Both English language papers set by the AQA examination board have had the same format for a number of years and we have no reason to believe that they'll be changing it any time soon. The first four questions are based on one of the following:
The first four questions always follow the same basic format (with very rare variations).
This always asks you to produce four facts from the passage, and is worth 4 marks (one per fact). This question is phrased one of two ways:
There's not much that we can say about this question, other than it's worth noting the strategy in the second of these two options if you want to change your mind. You will (I assume) be sitting a paper-based exam and you select the four true statements by colouring in ovals using a pencil. The paper gives a standard set of instructions if you want to change an answer that you have coloured in, and I suggest that you become familiar with this list before sitting the exam so you don't have to waste time reading them when the clock is ticking.
Choose four statements below which are true.
Here's something to note about question 1. If you are asked to produce your own facts, you should try to make them independent of each other, if possible. For instance, consider this passage excerpt from a past paper:
The jungle was high and the jungle was broad. Sounds like music and flying tents filled the sky, and those were pterodactyls soaring with huge grey wings. 'I've hunted tiger, wild boar, buffalo, elephant, but now, this is it,' said Eckels. 'I'm shaking like a kid.' 'Ah,' said Travis. Everyone stopped. Travis raised his hand. 'Ahead,' he whispered, 'in the mist. There he is. There's his Royal Majesty now.' The jungle was wide and full of twitterings, rustlings, murmurs, and sighs. |
1. List four things about this jungle from this part of the source.
Bad answer:
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Good answer:
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Can you tell what makes the answer on the left bad and the answer on the right good?
This question typically takes the following format, and is always worth 8 marks:
"How does the writer use language to describe XXX?"
Here are things that you can consider when answering this question:
Please note that the examiner will expect you to make inferences from the text, i.e. not just the way that the writer uses language, but what you think the writer is trying to convey:
"The writer compares the cliff to a giant striding through the sea." | A reasonable answer |
"The writer compares the cliff to a giant striding through the sea in order to heighten the tension and convey the narrator's terror as he approaches it." | A good answer |
I have heard from an authoratitive source that the best answers to this question should contain somewhere between 100 and 120 words, although, of course, the quality of what you write is more important than the quantity of words. The examiners are instructed to give you marks for work that they deem correct, but not to take away marks for work that isn't. This means that if you write mainly good stuff plus a few sentences of absolute rubbish, you won't lose marks because of the rubbish, you just won't gain any.
However, writing rubbish is not only time-consuming, but it can alienate the examiner. You need to keep him/her on your side. For this reason, keep the unnecessary stuff down to a minimum. Take a look at these two sentences:
You would be given credit for all the words in light blue, but no credit for the words in pink. Minimise them, to save yourself time and effort.
In this extract from his autobiography, notorious conman Freddie Belcher describes his feelings on being released from a long prison sentence. Here, he is wandering round a public park on the day of his release.
I stood there, rooted to the spot, simply drinking in the heady atmosphere of the public park. All around me there were groups of children, laughing, playing, throwing balls and catching them, with their parental "guards" chatting in a relaxed manner nearby, only casting the occasional glance at their offspring. Would that I had been so free these last five years! Suddenly, I had the uncontrollable urge to join the children. I looked around for a prison officer to give me permission, before catching myself and realising that I didn't need permission. And so I ran. And ran. And ran.
By the time I stopped I was huffing and puffing and half a mile from where I had been. Exhausted, but still exhilarated. I was floating on air, intoxicated on my new-found liberty, an over-ripe fruit about to burst with euphoria. I was one of those children. All around me the flowers were nodding their heads in the breeze. Daffodils, dandelions, delphiniums, all nodding wisely in my direction. You see? What could be clearer than that? Even the flowers themselves approved of my release from that dismal hell hole. |
"How does the author use language to describe his state of mind when he is in the park?"
In each case I would like you to explain a particular language point and what it tells us. You should enter no fewer than three words joining the two parts of your answer so that they form one sentence. The first one is done for you so that you can figure out what the heck I'm asking: