3.1.5
Answering Question 3
Section A: Creative Reading - Question 3
Section A: Creative Reading - Question 3
In Section A of Paper 1, you will be given a 40-50 line extract from a modern piece of fiction. Unless you are very lucky and have already read the text, this extract will be unseen.
Question 3
Question 3
- Question 3 is worth eight marks. You should spend around two minutes reading and around 8 minutes writing.
- In this question, you will be asked to read the whole source and answer: How has the text been structured by the writer to grab the reader's interest?
- You MUST talk about the STRUCTURE in this question – answers about language will not get any marks.
Use varied information from the text
Use varied information from the text
- You must carefully select quotations because they are important to the point you have made. They should prove your ideas really well.
- It should be clear that your point and evidence work perfectly together. You should not just choose any quotation at random and try to make a point around it – you should choose an excellent quotation to match your point perfectly.
- You should explain how your quotation links to your point.
Analyse language focusing on structure
Analyse language focusing on structure
- You should explain how the writer has STRUCTURED their writing and the effect that is created.
- You should select a quotation which links perfectly to the question, and you should explain why the writer has chosen to use this particular quotation/idea.
- You should explain the effect of the structural technique you have highlighted – so NOT just label the techniques, but explain their effect.
Analyse language (cont.)
Analyse language (cont.)
- To get the top marks, your ideas must be original, showing that you are thinking outside the box and picking up on small details in the text.
Section A, Question 3 - Tips for Dealing with Structure
Section A, Question 3 - Tips for Dealing with Structure
Looking at structure is about looking at how the text is put together and considering why the writer chose to say/do something at that particular point in the text. Some aspects of the structure you could explore are:
Changing depth
Changing depth
- Zooming in on small details.
- E.g. Moving from describing New York City, to the items in the protagonist's New York apartment.
- Zooming out to look at the whole picture.
- E.g. Moving from looking at different characters' perspectives on an event to the omniscient narrator's overview of the scene.
- Changing from a small focus to a big focus.
- E.g. Changing from how one character feels to the actions of a whole group of characters or the description of a place.
Narrative shifts
Narrative shifts
- Shifts of perspective.
- E.g. Shifting from the point of view of one character to another.
- Shifts in time.
- E.g. A flashback or flashforward.
- Shifts in place.
- E.g. Switching between characters in different locations.
- Shifts in topic.
- E.g. The narrator moves from discussing a couple's relationship to describing the action.
- Shifts from internal to external.
- E.g. Moving from a character’s internal thoughts to external actions.
Repetition and cycles
Repetition and cycles
- Repetition.
- E.g. Jane Eyre repeatedly fleeing from men (Rochester and St John).
- Cyclical structures (events happening in cycles).
- E.g. The opening setting of Of Mice and Men also featuring as the closing setting.
- Foreshadowing.
- E.g. A writer using lots of gun imagery to warn about an upcoming murder.
Developments
Developments
- How characters/events develop throughout the text.
- E.g. How Harry Potter develops from being the boy under the stairs to a hero at Hogwarts.
1Key Terms
2Language Techniques
2.1Language Devices
3Paper 1: Reading
4Paper 1: Writing
5Paper 2: Reading
5.1DAFORESTER
6Paper 2: Writing
6.1Structuring Your Answer
6.2Types of Writing
6.3Writing to...
6.3.1Writing to Inform
6.3.2Writing to Inform - Example
6.3.3Writing to Explain
6.3.4Writing to Explain - Example
6.3.5Writing to Persuade
6.3.6Writing to Persuade - Example
6.3.7Writing to Argue
6.3.8Writing to Argue - Example
6.3.9Writing to Persuade vs Writing to Argue
6.3.10Writing to Advise
6.3.11Writing to Advise - Example
6.3.12End of Topic Test - Writing to...
6.3.13Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Writing
Jump to other topics
1Key Terms
2Language Techniques
2.1Language Devices
3Paper 1: Reading
4Paper 1: Writing
5Paper 2: Reading
5.1DAFORESTER
6Paper 2: Writing
6.1Structuring Your Answer
6.2Types of Writing
6.3Writing to...
6.3.1Writing to Inform
6.3.2Writing to Inform - Example
6.3.3Writing to Explain
6.3.4Writing to Explain - Example
6.3.5Writing to Persuade
6.3.6Writing to Persuade - Example
6.3.7Writing to Argue
6.3.8Writing to Argue - Example
6.3.9Writing to Persuade vs Writing to Argue
6.3.10Writing to Advise
6.3.11Writing to Advise - Example
6.3.12End of Topic Test - Writing to...
6.3.13Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Writing
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered