Analysing texts, Year 11: non-fiction language and comparing two writers

More: 12 marks

提示Recall the pattern of the four question weightings on Paper 2 and where language comes.

为什么Paper 2 question 3 uses one source and a named set of lines, like its Paper 1 partner, but with half as many marks again it needs a fuller answer.

we

提示Look for the pronoun that includes the speaker among the audience, as in a rallying cry.

为什么The inclusive pronoun 'we' assumes the reader shares the writer's experience. It is a quiet persuasive method: the reader has agreed with something before any argument has been made.

Expert opinion

提示Ask why the writer bothers to mention this person's job.

为什么Readers trust people with knowledge of a subject, so a writer who quotes one borrows that trust. A careful reader also asks whether this person's knowledge really covers the point being argued.

understatement

提示Think of dry British humour, such as calling a disaster 'a spot of bother'.

为什么Understatement often creates dry humour or shows a writer keeping calm. Because the reader can see the gap between the words and the facts, it can hit harder than exaggeration.

B

提示Think about which sentence would still work on a reader who ignored the numbers.

为什么A statistic appeals to reason and shows the scale of a problem. One animal, closely described, appeals to emotion. Non-fiction writers often use the two together, and a language answer should say which is doing what.

The whole of both sources

提示Compare the instruction for question 4 with the line-referenced instructions of earlier questions.

为什么Questions 1 and 3 name the lines to use. Question 4 opens up everything in both sources, so you choose the moments that best show how each writer feels.

The writer's viewpoint (perspective)

提示Think of the attitude behind the words: what stance does the author take?

为什么Paper 2 is called 'Writers' viewpoints and perspectives'. A viewpoint is not always stated: it shows in tone, in what the writer chooses to mention, and in the words they pick.

'Likewise'

提示Recall which of these linking words you would use to add a similar point.

为什么Comparison needs signpost words. 'Likewise', 'similarly' and 'both' mark agreement; 'however', 'whereas' and 'in contrast' mark difference. Using them keeps the two texts linked in every paragraph.

The writers' attitudes to it

提示Notice the emotion each choice of noun carries; what does that reveal about the authors' stance?

为什么One writer admires and the other condemns. The 170 years between them is part of the reason: what counted as progress in 1850 can look like damage now. A comparison answer says what each thinks and why they might differ.

Comparison

提示Reread the question's instruction verb and ask whether your two pages meet it.

为什么Two separate accounts, however good, do not compare. The mark scheme's lowest level describes simple cross reference; the higher levels need the two writers set against each other throughout.

The methods they use to convey them

提示It is the half of the comparison that looks at the writing itself.

为什么AO3 is in two halves: compare the writers' ideas and perspectives, and compare how these are conveyed. An answer that only says what each writer thinks has done half of it.

B

提示Which sentence names a technique, not just a feeling?

为什么Sentence A compares what the writers feel. Sentence B compares what they do with language to make the reader feel it, and still shows the difference in viewpoint.

How they get it across

提示Think about the difference between content and technique in a comparison task.

为什么Methods include word choice, imagery, tone, sentence forms and the way the text is organised. A viewpoint is the destination; the methods are the route the writer takes to bring the reader there.

B

提示Think of the usual advice for a fluent comparison: integrate, do not separate.

为什么A point-by-point plan compares in every paragraph. Plan A tends to produce two separate essays with the comparison squeezed into a final sentence.

Writer A

提示Consider the effect of first-person plural versus impersonal wording on closeness.

为什么Inclusive pronouns draw the reader in; 'one' and the passive sound formal and distant. A small grammatical choice like this is a method, and comparing it across two texts is exactly what the question rewards.