1. Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing Section A
Teaching…………..
Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing Section A

2. AQA GCSE Paper 1 READING Focus on Questions 1,2, 3, 4

3. “City of the Beasts” By Isabel Allende
Using AQA Specimen paper:
“City of the Beasts”
By Isabel Allende
AQA Specimen paper released Oct 2016

4. Let’s read the Insert

5. Now, let’s remind ourselves of the A.O.S’ for the READING section:

7. Question 1 SHOULD be relatively straightforward, but students should read carefully and avoid losing marks in a careless way:
The question is:

8. This is information retrieval – possible answers are below:

9. Let’s move on to Question 2:

10. Obviously, LANGUAGE is the key skill here.
Don’t be afraid to talk about areas that might be considered “basic” such as verbs, adjectives, adverbs etc, as well as more “impressive” features of figurative language like metaphor, personification etc. You might also mention SYNTAX if relevant – types of sentences, style, length, impact.
Avoid generalising, with comments like “It is very descriptive”
Try to consider the effect of language with phrases like:
This gives a feeling of………..
This creates a mood of……..
This makes the reader feel………..
The effect of this is………..
Plus: The more sentences that start with the author’s name, the more ANALYTICAL you will be:
Bloggs uses short, sharp sentences to create tension and a breathless atmosphere etc etc

11. Watch the question focus – it is “the effects of the storm”
Even in short questions it helps to break up your ideas into paragraphs – makes it easier for examiner to “see” your responses.
Watch the question focus – it is “the effects of the storm”
Let’s look at 2 student answers to Question 2

13. Candidate 2 is over 2 sides

16. Now let’s look at student 3
You will need to give this a mark out of 8, together with 3 brief bullet points summarising your reasons

19. Write down your mark in your books and your 3 bullet point reasons now:

20. This is the mark and the examiner comment:

21. Let’s look at one more student answer to Question 2.
Same again – your give mark and 3 reasons:

22. Page 2!

23. Write down your mark in your books and your 3 bullet point reasons now:

24. Let’s look at the marks and comments, which are very interesting:

25. Here is a typed up version of that last answer:
The writer uses present participle verbs to portray the violence that the storm carried with it. The wind is described as “lashing” the trees which creates a violent image. The verb “lashing” has connotations of a violent motion, and the personification here, from the wind’s perspective, shows that the storm has affected such a large, strong thing such as a tree. This shows the violence of the storm, as it had in a way, ‘attacked’ the tree.
Through the use of adjectives, the writer depicts an aggressive image of the storm. The writer describes the waves as “furious” which portrays aggression, as the angry connotations come to mind. As the waves are depicted as “furious” this describes the storm as having an emotion, which makes it act so aggressively, as if it is taking it out on the rocks. The adjective “furious” also comes across as exaggerated, as it is a high level of anger, this emphasises the aggression of the storm, as it depicts it as having a very strong anger, resulting in such actions.
The writer creates an emotional effect that the storm has, through the use of the past participle verb “tangled”. This verb has connotations of entrapment and immobility, which has been caused by the storm. The fact that the storm has made Alex feel that way shows that it has a lot of power, and is very superior, almost dominant.
Notice – it’s not THAT long, but it IS very specific on language features
Note: Short, precise quotes

26. Areas being assessed in Question 2 are:
Comment on Effect Quotation/Textual Evidence Subject Terminology

27. Let’s move on to Question 3:

28. Obviously Structure is the key idea, but what does that mean
Obviously Structure is the key idea, but what does that mean? – a few ideas are below:

29. Let’s look at a student answer:
We need to try to break down the “journey” of the text into key “moments”.
Let’s look at a student answer:

30. What mark would you give it?

32. What does the Mark Scheme ask us to look for?
Here is what examiner suggests is a 5/6 out of 8 response:

33. What mark would you give this answer and why? Which bits are good?

36. What mark would you give it?

38. Areas being assessed in Question 3 are:
Comment on Effect Quotation/Textual Evidence Subject Terminology

39. Let’s move on to Question 4:

40. An obvious comment is that this is worth 20 marks and therefore time management is crucial here:
Question 1 – 5 minutes
Question 2 – 10 minutes
Question 3 – 10 minutes
Question 4 = 20 minutes
This allows 15 mins to closely and carefully read the extract. If you do that in 10 mins then you could add 2 mins on question 2,3,4, but careful reading and annotating to begin with may repay the investment in time required

