GCSE: Information on the Summer Exams

English Faculty

March 2012

GCSE English Language / GCSE Literature The Basic Details Below are the key details about each examination.

GCSE English Language The basic details How to help your child to prepare Paper One Section Section Read through 2 ¼ hours A B newspaper/magazine Response to three Writing to inform, article alongside non--‐ fiction and media explain, describe. the non-fiction terms. 1 40% of texts. Writing to argue, • Using past papers Language grade Students will need to persuade. and mark schemes answer all questions. Students will need (in online material) 40 marks to answer both mark your child’s questions. practice papers. 40 marks

GCSE English Literature The basic details How to help your child to prepare Paper Two Section A Section B Re-read all of the poems 1 ¼ hours Poetry: Moon on the Unseen Poetry. from the cluster in the Tides. Students will anthology. 35% of Students will respond to respond to an Condense notes and one question (from a unseen poem. create revision materials Literature grade choice of two) from their There will be one including crib sheets and chosen cluster. compulsory question cue cards. (H), or two questions Test your child on key 36 marks (F). quotes, ideas. 18 marks Encourage them to complete practice questions/essays.

English Language Exam Information on the Content of the Examination Higher Paper Section A – Reading (1 hour 15 minutes) In this section you will be given 3 non-fiction texts and you will be asked to read them and answer questions. The texts will be labelled Item 1, Item 2 and Item 3. Examples of the types of non-fiction texts you could be given are: a magazine front cover or article / piece of journalism; a webpage; an extract from a biography; a piece of travel writing; a piece of promotion writing. You should read each item individually and decide what you think the GAP is for each (Genre / Audience / Purpose). It is important you understand this information before you begin to answer the questions. When you have read and understood item 1 answer question 1, then read item 2 and answer question 2 etc. You will have 4 questions in total to answer and the marks for each question will vary. They will also get progressively harder. Read the questions carefully to check with item they are asking you to look at. Also look carefully at the number of marks on offer and adjust the amount of time you spend on each question accordingly. Question What do I have to do? Number and Marks 1  This question will ask you to read, understand and retrieve information from Item 1. 8 marks  In this response you will be asked to show your understanding of the item linked to the question.  A typical question would be: What do you learn from the article about the writer’s life and 2 career?  You will need to quote from the text and show you understand this in your response. 2  This question will test your ability to read, understand and interpret the presentational 8 marks devices in Item 2.  In this question you cannot necessarily quote from the text, but it still must be clear in your response about which part of the text you’re looking at e.g. the large image of the model in the middle of the cover is... / the bold red font used in the heading in the top left hand corner is...  In this question ensure you comment on the effects achieved through the presentational devices and are not just describing what you see. E.g. there is a colour photograph of Cheryl Cole – it has no caption which implies that we are likely to know who she is.  You will need to explain what effect you think the devices have on the reader or why you think the writer has included this device in their writing. 3  This question will test your ability to understand and interpret Item 3. 12  In this response you will need to offer an opinion / judgement of the text and will again marks need to structure your response using P.E.E.  In this response you will need to include several quotations to support your judgements. Link your ideas to audience and purpose.  A typical question for this would be: Explain which parts of the item 3 you find persuasive and why. 4  This is a comparison question and one item will be mentioned in the question and you will 12 select the second item to analyse. marks  You will need to use a P.E.E structure and you will need to provide several quotations to comment on directly.  In this question you will need to look and comment on the impact of the language. You will also need to be technical in your analysis so will need to look at word class and any literary techniques that have been employed e.g. rhetorical questions, similes, alliteration.  You need to ensure that you comment on the effects on the reader and what you think the writer’s purpose was and why they included certain features.  A typical question for this would be: Compare the different ways language is used for effect in item 1 and one other of your choice.

Key Vocabulary Facts Statistics Opinions Adjectives Adverbs Verbs Pronouns Nouns Proper Similes Metaphors Alliteration Repetition Rhetorical List of Imperative nouns question three verbs Modal Emotive Syntax Headings Language Effect Sub- Images verbs language headings Graphics Colours Captions Structure Logo Slogan Bold font Audience Purpose Form Genre Abstract Proper Direct Colloquial Standard nouns nouns address language English Tone Topic Text Highlightin Bullet Similar Contrasts Sections g points Formal Informal Semantic Non-fiction Persuasiv Register Rhetorical Presentatio language language fields e devices nal devices language

Section B – Writing (1 hour) In this section you will need to complete 2 writing tasks. A shorter and longer writing task so ensure you follow the time suggestions carefully. You should spend 25 minutes on the first task and 35 minutes on the second writing task. In both of these tasks your marks will be divided up and you will be offered a separate mark for your communication / organisation of ideas and one for your skills / accuracy. This means that you will 3 not only be marked on WHAT you write but also HOW you write it. Therefore you must consider your spelling, sentence structure, paragraphing and the overall structure of your writing, as well as work on including the different conventions of the writing style. You also need to consider the GAP before you begin to write. Read the question carefully and consider the genre, audience and purpose. For example if you have been asked to write a letter you must have the correct opening and close for this genre. You have to answer both questions and you should plan your responses and also leave time to proof read your work. Before you sit this exam you should have revised and be familiar with the requirements of each of the five writing styles you have been taught by your teacher. You could be asked to write in any of these styles and you will not have a choice of question.

