Paper 1 (Reading) General notes on Comprehension from Mrs Harlow!

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1 Paper 1 (Reading) General notes on Comprehension from Mrs Harlow! The purpose of comprehensions is to test your skill at reading between the lines or inferring information from the text. You also have to show that you can analyse and evaluate what you read. Perhaps most importantly, you have to show your knowledge of authorial techniques and comment on how a writer achieves effects. By the time you are at 13+ stage, the comprehension paper is less about being able to recall the content of a passage, and more about the writer s effects and how they are achieved. In each section you will be given a text, which is also called a passage. The prose text in Section A will usually be taken from a longer piece of writing; in other words, it will be an extract from a longer piece of writing. There will be an introduction or rubric, which will set the scene and provide some context for the extract you will be analysing. YOU MUST READ THE RUBRIC CAREFULLY. The rubric does not, however, count as paragraph 1 of the text. If you read the introduction carefully, you will probably discover some important information, such as the gender of the writer, and the era in which the passage was written. Reading widely will help you to build a general knowledge which will help with your interpretation of literary texts. Glossary of terms: The text: what you are looking at: either a piece of prose or a poem The passage: the text presented to you in Section A of paper 1 The extract: the same as the passage The excerpt: the same as the passage The author: the person who wrote the extract The writer: the same as the author The poet: the author a poem The narrator: the person telling the story, if it is told in the first person singular ( I ). You should not assume that the narrator is the author, unless the text is from an autobiography. Quoting from the text: Often you will have to quote from the text, in order to support your answer. The question might ask you to refer closely to the text or give evidence from the text. In a question worth 6 or more marks, you absolutely MUST use evidence (P.E.E.) Make sure that the quotation is relevant and keep the quotation as short as possible. Don t make any mistakes when quoting from the text; it looks very careless if you do!

2 Using P.E.E.(L) P stands for Point. E stands for Evidence E stands for Explanation (L) stands for Link This is stating your argument or naming the technique the author is using; basically answering the question very briefly. The evidence for your point is either a reference to the passage or a quotation. Here you explain your argument in detail or analyse the quotation in detail. Try to be as precise as possible here and not to just use commonplace or obvious explanations. Do not use the words good or exciting in your explanations. At the end, you need to reinforce your point and link your comments back to the question you are answering. For the purposes of comprehension exercises, you can leave this out, especially if you are running short of time. You MUST do this in essay questions. Use the key words from the question, if it helps. How questions When you see how in a questions, it wants you to comment on the writer s use of techniques. Make sure you are aware of the following: describing detail powerful adjectives/adverbs (descriptive words) sensory language (i.e. describing using the senses hearing, smell, touch etc) figurative language (metaphors and similes) onomatopoeia making sounds with language (crash, boom etc) alliteration consonant repetition assonance repetition of vowel sound rhyme and rhythm Use of short lines/ short sentences to increase pace or urgency of text use of punctuation (dashes, ellipsis etc) tense change capital letters (e.g. DANGER!) rhetorical questions exaggeration (hyperbole) tricolon (a rhetorical list of three) unexpected twists (for humour) Emotive language (language which is supposed to provoke an emotional response in the reader).

3 Section 1 (Non-Fiction Comprehension) LEVEL 1 and 2 You should spend 35 minutes on this section. You will need 4 or 5 minutes to read the text, and to annotate, as you go along. Work on the basis of 1 mark a minute. This will help you divide up your time. This section is worth 25% of your total marks for English. Read the text the whole way through first, making sure you highlight or annotate anything of importance. Read the questions. Highlight the keywords in the question and take note of how many marks it is worth. The questions are arranged chronologically, but it is worth numbering the paragraphs in the text, as some questions will refer to specific sections. The first question is likely to be very straightforward, a sort of warm-up question. Do not spend lots of time writing a complicated answer. Check whether the question requires you to take a reference from the text (quotation), or whether you are required to explain something in your own words. If a question is worth 6 marks, you will probably need 3 points with evidence and explanations. If you see the word how you are being specifically to comment on the author s use of literary techniques. Attempt all questions. If you miss any out, you are not even giving yourself a small chance of the marks. Remember that spelling, punctuation and grammar is taken into account. Never begin an answer with I think Metaphors Personification Similes Tenses (past, present, future) Parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns etc) 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd person Onomatopoeia Alliteration The correct spelling of all literary devices. Go back through your books and folders and check you have covered all the targets set for you in the past 2 years (at least)!

