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. |
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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