Year 11 English Language GCSE

Easter Revision Booklet 2019

Name:_________________________________________________

Teacher:_______________________________________________

My targets:

Target 1

Target 2

Target 3
Component One
Date Done Notes
Activity 1 (12 mins)
Activity 2 (5 mins)
Activity 3 (6 mins)
Activity 4 (10 mins)
Activity 5 (13 mins)
Activity 6 (10 mins)
Activity 7 (10 mins)
Activity 8 (13 mins)
Activity 9 (10 mins)
Activity 10 (10 mins)
Activity 11 (5 mins)
Activity 12 (5 mins)
Activity 13 (5 mins)
Activity 14 (5 mins)
Activity 15 (5 mins)
Activity 16 (5 mins)
Activity 17 (40 mins)
Activity 18 (5 mins)

Component Two
Date Done Notes
Activity 1 (5 mins)
Activity 2 (10 mins)
Activity 3 (13 mins)
Activity 4 (5 mins)
Activity 5 (8 mins)
Activity 6 (13 mins)
Activity 7 (5 mins)
Activity 8 (5 mins)
Activity 9 (13 mins)
Activity 10 (5 mins)
Activity 11 (5 mins)
Activity 12 (30mins)
Activity 13 (5 mins)
Activity 14 (30 mins)
Activity 15 (5 mins)

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Component One
Activity 1 (12 minutes)
Read this general advice about Literary Reading and highlight the key points

General Advice on Literary Reading Questions

1. This is a test of your Reading Skills so you need to read as carefully as you can
 Read slowly and carefully, out loud in your head, as if someone was reading it
to you
 Have a pen in your hand: track the text and underline words, phrases and
passages that might be significant
 When you have finished reading take a second to think about the text as a
whole: What has happened? How has the writer presented it?
2. Annotating helps you to focus on the question, find the right material and organise
your answer clearly
 Underline the key words in the question: this will tell you what you have to
do (How, Evaluate…) and help you with your sentence starters (“The writer…”
“I think…” “I feel…”)
 Always draw a box around the section of text specified by the question
 Track through the section of text underlining words and phrases that are
relevant to the theme of the question. Make sure you find evidence all the
way through the section.

Now read the text on the following pages following the advice you have been given.
Time yourself and work out how much of your 60 minutes you have left.

Time Remaining:________

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 SECTION A: 20th Century Literary Reading 40 marks

Read carefully the passage below. Then answer all the questions which follow it.

The moment that the bus moved on Mike knew he was in danger. In the dim
light he saw the figures of the young men waiting under the tree. It was too late to
run after the bus; it went down the dark street like an island of safety in a sea of perils.
His mouth was already dry, his heart was pounding in his chest, and something within
5 him was crying out in protest against the coming event.
His wages were in his purse; he could feel them weighing heavily against his
thigh. That was what they wanted from him. Nothing else mattered to them. His wife
could be made a widow, his children made fatherless. Nothing counted against that.
Mercy was an unknown word to them.
10 While he stood there uncertainly Mike heard the young men walking towards
him, not only from the side where he had seen them, but from the other also. They
did not speak, their intention was unspeakable. The sound of their feet came on the
wind to him. They had chosen the place well, for behind him was the high wall of the
convent, and the barred door that would not open before a man was dead. On the
15 other side of the road was the waste land, full of wire and iron and the bodies of old
cars. It was his only hope, and he moved towards it; as he did so he knew from the
whistle that the young men were there too.
His fear was great and instant, and the smell of it went from his body to his
nostrils. At that moment one of them spoke, giving directions. He felt so trapped that
20 he was filled suddenly with strength and anger, and he ran towards the waste land
swinging his heavy stick. In the darkness the figure of a man loomed up at him, and
he swung the stick at him, and heard him give a cry of pain. Then he plunged blindly
into the wilderness of wire and iron and the bodies of old cars.
Something caught him by the leg, and he brought his stick crashing down on
25 it, but it was not a man, only some knife-edged piece of iron. He was sobbing and out
of breath, but he pushed on into the waste, while behind him they pushed on also,
knocking against the old iron bodies and kicking against tins and buckets. He fell into
a tangle of wire; it was barbed, and tore at his clothes and flesh. Then it held him, so
that it seemed to him that death must be near, and having no other hope, he cried
30 out, “Help me, help me!” in what should have been a great voice but was voiceless
and gasping. He tore at the wire, and it tore at him too, ripping his face and his hands.
Then suddenly Mike was free. He saw the bus returning, and in its headlights
he could see the shape of a man close to him. He was facing death and for a
moment he was filled with the injustice of life: why should he have to die like this
35 when he had always been hardworking and honest? He lifted the heavy stick and
brought it down on the head of his pursuer, so that the man crumpled to the ground,
moaning and groaning as the life drained out of him.
Mike turned and began to run wildly again, but in the darkness ran into the
side of an old lorry which sent him reeling. He lay there for a moment expecting the
40 blow that would kill him, but even then his wits came back to him, and he turned over
twice and rolled under the lorry. His stomach seemed to be coming into his mouth,
and his lips could taste sweat and blood. His heart thumped wildly in his chest, and
seemed to lift his whole body each time that it beat. He tried to calm it down, thinking
it might be heard, and tried to control the noise of his gasping breath, but he could
45 not do either of these things.

