YEAR 11

GCSE LITERATURE &

LANGUAGE
REVISION BOOKLET

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GCSE LANGUAGE
Paper 1: Explorations in creative reading and writing (1 hour 45 minutes)
A: Reading (1 literature text; 4 questions on the text)
B: Writing: descriptive or narrative writing (1 question: You are given a picture and have to
write either a description of the picture or a narrative story)

Paper 2: Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives (1 hour 45 minutes)

A: Reading (1 non-fiction text & 1 literary non-fiction text—Source A and Source B: 4
questions)
B: Writing: to present a viewpoint (1 question: You are usually given a quote and have to
write your opinion about it for a specific source, such as a broadsheet newspaper. This topic
relates to what you’ve read in Paper 2 Section A)

GCSE LITERATURE
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th century novel (1 hour and 45 minutes)
A: Shakespeare: 1 question on either Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth
B: The 19th century novel: 1 question on A Christmas Carol

Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry (2 hours and 15 minutes)

A: Modern texts: 1 question (You have a choice of two questions, and you choose one
question to answer about the modern prose or drama you have studied—An Inspector Calls or
Lord of the Flies)
B: Poetry: 1 question (You will be given one Power & Conflict poem and have to compare it
to another one.)
C: Unseen Poetry: 2 questions (1 question is on one unseen poem, and 1 question asks you to
compare both unseen poems)

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LITERATURE PAPER 1 SECTION A: REVISION WORKSHEET
SHAKESPEARE

Feature Definition Event from the play

Exposition This consists of introducing

the main characters and
setting. There may be some
conflict, but not much tension
as it involves characters the
audience don’t care too much
about.

Inciting Something big happens which

Incident triggers a string of
consequences in the play.

Rising Action A number of events happen

which increase the tension in
the play. You are also given an
insight into all of the
characters’ tragic flaws which
set them up for failure.

Climax Traditionally takes place in the

third act and involves a serious
event which has the greatest
amount of tension.

Falling Action This is the events leading up to

the demise of the protagonist.

Resolution The last events in the play

which determine the future of
the protagonist.

Denouement The words/message after the

fate of the protagonist has
been revealed. Usually results
in some sort of order being
restored.

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Macbeth

EXAMPLE 1

Section A: Shakespeare

Answer one question from this section on your chosen text.

Read the following extract from Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth and then answer the question that
follows.

At this point in the play Lady Macbeth has been discovered sleep walking by her doctor and
gentle woman. They observe that this behaviour has become common for Lady Macbeth
recently.

LADY MACBETH
Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.
Doctor
Do you mark that?
LADY MACBETH
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.
Doctor
Go to, go to; you have known what you should not.
Gentlewoman
She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of
that: heaven knows what she has known.
LADY MACBETH
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!
Doctor
What a sigh is there! The heart is sorely charged.
Gentlewoman
I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the
dignity of the whole body.
Doctor
Well, well, well,--
Gentlewoman
Pray God it be, sir.
Doctor

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This disease is beyond my practise: yet I have known
those which have walked in their sleep who have died
holily in their beds.
LADY MACBETH
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so
pale.--I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he
cannot come out on's grave.
Doctor
Even so?
LADY MACBETH
To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate:
come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What's
done cannot be undone.--To bed, to bed, to bed!

Exit

01 Starting with this speech, explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth
as guilty.
Write about:
 how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this speech
 how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a
whole.
[30 marks]
A04 [4 marks]

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EXAMPLE 2
Read the following extract from Macbeth Act 2 Sc. 2, and answer the question that follows.

At this point in the play, Macbeth has just murdered King Duncan.

LADY MACBETH
These deeds must not be thought
After these ways; so, it will make us mad.
MACBETH
Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more:
Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, 5
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.
LADY MACBETH
What do you mean?
MACBETH
Still it cried ‘Sleep no more’ to all the house; 10
‘Glamis hath murdered sleep’, and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.
LADY MACBETH
Who was it, that thus cried? Why, worthy thane,
You do unbend your noble strength to think
So brain-sickly of things. Go get some water, 15
And wash this filthy witness from your hand.
Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
They must lie there. Go carry them and smear
The sleepy grooms with blood.
MACBETH
I’ll go no more. 20
I am afraid to think what I have done;
Look on’t again, I dare not.
LADY MACBETH
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures; ’tis the eye of childhood 25
That fears a painted devil.

01 Starting with this moment in the play, explore how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as
an unstable character.

Write about:
 how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth at this point in the play
 how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole.
[30 marks]
A04 [4 marks]

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REVISION WORKSHEET—ROMEO AND JULIET

FINISH OFF EACH JULIET QUOTE FINISH OFF EACH ROMEO QUOTE

It is an _____ O brawling love!___

O happy __ I have a soul ________
O bid me ____ Under love’s heavy burden ______
You kiss ___ My mind misgives some consequence ___
If he be married, __ My lips _____
My only love ___ With love’s light wings ____
Then have my lips ____ It seems she hangs ______
What’s in a name? ____ O that I were a glove _____
Deny thy father ______ It is the east ______
I’ll no longer ___ O I am _____
My bounty is as ____ I have stained the childhood ____
O that deceit should dwell _____ Is it even so? Then I ________
Methinks I see thee _____ Tempt not a _______
To live an unstained wife ______ Shall I believe that unsubstantial death ____
O fortune fortune! ______ Shake the yoke ___________
Farewell! God knows _____ Thou desperate pilot ______
I have a faint cold fear _____

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Romeo and Juliet

EXAMPLE 1

Read the following extract from Act 2 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet and then answer the
question that follows.

At this point in the play the Nurse has spoken to Romeo about the arrangements for their
marriage and has come back to tell Juliet the news.

NURSE
O God’s lady dear,
Are you so hot? Marry, come up, I trow.
Is this the poultice for my aching bones?
Henceforward do your messages yourself.

JULIET
Here’s such a coil. Come, what says Romeo?

NURSE
Have you got leave to go to shrift today?

JULIET
I have.

NURSE
Then hie you hence to Friar Lawrence’s cell.
There stays a husband to make you a wife.
Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks.
They’ll be in scarlet straight at any news.
Hie you to church. I must another way
To fetch a ladder, by the which your love
Must climb a bird’s nest soon when it is dark.
I am the drudge and toil in your delight,
But you shall bear the burden soon at night.
Go. I’ll to dinner. Hie you to the cell.

JULIET
Hie to high fortune! Honest Nurse, farewell.

01 Starting with this speech, explore how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards the love of
non-family members in Romeo and Juliet.

Write about:
 how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards the love of non-family members in this
interaction
 how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards the love of non-family members in the
play as a whole
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

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EXAMPLE 2

Read the following extract from Act 3 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet and then answer the
question that follows.

At this point in the play Tybalt has been killed by Romeo and Lord Capulet has agreed and
arranged for Juliet to be married to Paris to cheer her up.

CAPULET

God’s bread! It makes me mad.

Day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play,
Alone, in company, still my care hath been
To have her matched. And having now provided
A gentleman of noble parentage,
Of fair demesnes, youthful, and nobly trained,
Stuffed, as they say, with honorable parts,
Proportioned as one’s thought would wish a man—
And then to have a wretched puling fool,
A whining mammet, in her fortune’s tender,
To answer “I’ll not wed,” “I cannot love,”
“I am too young,” “I pray you, pardon me.”—
But, an you will not wed, I’ll pardon you.
Graze where you will, you shall not house with me.
Look to ’t, think on ’t, I do not use to jest.
Thursday is near. Lay hand on heart, advise.
An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend.
An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,
For, by my soul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee,
Nor what is mine shall never do thee good.
Trust to ’t, bethink you. I’ll not be forsworn.

01 Starting with this speech, explore how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards father-
daughter relationships in Romeo and Juliet.

Write about:
 how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards father-daughter relationships in this
speech
 how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards father-daughter relationships in the play
as a whole
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

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PAPER 1 SECTION B
EXAMPLE 1

Section B: The 19th-century novel

Answer one question from this section on your chosen text.

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol

How is Scrooge presented in this extract from Stave 5 and how is he presented in the
novel as a whole?
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more;
and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He
became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the
good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in
the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him,
but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough
to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which
some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and
knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite
as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the
malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was
quite enough for him.
Success Criteria:
 Write 2 paragraphs using the extract
 Write 2 paragraphs about how this relates to the text as a whole
 Try to use quotes you can remember.
 Use subject terminology
 Analyse key words
 Make original and sophisticated interpretations of language use
 Link your language analysis to Orwell’s wider intentions and context.

If you’re stuck, use these sentence starters to get you going with a PEE, then redraft it so it is
more sophisticated:
In the extract, one of the ways that Scrooge is presented is…..
This is show in the quotation….” “
In this quotation, Scrooge is shown to be…..
One of the key words (say what type!) is…..
This is important because….
Another key word/phrase is……
Perhaps Dickens is trying to show that….
This is important because…….
Here, Dickens’ is perhaps showing that……
At this point, the reader feels…..
This relates to Dickens’ overall intentions because……..

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 EXAMPLE 2: Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
You should use the extract below and your knowledge of the whole novel to answer this
question.

How does Dickens create sympathy for the Cratchit family in the extract?

In your response you should:

 refer to the extract and the novel as a whole;

 show your understanding of characters and events in the novel;
 refer to the contexts of the novel.

They entered poor Bob Cratchit's house; the dwelling he had visited before; and found the mother
PAPER
and 2 MODERN
the children seated roundTEXTS
the fire. AND POETRY

Quiet. Very quiet.

SECTION A The noisy little Cratchits were as still as statues in one corner, and sat looking
up at Peter, who had a book before him. The mother and her daughters were engaged in sewing.
But surely they
Modern wereor
prose very quiet!
drama
“‘And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them.’”

Where had Scrooge heard those words? He had not dreamed them. The boy must have read them
out, as he and the Spirit crossed the threshold. Why did he not go on?

The mother laid her work upon the table, and put her hand up to her face.

“The colour hurts my eyes,'' she said.

The colour? Ah, poor Tiny Tim!

“They're better now again,'' said Cratchit's wife. “It makes them weak by candlelight; and I
wouldn't show weak eyes to your father when he comes home for the world. It must be near his
time.''

“Past it rather,'' Peter answered, shutting up his book. “But I think he has walked a little slower
than he used, these few last evenings, mother.''

They were very quiet again. At last she said, and in a steady, cheerful voice, that only faltered
once:

“I have known him walk with -- I have known him walk with Tiny Tim upon his shoulder, very
fast indeed.''