Writing task 1 25 minutes – Inform, Explain or Describe (16 marks)

Writing task 2 35 minutes – Argue or Persuade (24 marks)

English Language Exam Information on the Content of the Examination Foundation Paper Section A – Reading (1 hour 15 minutes) In this section you will be given 3 non-fiction texts and you will be asked to read them and answer questions. The texts will be labelled Item 1, Item 2 and Item 3. Examples of the types of non-fiction texts you could be given are: a magazine front cover or article / piece of journalism; a webpage; an extract from a biography; a piece of travel writing; a piece of promotion writing. You should read each item individually and decide what you think the GAP is for each (Genre / Audience / Purpose). It is important you understand this information before you begin to answer the questions. When you have read and understood item 1 answer questions 1a and 1b, then read item 2 and answer question 2 etc. You will have 5 questions in total to answer and the marks for each question will vary. They will also get progressively harder. Read the questions carefully to check with item they are asking you to look at. Also look carefully at the number of marks on offer and adjust the amount of time you spend on each question accordingly (spend the longest amount of time on questions 3 and 4). Question What do I have to do? Number and Marks 1a  This question will ask you to read, understand and retrieve information from Item 1. 4 marks  You will be able to present this question in bullet points or in the form of a list.  You will gain one mark for everyone correct element you have identified and you can quote directly from the text.  Typical question: List 4 reasons the writer gives to stop smoking 1b  Again you will be asked to retrieve information and ideas from Item 1. 4 marks  A typical question would be: What was the writer’s reaction to the praise they received?  This question requires you to include a quotation from the text and to show your understanding of it, therefore you should use a P.E.E structure. 2  This question will test your ability to read, understand and interpret Item 2. 8 marks  You will need to use P.E.E to structure this response and you must show your understanding of the quotations in your answer.  A typical question for this would be: What reasons are given to persuade the reader to 4 donate money to the charity? / How the writer feel about child poverty in the UK? 3  This question will ask you analyse the language in the text and the effects achieved in 12 Item 3. marks  You will need to use a P.E.E structure and you will need to provide several quotations to comment on directly.  In this question you will need to look and comment on the impact of the language. You will also need to be technical in your analysis so will need to look at word class and any literary techniques that have been employed e.g. rhetorical questions, similes, alliteration.  A typical question for this would be: How does the writer use language to inform and persuade the reader? 4  This is a comparison question and you will select which two items you will analyse in your 12 response. marks  In this question you will need to compare the use and effects of the presentation devices e.g. headings, images, colours.  In this question you cannot necessarily quote from the text, but it still must be clear in your response about which part of the text you’re looking at e.g. the large image of the model in the middle of the cover is... / the bold red font used in the heading in the top left hand corner is...  In this question ensure you comment on the effects achieved through the presentational devices and are not just describing what you see. E.g. there is a colour photograph of Cheryl Cole – it has no caption which implies that we are likely to know who she is.  Typical question: Choose 2 of the 3 sources and compare the ways that both texts use presentational devices for effect. Remember to write about the way the sources are presented and compare how they look.

Section B – Writing (1 hour) In this section you will need to complete 2 writing tasks. A shorter and longer writing task so ensure you follow the time suggestions carefully. You should spend 25 minutes on the first task and 35 minutes on the second writing task. In both of these tasks your marks will be divided up and you will be offered a separate mark for your communication / organisation of ideas and one for your skills / accuracy. This means that you will not only be marked on WHAT you write but also HOW you write it. Therefore you must consider your spelling, sentence structure, paragraphing and the overall structure of your writing, as well as work on including the different conventions of the writing style. You also need to consider the GAP before you begin to write. Read the question carefully and consider the genre, audience and purpose. For example if you have been asked to write a letter you must have the correct opening and close for this genre. 5 You have to answer both questions and you should plan your responses and also leave time to proof read your work. Before you sit this exam you should have revised and be familiar with the requirements of each of the five writing styles you have been taught by your teacher. You could be asked to write in any of these styles and you will not have a choice of question.

