National 5 RUAE Prelim

The basics… There are 9 questions in the paper. A total of 30 marks are available. You have 1 hour to complete it.

} Question types Evaluation Analysis Understanding In your own words… In your own words as far as possible… Link… Summarise the main points the writer makes… Inferring meaning from context Word Choice Imagery Tone Sentence Structure Explain fully how the writer’s language helps to convey the idea that… Show fully how two examples of the writer’s use of such features of language as word choice and sentence structure help to make the opening paragraph effective. Explain this image and comment on its effectiveness Language

Understanding Questions: writer’s attitude The first question of this type asks you: “In your own words, identify the writer’s attitude to _____ and give evidence to support your answer”. (2 marks) At first, what this question is asking might seem odd: put something into your own words AND quote evidence. If you look carefully though you’ll see that this question is essentially asking you to: Decide whether the writer’s attitude is positive or negative. (1 mark) Quote a word or expression that conveys this. (1 mark)

Understanding Questions The next understanding question asks: “Look at lines ______, and then using your own words as far as possible, explain fully why ____________, and how __________.” (4 marks) This question should really be straightforward enough, and is simply assessing how well you understand the writer’s meaning. However, you must ensure that you have noticed the question is out of 4 marks. This means you would give two reasons why and two reasons how.

Understanding Questions: Link Another type of understanding question is a “link” question. “Look at ____________, and explain, as fully as you can, any two ways in which this works well as a link to the next paragraph.” (4 marks) Unlike link questions you might have studied previously, this question is worth 4 marks. It only asks you to link to the next paragraph, not to the previous paragraph. “Quote” from the linking sentence (1 mark) Explain how this has a forward linking function (1 mark)

Understanding: Context Another type of question assesses whether you can work out the meaning of a word by the words around it. You should be able to infer the meaning of ‘word x’ from the context ( 1 mark) Answer the question, “why does the writer state that *BLANK* (1 mark) Example on the next slide… “Explain what is meant by ‘word x’, and why the writer states that *BLANK* (2 marks)

It is easy to work out the meaning of ‘saturated’... It had been raining hard through the night so the ground was saturated.

Understanding: Summarising This question is made to assess how well you’ve understand the main ideas in the passage. “Consider the passage as a whole and then, using your own words as far as possible, summarise the main points… “(5 marks) The question is worth five marks. Therefore, the easiest error to make here is thinking that there are only five main points. Actually there are more like ten main points, you simply need to select five of these and put them into your own words.

Analysis: writer’s use of language = Word Choice Imagery Tone Sentence Structure Analysis: writer’s use of language “Look at lines _______. Show fully how the writer’s language helps to convey the idea that ____________.” (4 marks) Note: By this stage, you should at least have an awareness of how to present an answer that shows analysis of word choice, imagery, sentence structure or tone. If, however, you’re unsure your teacher can clarify this or provide you with a hand out. In this question you’re expected to identify relevant expressions from the passage, and explain how they help to convey the specific idea/notion. Four marks means at least two quotations plus analysis

Evaluation: “effective” There are two questions that assess your evaluation skills. “Show fully how two examples of the writer’s use of such features of language as word choice or sentence structure help to make the opening paragraph effective” (4 marks) This is essentially the same as the previous analysis of language question, only now there is an added focus that you’re only allowed to analyse aspects of language that are appropriate/effective in introducing the topic. The question is out of four marks, meaning that you must provide at least two quotations and analysis.

Evaluation: “effective imagery” “Explain this image and comment on its effectiveness” (3 marks) Remember, imagery is another word for similes and metaphors. Say why the metaphor is effective (1 mark) How it is effective (2 marks) It is easier to explain with the example on the next slide…

An example of an effective image “Having confidence and composure is the holy grail of being a professional footballer.” How is the metaphor “holy grail” an effective metaphor in this example?