“And so have I!” cried Peter. “Often.”

“And so have I!” exclaimed another. So had all.

“But he was very light to carry,” she resumed, intent upon her work, “and his father loved him so,
that it was no trouble — no trouble. And there is your father at the door!”

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PAPER 2 - MODERN TEXTS AND POETRY

SECTION A: MODERN TEXTS

REVISION WORKSHEET—LORD OF THE FLIES

Descent into savagery

Below is a selection of events from the novel. Pick out the ten events in order of importance
and arrange them into a timeline to show the boys’ descent into savagery.

# Events
The boys vote for Ralf as chief. (p. 18)

Jack has the opportunity to kill a pig but does not ‘because of the enormity of
the knife descending…because of the unbearable blood.’ (p. 27)
The boys decide that whoever wants to talk in a meeting must hold the conch.
(p. 30)
The boy with the birthmark talks about the ‘beastie’. (p. 33)
Jack: ‘We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.
We’re English.’ (p. 41)
Ralph and Simon build shelters while Jack hunts. There is a ‘rub of feeling’
between Jack and Ralph. (p. 53)
Jack paints his face and does a war dance. (p. 63)
A ship passes the island but Jack has let the fire out while out hunting. (p. 67)
At the assembly, Simon says, ‘Maybe there is a beast…maybe it’s only us’. (p.
90)
Jack challenges Ralph’s authority and goes off alone, soon joined by other boys.
(p. 134)
Jack and his gang kill a pig and put the head on a ‘stick sharpened at both ends’
as a gift to the beast. (p. 142)
Simon discovers that the ‘beast’ is really the body of a dead parachutist. (p. 154)
As Simon stumbles out of the forest to tell the boys about the beast, the other
boys attack and kill him. (p. 161)
Jack’s gang steal Piggy’s glasses, leaving Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric with no
fire. (p. 177)
Ralph, Piggy and the twins go to talk to Jack’s gang. Roger pushes a rock off the
cliff, killing Piggy and breaking the conch. (p. 185)
Sam and Eric are forced to join Jack’s tribe. They tell Ralph that there are plans
to hunt him down and that Roger has sharpened a stick at both ends. (p. 194)
Jack’s gang hunt Ralph down. (p. 213)

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REVISION WORKSHEET—LORD OF THE FLIES

As you are revising, ensure that you can answer the following about each of the
chapters, as these are based on some of the key points.

‘The Sound of the Shell’

1. Give examples of how the jungle is described in a sinister way at the
beginning of the chapter.
2. What are our initial impressions of Jack, Ralph, Simon and Piggy?
Provide quotations and explanations to support your answers and don’t
let your later knowledge of them influence your answer!
3. Give examples of the ways in which the boys are given animalistic
features.
4. Give examples of how the surroundings are described in a more
pleasant way at the end of the chapter. To what extent is this a
reflection of the boys’ different emotions?
5. Why don’t the boys kill the pig at the end of the chapter? Pick out the
quotation that shows this and explain why it shows it.

‘Fire on the Mountain’

1. Find examples of the surroundings being compared to animals. What
sort of animals? Pay particular attention to the description of the fire.
2. What is the general reaction to the first mention of the beast? How do
Jack and Ralph’s reactions differ and which reaction shows better
leadership skills?
3. Pick out hints of savagery developing throughout the chapter.
4. How does Piggy show himself to be the most adult character?
5. What is the significant event that happens at the end of the chapter?

‘Huts on the Beach’

1. Pick out examples of Jack being compared/likened to an animal.
2. Pick out examples of onomatopoeia, alliteration and similes/metaphors.
Why has Golding used each of these features?
3. Pick out evidence to indicate the society starting to break down.
4. Pick out evidence of an increase in savagery.

‘Painted Faces and Long Hair’

1. Look at the words/phrases used to describe the small children and the
twins. How have these changed as the book has progressed? Why is
this significant?
2. What are the littleuns like?

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3. The roles of Maurice and Roger. How is their treatment of the littleuns
different?
4. What is the importance of the incident with the smoke on the mountain?
5. Who wins in Jack and Ralph’s argument and why? Do they win the
whole way through the argument? Why/why not?

‘Beast from Water’

1. Provide evidence that Ralph has changed since the beginning of the
book. Explain how this evidence shows that he has changed.
2. What does Ralph begin to question and why? Explain your answer.
3. How does Ralph’s attitude towards Piggy change? Provide evidence to
support your answer.
4. What is the importance of Simon’s lines about the Beast?
5. What is the significance of the way in which Percival says his address?
(Tip: look at the end of the chapter too.)
6. Explain the significance of poo in this chapter.
7. Explain the differences between Jack and Ralph’s attitudes towards fear.

‘Beast from Air’

1. What is the sign that came from the world of the grown-ups? How is it
significant that this is called their ‘sign’?
2. Briefly, we are shown evidence of Sam and Eric as two individuals again.
Why?
3. What is the importance of Jack’s attitude towards the conch?
4. Pick out quotations to indicate Simon’s attitude towards the
Beast. How is this different to everybody else’s?
5. Pick out quotations that show the sea likened to an
animal/human. What is the significance of these?
6. Find evidence to suggest that most of the boys no longer
support all of Ralph’s decisions (Tip: look at the last two pages.)

