English Language Paper 1 - Questions 1 & 2

Hi folks,

Here's some advice ahead of Paper 1 on Wednesday.

First, a reminder of the questions and suggested timings:

These timings come from AQA, so serve as a useful guide. But remember, there's only one text to read (about a side) so you might well be able to read and annotate the text carefully in ten minutes. If so, I'd save that extra five minutes for Q4. Another general tip: underline key words in the question.

Q1) List four things...

Try to get this one done in less than 5 minutes.

Your only concern here is to avoid basic errors. So, remember:

• The points must be taken from the lines specified in the question.
• The points must refer to the key word in the question (e.g. if the question asks about the car in lines 1 – 5, you mustn’t comment on, for example, the weather/the dog/the woman).
• Write each answer in your own words in a simple sentence. E.g:

Q2)  Language

You have about 10 minutes to answer this 8-marker.

This question should be fairly straightforward. You are directed towards a short passage from the text. You have to comment on the writer's language choices and methods (perhaps including sentence structure) and their effects. That means you should be looking out for (and annotating):

• word choices (e.g. stong verbs? adjectives? adverbssemantic fields? positive/negative connotations? hyperbole? contrasts? emotive language?) Also consider how sound has influenced word choices (e.g. alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia).
• imagery (e.g. simile/metaphor/personification)
• sentences (e.g. congeries/lists, simple sentences, tricolon, anaphora, anadiplosis etc.)  

Remember, as always, it is vital that you don't stop at noticing techniques - you must comment on why they are effective. 

Some example sentence stems for Q2: 
Making a point

• The writer uses metaphor in order to...
• The writer uses a string of powerful verbs to...
• The writer uses plenty of alliteration; the use of plosives creates a cacophony of sound to imitate the sounds of the storm...
• In the middle of the extract, a congeries is used to pile up the descriptive detail and overwhelm the reader...

Follow up your quotes by analysing and commenting on effect (ZOOM IN):

• The word ___________ has connotations of...
• The word __________ has the effect of...
• This suggests...
• This use of imagery has the effect of...
• The use of the short sentence at this point is particularly effective because...

Here's a good example from your mock:

For a good explanation of the different alliterative sounds writers might use (and their effects), see here.

Finally, here's a quote from an AQA examiner following a training session for examiners:

"...we were categorically told that the examiners would be told not to look for ‘feature spotting’ – the most weighting of the awarded marks lies in the comments on effect. We were told that candidates could still get a top band without subject-specific language; that decent analysis of a metaphor is more important than using the word ‘metaphor.’"

In other words, technical langauge is great if you know it, but explaining the effect of each technique is the most important thing.
 

Check your emails for examples of papers.
In my next posts, I'll be going through the structure and evaluation questions (Q3 & 4).


Mr M
 

You can't really revise for English Language, right?

Wrong!

Here is a list of things I suggest you do:

1) Build your vocab. This is hugely important; both your ability to understand/analyse and your ability to write is largely determined by your vocabulary. Revise the key words you've learnt during the course - and try to learn some of these. Remember, you can star about 10-20 words at a time (then filter to just include the starred items) and concentrate on learning those.

2) Revise your analytical vocabulary and rhetorical devices. Make sure you know these and/or these. Be ready to show what you can do in the exam. Give the examiner some variety, some conscious crafting of language: use alliteration, epizeuxis, anaphora etc.

3) Brush up on those common writing errors.

4) Know the two Language papers inside out. Memorise the questions on each paper and the timings (see below for the essentials). Paper 1 is next Tuesday (June 6th). Paper 2 is the Monday after (12th June). Both papers are in the morning, so you can think about what time you need to be moving on to the next question. I'll send you some papers via email, starting with Paper 1.

5) Practise!

Here's an overview of the two papers:

In the next post, I'll run through a series of reminders for Paper 1, including top tips from examiners.



I hope you're enjoying half-term!


Mr M 

AIC - other characters

Hi,

One final post.

1) Remember your timings for tomorrow. You can find them on the right-hand side of this doc:

2) I thought I'd throw together a few ideas about questions focused on other characters. Here goes:

Gerald

Early impressions: 'easy well-bred man about town'. Polite. This is shown through Gerald's charm and his agreement with everything that Birling says. This stage direction gives an early hint about his womanising too. Higher social class than Birling - indications that his parents don't approve. Early clue about 'last summer' - 'I was awfully busy at the works'. He clearly has something to hide. Which brings us to...

Development: his use of euphemistic language ('women of the town', 'I don't come into this suicide business'). He uses language to sanitise his backstory. He also seems to be hyper-aware of the need to 'seem like a nice, well-behaved family.' The word 'seemed' sums Gerald up. He thinks appearances are everything ('we're respectable citizens and not criminals.') He seems selfish when he says 'I became at once the most important person in her life' and later calls her 'gallant' when he ditches her. It seems that his affair made him feel important and heroic, undermining his claim that he was just trying to help. He considers factory workers to be all alike ('They'll be broke if I know them...) However, he does show signs of regret: 'I've suddenly realised - taken it in properly - that she's dead...' His smooth exterior is broken here, shown by his fragmented sentences.