Writing task 1 Question 5 25 minutes – Inform, Explain or Describe (16 marks) Question 5 will test writing to inform, explain and describe. This question will usually ask you to write in letter or email format. We advise students to spend 25 minutes on this question. Question 5 will be worth 16 marks Typical question: 5) Write a letter to a relative explaining why where you live is an ideal place to visit. Remember to write about a place and to explain.

Writing task 2 Question 6 35 minutes – Argue or Persuade (24 marks)Question 6 will test writing to argue and persuade. This question will usually ask students to write in a formal letter or article format. We advise students to spend 35 minutes on this question. Question 5 will be worth 24 marks Sample question: 6) Choose an activity or a hobby that you are interested in. Write an article for a school magazine persuading students to try it. Remember to write an article for students and remember to persuade.

English Literature Exam Information on the Content of the Examination Foundation & Higher Paper

Poetry across time (35%) Section A: Poetry cluster from the Anthology (23%) In this section students will be asked to answer a question on poems that they have studied in class. Each class has studied a specific cluster , which means that the poems are all based around the theme of that cluster, e.g. ‘character and voice’ or ‘place’, respectively. The poems include a group of literary heritage poetry and a group of contemporary poems. Students will be given 45 minutes to write an essay response to a question comparing two poems from the studied cluster. Students will be expected to be able to comment on the use of poetic devices and the effects that these have on the reader, as well as using their knowledge of the context of the poems and supporting their answers with evidence from the poems. Section B: Responding to an unseen poem (12%) In this section students will be given a poem that they will not have studied or read in class and will be given 30 minutes to read the poem and to answer either one question (Higher examination) or two questions (Foundation examination) about the poem. Students have to demonstrate that they understand the ideas that are being presented in the poem and that they can also analyse the way language and poetic devices are used in the poem to create effect. Students will be expected to answer using examples from the poem to support their argument. 6 A way into a poem SMILE criteria for writing about poetry. Structure, Meaning, Imagery, Language, Effect (always end with the poem's effect on you) Another acronym... ▸ S – Subject and theme ▸ I - Imagery ▸ L – Layout/Form ▸ V - Viewpoint ▸ E – Emotions/Mood ▸ R – Rhythm/Rhyme

Remember

 Read the poem carefully more than once  Annotate the poem quickly  You have 30 minutes to answer the question  Spend 5 minutes reading the poem and annotating  Think about the poem.

KEY TERMS: POETRY What is Alliteration? What is Assonance? What is a Ballad? A poem that tells a story The repetition of the same The repetition or a pattern of similar to a folk tale or legend consonant sounds at any (the same) vowel sounds, as and often has a repeated place, but often at the in the tongue twister: refrain. The Rime of the beginning of words. Some "Moses supposes his toeses Ancient Mariner by Samuel famous examples of are roses." Taylor Coleridge is an alliteration are tongue example of a ballad. twisters. She sells seashells by the seashore, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. What is a Couplet? What is Enjambement? What is Hyperbole? In a poem, a pair of lines A line ending in which the A figure of speech in which that are the same length sense continues, with no deliberate exaggeration is and (usually) rhyme and punctuation, into the used for emphasis. Many form a complete thought. following line or stanza. everyday expressions are Shakespearean sonnets "But in contentment I still examples of hyperbole: usually end in a couplet. feel tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc. The need of some Hyperbole is the opposite of imperishable bliss." litotes. What is Imagery? What is a Metaphor? What is Onomatopoeia? The use of pictures, figures A figure of speech in which A figure of speech in which

7 of speech and description to two things are compared, words are used to imitate evoke ideas feelings, usually by saying one thing is sounds. Examples of objects actions, states of another, or by substituting a onomatopoeic words are: mind etc. more descriptive word for the buzz, hiss, zing, clippety- more common or usual word clop, cock-a-doodle-do, pop, that would be expected. splat, thump, tick-tock. Some examples of Another example of metaphors: onomatopoeia is found in this the world's a stage, he was a line from Tennyson's Come lion in battle, drowning in Down, O Maid: debt, and a sea of troubles. "The moan of doves in It is probably the most immemorial elms,/And important figure of speech to murmuring of innumerable comment on in an essay. bees” The repeated "m/n" sounds reinforce the idea of "murmuring" by imitating the hum of insects on a warm summer day

What is Personification? What is a Refrain? What is Rhyme? A figure of speech in which A phrase, line, or group of The occurrence of the same nonhuman things or abstract lines that is repeated or similar sounds at the end ideas are given human throughout a poem, usually of two or more words. attributes: after every stanza. The pattern of rhyme in a the sky is crying, dead leaves stanza or poem is shown danced in the wind, blind usually by using a different justice. letter for each final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.