‘Shadows and Tall Trees’

1. Pick out words and phrases used to describe the children (and the
parachutist) which reflect their loss of individual identity/loss of
humanity.
2. Find evidence to support the theme of savagery. Explain your answer.
3. What is the importance of the section about Ralph’s home life? Pick out
evidence to suggest that all was not necessarily well there, either.
4. Explain the importance of the scene in which they kill the pig. How does
this very important section act as a precursor to the final events of the

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 novel? Pay particular attention to the way in which individuals act and
the language choices used to describe these.
5. Find quotations to suggest that Ralph is starting to lose control of the
situation in favour of Jack.

‘Gift for the Darkness’

1. How does Jack try to make the boys turn against Ralph? Pick out
evidence to support your view.
2. What is the significance of Jack’s line, ‘I’m not going to play any longer.
Not with you.’
3. How does Piggy show good leadership skills?
4. Explain the significance of ‘They agreed passionately out of the depths
of their tormented private lives.’
5. How is the killing of the pig different from the
last time? How do these differences reflect the
downfall of society/rise in savagery?
6. What is important and interesting about Simon’s
discussion with the pig’s head?

‘A View to a Death’
1. What is medically the matter with Simon? Why do you think this?
2. Explain the importance of the weather change during this chapter. What
does it signify?
3. What is the significance of the line, ‘There was the throb and stamp of a
single organism’? How is this shown to be a theme throughout this
chapter?
4. How are the boys described in beast-like terms during the killing of Simon?
5. What is interesting about the way in which Golding describes Simon’s body
going out to sea?

‘The Shell and the Glasses’

1. Ralph says, ‘I wasn’t scared … I was - I don’t know what I was.’
What do you think he was and why?
2. What does Robert mean by, ‘He’s a proper Chief, isn’t he?’
Provide evidence to support your answer.
3. Why do you think the boys are ‘Half-relieved’ by the implication of
further terrors?
4. Pick out the lines that suggest Ralph has forgotten the purpose of the
fire. Why is this important?
5. Why don’t the boys take the conch? Why is it significant that they take
the glasses instead?

15
 ‘Castle Rock’
1. When Sam says, ‘He’ll be painted’, why does he think that Piggy
shouldn’t go?
2. When, in this chapter, are Sam and Eric represented as individuals, and
when as one boy? How?
3. What does Piggy have to keep reminding
Ralph about?
4. How is it significant that it is Roger throwing
the stones?
5. What happens to Piggy and the conch? Why
is it important that it happens at the same time?

‘Cry of the Hunters’

1. What are we told that the boys use as masks/shields?
2. What do Samneric say is so terrifying about Roger? Why is it terrifying?
3. Are the surroundings given human/animal features in this chapter? Do
you have a suggestion for why this is?
4. What is so shocking about what the Officer says and the way in which
he acts?

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REVISION WORKSHEET—AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Feature Definition Event from the play

Exposition This consists of introducing the

main characters and setting.
There may be some conflict, but
not much tension as it involves
characters the audience don’t
care too much about.

Inciting Something big happens which

Incident triggers a string of consequences
in the play.

Rising Action A number of events happen

which increase the tension in the
play. You are also given an
insight into all of the characters’
tragic flaws which set them up
for failure.

Climax Traditionally takes place in the

third act and involves a serious
event which has the greatest
amount of tension.

Falling This is the events leading up to

Action the demise of the protagonist.

Resolution The last events in the play which

determine the future of the
protagonist.

Denouement The words/message after the

fate of the protagonist has been
revealed. Usually results in some
sort of order being restored.

17
REVISION WORKSHEET—AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Make connections between the words then group them accordingly.

responsibility power individual

community old order new order

society capitalist labour

social context J B Priestley historical context

audience social hierarchy dramatic irony

stage directions generation characterisation

performance hypocrisy conscience

guilt respectability youth and age

dialogue Arthur Birling characterisation

Sybil Birling Sheila Birling Eric Birling

Gerald Croft Eva Smith Daisy Renton

Community

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REVISION WORKSHEET—AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Tension graph
Plot the play’s levels of tension by placing each of the jumbled up statements on the
graph where you think appropriate. (You may wish to number / put the sentences in
chronological order before you begin to plot them …)
Tension

Act One Act Two Act Three

 Eric’s entrance  Interrogation of Gerald

 Inspector’s entrance ‘Well?’  A certain unease is hinted at prior to
the Inspector’s arrival
 No such Inspector exists  Interrogation of Mrs Birling
 Inspector’s exit  No suicide cases received by the
infirmary
 Interrogation of Sheila  Inspector’s final speech
 Eric’s interrogation  Interrogation of Birling
 Inspector’s arrival  The telephone rings

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SECTION C: UNSEEN POETRY

REVISION WORKSHEET—UNSEEN POETRY

When you approach an unseen poem, you need to look for a bit more than just
what it is about, and not just state your first thoughts. If you remember to SMILE,
you will have more confidence with the comments you make:


 S: Structure/Shape the way the poem is set out


 M: Mood the mood/tone/atmosphere of the poem


 I: Imagery the ‘pictures’ you see in your mind


 L: Language words/phrases, associations


 E: Effectiveness should be analysed as part of the above,
not a separate paragraph, often in the
explanation part of your paragraph.

Before you SMILE, make sure you…

1. Read the poem through two or three times; each reading should make the
meaning clearer.
2. Annotate as you go, underlining interesting words and phrases. Is there a
lexical field?

