Paper 2 is a beast of an exam, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible. I'm sharing some tips here for those of you that want to get a head-start on your revision. I'll use this post to break down the paper, explain exactly what is required of you and explore exactly the best way to use your time. Step 1: The layout of the paper Like Paper 1, this is an exam of two halves - a reading paper, and a writing paper. You have 2 hours to complete the whole thing (2.5 hours for those of you with extra time), but this does not mean you allocate one hour to each. Time management tip 1: DO NOT ALLOCATE AN HOUR A PAPER! Section A: Reading - 1hr 15 minutes You will be given two non-fiction texts to read. Time management tip 2: USE 15 MINUTES TO READ AND ANNOTATE THE PAPER! Questions 1-3 are on Text 1. Question 1 - Locating information (2 marks) Question 2 - Inferring meaning - find a quote that shows something, and explain how it shows it (2 marks) Question 3 - Language and structure (15 marks) Questions 4-6 are on Text 2. Question 4 - Locating information (2 marks) Question 5 - Inferring meaning - find a quote that shows something, and explain how it shows it (2 marks) Question 6 - Evaluation question - "evaluate how successfully" (15 marks) Questions 7a) and 7b) are asking you to compare the two texts. Question 7a) - What similarities are there between the two texts? (6 marks) Question 7b) - Compare how the writers present their ideas (15 marks) Section B: Transactional Writing - 45 minutes You will be given two options - both non-fiction Non-fiction usually takes the form of:
Step 2: How to spread out your time Section A is time-intensive. You need to allocate your time well. The best approach here is to look for a mark a minute. Which means: READING: 15 minutes Questions 1 and 2: 4 minutes Question 3: 15 minutes Questions 4 and 5: 4 minutes Question 6: 15 minutes Question 7a): 6 minutes Question 7b) 14 minutes TOTAL: 58 minutes + 15 minutes' reading = 73 minutes Section B is less so. You do not need to write a long piece. It's better to focus on SPaG, and securing your vocabulary! Planning: 5 minutes Writing: 35 minutes Proof-reading: 5 minutes TOTAL: 45 minutes GRAND TOTAL: 118 MINUTES It's tight, as you can see - which is why you need to plan your time ahead. Step 3: Annotating the paper You need to clearly annotate the paper. You are looking for two things:
When you do your first read-through, don't highlight anything.
On your second read-through of Text 1, read the question first, and highlight relevant language and structure points. On your second read-through of Text 2, read the questions first, and highlight relevant DAFORREST techniques, plus S.I.T.E (these are imperative!) Then, make sure you've highlighted the right things, and select from your annotations what you want to write about by marking them with a *. Step 4: Answering the questions Make sure that you are clear on two things:
Click here for information on the language and structure questions. Click here for information on how to evaluate. Click here for guidance on the short questions. Click here for help on comparing texts. Step 5: Transactional Writing Transactional writing is tough to master, so make sure that you remember:
Click here for more guidance on transactional writing. Step 6: Don't panic! It's going to be tempting to panic. Don't. This exam is all about how well you allocate your time and how well you read the questions. If you clearly annotate, explore and evaluate, using all of the skills you have learned, then you cannot do badly! Good luck, and do make use of this site for more information and revision guidance.
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Section B of Paper 2 is the transactional writing paper, which asks you to write something, um, transactional - this usually takes the form of:
This handy guidebook has lots of tips and information on how to craft a successful piece of transactional writing.
Lisa Tran has some tips on how to improve your writing, without even realising it. She asks you to consider your social situations, and to think about how changing the way you talk can influence the language you put onto paper.
When responding to a comparison question, it's easy to fall into simple descriptive writing. You can't do that if you're aiming for a Band 4 or higher response! We've recently been looking at writing comparisons, and how to do this in a way that shows a wide range of ideas and comparisons whilst still remaining succinct - and all in 15 minutes! I can't emphasise enough just how strict this exam is for time. It's basically a mark a minute - and it's relentless. You need to make sure you're sticking to your time frames religiously, or you risk running out of time before you even get to this question. BUY A DIGITAL WATCH. Having a watch with clear time display is really valuable; having a watch that is digital is even better as it allows you to write your times at the top of the page. This question is worth 14 marks - equivalent to a couple of grades - so it's important you complete it. Anyway, here's the mark scheme: You'll notice that it's much more simple than the other mark schemes. I want to draw your attention to the middle bullets, though. Notice:
Basically, you're being marked on two things: 1. How many comparisons you can make; 2. How in-depth those comparisons are. Consider:
This is a basic mock-up of the five tiers of analysis - you need to ensure that you do the same in your writing. If you simply list comparisons, you're never going to get past 'comment'. Remember, you need to look at the writer as an architect who has made very specific choices! How to Respond - Planning You also need to make sure that your chosen comparisons are relevant to the question you've been asked. That itself isn't always easy. Take the question: In these two extracts, the writers present their feelings about the plight of the gorilla. Compare the ways in which the writers do this. I always recommend re-writing the question in order to fully understand what it is you're supposed to do. Take that question, which has been deliberately worded to catch you out, and play the examiners at their own game: Compare how the writers show their feelings about the gorilla's plight. See? It's almost a thousand times easier to understand. Annotating Annotation is your friend here. You're pushed for time, so you really don't want to waste any of it re-reading and trying to locate things because you're stuck for something to say. Go over your two texts, keeping in mind at all times exactly what you've been asked to look for (in the case of the question above, it's the feelings about the gorillas). Highlight the points and then look at them objectively - what are the similarities? You're looking for:
Make a plan, noting down at least three similarities that the texts share. Turn these into 'both' statements - these will be the basis of your answer. Top Tip! In your plan, don't bother writing quotes out. Instead, number the quotes on the sheet and refer to the numbers instead - then just use the quote when it comes to writing the essay. Writing the Response As always, open with an overview of the two texts: Both of these texts show a sense of frustration with how the gorillas are being treated by poachers and zoo visitors. Both writers feel a sense of frustration at the way gorillas are treated, although this frustration is presented in different ways. Once you've completed your overview question, you can clearly begin your 'both' statement responses, using the analysis guidance above (Miss Bradley v Mrs Vitty). Exemplar Response - 12 marks - Ria First, let's look at Ria's annotations: This is what a well-annotated piece looks like. Colour-coded, loads of selected ideas and clear annotations to guide her. There is absolutely no doubt that this in-depth annotation allowed Ria to spend more time crafting her response rather than thinking about what to say next. As you can see, this response goes into analytical depth - it tells us the effects of the writers' choices and compares the level of influence each writer has on the reader. What stops it getting 14 is that at times, it shifts too far into the effect on the reader, rather than focusing on the writers' intentions. The question is actually asking her to compare the way the writers present their feelings, so it would have been better to focus on their ideas and aims. Overall, an excellent example and not bad at all. Exemplar Response - 10 marks - Harrison Another example of good annotations here: Again, you can see colour-coding and a lot of quick notes that help Harrison understand what he has read. When it comes to writing the piece, he wouldn't even need to think about it - all of his ideas are already written down. I really like Harrison's overview paragraph at the start - it clearly shows his understanding of both writers' attitudes and feelings before he goes into deeper explanation.
