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Teaching…AQA English Language Paper 1, Question 2 (Part 3- Polishing)

Updated: Aug 23

I have just left teaching after 9 years in the classroom. As an act of reflection, but also a bit of a brain dump, I've started to distill all the things I've learned into this blog.


Please take as much or as little of it as is useful.


AQA English Language Paper 1, Question 2

In previous posts for Paper 1, Question 2, I covered the basics for making inferences and beginning to analyse language. Now, we move onto that second paragraph and begin to talk about contrasts.


1.Consider the contrast

In a previous post, I mentioned that contrast is the key to this question. I shall explain what I mean by this now.


In every text that students are given, the focus of Question 2 can normally be contrasted with something else in the extract- and this is a prime source for developing responses.


Occasionally, you will get an extract that is so language rich that it won't necessarily need this (the T-Rex of Nov 2018, the garden of Nov 2020 and Ugwu's impressions of the city in Nov 2021 are the strongest examples of this) but for most extracts, there are some key details that students can leverage to extract deeper levels of analysis and, even if there aren't, I would still advocate strongly for teaching students how to look for them.


To give you an example of what I mean, here are some extracts from the texts used for Language Paper 1, Question 2 in previous years:

Extract

Question Focus

Focus

Contrast

Jun 2017

Rosabel's bus journey home

(outside the bus) the jewellers shops… were fairy palaces.

(inside the bus) there was a sickening smell or warm humanity.

Nov 2017

The mountain area

In spring, delicate flowers of pink and mauve and white peep out from their hiding places.

Now, the sun has flattened the land into submission, turning the greens to brown.

Jun 2018

Mr. Fisher's views on books and stories of the past

In those days, thought Mr Fisher, we dreamed in colour.

Films were in black and white.

In terms of constructing paragraphs, identifying these contrasts allows you to support students to use more of the text to comment on the question focus.


2. Model It


So, what does this look like? Let's look at an example.


In previous posts, I have used the extract below- so we shall return to this again, using the extended [WM]—>[TD]—>[EF] structure that I have used before. The textual details linked to the focus are in yellow while the additional details that provide contrast are in blue.


Look in detail at this extract, from lines 5 to 13 of the source:

How does the writer use language here to describe the villagers


You could include the writer’s choice of:

• words and phrases

• language features and techniques

• sentence forms.


Harvest was their favourite time of year. Working round the clock, they gathered the best weeds that had grown in the swamp that season, bundled them onto donkey carts, and drove their bounty to the market town of Chipping Whippet, a five days’ ride, to sell what they could. It was difficult work. The swampweed was rough and tore their hands. The donkeys were ill-tempered and liked to bite. The road to market was pitted with holes and plagued by thieves. There were often grievous accidents, such as when Farmer Pullman, in a fit of overzealous harvesting, accidentally scythed off his neighbour’s leg. The neighbour, Farmer Hayworth, was understandably upset, but the villagers were such agreeable people that all was soon forgiven.


Using the same four sentence structure as before, I can then produce the following model:


Paragraph 1: The writer creates the impression that the villagers are dedicated and hardworking.This is best shown when the writer uses the noun phrase 'favourite time of year' to create a clear image of their love for the harvest, even if it is difficult. In particular, the adjective "favourite" has associations with something treasured or special. Furthermore, this is then added to through the use of the metaphor 'round the clock' to emphasise how the villagers work non-stop, further exemplifying how dedicated they are. This idea is then reinforced when the writer uses the adjective 'agreeable' to describe how the villagers forgive each other when 'grievous accidents happen', adding to the sense that their love for the harvest comes above all other things for the reader.


Paragraph 2: The writer then reinforces the impression that the villagers are dedicated and hardworking by contrasting their attitudes towards their work with how difficult their work actually is. This is best shown when the writer uses a verb to describe how the weeds 'tore' their hands to create a painful image. Moreover, the writer's use of a list to describe how the donkeys were 'ill-tempered' and the roads are 'pitted' with holes and 'plagued' by thieves creates a threatening and hazardous atmosphere, with the adjectives 'pitted' and 'plagued' specifically having associations with the villagers being afflicted or tortured. This idea is then further reinforced when the writer uses the phrase 'five days ride' to describe how far the villagers have to go in order to get to market, adding to the reader's understanding of how driven and committed the villagers are because of the hardships that they have to endure.


3. Shed Loads of Practice (SLOP)

Then, as before, we will do a ton of practice to embed this new skill:


  • Follow the same patterns in both the first and second paragraph (topic, evidence & image, WLA, Secondary Evidence).

  • Identify details which contrast with the focus of the questions but that you can link back to it.

  • Always make that the link back to the focus is clear. Anyone reading the paragraph should be able to answer the questions "why are you telling me this? What has it got to do with the question?"


4. Ultimately Sentences

Once we have got this flowing nicely and students are writing about a variety of texts with confidence (or at least greater confidence than before), I will introduce an 'ultimately sentence'. This aptly summarises your main argument but also makes it absolutely clear how the writer wants the reader to feel.


For example:

Ultimately, the writer uses language to make the villagers appear dedicated and hardworking, despite their difficulties and leaves the reader with feelings of sympathy towards them.


Why do this?


Well, for the purposes of clarity, it ensures that students retain that laser-sharp focus on the deepest levels of inference when responding to the text - how are we supposed to feel (the bottom of the iceberg).