First impressions

Take a minute to think: what is the poem about?

Consider the title; what does it tell you?

Is there a story? Are there any characters?

Is it a description (place/person/time/situation/object)?

Does it create a mood/feeling/memory?

Is the poem thought-provoking or an experiment with language?

What can you tell of the poet's opinions or feelings or reasons for writing the
poem?

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Structure (or form)

What does the poem look like on the page?

Regular? Irregular? Any surprises?
Length of lines: are there any changes? E.g. a sudden short line may indicate
emphasis of idea or change of mood/subject which can have a dramatic effect.
Long continuous lines could be more typical of a narrative or a stream of
consciousness.
Have stanzas been divided up to fit in with the ideas of the poem?
Does the form reflect the meaning in any way?
Has punctuation/sentence structure been used for effect? E.g. how do they affect
mood?

Mood (atmosphere and tone)

Some examples: happy, joyful, enthusiastic, ominous, reflective, sad, quiet, angry,
passionate, moralistic, warning, chatty, mysterious, exciting, nostalgic, humorous,
tense, bitter, sombre, ironic, playful, sarcastic, melancholy …
How can you tell? Which words and phrases convey the mood?
Is it personal or objective?
Personal or subjective poetry is likely to be written in 1st person ‘I’, while
objective poetry is usually in the 3rd person ‘he/she/it’ and more formal.

Imagery

Imagery is the way words are used to create a picture in your mind. Pick out any
unusual or interesting words, images or phrases.
Think about the association of words used. Where have you heard them before?
Note the effects the images have on you and what you picture.
Which words … surprise you? … have a strong impact? … are emotive?
How are metaphors, similes, personification, appeals to the five senses used to
create vivid impressions?
Are contrasting words used?

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Language: how the poem is written
Always comment on the effect of stylistic features, and don’t simply identify
and list them!

Words and phrases: are there any that stand out? Describe how they stand out
(because they are interesting, unusual, striking, vivid, shocking or unexpected)?

How complex or simple is the language at different points?

Is a formal or informal style used? Why? If it is informal, is it colloquial?

Read the poem aloud to ‘hear’ the effects. Do the lines run quickly or are they
slow and steady? Do they speed up ... slow down ... why? Does the rhythm help to
emphasise certain ideas in the poem?

Is there a regular rhyme scheme? What effect does it create? E.g. continuity /
sense of order / emphasis on key points? Are there irregularities? What effect do
these create?

Are alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia used for effect?

Is repetition of certain words and phrases used to build tension or to emphasise

key points?

There are two ways you could structure and write your poetry essay.

Introduction: briefly explain setting /meaning/mood/message of poem. This

poem describes …

Then either: use SMILE and write a paragraph on each item. Remember to
structure your paragraphs, and use evidence in support of your ideas.

Or: work through chronologically from beginning to end (including the title)
commenting on anything you notice. You might still want to write SMILE across
the top of your page to remind you what you should be writing about …

Conclusion: sum up your ideas, referring back to the central question. In

conclusion … / To conclude … / To sum up …

22
LANGUAGE
PAPER 1 SECTION A

EXAMPLE 1
Z for Zachariah, written by Robert O’Brien (1974)

This extract, written in the form of a first person diary, is narrated by a 16-year-old girl
named Ann Burden who believed herself to be the only survivor in her town after a nuclear
war. She thinks someone is coming and she is no longer alone. Is this person a friend or a
foe?

May 20th

I am afraid. Someone is coming. That is, I think someone is coming, though I am not sure,
and I pray that I am wrong. I went into the church and prayed all this morning. I sprinkled
water in front of the altar, and put some flowers on it, violets and dogwood.

But there is smoke. For three days there has been smoke, not like the time before. That time,
last year, it rose in a great cloud a long way away, and stayed in the sky for two weeks. A
forest fire in the dead woods, and then it rained and the smoke stopped. But this time it is a
thin column, like a pole, not very high.

And the column has come three times, each time in the late afternoon. At night I cannot see
it, and in the morning, it is gone. But each afternoon it comes again, and it is nearer. At first
it was behind Claypole Ridge, and I could see only the top of it, the smallest smudge. I
thought it was a cloud, except that it was too grey, the wrong colour, and then I thought: there
are no clouds anywhere else. I got the binoculars and saw that it was narrow and straight; it
was smoke from a small fire. When we used to go in the truck, Claypole Ridge was fifteen
miles, though it looks closer, and the smoke was coming from behind that.

Beyond Claypole Ridge there is Ogdentown, about ten miles further. But there is no one left
alive in Ogdentown. I know, because after the war ended, and all the telephones went dead,
my father, my brother Joseph and my Cousin David went in the truck to find out what was
happening, and the first place they went was Ogdentown. They went early in the morning:
Joseph and David were really excited, but Father looked serious.

When they came back it was dark. Mother had been worrying – they took so long – so we
were glad to see the truck lights finally coming over Burden hill, six miles away. They looked
like beacons. They were the only lights anywhere, except in the house – no other cars had
come down all day. We knew it was the truck because one of the lights, the left one, always
blinked when it went over a bump. It came up to the house and they got out; the boys
weren’t excited any more. They looked scared, and my father looked sick. Maybe he was
beginning to be sick, but mainly I think he was distressed. My mother looked up at him as he
climbed down.
“What did you find?”
He said, “Bodies. Just dead bodies. They’re all dead.”
“All?”

23
We went inside the house where the lamps were lit, the two boys following, not saying
anything. My father sat down. “Terrible,” he said, and again, “terrible, terrible. We drove
around, looking. We blew the horn. Then we went to the church and rang the bell. You can
hear it five miles away. We waited for two hours, but nobody came. I went into a couple of
houses – the Johnsons’ the Peters’ – they were all in there, all dead. There were dead birds
all over the streets.”

My brother Joseph began to cry. He was fourteen. I think I had not heard him cry for six
years.

May 21st

It is coming closer. Today it was almost on top of the ridge, though not quite, because when I
looked with the binoculars I could not see the flame, but still only the smoke – rising very
fast, not far above the fire. I know where it is: at the crossroads. Just on the other side of the
ridge, the east-west highway, the Dean Town Road, crosses our road. It is route number nine,
a State highway, bigger than our road, which is County road 793. He has stopped there and is
deciding whether to follow number nine or come over the ridge. I say he because that is what
I think of, though it could be they or even she. But I think it is he. If he decides to follow the
highway he will go away, and everything will be all right again. Why would he come back?
But if he comes to the top of the ridge, he is sure to come down here, because he will see the
green leaves. On the other side of the ridge, even on the other side of Burden Hill, there are
no leaves; everything is dead.

Q1: Read again the first two paragraphs. List four things the narrator sees or does.

A. ________________________

B. ________________________

C. ________________________

D. ________________________ [4 marks]

Q2: Re-read paragraphs five and six. How does the writer use language here to suggest
there has been a disaster? You could write about:

 interesting words and phrases

 language features or techniques
 sentence forms [8 marks]

3: Read the whole of the passage.

How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader?
You could write about:
 what the writer focuses our attention on at the beginning of the extract
 how and why this focus changes as the extract develops
 any other structural features that interest you [8 marks]

24
PAPER 1 SECTION B

Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 You are going to enter a creative writing competition; your entry will
be judged by a panel of young people of your own age.
Either:
Write a story set in an area as suggested by this picture.

OR

Write the opening of a story about an isolated community.

(24 marks for content and organization

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]

25
 Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 Your class is compiling an anthology of writing about journeys

which will be put on the school website.
Either:
Write a description suggested by this picture:

(24 marks for content and organization

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]

26
 Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 Your class is compiling an anthology of writing about journeys

which will be put on the school website.
Write a description suggested by this picture:

(24 marks for content and organization

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]

27
PAPER 2 SECTION A

EXAMPLE 1

SOURCE A
Taken from Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s “The Edge of the Unknown” (1930)

In this extract Arthur Conan-Doyle, best-known for writing the Sherlock Holmes stories,
gives an account of his personal beliefs in - and experiences of - the supernatural.

One instance occurred some years ago. It was in my bedroom at Crowborough. I wakened in
the night with an awareness that there was someone in the room, and that the presence was
not of this world. I was lying with my back to the room, acutely awake, but utterly unable to
move. It was physically impossible for me to turn my body and face this visitor. I heard
measured steps across the room. I was conscious (without seeing it) that someone was
bending over me, and then I heard a voice saying in a loud whisper, "Doyle, I come to tell
you that I am sorry." A minute later my disability disappeared and I was able to turn but all
was black darkness and perfectly still. My wife had not awakened and knew nothing of what
had just passed.

It was no dream, I was perfectly conscious all the time. My visitor gave no name, but I felt
that it was a certain individual to whom I had tried to give comfort when he was bereaved. He
rejected my offer of support and died himself shortly afterwards. It may well be that he
wished to express regret.

I had a second interesting experience some years ago. There was a church in the
neighbourhood which had the reputation of being haunted. The party consisted of my wife
and myself, my two sons, my daughter and a friend. It was ten o'clock when we presented
ourselves at the door of the church, where we were met by an elderly villager. Swinging a
lantern, he led the way to the choir end where we all seated ourselves in the stalls which the
ancient monks once occupied.

For two hours I had sat in the dark upon my hard seat. The lights still came and went behind
the altar, but they only flickered over the top of the high expanse which faced us, and all
below was very black. And then suddenly, quite suddenly, something occurred which no
sceptic could explain away.

It may have been forty feet from where I sat to the altar, and midway between, or roughly
twenty feet from me - there was a dull haze of light, a sort of glowing cloud, a foot or so
across, and about a man's height from the ground. We had been rustling and whispering, but
the sudden utter silence showed me that my companions were as tense as I was. The light
glimmered down, and hardened into a definite shape--or I should say shapes--since there
were two of them.

They were two perfectly clear-cut figures in black and white, with a dim glow all their own.
Their colouring and arrangement gave me a general idea of a priest’s clothing. Whether they
were facing the altar or facing each other was more than I could say, but they were not misty
figures, they were solid shapes. For two or three minutes we all gazed at this amazing

28
spectacle. Then my wife said loudly, "Friends, is there anything which we can do to help
you?"

In an instant they were gone and we were peering into unbroken darkness with the lights still
flickering above.

