“gazelles are elegant, so Mr Fisher thinks books are elegant.” This is not agood analysis because books can’t be elegant. In the same way, saying things like “in the quote ‘illuminating minds andhearts’ the word ‘illuminating’ suggest a glow in the child” – you maythink this is analysis of effect but it is not. You need to go further: bookscan’t make a child literally “glow” so what is he actually saying? Maybethat they are lit up with new knowledge, or that their faces have lit upwith happiness – this makes sense. Saying “books make children glow”without explaining what that means is not analysis of effect.8

A useful structure for a level 3 response to this question could be Identify the language method or technique (POINT) Give examples (EVIDENCE) Zoom in on key words and analyse the effect (ANALYSIS).So how do we access level 4?Let’s look at a range of level 4 responses to this question:Remember: ignore thisbullet point!CROSS IT OUT.9

Response BThis is an interesting example because one of the paragraphs is level 2, one ofthe paragraphs is level 3, and part of the answer is level 4. Can you identifywhich is the weakest and where is becomes a level 4 response?The writer uses words such as ‘golden’ and ‘illuminating’ toconvey Mr Fishers views on books and stories of the pastwhich connote a sense brightness and happiness. This makesthe reader associate their own subjective feelings ofbrightness and happiness with Mr Fishers views; Creating amore vivid image of happiness to associate with Mr Fisherscharacter.The writer uses similes such as ‘ran like gazelles’ which elicitsan inference of freedom through the graceful associations of agazelle. This allows the reader to interpret the sense of fluiditythat Mr Fisher feels when thinking of books and stories of thepast creating a nostalgic atmosphere. The writer uses a longcomplex sentence form with repeated use of the comma tomimic Mr Fishers train of thought ’books were golden imaginations soared, exploded like rockets, ’. Thisincreases the pace of the text and informs the reader on thesense of freedom and joy that Mr Fisher associates with booksand stories of the past.This is also achieved through the use of metaphors such as‘whole classes swept away in the fever’. By reffering to thissense of freedom children felt as a fever which hasconnotations of something burning, the reader interperets thisas the burning passion that past generations once felt forbooks and how Mr Fisher is sad to see their passion fade –‘Surely – not long ago’.10

Here’s what the examiner said:The response improves throughout. The first paragraph is Level 2, and thenmoves into Level 3 in the second paragraph with two clear explanations of theeffects of the writer's choices of language.The final paragraph is the best, with a perceptive comment on the effect of the'fever' metaphor. This results in a mark just into Level 4 by the end.And here are the examiner’s annotations:The writer uses words such as ‘golden’ and ‘illuminating’ to convey Mr Fishersviews on books and stories of the past which connote a sense brightness andhappiness. This makes the reader associate their own subjective feelings ofbrightness and happiness with Mr Fishers views; Creating a more vivid imageof happiness to associate with Mr Fishers character.The writer uses similes such as ‘ran like gazelles’ which elicits an inference offreedom through the graceful associations of a gazelle. This allows the readerto interpret the sense of fluidity that Mr Fisher feels when thinking of booksand stories of the past creating a nostalgic atmosphere. The writer uses along complex sentence form with repeated use of the comma to mimic MrFishers train of thought ’books were golden imaginations soared, exploded like rockets, ’. This increases the pace of the text and informs thereader on the sense of freedom and joy that Mr Fisher associates with booksand stories of the past.This is also achieved through the use of metaphors such as ‘whole classesswept away in the fever’. By reffering to this sense of freedom children felt asa fever which has connotations of something burning, the reader interperetsthis as the burning passion that past generations once felt for books and howMr Fisher is sad to see their passion fade – ‘Surely – not long ago’.--The student has identified language methods that the writer has used in paragraphs 2and 3.They have given examples of how the methods are used.Look at paragraph 2: this is an example of best practice: they have breadcrumbed theevidence, using ellipsis, to only use the bit that they need.The analysis of effect is detailed and moves to level 4 in paragraph 4. This is because inparagraph 3 the student zooms in on the connotations of the word “fever” and thenapplied this to reading, coming to a conclusion about Mr Fisher’s opinion.As a point of note, the exam board advises that you do not attempt to analysesentence forms. This student does it well, but it is very difficult to do well andnearly impossible to access level 4 with comments on sentence structure.11