3
 Suddenly against the dark sky he saw two of the young men. He thought they
must hear him, but they themselves were gasping like drowned men, and their speech
came in fits and starts.
Then one of them said, “Can you hear him?”
50 They were silent except for their gasping, listening. And he listened also, but
could hear nothing but his own exhausted heart.
“I heard a man ... running ... on the road,” said one. “He’s got away ... let’s go.”
Then some more of the young men came up, gasping and cursing.
“Freddy,” said one, “your father’s got away.”
55 But there was no reply.
“Where’s Freddy?” one asked.
Another man said, “Quiet!” Then he called in a loud voice, “Freddy.”
But still there was no reply.
“Let’s go,” he said.
60 They moved off slowly and carefully. Then one of them spotted the body and
stopped.
“Look, he’s here,” he said. “It’s Freddy’s father.”
He knelt down on the ground, and then started cursing.
“There’s no money here,” he said.
65 One of the young men lit a match and, in the small light of it, Mike saw him fall
back in horror.
“It’s not his father. It’s Freddy!” one said. “He’s dead!” Then the one who had said
“Quiet” spoke again.
“Lift him up,” he said. “Put him under the lorry.”
70 Under the lorry, Mike heard them struggling with the body of the dead young
man, and he turned once, twice, deeper into his hiding-place. The young men lifted
the body and swung it under the lorry so that it touched him. Then he heard them
moving away, not speaking, slowly and quietly, making an occasional sound.
He turned on his side, so that he would not need to touch the body of his
75 son. He buried his face in his arms and sobbed. Then he lifted himself from under
the lorry, and went heavily out of the waste land.
(from ‘Tales of a Troubled Land’ by Alan Paton)

4
Activity 2 (5 minutes)
Read the specific advice on Q1 and then complete the question
 Highlight the focus of the question
 Draw a box around the section of text specified by the question
 Underline the relevant information
 Write your answer in bullet points in your own words to fit the question: you can
include very short quotations (one or two words) if it helps to make it clear
 Be as precise as you can: vague or general answers might be true but they won’t get
you a mark

Read lines 1-9.

01 List five things Mike experiences or feels in these lines. [5]

Activity 3 (6 minutes)
Read this specific advice on Q2 and then complete the question below
 This is a 5 mark question: you should spend about 6 minutes in total on it
 Highlight key words in the question
 Draw a box around the section of text specified
 This is a WHAT IMPRESSIONS question but it is not about personal opinion: you
need to focus on what the writer is doing to give you the impressions
 Track through the relevant content , underline/highlight words or phrase that you
can use as evidence covering the whole section: you need 5 or 6 quotations
 Begin with a one sentence overview of the overall impression, then get on with
giving examples
 To maximise your mark you should try to add a brief comment about the effect of
the quotation: ”this shows the reader…” “This makes the reader think…”
 To summarise: you are aiming to do 5 to 6 super-short PECs

5
Read lines 10-18.

02 What impressions do you get of the place the story is set? [5]

You should refer to the language used in the text to support your answer, using
relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

6
Activity 4 (10 minutes)
A simple Self-Assessment activity
 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 5+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of Mike’s experiences and feelings?
 Highlight the verbs you have used to describe what the author is doing (portrays,
describes, focuses on, uses, shows, tells, hints, suggests…). Are you being precise
about what the writer is doing?