SOURCE B Taken from Discovery Channel News, Oct 21st, 2011

DO GHOSTS EXIST? EXPLORING THE PARANORMAL

Despite the efforts of thousands of real-life ghost hunters over the past decade, the evidence
for ghosts has not improved. Typically, the types of evidence offered for the paranormal fall
into a few categories:

Personal Experiences
Ghost hunters often report personal feelings and experiences like, "I felt we were being
watched," or "I felt like something didn't want us there." They also describe, for example,
getting goose bumps upon entering a room or panicking at some unseen presence. There's
nothing wrong with personal experiences, but they are not evidence of anything other than
that people scare themselves in dark, spooky places.

Orbs
Many ghost hunters and books on hauntings claim that ghosts can be photographed,
appearing as round or oval white shapes called orbs in the images. Many things can create
orbs, including insects, dust and flash reflections. Orbs may seem otherworldly because they
appear only in photographs and are usually invisible to the naked eye. To those unaware of
the real explanations, they can be spooky, but there is nothing paranormal about them.

Ghost Equipment Results

Ghost investigators often use unscientific and unproven equipment and techniques in their
search for spirits. Some use psychics to try and communicate with ghosts. Others use
dowsing rods, which have never been scientifically proven to find anything (including water
and restless spirits). Still others, striving for some semblance of science, use high-tech
devices such as electromagnetic field detectors and infrared cameras. These devices are
commonly sold as ghost hunting gear, but there is no logical or scientific reason to use this
equipment when looking for the paranormal. EMF detectors measure electromagnetic fields,
not ghosts; infrared cameras reveal the infrared spectrum, not ghosts. There is no evidence
that ghosts have anything to do with electromagnetic fields, infrared images or changes in
room temperature!

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs)

Most ghost hunters, including the "Ghost Hunters" team, use handheld voice recorders in an
attempt to capture a supposed ghost voice, or EVP. Often an investigator will hold the
recorder while standing in the middle of a room and addressing the supposed spirit, or while
walking around. He will later go back and review the recordings at high volume, listening for
any faint murmurs, sounds or noises, which may be interpreted as ghost voices. For example,
a ghost hunter may ask out-loud, "If there's a spirit here, what's your name?"

29
Often the investigator will get no answer at all; other times, if the ghost hunters wait long
enough they'll hear some random sound that could be interpreted as a faint, mumbled name.
The problem is that microphones are very sensitive and may record anything from someone
whispering in the next room, to wind blowing, to ordinary random sounds from the
environment, or even sounds from the ghost hunters themselves.

Q1: Read Source A, lines 12 to end.

Choose four statements below which are TRUE.

 Seven people were present for the haunting in the church

 The two ghostly figures seemed to glow

 The ghosts floated over the heads of the seated observers

 Conan-Doyle’s wife evidently saw the two ghosts also

 Conan-Doyle thinks he imagined seeing the two ghosts

 The apparitions seemed to vanish when they were addressed

 Conan-Doyle’s wife scared the ghosts away

Q2: Refer to Source A and Source B. Write a summary to explain the

different attitudes of the two writers towards the paranormal.

Q3: Refer to the extract below, taken from Source B.

Orbs

Many ghost hunters and books on hauntings claim that ghosts can be photographed,
appearing as round or oval white shapes called orbs in the images. Many things can create
orbs, including insects, dust and flash reflections. Orbs may seem otherworldly because they
appear only in photographs and are usually invisible to the naked eye. To those unaware of
the real explanations, they can be spooky, but there is nothing paranormal about them.

Ghost Equipment Results

Ghost investigators often use unscientific and unproven equipment and techniques in their
search for spirits. Some use psychics to try and communicate with ghosts. Others use
dowsing rods, which have never been scientifically proven to find anything (including water
and restless spirits). Still others, striving for some semblance of science, use high-tech
devices such as electromagnetic field detectors and infrared cameras. These devices are
commonly sold as ghost hunting gear, but there is no logical or scientific reason to use this

30
equipment when looking for the paranormal. EMF detectors measure electromagnetic fields,
not ghosts; infrared cameras reveal the infrared spectrum, not ghosts. There is no evidence
that ghosts have anything to do with electromagnetic fields, infrared images or changes in
room temperature!

How does the writer use language to suggest their disbelief in ghosts?

31
EXAMPLE 2
Mountain Climbers
SOURCE A
Let’s talk about the climb up Everest, one step at a time
Interview with Sir Edmund Hilary

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount
Everest in 1953.

Sir Edmund Hillary: I never climbed up anything one step at a time. You read so much
about how, at extreme altitudes, you take one step and then you stop and pant and puff for a
while, and then take one more step. I don’t ever remember doing that. You’re much slower in
higher altitudes because of the lack of oxygen, but I used to keep moving pretty steadily most
of the time and I didn’t have to stop too often for panting and puffing. I think I was pretty
well adapted and acclimatized to altitude and I was very fit in those days, so I could keep
moving very freely.

Can you tell us about any specific challenges along the way as you were ascending?

