1. Meet the Examiner English Language Paper 2

2. Meet the examiner: Alison Goodall
English teacher for 24 years
Examiner for 21 years
Team Leader, Assistant Principal and Principal Examiner on English Language Paper 2
Currently Assistant Principal

3. Teaching: Sept 2015 GCSE exams: June 2017 onwards
English language 8700
Teaching: Sept 2015
GCSE exams: June 2017 onwards

4. Context: brief overview of GCSE English Language 8700
GCSE English Language now consists of two untiered papers: Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives

5. Grades and Marks
The grading system has moved from A* - G to a numbered system Grade 9 – 1, 9 being the highest and equivalent to A**
Grade 4 is a C-
Grade 5 is a C+

6. English Language Papers 1 and 2
The mark scheme for English Language Section A has 4 levels:
Level 1: Simple
Level 2: Attempts
Level 3: Clear
Level 4: Perceptive

7. English Language Papers 1 and 2
The mark scheme for English Language Section B also has 4 levels:
Level 1: Simple / Limited
Level 2: Some success
Level 3: Clear / Consistent
Level 4: Compelling / Convincing

8. English Language Papers 1 and 2
So, when I am talking about levels, I am referring to the mark scheme NOT the overall grade.
The grade boundaries can be different in each series so we cannot match up the mark scheme to specific grades.
This year, however, lower level 3 on all questions was awarded a good Grade 5.

9. Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing
1 hour 45 minutes
80 marks
50% of GCSE
Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing
Section A: Reading
- One literature fiction text
Reading (40 marks) (25%)
1 short form question (1 x 4 marks)
2 longer form questions (2 x 8 marks)
1 extended question (1 x 20 marks)
Writing (40 marks) (25%)
1 extended writing question
(24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
Section B: Writing
- Descriptive or narrative writing

10. Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading
Focus on Reading
Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading
The source for the reading question will be a literature fiction text.
It will be drawn from either the 20th or 21st century.
Its genre will be prose fiction.
It will include extracts from novels and short stories, and will focus on openings, endings, narrative perspectives, character, atmosphere and other appropriate narrative and descriptive approaches.
Section A: Reading
- One literature fiction text

11. Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading
Focus on Writing
Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading
As a stimulus for students’ own writing, there will be a choice of scenario, written prompt or visual image that is related to the topic of the reading text in section A.
The scenario sets out a context for the writing with a designated audience, purpose and form.
Section B: Writing
- Descriptive or narrative writing

12. Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
1 hour 45 minutes
80 marks
50% of GCSE
Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Section A: Reading
Two non-fiction texts: one C19th and one C20th or C21st
Reading (40 marks) (25%) – two linked texts
1 short form question (1 x 4 marks)
2 longer form questions (1 x 8, 1 x 12 marks)
1 extended question (1 x 16 marks)
Writing (40 marks) (25%)
1 extended writing question (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
Section B: Writing – to present a viewpoint

13. Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Focus on Reading
Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Section A: Reading
Two non-fiction texts: one C19th and one C20th or C21st
Students will read two linked sources from different time periods and genres in order to consider how each presents a perspective or viewpoint.
The sources will be non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts.
They will be drawn from the 19th century and either the 20th or 21st century depending on the time period assessed in Paper 1.
Section B: Writing – to present a viewpoint

14. Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Focus on Reading
Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Choice of genre will include:
High quality journalism
Articles
Reports
Essays
Travel writing
Accounts
Letters
Diaries
Autobiography
Biography
Section A: Reading
- One non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text

15. Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
Focus on writing
Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives
There will be a single writing task, related to the theme of section A.
It will specify audience, purpose and form, and will use a range of opinions, statements and writing scenarios to provoke a response.
Section B: Writing – to present a viewpoint

16. Focus on - Paper 2
Q1: identification of 4 true statements from the given 8, based on the first few lines of Source A (4 marks)
Q2: summary of either similarities or differences on a given focus in both Source A and Source B (8 marks)
Q3: analysis of language on a given focus in either Source A or Source B (12 marks)
Q4: comparison of writers’ ideas/perspectives and the methods used to convey them in both Source A and Source B (16 marks)

17. Focus on – Paper 2
Q5: discursive essay in response to a given statement (40 marks)
24 marks for Content
16 marks for Technical Accuracy

18. Practice paper: The Death Zone
We are now going to look at a practice paper so you can see how these questions work in an actual examination.
On your table, you should find a question paper and an insert.

19. Practice paper: The Death Zone
At the start of the examination, students will need to read the source material.
Now let’s tackle question 1.