Activity 5 (13 minutes)

Read this specific advice on Q3 and then write your answer
 This is a 10 mark question: you should spend about 13 minutes in total on it
 Highlight key words in the question
 Draw a box around the section of text specified
 This is a HOW question: the key point is to track through the relevant content, so
underline/highlight words or phrase that you can use as evidence covering the
whole section: you should aim for 8 or more quotations
 Begin with a one sentence overview of the overall impression, then get on with
giving examples
 The question is about what the writer does so write your answer in sentences
beginning “The writer…”
 To maximise your mark you should try to add a brief comment about the effect of
the quotation: “this shows the reader…” “this makes the reader think…”

Read lines 18 - 38.

03 How does the writer make us share in Mike’s panic and fear in these lines?
[10]

You should refer to the language used in the text to support your answer, using
relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

7
Activity 6 (10 minutes)
Complete your self-Assessment on your answer:
 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 8+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of Mike’s panic and fear?
 How many of your quotations are followed by a comment?

8
Activity 7 (13 minutes)
Read this specific guidance on Q4 and then write your answer:
 This is a 10 mark question: you should spend about 13 minutes in total on it
 Highlight key words in the question
 Draw a box around the section of text specified
 This is another HOW question: the key point is to track through the relevant
content, so underline/highlight words or phrase that you can use as evidence
covering the whole section: you should aim for 8 or more quotations
 Begin with a one sentence overview of the overall impression, then get on with
giving examples
 The question is about what the writer does so write your answer in sentences
beginning “The writer…”
 To maximise your mark you should try to add a brief comment about the effect of
the quotation: ”this shows the reader…” “this makes the reader think…”

Read lines 39-60.

04 How does the writer of this passage create tension and drama in this section?
[10]

You should refer to the language used in the text to support your answer, using
relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

9
Activity 8 (10 minutes)
You should be getting the hang of this by now: Self-Assessment Time:

 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 8+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of tension and drama?
 Highlight the verbs you have used to describe what the author is doing (portrays,
describes, focuses on, uses, shows, tells, hints, suggests…). Are you being precise
about what the writer is doing?

10
Activity 9 (13 minutes)
Q5 is different! So pay close attention to this specific advice before answering:

 Pay attention to the question: highlight the key words carefully

 You must combine detailed attention to the specified lines with some comment on
the passage as a whole
 Track through the specified section and highlight the words or phrases you will use
in your answer. Aim for 8+ quotations
 Begin with a one sentence overview of your answer: “Overall, I agree…”
 You must give your opinion: aim to start your sentences with “I think…” or “I feel…”
 You must comment on how the writer creates your thoughts and feelings, but you
do not have to do detailed language analysis

Read lines 61 to the end. Use the whole passage.

05. ‘In the final section, the reader only feels devastated for Mike’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? [10]

You should write about:

 your own thoughts and feelings about way Mike is presented here and in the
passage as a whole
 how the writer has created these thoughts and feelings.

You must refer to the text to support your answer.

11
Activity 10 (10 minutes)
You are looking for different things here, so self-assess carefully:

 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 8+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of your thoughts and feelings? How did
you start your sentences?
 Did you comment on the passage as a whole?

12
Activity 11 (5 minutes)
Read this general advice on Narrative Writing and highlight the key points:

 Stick to the title: if what you write doesn’t match the title you won’t get a good mark
 Structure: Introduction (setting the scene, explaining the situation)/complicating action
(the problem, challenge, dilemma)/climax (the moment when the problem reaches its
peak and something happens to sort it out- for better or worse)/resolution (the new
situation, return to normality). It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic but it does have
to this pattern completed
 Planning: you must plan your paragraphs and decide what you are actually going to put
in them
 Don’t be over ambitious: students often write very detailed openings and then run out
of time. Get into your story straight away.
 Length: you need to be writing at least two sides
 Write about what you know: horror stories, science fiction etc. rarely get good marks.
It’s much better to make it real by including detail that you are confident about. If you
are a fisherman, include some precise stuff about fishing.
 Vary your writing: your story should include some dialogue, some description and
atmosphere, some action
 Characterisation: make sure you include some detail to make your characters
individual: the way they speak, their appearance, their behaviour
 Check your work!