What is the Rhyme What is a Simile? What is a Stanza? scheme? A figure of speech in which Two or more lines of poetry The pattern that is made by two things are compared that together form one of the the rhyme within each using the word "like" or "as." divisions of a poem. The stanza or verse. An example of a simile using stanzas of a poem are like occurs in Langston usually of the same length Hughes's poem ‘Harlem’: and follow the same pattern "What happens to a dream of meter and rhyme. deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?" What is a Symbol?

8 When a word, phrase or image 'stands for' an idea or theme. The sun could symbolize life and energy or a red rose could symbolize romantic love.

General Advice You are advised to spend 30 minutes on the Unseen Poetry question. The following two assessment objectives are tested in Section B:  AO1: Respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations.

This means it is a good idea to have your ownpersonalandcritical ideas about the poem and be able to think imaginatively about what the poet does with the imagery, thethemes, the voice, the language etc. As it’s an unseen poem, it will have to be your own ideas – just make sure they’re credible and you can back them up. Obviously, you have to get good short quotations to prove those ideas you have about the poem!  AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings.

This means you have to look in real detail at the words and techniques the poet uses to create the themes, the rhythm, the subject matter, the voice and the tone of the poem form. In addition, if you know what specific form of poem you are reading, you should make a point about how the poet uses that form – maybe it’s a sonnet, a villanelle, a dramatic monologue etc… What poetic devices are utilised? Is there a rhyme scheme and has it been used for a reason? Imagery? Contrasts? Specific vocabulary etc..? How do they have on an impact? In addition, you must make a point about the structure of the poem. What happens where? It may be something about how each stanza starts. It could be about when the poem changes tone. It could be about how the poem builds. It could be about a point or a line that is repeated to have a deliberate structural effect. Make at least one point about structure! Example Unseen Poem and Question: June 2011 ©AQA How do you think the speaker feels about the child and his experience of learning to read and how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings?

9 When answering the question, “saying a lot about a little” is needed. You should ideally select one or two quotations from the unseen poem, about which you can say several things. It is a proven way of gaining the higher marks on AO2.

Below are two example paragraphs that use that principle. The AO1 objectives (Imaginative ideas, textual detail, Interpretations) have been highlighted in blue. The AO2 objective (Language, structure and Form) in red. Each paragraph addresses a different part of the overall question: How do you think the speaker feels about the child and his experience of learning to read and how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings? How do you think the speaker feels about the child and his experience of learningto read?

At the start of the poem, the poet uses a list o show the child’s many other varied skills: “make sculptures…fabulous machines…invent games”. The specific use of dynamic verbs and positive adjectives in the list show that at the start of the poem, the poet believes in the child’s different abilities. By using the words “sculptures” and “invent”, which are words that conjure up complex adult and artistic endeavours, the poet clearly sees the child as incredibly capable. In addition, the use of “fabulous” helps to show that what he puts together is worthy of high praise. As mentioned, at the outset of the poem, the poet clearly values the child. The poet does this in order to strongly show in the rest of the poem that the process of reading is only one of many difficult experiences that children have to learn and they may struggle in spite of their other valuable skills.

How does the poet present the speaker’s feelings? The poet has the child allow the words to “go cold as gristly meat”. This simile is used to present a child who can hardly bare to read the words. The comparison to “gristly meat’ presents reading as an unpleasant experience for the boy, one that he has to constantly chew on. The use of “Gristly” also suggests that it is tough and, as gristle itself is not proper food, and has no proper nutritional value: there may be no point to actually going through the reading process for the boy. The adjective “cold” also combines with the “gristle” to make an even more potent visual image. There is no life in reading for the boy. It is presented as limp and dead in contrast to his other more exciting adventures.

Use the same type of approach and practice “saying a lot about a little with the following lines: ‘sighing and ‘like an old man ‘a fish returning ‘a white-eyed colt’ shaking his head’ who knows the to its element’ mountains are impassable.’

10 Useful revision texts:  Understanding Non-Fiction Texts: The Study Guide – Foundation Level (ISBN: 978- 1841468785)  Understanding Non-Fiction Texts: The Study Guide – Higher Level (ISBN:978 1 84146 760 3  The Nelson Thornes English and English Language – Foundation Level (ISBN: 9781408505960)  The Nelson Thornes English and English Language – Higher Level (ISBN: 978- 1408505953)  Revision Plus: GCSE English Literature Anthology Companion (ISBN: 978- 1844192779)  GCSE English AQA Unseen Poetry Study & Practice Book – Foundation Level (ISBN: 978- 1847625519)  GCSE English AQA Unseen Poetry Study & Practice Book – Higher Level (ISBN: 978-1847625502)

Past Papers and online revision activities

https://ballakermeenenglish.wikispaces.com/

Useful revision websites: www.universalteacher.org.uk http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/ www.englishbiz.co.uk www.s--‐cool.co.uk www.revisioncentre.co.uk