20. Choose 4 statements which are true.
In Question 1, students will be asked to shade in 4 statements that are true, from a selection of other statements that are false. This is a retrieval exercise.
The statements will be taken from a set number of lines which will appear in the question.

21. Q1: Read again Source A from lines 1 to 12.
Choose four statements below which are TRUE.
Shade the circles in the boxes of the ones that you think are true.
Choose a maximum of four statements.
If you make an error cross out the whole box.
If you change your mind and require a statement that has been crossed out then draw a circle around the box.
TOP TIP!
Put a cross or a tick next to each one first before shading

22. Answers!
The temperature at base camp drops when the sun goes down. (T)
Salkeld was so cold that she needed to put on more clothes. (T)
They watched as the storm got closer to them. (T)
The approaching storm looked like something from the end of the world. (T)

23. Question 2: Summary
You need to refer to Source A and Source B for this question.
The effects of the weather on people in both sources are very different.
Use details from both sources to write a summary of the different ways people are affected by the weather.

24. What a student has to do:
Focus on the given similarity or
difference.
Choose similarities or differences from both texts.
Write about these similarities or
differences.

25. How to approach the question
1. Highlight the key part of the question
Use details from both sources to write a summary of the different ways people are affected by the weather.
2. Pick out 3 quotations from each source that show how the weather is affecting people.
3. Spot the differences!
4. Think about what you can infer from this.

26. Question 2
I’m going to give you five minutes to see what you can find.

27. Level 1: Simple Simple reference:
‘Someone gets a frozen beard in Source B.’
Simple differences:
‘In Source A, eight climbers are killed in the storm, but in
Source B no one is killed’
Simple awareness:
‘...so the effects of the weather are different.’

28. Level 2: Attempts Some appropriate textual detail:
‘In Source A, when the storm arrives it traps thirty climbers in the “Death Zone.’”
Some differences:
‘This is different to Source B because no one is killed because of the weather.’
Some inference:
‘In Source A the weather has a dangerous effect on the people but in Source B it is not really a problem.’

29. Level 3: Clear Inferences
‘Three Indian climbers are “stranded, exhausted and with their oxygen supplies running out”, which suggests that the weather has taken them by surprise because they are obviously not prepared for the storm. By the end of the following day eight people have been killed and from this we can infer that the weather can be fatal: if people don’t have shelter they will die’

30. Level 4: Perceptive differences
‘This is different to Source B which focuses on a less traumatic event: a heavy snowfall in London in the 1800s. The people are cold and wrapped in ‘thick coats’ but the effects are not life- threatening. Even the homeless girl who sleeps on a step is only “cold as a frog” rather than hypothermic... Overall, the people in Source B have some sense of control over the weather and it merely inconveniences their daily lives, whereas in Source A, it exposes the vulnerability of the climbers and is life-threatening’

31. Level 4: Perceptive inferences
Maybe more significantly, “two commercial expeditions were strung out between the South Col and the summit”, showing the weather attacks both recreational climbers and business enterprises, who would consider the safety of their clients as important. This implies the effects are catastrophic for even the most prepared of people because there were eight fatalities’

32. Question 3: Language
You now need to refer only to Source A from lines 13 to 23.
How does the writer use language to describe the storm?

33. What a student has to do:
Choose examples of language.
Write about the effects of their selected examples of language.
Use subject terminology to enhance their response.

34. How to approach the question
Highlight around or circle the key section.
Highlight any language features you can identify and label them.
Think about the effects of the language features and the meaning of any key words within those quotations.

35. Question 3
I’m going to give you five minutes to see what you can find.

36. Level 1: Simple Simple textual details:
‘The writer describes how the storm moved into the camp. He uses the word ‘whipped’
Simple comment on the effect of language: ‘...to tell us it was going fast’
Simple use of subject terminology: ‘word’

37. Level 2: Attempts
‘the verb ‘whipped’ tells us how it blew in quickly. It makes us think that the storm was dangerous’; ‘...the storm had the mountain in its ‘grip’. It sounds like a monster’
Some use of subject terminology:
‘the verb ‘whipped’ tells us...’

38. Level 3: Clear
‘the verb ‘whipped’ suggesting something brutal and aggressive. It implies the speed of the storm and also that the wind is determined to beat them, almost as if it is forcing them off the mountain’

39. Level 4: Perceptive
‘... all of which convey the power of the storm and the way in which it is seen as a vicious and brutal force of nature’;
‘...This suggests that the storm has embarked on a deliberate and savage attack: Mother Nature seems so enraged by their presence on the mountain that her anger is all consuming...’