How can I plan to succeed?

 Include the What and the How in your planning:
 What = content (what happens, what you are describing or explaining in your
paragraph)
 How = the writing (your language and any techniques you can use to
communicate effectively)
 Plan where you will include characterisation/descriptive
detail/dialogue/clever cohesive tricks- in other words, the things that are going
to get you a good mark.

Key Reminders about planning:

 Keep your story as simple as possible: it’s only going to last a page and a half
 Set it in the real world and stick to things you know about
 Make sure you plan a definite ending
 Choose a topic that allows you to be sensitive/thoughtful/funny/mature
 Write something you imagine an English teacher would enjoy

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Activity 12 (5 minutes)
Read this plan for the following title, then plan your own for this title.

The Competition

What (content) shall I write? How (writing) shall I write it?

P1 Remembering why this competition was memorable. Thinking back. Thoughtful tone. Lists of
other competitions
P2 Description of fishermen arriving for competition, Details that charaterise the other
me the youngest , finding best spot on riverbank, competitors and myself. Describe the
setting/light Questions - sense of excitement
P3 Other competitors landing catches; me nothing, Dialogue which adds to characterisation and
increasing tension action. Description: adjectives. Similes.
P4 Time running out, desperate, decide to use my Short fast sentences to show despearation.
grandad’s old lure as a last resort: one minute to go
I land a 5kg trout
P5 2nd place! Congratulations from everyone, feel I’m Long sentences listing all the things I did
part of the scene, using semi-colons. Like Charles Dickens
P6 What was so great about that competiton? Thanks Thoughtful conclusion returning to the mood
to Grandad! of paragraph 1. Thinking back.

Title: The Competition

What is happening? How am I going to write it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Activity 13 (5 minutes)
Planning practice: give yourself 5 minutes to draw up a plan for the following title:
Title: Divided
What is happening? How am I going to write it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Activity 14 (5 minutes)
Planning practice: give yourself 5 minutes to draw up a plan for the following title:
Title: Write about a time when you felt really proud of yourself or
someone close to you.
What is happening? How am I going to write it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Activity 15 (5 minutes)
Planning practice: give yourself 5 minutes to draw up a plan for the following title:

Title: Write a story which begins: “The night seemed to be never-

ending...”
What is happening? How am I going to write it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Activity 16 (5 minutes)
Planning practice: give yourself 5 minutes to draw up a plan for the following title:
Title: Write a story which ends: “At least she now knew that nothing
was impossible.”
What is happening? How am I going to write it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Activity 17 Plus Optional Extras (40 minutes)
Write as many practice Narrative Writing pieces as you can schedule in the
time available! Use your red exercise book or lined paper.

Activity 18 (5 minutes)
Self-Assessment of your Narrative Writing:
 Have you shown a good vocabulary? Highlight the 3 most sophisticated words you used.
Then find another three words and replace them with more precise, more interesting
words
 Have you shown effective characterisation? Make 3 changes to make a character more
individual
 Select what you think is your weakest paragraph. Analyse what is weak about it and then
re-write it
 Simple SPG: look for sentences that run on with commas when they need full stops, missing
apostrophes, Capital letters for names…
 Structure: Did you get to the point of your story early enough? Did you have time for an
effective ending? Happy with your paragraphing?

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Component 2
Activity 1 (5 mins)
Read this general advice about Non-Fiction Reading and highlight the key
points
1. As with the Literary Reading in Component 1, this is a test of your Reading Skills so you need
to read as carefully as you can
 Read slowly and carefully, out loud in your head, as if someone was reading it to
you
 Have a pen in your hand: track the text and underline words, phrases and passages
that might be significant
 When you have finished reading take a second to think about the text as a whole:
What has happened? How has the writer presented it?
2. Annotating helps you to focus on the question, find the right material and organise your
answer clearly
 Underline the key words in the question: this will tell you what you have to do
(How, Evaluate…) and help you with your sentence starters (“The writer…” “I
think…” “I feel…”)
 Always draw a box around the section of text specified by the question
 Track through the section of text underlining words and phrases that are relevant
to the theme of the question. Make sure you find evidence all the way through the
section.
3. Don’t read both texts together. Read Text 1, then answer questions 1 and 2. Then read Text
2 and answer questions 3 and 4. Questions 5 and 6 ask you to write about both texts.
4. Timing!