4 Paper 1 (Reading) Section 2 (Poetry Comprehension) LEVEL 1 and 2 Spend 35 minutes on this section. It is worth 25% of your total mark. Spend 4 or 5 minutes reading the poem and making notes. Then work on the basis of roughly a mark a minute. Read the poem all the way through, at least once. Make notes of things you notice, as you go along. Pay attention to line endings; some continue through enjambment. Read the questions, highlighting the key words and paying attention to how many marks the question is worth. Number the stanzas and make sure you look at the right stanza when the question demands it of you. The first question is likely to be very straightforward, a sort of warm-up question. Do not spend lots of time writing a complicated answer. Check whether the question requires you to take a reference from the text (quotation), or whether you are required to explain something in your own words. If a question is worth 6 marks, you will need 3 points with evidence and explanations. If you see the word how you are being specifically to comment on the author s use of literary techniques. Attempt all questions. If you miss any out, you are not even giving yourself a small chance of the marks. Remember that spelling, punctuation and grammar is taken into account. Never begin an answer with I think Metaphors Similes Personification Alliteration Assonance Rhyme Schemes (Rhyming couplets etc) Onomatopoeia free-verse Look through the poetry glossary in your folder Go back through your books and folders and ensure you have covered all the targets for the past 2 years.

5 Paper 2 (Writing) Section 1 (Studied Literature) You should spend 40 minutes on this section. It is worth 25% of your marks. You must answer on a book you have studied in English in Year 7 or 8. There are 4 questions to choose from. The first 2 are on the theme on Conflict, the second two on a more general theme. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO ANSWER ON THE THEME OF CONFLICT. Highlight the keywords in the question. These keywords should appear in your topic sentences. Plan your answer the way you have been shown (P.E.E.L.) Spend about 5 minutes on this. Do not simply try to recreate an essay we have written in class, if the question is different. Your essay should consist of 5 paragraphs: an introduction, 3 discursive paragraphs(p.e.e.l) and a conclusion. Your essay should be between a page and a page and a half long. Make sure you really answer the question. Remember to mention the title and author in the introduction. Authors are always referred to by their surnames. Write in the present tense. Keep a passive, formal voice. (No abbreviations or I think etc) Don t retell the story; answer the question. Refer back to the question at the end of each paragraph. Check to see whether you need to make reference to one character, or more than one character. Put titles into inverted commas. How to identify key words in the title and to plan using the structure you ve been give. How to write effective topic sentences. Know all the moments of conflict in at least one of the texts you have studied. Be able to instantly reference them under pressure. Look at model answers you have been given, to revise the correct tone and style for essay writing. Be able to spell all character names correctly and titles of plays/novels. Practise writing the explanation section of your paragraphs, as this is where you actually answer the question. Do some timed practice questions. Go through your books and folders for the past 2 years and look at your targets.

6 Paper 2 (Writing) Section 2 (Creative Writing) You should spend 40 minutes on this section. It is worth 25% of your mark. You must choose one of the titles from this section to do. Highlight the keywords in the question. Plan your answer before you start to write (about 5 minutes). Your writing must be organised into paragraphs. You should aim to write between 1 side and 1 ½ sides. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are all taken into account. Consider the audience for whom you are writing and use a formal or informal tone as appropriate. Use the 10 Commandments of Story Writing for Exams Avoid Death, Destruction and Dialogue Proof-read, considering your targets, VCOP and the target records (a copy of which is stuck into the front of your purple book.) When to change paragraphs (TiP ToP) How to lay out dialogue correctly The 10 Commandments of exam story writing. Persuasive/rhetorical devices Balanced argument structure/debate. Your own personal targets from your books and folders. Figurative language (metaphors, similes etc) Correct spelling of words you often spell incorrectly (look at your Word Book). Go back through your books and folders for the past 2 years and check your targets.