2. Before you start your exam...
• Read the questions... THEN read the sources
• Remember to take your quotations from the START,
MIDDLE and END of the sources
• Use a highlighter!
• How many marks is the question worth – this will
affect how much you write.
EG – a 12 mark question needs 3xPEEDs
3. Reading tips
• READ the question
• Decide what it is you need to address – what is
the anchor word of the question?
• What should you focus on for top marks?
• Plan your timings
4. Question 1/1a: 4 marks
• You’re being asked to LIST four things you learn
Remember:
ONE clear answer per line
Use full sentences
Don’t repeat yourself
Focus on the key information in the article
5. Answering a ‘what’ question
In these questions you’re being asked to interpret
information from the sources
You need to DEMONSTRATE you understand the
message of the text and can choose relevant quotes
to support your answer
When explaining your quote you need to do two
things: EXPLAIN the quote in your own words and
EXPLAIN how it supports your points (you could
write ‘this shows that.....’)
6. ‘explain what you learn about...’
• This means you need to read the article for its
information – what evidence can you find that
is SPECIFICALLY about the topic in the
question?
• If you don’t answer the question being asked
you will not gain any marks... Even if it’s a
detailed answer!
7. Writing about language
• TAP the text: text type, audience, purpose
• ALWAYS think about the purpose – is there more than one? Why has it been
written?
EG - a magazine article might have been written to inform/explain... But it’s
also been written to entertain
• What language techniques have been used? Where do they appear in the
text? How are they used to have an effect?
THINK: pun, alliteration, RQ, triplet, emotive language, punctuation for
effect. Is the headline ‘alarmist’?
DO NOT write ‘it draws the reader in’ – HOW does it interest the reader?
• Remember to include evidence from THROUGHOUT the article. Think about
WHY the writer chose the language they have (authorial intent)
• DO NOT write about presentational features like pictures or font size
8. Writing about presentational features
• This means how the source LOOKS
• You could write about:
Pictures, captions, boxed text, font size, colour
• Before writing, you need to decide which presentational
feature is most VISUALLY DOMINANT (catches your eye the
most)
• How does the visually dominant device ENHANCE THE
MEANING of the text? (Refer to the TAP)
• When talking about images think about DENOTATION (what a
picture actually SHOWS) and CONNOTATION (what you can
ASSOCIATE a picture with)
9. Comparing presentational features
• When you compare you need to look at
SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCES
• Make sure you EVALUATE which one makes
more effective use of presentational features
and why
10. The writing section – make sure you
PLAN both questions!
Your 5 planning steps!
1. TAP the question.
2. Ideas – Mindmap/Brainstorm/Bullet point
3. Order your ideas.
4. Remind yourself of devices - what you include will depend on the
PURPOSE and TEXT TYPE
5. Think about what you are going to include in your opening .
11. Focus on the TEXT TYPE you’re being asked to create –
how can you include specific features?
Text Type Specific features
Letter Remember the structural features: If it’s a formal letter to someone you
don’t know it should start ‘Dear Sir/Madam and end Yours FAITHFULLY.
If you know the person it should end ‘yours sincerely’
Blog
Written in 1st person
‘Online article’
Often informal – are a person’s opinion
Leaflet
Lots of structural features – bullet points, subheading, sections,
quotations
Webpage
Makes reference to links you can click on
Links are ‘subheadings’
Speech
Some form of address – use of personal pronoun – us/we/together
Directive statement at the end
Article
(Newspaper or
magazine)
Headline, subheading, punchy opening paragraph
12. Writing to persuade
A – alliteration/anecdotes
F - facts
O - opinions
R – repetition/ rhetorical questions
E – emotive language
S - statistics
T – triplet (this can be three reasons in a
sentence, or three adjectives)
13. Writing to argue – think about your TONE
A – alliteration/anecdotes
F - facts
O - opinions
R – repetition/ rhetorical questions
E – emotive language
S - statistics
T – triplet (this can be three
reasons in a sentence, or three
adjectives)
Counter-argument –
you must include ONE
section explaining the
OPPOSITE point of
view... But ONLY so you
can explain why it is
wrong
EG,
‘Although some people
say school uniform is a
practical solution to
expensive clothing
habits, they are wrong
because.....’
Remember 3:1
14. Writing to advise
I - Imperative verbs
M - modal verbs
P - personal pronoun
Remember to make sure your tone isn’t bossy or
controlling – you’re trying to help someone out!
15. Writing to inform and explain
• I = I (Personal pronoun)
• D = Detail
• E = Emotive language
• A = Alliteration
• Bullet Bonanza – but NO MORE than 2 –
remember to introduce the BB with a SINGLE
SENTENCE paragraph and a colon (:)
16. General writing tips
• The following pages are to help you with ALL
of the writing section of the exam
• You should attempt to include as many of
these tips in your writing as you can; this is IN
ADDITION to the purpose-specific acronyms
you need to use
17. • I = ‘ing’ words. (The ‘ing’ is called a gerund). This
means using the present tense. Eg – panting
• S = simile. Eg – Like a bat out of Hell, I ran.
• P = Preposition. This means place. Eg –
underneath the duvet, my heart pounding, I
hid.
• A = adverb. Eg – Silently, I got to my feet
• C = connective. Eg – Because the silence was so
eerie, I decided to investigate
• E = ‘ed’ words. Adding this suffix turns a verb from
present to past tense. Eg – Shouted out loud,
my words were carried away in the wind.
Using ISPACE to start your sentences
18. Upcycle your language
• Make as much use of noun phrasing as you
can - eg the long, dark road
• Upcycle your verbs – instead of saying walked
or shouted, think of more interesting verbs
like strolled or bellowed
19. Punctuation Punch
• Try to use as much interesting punctuation as
you can... But only when it’s appropriate!
• You can use ; to join together two short
sentences
• You can use : to introduce a list, or before
bullet bonanza
20. SCS1
• Use a range of sentence types:
Simple, short sentences
Compound sentences, joined with a connective
Complex sentences with subordinate clauses (extra
info which could be in brackets –or dashes – like
this)
1 word sentences (follow them up with a ! or?)
21. Discourse markers
• These SHOW the examiner that you’ve set your
ideas out into cohesive paragraphs
• They should be used at the start of your
paragraphs to denote (show) different ideas
EG: firstly, for a start, in addition, on top of all that
22. Paragraphing
• Although you will have planned your ideas
using the 5-step plan, you need to remember
when to start a new paragraph
TiPToP
When
changing the
TIME you are
talking about
When changing the
PLACE you’re talking
about
When changing the
TOPIC you’re talking
about
When
changing the
PERSON
you’re
talking about
But don’t forget you can also
use SINGLE SENTENCE
PARAGRAPHS for effect, when
you have a particularly emotive
or important sentence