Activity 2 (10 minutes)

Read the specific advice on Q11 and then read Text 1 ‘Inside Supermarkets’
Dark Stores’ and answer Question 11

 This question asks you to find factual information

 It’s only worth 3 marks so don’t waste time

SECTION A: 40 marks
The separate Resource Material for use with Section A is a newspaper article from the
Guardian, ‘Inside Supermarkets’ Dark Stores’
The extract on the opposite page is from ‘London Labour and the London Poor’ by Henry
Mayhew.
Read the newspaper article ‘Inside Supermarkets’ Dark Stores’ in the separate
Resource Material.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL FOR USE WITH SECTION A

Inside Supermarkets’ Dark Stores (Guardian, 2014)

As online shopping is growing, so are the supermarkets’ giant warehouses — with

their robots and “goods-to—person pickstations”. Will all grocery shopping one day
be done this way?

Do you remember what the future of shopping used to be? In place of a trundle
round the high street every few days, we were going to make weekly trips to big—
box supermarkets outside town, delight in the bright produce and the enticing
smells and drive home happy, our cars low on their axles. Well, there’s a new
future now: the “dark store”, the supermarket that we never see at all.

Don’t be too alarmed by the name, or too excited. Desynchronise your watches. A
dark store is just a warehouse full of groceries where staff called “pickers” select
the goods that have been ordered by an online customer. Sometimes they look
almost creepily similar to normal supermarkets. in Hanger Lane, West London,
Waitrose operates a dark store in an old John Lewis carpet warehouse. Inside,
professional pickers roll baskets around the aisles much like civilians, except they
are wrapped up in coats and scarves against the refrigeration system.

Elsewhere, they look like nothing you’ve ever seen. At Tesco’s sixth and newest
dark store in Erith, South-East London, they operate what is basically a giant robot
butler, although they call it a “goods-to—person pickstation” and a “dotcom
centre” (the supermarkets themselves aren’t keen ‘ on the term “dark store”).

19
Instead of laying out the groceries in aisles, at Erith they store most of them more
efficiently in towers of blue crates. The robot extracts whatever is needed and
brings it to the picker, who stands still (until it’s time to visit the freezer).

“It’s a little bit like I imagine going into a Willy Wonka factory,” says Jennifer
Creevy, deputy editor of Retail Week. “It looks really whizzy and there’s crates
moving around. It’s really impressive." Organising things this way saves space and
time, and creates a safer workplace, according to Dematic, the company that built
Tesco’s robots. “With its ergonomic design, you get 100% golden zone single level
picking” they say. And who are we to argue?

No one knows how much of our grocery shopping will eventually be done online,
but everyone agrees it will be a lot more than now. In 2013, the proportion was
about 5.5%. This year it should be around 6%. Within five years the value of the
market is expected to double in size. Much of the current online demand is met by
simply sending pickers around conventional supermarkets, although as demand
rises that becomes less efficient, in part because the physically present customers
keep getting in the way. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose all have plans to
open new dark stores over the coming year or two. “It just makes sense,” Creevy
says. “Online is just showing huge, huge growth. Online and convenience stores.”

So in future, when people are doing all their boring and heavy shopping throu gh
dark stores, and all their interesting and urgent shopping through convenience
stores and local shops, what is going to become of the big boxes? Tesco has
already turned one in Watford into something more like a shopping mall, with a
cafe, a clothes shop, a restaurant and even a community centre. It’s hard to
imagine that strategy always working, however, since shopping malls already
exist. And that may be no bad thing. Perhaps in 20 years you’ll be out in the
countryside and you’ll be able to say to your bored grandchildren: “I remember
when all this was carparks.”