40. So ... The quotations can be the same
The comments on the effect of the language are the driving force in determining a mark
Sophisticated sounding techniques will not get any more marks unless the comments are sophisticated and perceptive

41. Question 4: Writers’ Viewpoints
For this question, you need to refer to the whole of Source
A, together with the whole of Source B.
Compare how the writers convey their different perspectives on the extreme weather conditions.

42. What a student has to do:
Understand the ideas and perspectives in both texts in relation to the given focus
Compare the ideas and perspectives in both texts
Comment on the effects of the writers’ methods
Support with textual references

43. How to approach the question
Highlight quotations that show the writers’ attitude about the extreme weather
Try and use quotations that have interesting language features
Label the features
Think about inferences

44. Question 4
I’m going to give you five minutes to discuss the different viewpoints of the writers.

45. Level 1: Simple Simple awareness of ideas/perspectives:
‘In Source A, there is a big storm on the mountain and the writer Matt Dickinson doesn’t like it...’
Simple cross reference of ideas/perspectives and awareness of methods:
‘... but in Source B when it snows in London the writer uses the word “beautiful” which tells us he thinks it’s nice’

46. Level 2: attempts Identification of ideas/perspectives:
‘In Source A, Matt Dickinson hates the weather because it is dangerous and people were killed…’;
Attempts to compare ideas/perspectives:
‘The writer of Source B has a different opinion...to show how pretty it is and how much he enjoys it’

47. Level 2: attempts Some comment on writers’ methods:
‘He describes the “scream of the storm” which is a metaphor that makes it sound noisy and scary’; ‘he uses adjectives like “beautiful” to show how pretty it is’

48. Level 3: Clear Clear understanding of ideas/perspectives:
‘Matt Dickinson’s reaction to the sudden intense storm is shock and horror as he realises the danger faced by the climbers’
Clear comparison of ideas/perspectives:
‘In Source B...he appreciates the positive impact that the snow has on the city, which contrasts with the negative, dangerous impact of Source A’

49. Level 3: Clear Clear explanation of writers’ methods:
‘... reinforced through the use of onomatopoeic words such as “scream” and “howl”, suggesting the wind is personified as a supernatural being sent there to punish them’

50. Level 4: Perceptive Detailed understanding of ideas/perspectives:
‘In Source A, Dickinson conveys a strong feeling of vulnerability when faced with an unprecedented storm’; ‘As well as the visual changes, he is delighted at the muted sounds that the snow brings in comparison to the “roar and rush of wheels” that the city usually suffers’

51. Level 4: Perceptive Perceptive comparison of ideas/perspectives:
‘This is in complete contrast to the writer of Source B who walks the streets of London in contemplative silence. His focus is on its aesthetic charm rather than its debilitating effects on the city and its homeless’

52. Level 4: Perceptive Analysis of writers’ methods:
‘personifying the wind as a “bullying force”, thus implying Mother Nature is treating the climbers with contempt, punishing them, maybe even toying with them, until they experience nothing but fear and intimidation’

53. Section B
Candidates are given a statement of opinion on a topic that links thematically with Section A
They are then asked to present their point of view in relation to this statement
They may be asked to argue, persuade, explain, advise or offer a point of view

54. Section B: AO5 Content Audience/register Purpose
Quality of vocabulary/phrasing
Effective use of linguistic devices
Effective use of structural features
Engagement through subject matter and detail
Linking and development of ideas
Paragraphs/discourse markers

55. Section B: AO6 Technical Accuracy
Sentence demarcation
Punctuation
Sentence forms
Standard English and grammar
Spelling
Use of vocabulary

56. Level 3 benchmark
Sentence demarcation is mostly secure and mostly accurate
Range of punctuation is used, mostly with success
Uses a variety of sentence forms for effect
Mostly uses Standard English appropriately with mostly controlled grammatical structures
Generally accurate spelling, including complex and irregular words
Increasingly sophisticated use of vocabulary

57. Section B
‘Snow seems like it is picturesque, exciting and fun but in reality it causes accidents, inconvenience and economic disruption.’
Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this issue.

58. What you can do to help your child
Read together – quality newspapers, extracts from autobiographies / biographies, C19th non-fiction
Discuss the attitudes expressed in current affairs programmes and how people use language to convey their opinions
Look at the practice papers on the AQA website

59. Happy Talking!
The data from the latest National Literacy Trust survey of 34,910 children and young people shows that children and young people who sit down to eat dinner and talk with their family are more confident communicators than those who do not.
Exposing children to as many words as possible helps them improve their vocabulary
Idea! Have a dictionary in the kitchen and learn a new word every day?

60. Use ‘A Word a Day’ App!
Games
Fridge magnets!

61. Revision Guides

62. Useful websites
Journalisted.com aqa.org gutenberg.org