Harrison's piece isn't as long as Ria's, but notice how he takes the time to embed his quotes - paragraph 2 does this particularly well. He manages to look at a range of quotes in a short space - he clearly supports his ideas. However, whilst there is lots of exploration, there isn't yet enough analysis - enough focus on why the writers have chosen specific things - to get him into Band 5. However, again, another good response with a clear understanding of how to use those 'both' statements. I also like how Harrison numbers his paragraphs so that he can keep track of the points he has made. So, what can we take from this? Here's a TL;DR:
As part of section B of paper 2, you may be asked to write a newspaper article. This sounds easy, but isn't actually that simple to master. There are a few errors that you often make when writing newspaper articles - I've counted them up over the past few years! Here are your most common errors:
Newspaper articles should focus on the 5 Ws, with a clear leaning towards sensationalist language to draw in your audience. You have a chance to play with words here - don't lose it! You can experiment with different DAFORREST techniques to draw in your audience. Compare: HOVE PARK SCHOOL BEAT BY KING'S SCHOOL IN FOOTBALL There was a football match at 3pm today at Hove Park School. It was the third match of the season and it was won by King's School. It is the first match that King's have beaten Hove Park in. The main goal scorer was Jimmy Rogers who scored three goals. Another goal was scored by Roger Jimmies. There was a goal scored by Hove Park earlier but it was not enough. HOVE PARK HUNG OUT TO DRY BY THE NEW KINGS Tempers flared at Hove Park School last night as the reigning champions were taken to the cleaners by new upstarts King's School. After claiming a winning streak over the new free school, the Hove Park lot were embarrassed to lose 4-1 to the team they previously wiped the floor with. Man of the Match Jimmy Rogers gave everyone a lesson in beautiful footwork, scoring a hat-trick in the first twenty minutes of the game. As you can see, the second article is much more engaging. It uses a wider range of language and creates a sensational event out of a local football match - not easy to do! A good idea would be to write consciously and give yourself time to go back over the things you've written, asking yourself - have I made this sound like a story, or a report? This video has more tips to help you succeed:
This paper is going to try to intimidate you. Don't let it. All you need to do is answer the questions using the skills you've learned. It's as easy as pie... If the pie is contained within a barbed-wire box guarded by wolves at the bottom of that dark, deep well full of skeletons from The Ring. Just kidding. You've got this.
Some key tips to remember:
This handy video outlines how to approach the killer question seven on Paper 2, which asks you to compare two texts for 14 marks. It's an easy question on the surface, but difficult to master, mainly because many students forget exactly what they've been asked to do and refer to simple common points.
Remember - this exam is relying on your ability to read the question. Direct address is a great technique to engage an audience and to make them want to listen to what you have to say.
It encompasses the use of personal pronouns: you us we our your yours ours Direct address is perfect when you want to be inclusive and have the audience believe that you care about their opinions and feelings, or that you want the same things as them. Direct address used well Martin Luther King Jr is the king of inclusive rhetoric. Consider: I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. Notice how at the start of the speech, King immediately includes the audience members and joins himself to them with the use of the inclusive pronoun "our". This creates a sense of community and ensures that the audience feel like King is one of them. The continued use of "we" sustains this idea and so, subconsciously, the audience feel connected to King. When you use direct address, it is important to do so in a manner that is respectful of the audience members and sensitive to what it is that you have been asked to do. Direct address used poorly Think about this extract from a speech regarding the building of a supermarket on a local playing field: You may think that you know better than we do, but you're wrong. You are nothing but corporate bigots and you will regret this choice. Notice the aggressive tone. This writer has immediately threatened the audience and therefore abandons the sense of community that they should have been aiming for. This means that the audience's feathers are ruffled, and in the wrong way. Direct address should be used to promote, not berate. TL;DR When writing non-fiction, direct address is a gift. However, be careful not to use it threateningly as this will ensure the reader switches off! Excellent speeches that use direct address: Winston Churchill - We shall fight them on the beaches... Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address Carl Sagan on humanity Transactional writing tasks are asking you to communicate an idea to a specific audience, for a specific reason. When you tackle one of these tasks, it is a good idea to remember a few things that can help you strive for success. T A P Text Type, Audience and Purpose: WHAT are you being asked to write (what form)? WHO are you writing for or to? WHY are you writing this piece? Understanding these three things is imperative. Take this task, for example: Your headteacher has made the decision to introduce a strict ban on mobile telephones for all students during school hours. Write her a letter to your headteacher explaining your thoughts on this idea. Compare this to: Your headteacher has made the decision to introduce a strict ban on mobile telephones for all students during school hours. Write a speech to deliver to your school council, arguing why this is a bad idea. On the surface, the two tasks are very similar. However, the first task is actually asking you for something completely different. If we TAP the tasks, you can see, immediately, the differences: Task 1: T - A letter A - The headteacher P - To express my thoughts and opinions Task 2: T - A speech A - The school council (a group) P - To argue the decision So, with just a small bit of time taken, we are immediately a lot clearer on our approach to the task. We now know WHAT we have been asked to do, WHO we are writing for and WHY we are writing. You'd be surprised how many people fail to do this! FORMALITY Once you know who your audience are, you can then make a decision about the formality of your writing. If you don't know your audience, then you can't tailor your language and style accordingly! For example, your language would be very different in a speech to your headteacher than it would be in an article for teenagers. Don't forget formality! D A F O R R E S T Direct Address Anecdotes Facts Opinions Repetition Rhetorical Question Emotive Language Statistics Triples (Three in a row) DAFORREST is a useful acronym to remember when you're writing non-fiction. I will put together a more detailed post explaining the nuances of this in the future, but for now, it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with these techniques. DAFORREST techniques are all proven to draw in an audience, and ensure that you keep them hanging on your words. SUCCESS STORY: Aiden P Task: There is a plan to build a new supermarket on a playing field in your local area. Write a speech to present at a public meeting, giving your views on this idea.
Aiden's work was the highest-marked in the year at this mark point. It's important to recognise Aiden's successes in order to improve your own work. 1. Clear introduction Aiden uses a clear introduction to explain to the audience why he is there. Immediately, he establishes the reasons for the speech and we as readers can see from the opening statement that Aiden has written a speech. That's not to say that it doesn't need work - "Hello" isn't exactly a great opener and doesn't establish formality particularly well. However, this overview statement has led us quite nicely into Aiden's speech and clearly establishes his viewpoint. 2. Clear structure Aiden has clearly planned this speech to be concise and to-the-point. He begins with an anecdotal account of the village of Glendale, explaining with some vivid detail the benefits of a supermarket on the village. Note words like "thriving", which immediately show a strong grasp of language and appropriate vocab. Pitfalls here often include:
Note that Aiden's speech isn't long. It's concise and clear, which is much better. 3. Appropriate and sophisticated vocabulary Aiden's words are not overly ambitious. They are appropriate and succinct, meaning that the audience clearly understands his message without feeling patronised. A problem many students have is that they get lost in fancy language and the overall meaning of their words is lost. Be careful of this! Less is more, as the saying goes. 4. Appropriate tone Aiden's tone is friendly, yet firm. Too many students make the mistake of mis-judging the tone and therefore mis-firing when it comes to crafting the speech. Go back to your TAP and explore what it is you've been asked to do. If you're writing to persuade, then threatening your audience, or using negative language isn't going to get you what you want! You need to show the examiner that you are aware of what is being asked of you, and remember - you're being marked on your ability to communicate effectively, at the end of the day. 5. A well-rounded speech Aiden's speech has a clear beginning, middle and end. This is due to clear and detailed planning. You can see that before he began to write, he had a clear direction. This is why planning is essential. Too many times, I see students losing track of their ideas due to poor planning. Remember: Proper planning prevents poor performance. 6. Excellent SPaG Finally, Aiden's speech uses punctuation accurately and effectively. This means that he doesn't haemorrhage marks because he can't handle a semi-colon. 40% of the marks you get in this piece are for SPaG, and if you can't SPaG correctly, then you can't get more than 6/16. Aiden gets 10/16 marks because his punctuation is accurate and controlled. To earn more, he needs to begin using punctuation for effect - to manipulate and control the reader's speed and the tone of the piece overall. TL;DR In a nutshell, for those of you skimming this piece, what you need to remember is to TAP, walk through DAFORREST and create an effective PLAN, with a little sprinkle of SPaG for good measure. |
In a Nutshell...Paper 2 is a BEAST of a paper. In it, you have to read two non-fiction pieces, before analysing the language and structure of one and evaluating the success of a writer's techniques in the other. To finish, you have to compare the two texts thoroughly, looking at methods and techniques. Archives
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