Q1
What are the four aspects you need to consider when responding to the question?
Text Type, Audience, Persona, Content
What is the dominant impression?
This is the main idea or feeling conveyed in the paragraph.
A maximum of 250 words
What can you do to help yourself write this response? What should your introduction do?
Put yourself into role, and address your audience directly. The opening needs to introduce clearly the situation and purpose of the task, and will be rewarded if it puts the reader in the picture.
What is the first thing you should do when developing your response to this question?
Whichever type of essay you choose, it should be planned first.
The plan should contain between 6 and 10 points or ideas which can be developed into paragraphs, if the essay is going to be of a suitable content and length. Aim for about 8 paragraphs and 400 words.
What is the most important thing to remember when you write you Q1 response?
Always use the content from the text to develop your answer. Don't make things up. Develop what is already there.
Explore the use of the word hypnotically in the following sentence - ‘A tricky job... not easy... not easy, at all,’ cooed the Governor hypnotically from the comfortable surroundings of his air-conditioned office in the capital.‘
mind altering/affecting ability to reason, enchanting audience - The use of this word makes the reader think that the governor is very practiced and comfortable when talking - it conveys confidence and assurance
What form of writing can't you use when you make your summary?
Note form - It must be written in continuous form
What is an easy way to help you to write persuasively in this task?
imagine that you are addressing someone in front of you as you write your response
What techniques can you use to improve your description?
Create a believable dominant impression and develop the same impression throughout the piece. Show your audience using active verbs and images that evoke an image in your reader's mind.
What does it mean when you are asked to develop content in your response?
Use the clues and content in the text to draw inferences and make believable additions that reflect the persona you are writing as.
Explore the effects of this image on the reader's impression of the governor - The Governor had an infuriating habit of speaking in such a slow manner that thin wisps of words seemed to drop out of his sentences and float away.
What does paraphrase mean?
To rewrite something in your own words
How should you use the content from the passages in your response?
You should try to use as many ideas from the passage as possible as they will all be relevant, but you will have to change the way you express them; all the material you use from the passage must be modified to suit the new genre of the text type.
What is the one thing you mustn't do in your description?
Descriptive compositions must not become a narrative, which means character and event should not take over or be dominant. (You can have lots of description in a story but you should have as little “story” in a description as possible.)
What do you need to do to score 5/5 for the writing component of this task?
The language of the response sounds convincing and consistently appropriate. Ideas are firmly expressed in a wide range of effective and/or interesting language. Structure and sequence are sound throughout.
What effect does this description have?
‘It’s a job that will require a great deal of tact,’ he continued, meandering mesmerizingly
What may you copy from the text
Proper Nouns and specific concepts and terms
How should you structure your response?
The recommended structure for the response will be offered in the wording of the question, and you should follow this.
How can you use structural planning to help you to write an effective narrative?
For the top band, complexity of narrative and structure is required e.g. framing the story; flashback or forward time jump; two parallel strands being brought together. However, do not attempt these devices unless you are sure you can manage them.
What do you need to do to score 15/15 for the writing part of the task?
The response reveals a thorough reading of the passage. A wide range of ideas is applied. There is sustained use of supporting detail throughout, which is well integrated into the response, contributing to a strong sense of purpose and approach. Developed ideas are well related to the passage. All three bullets are well covered.
What effect does the following image have?
It was like watching time being unpacked from the ground and then flying away.
What does the word overview mean?
Overview demonstrates a candidate’s ability to summarise carefully selected key points in relation to the focus of the question rather than to paraphrase the passage. Candidates should give a focused response, drawing ideas from the passage provided; they should demonstrate clear understanding of both explicit and implicit meanings.
What is the most important component of this task and what should you always remember as you develop this component?
Evaluation - you will have to decide which of the options is better, present reasons why you have formed this opinion and justify it.
Keep your focus on what the question is asking you to do. Do not get distracted by peripheral issues; for instance if you are asked how money should be spent, don’t discuss the fund-raising methods.
What shouldn't you do in your story? (Many)
Don’t use a first person narrator if you want to die at the end of your story!
Don’t end your story with ‘And then I woke up in hospital’
Don’t exaggerate; too much blood or too many unlikely events become ridiculous, and fear is more believable when it is mental rather than physical.