Year 7 Summer Term Reading Assessment Revision Guide: Oliver Twist

Assessment Objectives and Question Breakdown

The Year $7$ Summer Term Reading Assessment is evaluated based on the following specific Assessment Objectives (AO):

AO1: Read and understand a variety of texts, selecting and interpreting information, ideas, and perspectives. This is tested in Question $1$ , Question $2$ , and Question $3$ .
AO2: Analyse the language, form, and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects. This is tested in Question $4$ .

Mark Allocation Table

Question $1$ : $2$ marks
Question $2$ : $4$ marks
Question $3$ : $5$ marks
Question $4$ : $6$ marks
Total Assessment Score: Out of $17$ marks

Overview of the Revision Guide

This document is designed for students at ISCS NAS Dubai for the Year $7$ Summer Term. It focuses on extracts from "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, aiming to develop skills in understanding and analyzing how Dickens uses language to present characters, settings, and themes.

Contents of the Guide

Key Language Techniques: Examples and detailed explanations are provided.
The "What, How" Technique: A structured method to assist in the analysis of the writer's language usage.
Example Questions: Practice questions mirror the format of the actual assessment.
Mark Scheme: Included to help students structure answers and engage in self-assessment.

Instructions for Effective Use

Learn Each Device: Understand the definition of each device, study the provided example, and reflect on its application in the text.
Find Examples: Actively identify these devices while reading and consider their specific meanings.
Make Your Own Sentences: Practice constructing original sentences using these devices to deepen comprehension.
Review Often: Keep the organizer accessible as a constant reminder of the function of each device.

Language Techniques Reference Guide

Language Technique	Definition / What it Means	Example	How it Helps in Analysis
Metaphor	Comparing two things without using "like" or "as."	"The city was a hungry beast."	Helps describe something in a creative way.
Simile	Comparing two things using "like" or "as."	"He moved like a shadow."	Makes descriptions easier to imagine.
Personification	Giving human qualities to non-human things.	"The house seemed to watch them."	Makes things like nature seem alive or more relatable.
Hyperbole	An exaggeration to make a point.	"I've been waiting an eternity!"	Makes things sound bigger, funnier, or more important.
Imagery	Descriptive language that appeals to your senses (sight, sound, etc.).	"The air was thick with the stench of decay."	Helps you imagine what is happening in the text.
Symbolism	Using an object to represent something bigger or deeper.	A locked room representing a secret.	Gives a deeper meaning to the text or ideas.
Characterization	How the author develops characters (through actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, etc.).	A character's nervous habit of biting nails.	Shows a character's personality, relationships, reasons for acting, and importance in the story.
Setting	The time and place where the story occurs.	A dark, isolated mansion.	Creates a mood, affects characters and plot, and can connect to the book's ideas or time.
Narrative Voice	The perspective from which the story is told (e.g., first-person, third person).	A character telling the story using "I."	Narrative voice shapes how readers experience and understand a story.
Dialogue	Conversations between characters.	A heated argument between friends.	Reveals character relationships, advances plot, shows emotions and conflicts.

The "What, How, Why" Analysis Technique

This technique is used to analyze a text systematically:

What

Identify the basic content of the text.

What exactly is being described or presented?
What is the central idea or event?

How

Explain the author's execution through language.

How does the author utilize specific words, phrases, or sentence structures?
How are specific language features (imagery, metaphor, etc.) employed?
How does the author create a particular and deliberate effect?

Why

Analyze the underlying reasons and the impact on the reader.

Why did the author choose this specific language or technique?
What does this choice reveal about the characters, themes, or the overall message of the work?

Preparatory Tasks and Exercises

Task One: Information Retrieval

Completing a table for "Oliver Twist" containing:

Summary
Key Themes
Three Key Quotes
Overall Message

Task Two: Technical Verification Questions

List three language techniques studied this year and provide their definitions.
Define metaphors and similes. Provide one unique example of each from texts studied this year.
Define characterization.
Write a summary of the plot of "Oliver Twist."

Exam-Style Practice: extract from Chapter $1$ of Oliver Twist

Extract Text: "For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all… The result was that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish; by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant… The surgeon deposited [the baby] in [the mother’s] arms. She imprinted her cold white lips passionately on its forehead; passed her hands over her face; gazed wildly round; shuddered; fell back--and died."

Practice Questions

Question $1$ ( $2$ marks): Identify two ways Dickens creates a sad and serious tone in this extract.

Guidance: Look for how setting, word choice, and character actions contribute to the emotional atmosphere.

Question $2$ ( $4$ marks): Summarize what we learn about Oliver’s birth and the conditions of his early life.

Guidance: Consider the narrator's emotions, family circumstances, and challenges. Reflect on the birth location and what it suggests about his future hardships and society's attitude toward poor children.

Question $3$ ( $5$ marks): Look at the phrase: "a new burden having been imposed upon the parish." What does this suggest about how Oliver is viewed?

Question $4$ ( $6$ marks): How does Charles Dickens use language in this extract from Oliver Twist to show that Oliver’s birth is sad and difficult?

Possible areas of exploration: Word choices, imagery, descriptions of Oliver and his mother, and how reader sympathy is evoked.

Answer Key and Mark Scheme

Question $1$ Answer Key ( $2$ marks)

Answer 1: "Ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble"
Answer 2: "Fell back—and died"
Marking: ( $1$ mark for each example; $2$ marks total).

Question $2$ Answer Key ( $4$ marks)

Answer: Oliver is born into a life full of sadness and struggle. It is described as a “world of sorrow and trouble,” and there are doubts he will even survive. He is born in a workhouse, a place for the poor, which shows the hardship he is experiencing. His mother dies immediately after giving birth, leaving him completely alone from the start.
Marking: ( $2$ marks for summarizing the difficult and emotional circumstances of his birth; $2$ marks for linking his surroundings to the hardship he will face).

Question $3$ Answer Key ( $5$ marks)

Answer: The phrase “a new burden having been imposed upon the parish” shows that Oliver is seen not as a child, but as a problem or responsibility. The word “burden” suggests he is unwanted and will bring trouble or cost to the people in charge. “Imposed” makes it sound like his arrival is something forced on them, not welcomed. Dickens shows how cold and uncaring society is towards poor and orphaned children. They are seen as expenses, not as human beings who need love and care.
Marking: ( $2$ marks for word analysis, $2$ marks for explanation of attitudes, $1$ mark for comment on Dickens’s purpose).

Question $4$ Answer Key ( $6$ marks)

Note: The transcript lists a variation in the question text for this answer key: "How does Dickens use language to show the severity of the boys’ hunger and how brave Oliver is?"

Answer: Charles Dickens presents Oliver’s birth as full of suffering through the metaphor “world of sorrow and trouble.” The metaphor suggests that Oliver is born into a life filled with pain and hardship before he has even begun living. Dickens uses this technique to criticise the harsh treatment of the poor in Victorian society, where many children born into poverty faced cruel conditions in workhouses. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Oliver and understand Dickens’ message that society treated vulnerable people unfairly.
Marking: ( $2$ marks for explanation of Oliver’s suffering, $2$ marks for analysis of Dickens’ message about Victorian society, $2$ marks for language analysis).