1. Paper One Practice Objective: to explore key information across a novel and analyse the writer’s language and structure. In your exam, you will be asked to do the following things: Read an extract from a novel Find information to show that you have understood it Make inferences (read between the lines) Analyse the way that it is structured Criticise the writing Create your own piece of descriptive writing Tips for the exam (preparation and exam technique) Bring a highlighter Revise using the work that we do in lessons and what we have on the website Read lots at home! This can include your AR book and also any leaflets that come through the door, articles in the newspaper and interesting websites.

2. Comprehension: This means showing that you have understood the text and read it carefully. List four things that you find out about Big Moose Lake and the Glenmore hotel. I mark per correct quotation.

3. Making inferences: this means to read between the lines and think about what words might suggest (connotations). Look in detail at this passage. How does the writer use language to describe what the environment is like? How to get top marks: Pick out techniques using the appropriate terminology confidently Select a wide range of techniques to analyse Select evidence carefully Fully explain meaning using ‘because’ Explore alternative meanings and fully analyse the effects of the technique USE PEEE! When the summer comes to North Woods, time slows down. And some days it stops altogether. The sky, gray and lowering for much of the year, becomes an ocean of blue, so vast and brilliant you can’t help but stop what you’re doing- pinning wet sheets to the line maybe, or shucking a bushel of corn on the back steps- to stare up at it. Locusts whir in the birches, coaxing you out of the sun and under the boughs, and the heat stills the air, heavy and sweet with the scent of balsam.

4. Analysing Structure: this means to consider why events or information come in a certain order. You explore what effect this might have on the reader and how it suits the writing. Now you need to think about the text as a whole. How has the writer structured the opening of the chapter to capture the reader’s interest? How to get top marks: Pick out a range of structural techniques Name them using the correct terminology Fully explain their effects using ‘because’ Explain why the writer might have used these structural techniques and how they affect the reader USE PEEE! You could write about: How the writer sets the mood at the beginning of the extract How the mood changes through the extract Any specific structural techniques which are interesting and effective

5. Responding to critical analysis: this means that you will be commenting on the extract and giving your personal opinions, as well as commenting on someone else's. Roald Dahl once said: ‘Every writer in the world has to use characters that have something interesting about them.’ To what extent do you think that the characters in the extract have something interesting about them? In your answer, you could comment on: 1.What you learn about Mattie and the other characters 2.Whether you think that Jennifer Donnelly has made an effort to present the characters in an interesting way 3.What your personal opinions on the characters are

6. How to get top marks: I believe that Jennifer Donnelly has been very clever in the way that she drip feeds little bits of information to the reader about her main character, Mattie. There are small clues through the extract that allow us to build a picture of what she is like. For example, she is fascinated with nature and the beauty around her, describing the way that the sky “becomes an ocean of blue” and the way that the sound of the locusts coaxes “you out of the sun”. These small descriptions and details indicate to the reader that Mattie is an observant and thoughtful girl, but perhaps also that she is easily distracted and a bit of a day dreamer. She could feel trapped where she is and prefer to be outside, enjoying nature, rather than working in the hotel. The reader could start to wonder why she is so fascinated with the world around her and why she notices such tiny details. They will want to unravel the mystery of this character and get to know what is inside her mind; these clues create something interesting about her and make us eager to get to know her better. Offers examples from the text to explain views convincingly Selects a range of relevant quotations to validate views Critically evaluates the text in a detailed way. Detailed analysis of the effect of the writer’s choices To what extent do you think that the characters in the extract have something interesting about them? In your answer, you could comment on: 1.What you learn about Mattie and the other characters 2.Whether you think that Jennifer Donnelly has made an effort to present the characters in an interesting way 3.What your personal opinions on the characters are

7. Creative Writing: This means writing to describe, and you will plan your writing carefully before starting, thinking about using a range of descriptive techniques, varied sentences, accurate punctuation, paragraphs and powerful vocabulary. How to get top marks: You use a wide range of techniques to suit TAP You use a wide and adventurous range of vocabulary A wide range of connectives to make your writing flow Impressive paragraphs for effect (not just TipTop!) Perfect punctuation ; : - and apostrophes Simple and minor sentences for effect Complex sentences Sentences with ISPACED openers Do you know what these are? Do you need to see examples? Visit our skills page and click on the appropriate tile.skills page

8. You will have a choice of two tasks. DON’T DO BOTH! Choose either this.......

9. Paragraph 1: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 2: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 3: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 4: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: CHALLENGE: Can you use an echo, contrasting paragraph or repetition to make your structure even more effective? CHALLENGE: How are you going to create flow between your paragraphs?

10. OR THIS...

11. Paragraph 1: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 2: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 3: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: Paragraph 4: TipTop: Descriptive technique: Complex sentence: Powerful Vocab: CHALLENGE: Can you use an echo, contrasting paragraph or repetition to make your structure even more effective? CHALLENGE: How are you going to create flow between your paragraphs? Write a descriptive piece in which someone is living a life which they wish they could escape.