english lang questions

P1 Q2 (10 mins)

• Pick out quotes and write not so obvious techniques they use (pararaph for each - PEEZ)

• Show how all the language techniques work together to prove the point in the question

P1 Q3 (10 mins)

• Remember SHIFT HAPPENS (talk about effect at beginning, focus shift in middle and then end)

• 3 paragraphs (beginning, middle, end) or just 2 if no time

• Talk about sentence types: declarative (statement.) interrogative (question?) imperative (command!) and exclamative (exclamation!)

• Talk about structural techniques

P1 Q5

• Use structure ‘DSZFL’

  • Drop reader into setting + weather description

  • Shift the focus (e.g. change the weather to represent a change in mood - pathetic fallacy)

  • Zoom into something significant that triggers a memory

  • Flashback to what came before

  • Link back to your opening - adapt original sentence to be an end one

• Make the weather seem like an animal (e.g. the rain prowled across the rooftops, clawing at windows with ice paws)

• Give a heartbeat to the setting (e.g. the city throbbed with neon vines and a pulsing rhythm beneath its skin)

• Describe a sound using the sense of touch or taste (e.g. his laugh was sharp and bitter, like biting into lemon peel)

• Use your five senses throughout the description

• Use language techniques + range of punctuation

• Cyclical structure + extended metaphor is a must-have

P2 Q1 (5 mins)

• Read the question before reading the source so you know what to look for

• No need to guess to save time or waste time looking at implications, it always states it explicitly in the text

P2 Q2 (10 mins)

• Focus on comparing the sources’ content and inferring instead of analysing language / writers feelings, as that isn’t the criteria of the question

• COMPARE - use words like ‘similarly’, ‘however’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘whereas’

• Use short quotes and summarise what they could reveal

• Use clear comparative phrases like “while source a suggests…, source b shows…” while aiming for 2-3 key differences with evidence

P2 Q3 (15 mins)

• Don’t overwrite - do 3 paragraphs on 3 different ideas throughout the extract

• Pick 3-4 short quotes with language techniques - you should be zooming in on specific words in the quote (mention connotations / implications of specific words)

• Try to offer more than one interpretation to a quote for at least a few quotes; examiners love this

• Delve deeper into the language techniques’ effect on the reader

P2 Q4 (20 mins)

• Your extracts ARE LINKED, so establish the writer’s tone for both sources! e.g. the writer in source a feels frustrated about the situation, whereas the writer in source b approaches it with humour.

• For each writer, find 2-3 methods that reveal their viewpoint and why they are used. talk about language, structure and tone, and compare how the topic is presented by each writer / what different things they are telling the reader in the source.

• Don’t just list methods without a comparison to the other source

• Write 4 short, high-quality paragraphs, perhaps 2 similarities and 2 differences

P2 Q5 (45 mins)

• Spend 5 mins planning

• You can make statistics up - just make sure they’re believable.

• Use DAFOREST + CHIMPS JESS for techniques!!

• Structure accordingly (e.g. for speech, start with ‘good morning’)

• Use a range of punctuation, ambitious vocabulary, and sentence types

• Try to use an extended metaphor that develops throughout (e.g. AI as a disease) - it helps your writing seem intentionally structured and helps to guide your argument.

• Structure:

  • Anecdote (start with a reference to time)

  • Your opinion - 2-3 paragraphs (one each for ethos - statistics, logos - logic, and pathos - emotion)

  • Counter-argument - 1 paragraph (belittle it)

  • Summary statement

SPECIALIST THINGS TO REMEMBER: for leaflet, letter, article, and speech

LEAFLET: just text no formatting, include a short snappy title (alliterate if possible), ideas in sections with headers (use occasional bullet points)

LETTER: add address, leave a line then write the date, then begin formally (e,g, dear sir / madam), following with an indent. began with name = yours sincerely, began with sir / madam = yours faithfully, sign your signature then underneath your name in capitals

ARTICLE: short snappy headline, underneath strapline (summarises article in 1-2 sentences, referencing question quotes), then main article body separated by subheadings

SPEECH: begin with ‘hello everyone’, end with ‘thank you for listening. Questions?’. Also include 2-3 direct references that it is a speech (e.g. ‘you might be wondering…’ ‘I can see the lady shaking her head…now…’)

Structural techniques

FACTS FUNC

• Flashback / Flashforward

• Asyndetic listing (listing without conjunctions)

• Contrast

• Tense

• Sentence / paragraph length

• Foreshadowing

• Use of time (pace, time of day, season)

• Narrator POV (first/second/third person)

• Connection between first + last sentences

Language techniques

AFOREST

• Alliteration

• Facts

• Onomatopoeia

• Rhetorical question / repetition

• Emotive language

• Statistics

• Triplets

CHIMPS JESS

• Caesura (poem - punctuation mid line)

• Hyperbole

• Imagery

• Metaphor / extended

• Personification

• Simile

• Juxtaposition

• Enjambment (poem - sentence runs to next line without punctuation)

• Sibilance

• Semantic field