Conclusions/Endings: Ultimately, Gerald is happy to wriggle out of his responsibilities as he has the most to lose in any change in society. Gerald floats in between the two sides of the young/old, capitalist/socialist dichotomies. He can change, but it is not in his interests to do so. Priestley seems to be saying that we can't trust the powerful to change society; the ordinary workers need to do it themselves (i.e. stop 'asking for the earth', but 'take it'.)


Mrs B

Early impressions: control freak (reluctant to have some port), constantly chastising her children and even her husband (who is her social inferior). Tries to control proceedings, for example by diverting attention from Eric's drinking on to Sheila's language. She also tells Sheila when to leave so that the men can talk. She is deferential towards men. She represents the status quo - she is elitist, prejudiced.

Development: Mrs Birling is used to controlling proceedings, so reacts particularly defensively when the Inspector takes control. Her prejudice against working class girls is revealed ('Girls of that class...) and she thinks of them as all being the same. She is supercilious and self-righteous. She only weakens when the Inspector traps her into condemning her own son. She is so keen to evade the blame herself, that she passes it onto her son. 

Conclusions/Endings: Finally, Mrs Birling ends up back where she began (circular structure/ static character). She shows that society needs to be taught through 'fire and blood and anguish'. Mrs B represents the ignorance of the elite. She is obsessed with superficial things like appearances, reputation and manners.



I hope this helps. I'd be a good idea to try the same for Eric. Remember, Eric has already lost his innocence at the start of the play and has already lost faith in his parents. His life is 'sport' - he is bored and reckless. He drinks too much, he's full of self-loathing but the Inspector gives him the opportunity to redeem himself and change his ways. Both Eric and Sheila are like the 'Everyman' of medieval morality plays. They sin but then have the opportunity to learn and grow.

Another possibility: Eva. We did some work on finding Eva - it should be in your books. She represents the working class and is revealed to us only through the words of others. We learn that she is strong and brave at the start, selfless and gallant in her relationship with Gerald, but ultimately she is broken, desperate and weak by the end. Remember to comment on how she has been portrayed on screen and on the significance of her multiple identities. Finally, Priestley wants us to focus on the 'millions and millions of Eva Smiths' out there. 


Good luck!


Mr M

PS. Final tip: make sure you know your '-isms'. The examiners want to see you discussing the big ideas in the play and Priestley's message.

AIC Character Questions - Inspector Goole

Hello,

I thought I'd put together a few outline plans for different characters in An Inspector Calls, using the basic three part structure I've outlined. Here on on...

Inspector Goole:

Early impressions

• The lighting changes from 'pink and intimate' to 'harsh and bright' when he arrives, indicating a change in mood. The initial scene has been celebratory and full of Birling's confidence and complacency - Birling dominates. With the arrival of the Inspector, there is a shift in mood. Perhaps the brighter light represents the light of truth which will reveal the true nature of the Birling family? The Inspector's 'massiveness' means that Birling no longer dominates the stage. The Inspector now stage manages the whole thing, even apparently controlling entrances and exits.
• The name - GHOUL? A clue about his purpose/identity. Is he a supernatural creature, here to feed off the humans on stage?
• Unusual policeman - not interested in Brumley's social hierarchy. Not interested in the law or police procedure. Focuses on morality. He wants the Birlings to witness each other's guilt, even though it's 'one person and one line of inquiry at a time.'

Development

• Dysphemism - 'her position is that she lies with a burnt out inside on a slab.' The Inspector's role is to break down the wall that the Birlings build up to protect themselves. His use of blunt, harsh language is used in contrast to the Birlings euphemistic language.
• Socialist mouthpiece: The Inspector focused on social responsibility and morality, not the law. 'You can divide the responsibility between you...'
• He seems to vaguely warn about revolution: 'It's better to ask for the earth than to take it.'
• stage directions - he 'cuts in massively'. 
• He waits for Eric's arrival and seems aware of the future.
• He moralises - 'we'll have to share our guilt'. Seems to be about 'we' (i.e. society) not the Birlings. 'Some young men drink far too much.' 'Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilites as well as privileges.'

Conclusions/Endings

• Final speech - highly rhetorical (eg. anaphora, short sentences (parataxis), lists of three, imagery, polysyndeton). He addresses the audience and makes it clear that this is no longer about the Birlings ('millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths')
• 'fire and blood and anguish' - war? hell? Consider context here. What would the audience in 1945 think?
• Finally, interpret. Who or what is Goole? Is he a spirit? A personification of the public conscience? Is he Priestley himself, come back in time to accuse those he sees as responsible for the disasters of the period between 1912 and 1945?

