1. Section A - Reading Question 1: Retrieval
Approaching and answering Question 1
Explain to students that the tools they need are, simply, a pen and a highlighter. As well as their brains and hard work!

2. Question 1: Retrieval 8 marks
15 minutes, including active reading time
Make 4-5 relevant points
You’re not analysing language
You’re showing you fully understand the text, using evidence (short, embedded quotes) to prove it
Ask students what they recall about this question.
Remind them of the details on the slide.
For C/D borderline students, 3-4 relevant points may be more realistic; rather than becoming anxious about finding more points, they should focus on good explanations of what they are able to retrieve from the text.
Remind students that they are not analysing, but that they must explain the points they take from the text to showing they understand the article.

3. 1. Read the question, and highlight the most important words in it.
The most important words are those telling you what to write about in your answer.
What do you learn from Elisabeth Hyde's article about where she has been and what she has been doing?
What do you learn from Ben Leach’s article about the issues and concerns regarding the building of wind farms?
What do you learn from the article about the reasons behind Zaki Badawi’s success?
Remind students of Step 1 – reading the question and highlighting the key words (what they’ll have to ‘retrieve’ and write about in their answer).
As a class (or in groups or pairs) discuss what key words should be highlighted in the examples of retrieval questions on the slide.
This could be printed off as a handout (though this may slow things down).
What do you learn from Tim Jonze’s article about the popularity of the Mercury Music Prize?
What do you learn from the article about the benefits of a third runway at Heathrow Airport?

4. 2.
Text 18: What do you learn from the article about the achievements of Holly Budge?
Actively read Text 1: Find whatever it is you’re looking for in the text (e.g. ‘where she has been and what she has been doing’ / ‘issues and concerns regarding wind farms’ / ‘the reasons behind Zaki Badawi’s success’ / ‘the popularity of the Mercury Music prize’/ ‘the benefits of a third runway at Heathrow Airport’) and highlight 4 or 5 points as you are reading it.
To answer the above question, you are looking for what?...
Remind students that the words they’ve highlighted in the question will direct their active reading of the text, which is Step 2.
Reading actively means students highlighting what they are looking for (or ‘retrieving’) in the text so they have points to use in their answer.
‘the achievements of Holly Budge’
IN GROUPS

5. IN GROUPS 3. Purpose and Audience
Now you’re ready to write up your ideas, think about the purpose of the article, and who its audience might be. When writing an introductory sentence to your answer, you can mention these things.
For Question 1, likely purposes will be to inform (or to ‘make the reader aware’), explain or describe.
Sometimes it may be clear that a text is aimed at a particular group. If you’re not sure about the particular group, don’t guess but simply mention ‘the reader’ / ‘its readers’ (the article’s readers) / or even ‘us’.
Step 3 is writing the response.
Warn students about spending too much time thinking or writing about this; an awareness of purpose and audience should be summarised in one sentence (as well as implicitly shown in a good answer).
Explain to students that, essentially, the question itself will give them hints about the puropse of the text, and that in Text 1, purposes are usually the basic kinds mentioned on this slide.
Discourage students from speculating about the audience. If it’s not clear, the general phrases about readership mentioned on the slide are sufficient and safer!
IN GROUPS

6. Don’t write things like this: What’s wrong with these openings?3.
Purpose and Audience
Don’t write things like this:
What’s wrong with these openings?
Text 1 aims to inform readers about the success of the Mercury Music Prize, and also to entertain them and make them think the Mercury Music Prize is a really good thing. The audience are people who are in their teens and 20s and who like music or are in bands themselves.
Text 1 aims to tell readers about all the problems to do with wind farms in the UK. Readers will be people who are concerned about the environment and the government and they will be shocked, sad and angry when they read the article.
Show students these examples. Think, pair, share.
WHAT TO AVOID

7. Do write things like this: What’s better about these openings?3.
Purpose and Audience
Do write things like this:
What’s better about these openings?
Text 1 aims to inform ‘Guardian Music’ readers about the success of the Mercury Music Prize.
Text 1 explains to ‘Telegraph’ readers the reasons behind the success of the businessman Zaki Badawi.
In this article Ben Leach explains issues and concerns to do with wind farms to readers, perhaps especially those concerned about the countryside or the environment.
Show students these examples. Think, pair, share.
WHAT TO WRITE

8. IN GROUPS 3. Write your clear, simple opening sentence.
Now you need to address the question, writing about the things you’ve highlighted by re-phrasing them and putting them in your own words.
Don’t copy chunks of the text.
Pepper your points with two or three word quotes.
Aim for 2-3 sentences per point; explain points to show you’ve understood the text.
Modelling, using some highlights students have already made, is a good idea.
This could be done on the whiteboard, with the next slide (which provides useful words and phrases) on the IWB.
Students should then, in their groups, carefully construct a response. Give them 10 minutes (the approximate time they will have in the exam) to write. Choose a fast scribe, and encourage plenty of discussion and oral drafting from all members of the group.
IN GROUPS

9. USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES 3. Connective The text / article… The reader…
(or ‘we’…)
Firstly
Secondly
Thirdly
As well as this
Furthermore
Moreover
Finally
Lastly
Argues
Describes
Emphasises
Explains
Highlights
Informs
Raises
Refers to
Reveals
Shows
Tells
Is made aware
Is informed
Is told
Learns
Discovers
Realises
Students should ONLY use words / phrases they’re comfortable with. There’s no time to experiment!
Column 1: Useful connectives to organise a response (and ensure enough distinct points are being made).
Column 2: Active verbs that may be used, referring to the text.
Column 2: Passive, and then active, sentence constructions that may be used when referring to the reader or audience.
USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES

10. Text 2: What are the reasons given for visiting England’s forests in this article?
Sit students in suitable pairs according to your judgement. They should now be given 15 minutes (the time they will have in the exam) or, if necessary, slightly longer to answer the above retrieval question.
Each student in the pair needs to write their own response, but the pairs may discuss and collaborate at any point.
Teacher to support pairs who need help.
Remind them of the steps they need to take; talk them through the response, making them aware of timings and when they should be moving on to the next stages.
IN PAIRS

11. Question 1: Retrieval – Sample Mark Scheme
Students can swap this attempt with someone else in the class for them to peer assess against the mark scheme.
Please make students aware that this is only a sample mark scheme; each mark scheme is slightly tailored to the content of Text 1 (the third bullet point).

12. Text 4: What arguments are given for eating meat in Text 4?
Now students attempt this question, in 15 minutes including active reading time, on their own.
Take in and mark!
ON YOUR OWN