English language paper 1: top secret tips Strictly private and confidential for the secretly successful!

Code breakers for: Question 1 Avoid making the following blunders at all costs and make sure you: Don’t spend too long on this question (approximately 10 minutes is perfect to break this code) Don’t Take your answers from the whole text (the answers are located between specific lines - box off the area identified) Don’t identify 4 bits of random information (Write about the exact topic of the question to be a successful code cracker) Don’t Write 4 bits of information that are too similar (Make 4 points that are distinct and different to each other! Examiners are always one step ahead, so you need to stay alert!)

Code breakers for: Question 2 Avoid making the following blunders at all costs and make sure you: Don’t lose track of time (Spend 10-12 minutes on this question) Don’t Write about only one bullet point (if you are looking for top marks begin with the bottom bullet point and work backwards - spend more time on sentence forms and language devices and then word pick for deeper analysis) Don’t Write about the extract generally (Investigate the writer’s specific use of words, language features and sentence forms)

Code breakers for: Question 2 Don’t Make vague comments such as – the rhetorical question makes the reader think or it makes the reader want to read on (Search for places where the writer has deliberately used devices for a specific effect and make a specific comment – e.g. the writer’s use of the rhetorical question “Was it cheating? To think, I know what I would wish?” conveys the idea of her guilt as she believes her desire for a different life is wrong). Don’t write what is happening in the extract ( For the first bullet point pick out words/phrases that are powerful or seem deliberately chosen. or pick out nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs – think about the kind of words the writer has used and write about why and their effect e.g. Verbs such as “cheating” suggest her perceived betrayal, even though she is only dreaming and wishing to be elsewhere ).

Code breakers for: Question 2 Don’t name a language feature without thinking about how and why it has been used (always consider specific effects e.g. the furniture in the room is personified and reference is made to the “monstrous black wardrobe” illustrating how she is overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity of this new home, but also how it threatens to overwhelm, reflecting her fears of the unknown). Don’t offer only 1 interpretation (Try to be perceptive in your analysis, delve deeply where you can. E.g. the connotations of “monstrous” and “black” are significant, conjuring images of nightmares, hell and despair).

Code breakers for: Question 2 Don’t make a general/vague comments about sentence forms E.g. the writer uses lots of short sentences to increase the tension ( refer to the different types of sentences – simple, compound, complex and compound complex). An easy way to approach sentence forms is to think about sentence length. Long complex sentences are often used to build atmosphere, description and can be used to overwhelm a reader in a positive or negative way. Whereas, simple short sentences are often employed to create a sense of energy, pace and panic.