More ideas here:

There might be another blog later. 

Good luck! 

Mr M

More AIC stuff - Priestley's methods

Hi,

A reminder. Make sure you know and understand this stuff:

And one reminder of this:

Mr M

An Inspector Calls - Structuring a response

Hi,

For Section A of Lit Paper 2, you have to answer one essay question on An Inspector Calls. 

Here are the question focused covered in the sample papers provided by AQA:

• how and why does Sheila change
• responsibility
• contrasts between young and old
• the ending

So what could come up in your exam? The answer is... almost anything. You need to be prepared for a range of questions.

However, it's likely that your question will either be something that has not been covered in the bullet points above - perhaps a question focused on one of the characters. Mr or Mrs Birling? Eric? Gerald? Eva? The Inspector? I also like the 'contrasts' question: think young/old, rich/poor, capitalist/socialist, realism/the unreal ending. Dichotomies.

The rest of this post is lifted from an old blog of mine on Mr Birling. I think a question on Inspector Goole (or Eric,or even Gerald) is more likely (as Mr Birling did come up in the year I wrote this post!) - and I'll try to blog on this subject too.

So, what might a question on Mr B look like?

• How does Priestley undermine Mr Birling in An Inspector Calls?
• Mr Birling is a static character and is nothing more than a personification of capitalism. How does Priestley use Mr Birling to criticise capitalism?

Here's some thoughts about how to structure an answer to one of these questions:


Intro - first impressions:
stage directions and early dialogue - 'provincial speech' and manner hints at modest roots, but he's very quickly forgotten where he came from. Selfish and business obsessed - even at daughter's engagement: 'lower costs and higher prices' - Priestley hinting at his attitude towards his workers. Desperate to impress Gerald and possibly insecure. Hints that he's not as 'comfortable' as he tries to make out. Worries about the Crofts not being there and whether the celebration is lavish enough.

Dramatic irony:
Titanic - obvious reference which makes him sound buffoon-like. Repetition and categorical assertions ('unsinkable... absolutely unsinkable) highlight his over-confidence. War - more emotive. The references to 1940, Russia and H.G Wells/G.B Shaw would resonate with a 1940s audience in particular, and highlight the capitalist/socialist dichotomy.

Interrogation:
His attempts to intimidate Goole show that he's self-important and feels like he should be above the law. He is set up for a fall. Defensive quotes: 'If everyone was responsible...awkward.' etc. Euphemisms: 'horrid business'.

Comments on the interrogation of others:
Initially seems glad to not be the only one involved. Criticises others. Defends Gerald's adultery etc.

Realisation:
'Inspector, I'd give thousands' etc.

Ending:
Ends up laughing at the 'famous younger generation'. Circular structure mirrors his return to complacency. Somewhat lighthearted, silly language shows his growing excitement at getting away with it. 'By jingo, a fake.'

Conclusion:
Birling = capitalism. Static character intended to personify all the faults and complacency of Edwardian England - which led us, in Priestley's view, to war. Characterisation is not subtle - we are meant to see him as a buffoon from the very start. Whatever he says after the Titanic reference is not to be trusted - neither are his capitalist views. Titanic as metaphor for Birlings with their confidence, wealth and ultimately, their downfall.


A simple plan to try for any question is:

1) Early impressions of ___________ (theme or character)
2) Development
3) Endings (the character or theme's eventual destination)
4) Conclusion - interpret (Priestley message + the big picture)



In addition, I've found this helpful revision powerpoint. Take a look.

I'll try to do a similar plan 

   

Keep revising - and let me know if you need anything.



Mr M 

Unseen Poem 2 - Stick to methods

Hi,

A quick reminder about the second unseen question:

• it's only worth 8 marks
• you only have around 15 minutes to do it
• it is only assessed on AO2 (comparing the writer's methods)

The question will be in this format:

In both ______ and ______ the speakers describe _________. What are the similarities and/or differences between the ways the poets present these attitudes? 

[8 marks]

My advice is:

• Read poem 2, just thinking about methods (language and structure)
• Note down anything you notice and look for similarities and differences with poem 1
• Write 2-3 Both/However paragraphs.

Typical comparisons might be:

• Both poems use an extended metaphor to get across _________________. (Discuss how the use of metaphor is similar in the poems by commenting on quotes) However, (Discuss differences and interpretations  of the two metaphors)

• Both poems use rhyme. In ______, (discuss the effect of the rhyme in poem 1 and compare to poem 2). However, in ______, the structure is much more regular. Perhaps this represents _____________________.

• Both poets use powerful verbs.... However
• Both poems feature a motif/symbolism of nature.... However...

Easy peasy.

Mr M