11 (a) Where is Tesco’s most recent ‘dark store’ located? [1]

(b) In 2013, what proportion of supermarket shopping was done online? [1]

(c) Name one thing that Tesco have added to its Watford store to make it more like a
shopping mall? [1]

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Activity 3 (13 minutes)
Read the specific advice on Q12 and then answer the question
 This is a 10 mark question: you should spend about 13 minutes in total on it
 Highlight key words in the question
 This is another HOW question: the key point is to track through the relevant content, so
underline/highlight words or phrase that you can use as evidence covering the whole
section: you should aim for 8 or more quotations
 The question is about what the writer does so write your answer in sentences beginning
“The writer…”
 To maximise your mark you should try to add a brief comment about the effect of the
quotation: “this shows the reader…” “This makes the reader think…”

12 How does the writer try to engage the reader in this topic?
You should comment on:
• what he says
• his use of language, tone and structure [10]

21
Activity 4 (5 minutes)
Self-Assessment of Question 12:
 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 8+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of engaging the reader?
 Highlight the verbs you have used to describe what the author is doing (portrays,
describes, focuses on, uses, shows, tells, hints, suggests…). Are you being precise
about what the writer is doing?
 How many quotations did you comment on?

22
Activity 5 (8 minutes)
Read the specific advice on Q13 and then read the text on the next page and
answer the question

 This question asks you to find factual information

 It’s only worth 3 marks so don’t waste time

13 (a) How much were the ‘stunning pears’? [1]

(b) What is the housewife wearing and carrying? [1]

(c) Name one of the places where a market like this took place? [1]

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 Saturday Night Market, 1851
In 1851 Henry Mayhew walked around London and described the lives of ordinary
Londoners.

There are hundreds of stalls, and every stall has its one or two lights; either it is
illuminated by the intense white light of the new self-generating gas-lamp, or else it is
brightened up by the red smoky flame of the old-fashioned grease lamp. One man
shows off his yellow haddock with a candle stuck in a bundle of firewood; neighbour
makes a candlestick of a huge turnip, and the tallow gutters over its sides; whils t the boy
shouting “Eight a penny, stunning pears!” has rolled his dip 1 in a thick coat of brown
paper, that flares away with the candle. Some stalls are crimson with the fire shining
through the holes beneath the baked chestnut stove; others have handsome octahedral 2
lamps, while a few have a candle shining through a sieve: these, with the sparkling
ground-glass globes of the tea-dealers’ shops, and the butchers’ gaslights streaming
and fluttering in the wind, like flags of flame, pour forth such a flood o f light, that at a
distance the atmosphere immediately above the spot is as lurid as if the street were on
fire.

The pavement and the road are crowded with purchasers and street-sellers. The
housewife in her thick shawl, with the market—basket on her arm, walks slowly on,
stopping now to look at the stall of caps, and now to cheapen a bunch of greens.

Little boys, holding three or four onions in their hand, creep between the people,
wriggling their way through every interstice, and asking for custom in whining tones, as
if seeking charity. Then the tumult of the thousand different cries of the eager dealers,
all shouting at the top of their voices, at one and the same time, is almost bewildering. [.
. .]

Each salesman tries his utmost to sell his wares, tempting the passers-by with his
bargains. The boy with his stock of herbs offers “a double ‘andful of fine parsley for a
penny”; the man with the donkey—cart filled with turnips has three lads to shout for him
to their utmost, with their “Ho! ho! Hi-i-i! What do you think of this here? A penny a
bunch —- hurrah for free trade! Here’s your turnips!” Until it is seen and heard, we have
no sense of the scramble that is going on throughout London for a living. The same
scene takes place at the Brill -- the same in Leather-lane --the same in Tottenham-court-
road -- the same in Whitecross- street; go to whatever corner of the metropolis, you
please, either on a Saturday night or a Sunday morning, and there is the same shouting
and the same struggling to get the penny profit out of the poor man’s Sunday’s dinner.

1
dip — candle made by repeated dipping in tallow or wax.
2
octahedral – a solid shape with 8 faces

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Activity 6 (13 minutes)
Read the specific advice on Question 14 and then answer the question

 Pay attention to the question: highlight it carefully

 Track through the text and highlight the words or phrases you will use in your
answer. Aim for 8+ quotations
 Begin with a one sentence overview of your answer: “Overall, I agree…”
 You must give your opinion but also show HOW the writer describes vividly
 You must comment on how the writer creates your thoughts and feelings, but you
do not have to do detailed language analysis

14 ‘The writer, Henry Mayhew, gives a vivid description of the Saturday Night Market.’
How far do you agree with this statement?
You should comment on:
• what he says
• how he says it
• whether you think the description is vivid - and why
[10]

You must refer to the text to support your comments.