41. Let’s look at Level 3 in the Mark Scheme:

43. How would you rate this student response
How would you rate this student response ? – this slide could be copied to enable student marking:
Response 1
I agree with this, firstly because the writer shows that Alex’s emotions vary on the topic of his mother, yet all show that he is struggling to cope.
“Alex was angry with his father, his sisters, life in general - even with his mother for getting sick” shows that Alex’s first instinct is to be angry due to the adjective “angry” in the quotation. “even with his mother for getting sick” shows that Alex appears to be struggling to cope with her illness as he is blaming even his mother, showing that Alex’s character is one which needs a constant emotional outlet.
Alex also feels pained later in the text, as he thinks about “how painful her absence is now”. This however, due to the time being “now”, suggests that Alex didn’t always feel pained, showing again a sense of emotional instability in Alex’s character.
I also agree because the text explicitly states that Alex misses his mother, as “He missed her easy laughter and her affection, even her discipline”. The verb “missed” shows that Alex wants his mother well again and cannot cope with her absence. The fact that Alex is described to miss “even her discipline” shows that even features that he disliked before are now appealing features that he misses, showing that Alex wants nothing more than for things to return to how they were before, as he goes to extremeties to miss and feel nostalgic about.
I also agree because the writer’s semantic field of negativity is often hinted to be as a result of Alex’s mother’s illness. “Her canvases, which once were explosions of colour” suggests that since she became ill, Alex’s life has greyed as a result. This shows that Alex can no longer experience happiness or excitement, or have a colourful perspective on the world, as things that were once coloured have become greyed and depressing. This also shows that Alex cannot cope with his mother’s illness, as he doesn’t appear to allow himself to find joy, instead letting others get on without him, showing that he may also feel angry at himself, coinciding with how he feels towards his father and sisters. It appears to that Alex blames himself, reinforcing the idea that Alex is emotionally unstable and therefore needs to find an output in the form of a multitude of different things - mainly people.
[COMMENT]       [MARK]

44. The mark was 12 , Let’s try another……..
Aske yourself: is it better or worse, why?

45. Response 2
I fully agree that alex is struggling to cope with his mother's illness.
I think that Alex is a chracter of passion and hatred, when something gets him mad he doesn’t just blame that one thing, he starts blaming everyone and everything. The writer shows this by the saying ‘Alex was angry with his father, his sisters, life in general - even his mother for getting sick”
One reason why I think he is struggling to cope is through his speech on how things are different now that she’s ill. The writer includes a list of all the things he misses about her, for example it says ‘he missed her music, her flowers, the once familiar fragrance of fresh baked cookies. This suggests that from his day to day life all he does is think about her and what he misses about her. This links back to the beginning of line 16 as its saying how he ‘was not in the mood to applaud his fathers efforts’ Implying that he is falling into a depression state where little things like that don’t seem to matter anymore.
Another piece of evidence is when nicole asks “whens momma going to get better?” Alex’s sudden response is “shut up, nicole” suggesting he refuses to talk about it and as it goes on further to talk about How they think she is going to die, Alex rushes out of the kitchen without breakfast suggesting he’s lost his apetite from the conversation.
An argument against this would be that if it really was effecting him he would have also been agressive towards his father, However it says that “his children didn’t want to hurt his feelings” therefore showing that despite the struggling he is trying to cope.
Howeve I can argue that he still isn’t coping well as it says “Alex was angry at his father” showing he had zero tolerance at all for the situation he was in at that moment in time, he didnt want to talk about it and he was in a complete state of denial.
Overall I think that Alex isn’t coping well with the state that his mothers in as he flips out at his sisters for bringing up the topic.
[COMMENT]       [MARK]

46. The mark was 9

47. This might have connotations of
This question is quite sophisticated as it is asking you to look at what is :
Suggested
Implied
Inferred
Symbolised
You are being asked to interpret and put forward original ideas. Don’t be afraid to say things like:
This might mean
This could suggest
This might have connotations of
Take a look at this 18 out of 20 answer and try to consider why it scores so highly:

48. Response 3
I agree completely in that Alexander is struggling to cope with his mother’s illness which is especially noticeable during this part of the story. This is evident during Alexander’s outburst at his sister’s predictions about his mother dying where he says “You two are just kids. You don’t know what your’e talking about!” which shows a sense of denial from Alexander. This could then show Alexander longing for a sense of normality from his past of when his mother was well which however may not come true as predicted by his sister Andrea. It could be said that the inevitability of this prediction is similiar to the storm as it is impossible to stop a storm by simply denying it’s existence as Alexander is trying to do with his mother’s illness. Also the storm could also represent the inevitable chaos within the house if his mother dies as there is already a chaotic structure in the Cold household where “each of them ate whenever and whatever they pleased” and even goes so far as refering to the situation as “almost like a party”.
Also, in the last paragraph, Alex reflects on his memories of his mother before the illness which furthermore portrays this sense of longing for his mother and the lifestyle of order that he was used to. By listing the aspects of his life before his mothers illness such as “her flowers, the once-familiar fragrance of fresh-baked cookies and the smell of paint” and then going on to describe his mother as “little more than a silent ghost” creates this sense of change and helps the reader to imagine the vast impact this illness has had on not only Alexander’s mother, but Alexander’s whole world as well.
[COMMENT] [MARK]

49. The Examiner said this:
Perceptive evaluation and convincing response to the focus of the statement; perceptive understanding of writer's methods, with judicious textual detail.
This response demonstrates an intelligent choice of writer's methods on which to focus: the symbolic representation of the storm, and the use of listing and metaphor to convey the contrast in the mother pre/post illness.
The candidate references details earlier in the passage but always in relation to the events in the given lines, which is perfectly acceptable.
The conciseness of the response shows that level 4 can be achieved if the quality of the evaluation and the analysis of the writer's methods are sufficiently perceptive.
Level 4

50. Areas being assessed in Question 4 are:
Evaluation of effect Understanding of methods Quotation/textual evidence Response to statement

51. Closing comments: Manage your time Stay relevant to the question
Put the right answer in the right question – the structure question is not looking for comments on language, unless they relate to structure for example
Read and annotate carefully at the beginning
Remember Question 4 is worth as much as 1,2,3 put together – you must give yourself at least 20 minutes

52. NB: To support this also look at the PowerPoint on Structure
Good Luck in Your Exams
NB: To support this also look at the PowerPoint on Structure