Sir Edmund Hillary: Well there were lots of challenges. Even the route we were climbing
Mt. Everest was one of the two easiest routes on the mountain as we know now. Of course,
nobody had climbed it then. But even so, there are demanding parts of it.
At the bottom of the mountain, there’s the ice fall, where it’s a great tumbled ruin of
ice that’s all pouring down and filled with crevasses and ice walls. It’s under slow but
constant movement. It’s a dangerous place because things are always tumbling down. So you
have to establish a route up through that which you can get with reasonable safety. But over
the years, literally dozens of people have died in the crevasses. They’ve been engulfed by ice
walls falling down and things of that nature.
I had one experience on the ice fall with Tenzing. We were actually descending after
having been further up the mountain and it was getting close towards dark so we wanted to
get through the ice fall before darkness fell. We were roped together, but I was rushing down
ahead in the lead. About half-way down there was a narrow crevasse, I guess it was about
four feet wide, but just a bit too wide to step across. On the lower lip was a great chunk of ice
stuck against the ice wall, and we’d used that as sort of a stepping stone to get over the gap. I
came rushing down the hill without thinking too carefully, I just leapt in the air and landed on
the chunk of ice, whereupon the chunk of ice broke off and dropped into the crevasse with me
on top of it. It was interesting how everything seemed to start going slowly, even though I
was free-falling into the crevasse.

32
SOURCE B
A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains - Isabella Bird

With her small support team, Victorian explorer, Isabella Bird, prepares to make the
hazardous ascent of one of the highest peaks in America’s Rocky Mountains…….

As we crept from the lodge round a horn of rock, I beheld what made me perfectly sick and
dizzy to look at – the terminal Peak itself – a smooth, cracked face or wall of pink granite, as
nearly perpendicular as anything could well be up which it was possible to climb, well
deserving the name of the ‘American Matterhorn’.

Scaling, not climbing, is the correct term for this last ascent. It took one hour to accomplish
500 feet, pausing for breath every minute or two. The only foothold was in narrow cracks or
on minute projections on the granite. To get a toe in these cracks, or here and there on a
scarcely obvious projection, while crawling on hands and knees, all the while tortured with
thirst and gasping for breath, this was the climb; but at last the Peak was won. A grand, well-
defined mountain-top it is, a nearly level acre of boulders, with precipitous sides all round,
the one we came up being the only accessible one.

It was not possible to remain long. One of the young men was seriously alarmed by bleeding
from the lungs, and the intense dryness of the day and the rarefaction of the air, at a height of
nearly 15,000 feet, made respiration very painful. There is always water on the Peak, but it
was frozen as hard as rock, and the sucking of ice and snow increases thirst. We all suffered
severely from the want of water, and gasping for breath made our mouths and tongues so dry
that articulation was difficult, and speech of all unnatural.

Repassing the Ledge and Lift, we accomplished the descent through 1500 feet of ice and
snow, with many falls and bruises, but no worse mishap, and there separated, the young men
taking the steepest but most direct way to the Notch, with the intention of getting ready for
the march home, and ‘Jim’ and I taking what he thought the safer route for me – a descent
over boulders for 2000 feet, and then a tremendous ascent to the ‘Notch’. I had various falls,
and once hung by my frock, which caught on a rock, and ‘Jim’ severed it with his hunting-
knife, upon which I fell into a crevice full of soft snow. We were driven lower down the
mountains than he had intended by impassable tracts of ice, and the ascent was tremendous.
For the last 200 feet the boulders were of enormous size, and the steepness fearful.
Sometimes I drew myself up on hands and knees, sometimes crawled; sometimes ‘Jim’
pulled me up by my arms or a lariat, and sometimes I stood on his shoulders, or he made
steps for me of his feet and hands, but at six we stood on the Notch in the splendour of the
sinking sun, all colour deepening, all peaks glorifying, all shadows purpling, all peril past.

33
Answer all questions in this section.

You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.

Q1: Read source A. Choose four statements below which are TRUE. [4 marks]

a. In higher altitudes, you are much slower because of the lack of oxygen.
b. Sir Edmund Hillary chose the most difficult route up the mountain.
c. One of the major dangers on the climb was the ice falls.
d. On one of their climb descents, Hillary was rushing to catch up with Tenzing
who was leading.
e. Hillary believes it was due to Tenzing’s actions that the fall into the crevice
did not end in death.
f. During his fall Hillary stopped thinking.
g. Hillary was afraid throughout his adventure.
h. Sir Edmund Hillary had to stop often to puff and pant.

Q2: You need to refer to source A and source B for this question: The authors both
experienced exciting times climbing their mountains. Use details from both sources to write
a summary of the differences. [8 marks]

Q3: You now need to refer only to source B, Isabella Bird’s account of her time in the
Rocky Mountains. How does she use language to show you, the reader, the dangers
encountered? [12 marks]

Q4: For this question, you need to refer to the whole of source A together with the whole of
source B.

Compare how the writers have conveyed their different experiences and how they
dealt with fearful circumstances.

In your answer, you could:

• compare their different views and experiences
• compare the methods they use to convey those views and experiences
• support your ideas with quotations from both texts.
[16 marks]

34
PAPER 2 SECTION B: WRITING
EXAMPLE 1

Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 ‘Students have too many distractions in school without mobile phones being brought
into lessons too.’

Write a broadsheet newspaper article in which you explain your views on this.

(24 marks for content and organisation)

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]
EXAMPLE 2

Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 ‘School uniform takes away the rights of students to express their identity.’

Write a speech for your school governors in which you express your views on this.
(24 marks for content and organisation)
16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]

EXAMPLE 3

Section B: Writing
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Write in full sentences.
You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.
You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

05 ‘Fox hunting is cruel and inhumane and should be banned.’

Write a letter to a newspaper in which you argue for or against this statement.
(24 marks for content and organisation)
16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]

35