For the purposes of cynicism, if students follow the structures you have laid out reasonably well, but not 100% accurately, adding an 'ultimately sentence' like this may well be the thing that moves them from a 4/8 (some attempts) into 5/8 (clear understanding) simply because they have been explicit about the overall effect that the writer's use of language has had.


5. Perceptive and detailed.

Now, by this point, you will probably have surmised that most students that I have taught didn't have target grades that were particularly high (usually, target grades 3-6ish). However, that certainly didn't stop me from showing them some tricks to get to the very top of the mark scheme.


Detailed answers are the most straightforward, simply because they operate on the basis that kids who write more, get more. This really can be a simple as 'write an extra paragraph' or 'analyse every single word that has any link to the focus' (but don't just analyse for the sake of it, make sure your analysis is clear and relevant).


Perceptive answers are a bit trickier but I have found that these can generally be built around one of two things: associations that leverage cultural capital OR descriptions that reflect physical states.


Cultural Capital

What I mean by this is when we identify an association with a word that isn't linked to a dictionary definition but to it's cultural use.


For example:


"Mr Fisher remembered a time – surely, not so long ago – when books were golden" —> the adjective 'golden' is sometimes associated with the idea of a 'golden age', an idyllic and possibly imagined time in which a form of art is at it's peak, possibly showing Mr. Fisher's longing for an age that is now long gone.


or


"[The T-Rex left] prints six inches deep wherever it settled its weight" —> the phrase 'six inches deep' could allude to the phrase 'six feet deep' which has associations with death. This implies that wherever the T-Rex goes, death follows. (note: students will usually associate the term 'six inches deep' with something else, which can open some interesting discussions. Be ready for that one.)


Physical States

This is where the way in which a writer has presented ideas reflects or mirrors the physical state of the situation or character being described.


e.g. "[a time when] when books were golden, when imaginations soared, when the world was filled with stories which ran like gazelles and pounced like tigers and exploded like rockets, illuminating minds and hearts." —> the writer's use of multiple clauses leaves the reader feeling breathless, metaphorically reflecting the excitement and breathlessness that Mr. Fisher associated with the stories being described. This idea is then reinforced through the use of dynamic verbs such as "ran", "pounced" and "exploded" which all have associations with large bursts of energy or something unexpected happening.


or


"[Zoe thought] I am alive. I am an eagle." —> the writer's use of simple sentences slows the pace of the reader, metaphorically reflecting the inner stillness that Zoe feels. This idea is then further reinforced by the metaphor that Zoe sees herself as an 'eagle', which has associations with freedom. Moreover, the 'eagle' is also the king of birds, illustrating how Zoe feels powerful and masterful at this point in time: she is completely at peace and cannot be challenged by anyone.


…and, as you can see from this last example, these techniques can also be used side by side.


In terms of how I prompt students to use these techniques, I will always make the point that they need to cover the basics first: "don't jump into your perceptive points straight away- always make sure that you cover the clear and relevant evidence first and then add your perceptive point last."

This is to ensure that student secure the 5-6 marks first before they push for 7 or 8.


6. Shed Loads of Practice (SLOP) again.

Now that all the bases are covered, I will get students to repeat the process from beginning to end to make it seamless- like honey that has solidified but becomes runny and flexible with each new practice.


  1. Box and highlight the relevant parts of the text in relation to the question.

  2. List initial impressions of the focus (eye, head and heart- remember the iceberg)

  3. Write a first paragraph, identifying your impressions and the writer's use of WM, TD & EF. Add any perceptive comments based on cultural capital or physical states if relevant.

  4. Write a second paragraph, highlighting how any contrasting evidence adds to our understanding of the focus, again identifying the writer's use of WM, TD & EF and adding any perceptive comments as relevant.

  5. End with an 'ultimately sentence' that clearly identifies how the writer is supposed to feel at the end.


And in the end, it looks something like this:


How does the writer use language here to describe the villagers

The writer creates the impression that the villagers are dedicated and hardworking.This is best shown when the writer uses the noun phrase 'favourite time of year' to create a clear image of their love for the harvest, even if it is difficult. In particular, the adjective "favourite" has associations with something treasured or special. Furthermore, this is then added to through the use of the metaphor 'round the clock' to emphasise how the villagers work non-stop, further exemplifying how dedicated they are. This idea is then reinforced when the writer uses the adjective 'agreeable' to describe how the villagers forgive each other when 'grievous accidents happen', adding to the sense that their love for the harvest comes above all other things for the reader.


The writer then reinforces the impression that the villagers are dedicated and hardworking by contrasting their attitudes towards their work with how difficult the work actually is. This is best shown when the writer uses a verb to describe how the weeds 'tore' their hands to create a painful image of the work. Moreover, the writer's use of a list to describe how the donkeys were 'ill-tempered' and the roads are 'pitted' with holes and 'plagued' by thieves creates a threatening and hazardous atmosphere, with the adjectives 'pitted' and 'plagued' specifically having associations with being afflicted or tortured. Furthermore, the writer's use of this listing may also leave the reader feeling breathless, metaphorically reflecting the exhaustion that the villagers might experience as a result of how hard they are working- an idea that is then further reinforced when the writer uses the phrase 'five days ride' to describe how far the villagers have to go in order to get to market, adding to the reader's understanding of how driven and committed the villagers are because of the hardships that they have to endure.


Ultimately, the writer can therefore be seen to use language to make the villagers appear dedicated and hardworking, despite their difficulties, leaving the reader with feelings of sympathy towards them.


Clarity creates certainty. Certainty creates confidence. Always.


Some useful things:

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