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Activity 7 (5 minutes)
Self-Assessment of Question 14
 Highlight all the quotations you have used. Count them: there should be 8+
 Highlight in a different colour how many times you mentioned the writer
 Are all your points focussed on the theme of vivid description?
 Have you made your opinion clear?
 Highlight the verbs you have used to describe what the author is doing (portrays,
describes, focuses on, uses, shows, tells, hints, suggests…). Are you being precise
about what the writer is doing?

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Activity 8 (5 minutes)
Read the specific advice on Q15 and then answer the question

 Highlight the key words in the question: there will be a definite theme
 Find and highlight the relevant information in both texts
 You do not have to explicitly compare but you must include information from both
texts
 This is a 4 mark question: keep it brief!

15 Using information from both texts, explain briefly the shopping methods of
1851 and 2013. [4]

Activity 9 (13 minutes)

Read the specific advice on Q16 then answer the question

 Highlight the key words in the question

 Pay close attention to the bullet points which will tell you what to include
 Very brief planning will help on this question
 Write a one sentence overview of the difference/similarity between the two texts
 Include material from both texts
 You MUST compare: whereas/similarly/in contrast/in the same way…
 You do need some sense of HOW but getting the right overview of what the writers
are doing is more important than detailed language comments

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16 Compare how the two writers present their views on the experience of shopping.

• the writers’ views on shopping in 1851 and 2013

• how the writers get across their attitudes to their readers [10]
You must use the text to support your comments and make it clear which text you are
referring to

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Activity 10 (5 minutes)
Complete this Self-Assessment of Question 16

 Did you focus on the writers’ views on shopping?

 Highlight where you have used comparison words or phrases: did you compare the
two texts?
 Did you include some comment on what general techniques the writers used?

Activity 11 (5 minutes)
Read this general advice on Functional Writing and highlight the key points

 Make sure you have understood what the question is asking you to do. Highlight the key
words in the question and base your planning around them: Think PAFT
Purpose- What are you trying to achieve by this piece of writing?
Audience- who are you writing for?
Form- what are the ‘rules’ for this type of text? What layout/organisation?
Tone- What tone is required?
 Plan 3 or 4 paragraphs around key ideas
 Make sure these ideas have some development: How would they be implemented? What
would the results be? How would they work?
 How can you make the writing of your ideas interesting? Think back to what you have been
taught and the good examples you have read.

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Activity 12 (30 minutes)
Plan carefully for 5 minutes and then write your response to Question 21

21 This statement appeared in a recent news article.

‘Many people believe that parenting is to blame for poor behaviour amongst
teenagers.’

Write a letter to the newspaper giving your views on this statement. [20]

Plan your letter here (5 mins)

Remember to leave some minutes at the end to read-through and proof-read

your work.

Use your red exercise book or lined paper to write and check your answer in
25 minutes.

Activity 13 (5 minutes)
Self-Assessment of Question 21
 Re-read what you have written and check back against PAFT: did you stay true to the
task?
 Highlight the 3 words or phrases that you think will most impress the examiner
 Find 3 words or phrases that you think could be improved and change them
 Select what you think is your weakest paragraph. Analyse what is weak about it and
then re-write it

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Activity 14 (30 minutes)
Plan carefully for 5 minutes and then write your response to Question 22

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‘Our obsession with online shopping needs to end. It is addictive, makes us lazy and
means we do not engage with the world around us.’

Write a lively article for your school magazine giving your views on this statement.
[20]

Plan your letter here (5 mins)

Remember to leave some minutes at the end to read-through and proof-read

your work.
Use your red exercise book or lined paper to write and check your answer in
25 minutes.

Activity 15 (5 minutes)
Self-Assessment of Question 22
 Re-read what you have written and check back against PAF: did you stay true to the
task?
 Highlight the 3 words or phrases that you think will most impress the examiner
 Find 3 words or phrases that you think could be improved and change them
 Select what you think is your weakest paragraph. Analyse what is weak about it and
then re-write it

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