Do Now TaskFor the higher marks on Q1, you need to include supporting detail in the text within your response.“The blackish back supporting me was

smooth and polished with no overlapping scales. On impact it gave

off a metallic resonance and, incredibly, it seems to be made of

riveted plates.”What supporting details would you

select from the extract above?Why?

Tuesday 14th AprilQuestion 1: Conventions

Starter:1.Stick the A3 sheet into your book. 2.Read it through and highlight key

details.3.Tick off any conventions we have

written in before.4.Write down any questions you would

like to ask me.

Question 1: Conventions- what could I be asked to produce?Convention

Exam Why? Checklist: Tips from the Examiner:

Letter June 2014

Express a personal opinion- now considered very old-fashioned!

Be clear about the audience, as this will change your style

Focus on the purpose, why exactly are you writing the letter. State this is in your introduction

Match your style to both to decide how informal/formal you should be

Clear opening greeting, develop and link ideas fluently in a sequence of paragraphs

“Stronger responses to this question selected and condensed the events in the passage and modified the ideas to create a suitable style for a formal letter, and a highly convincing voice for a loud, controlling mother whose outrage about the intolerably dirty and badly run hostel she has discovered her daughter staying in is palpable in every line. Weaker responses used the format of a letter correctly, but generally took the form of giving an unselective narrative retelling Mrs Wilkie’s (or even Sacha’s) experiences at the hostel.”

Report October 2013

Reports are usually informative and tell the reader about events that have taken place. The writer may analyse or observe these events, or offer a more personal perspective.

Write a strong opening and powerful conclusion to draw points together

Stick to formal standard English Have clarity about who the report is for and what

the purpose of the report is Take on the voice of the writer e.g. head teacher,

professor etc.

“Stronger responses to this question selected and condensed the events in the passage and modified the ideas to create a suitable style for a formal report, and a convincing voice for a learned professor. Less successful responses had no sense of a report and they generally took the form of giving an unselective narrative retelling of the story as a response to the first bullet, rather than choosing only the details that would be required for a formal report of the events.”

Journal/diary

October 2011

A personal record of things that have happened to the writer and often include their thoughts or feelings

Give a sense of the writer’s personality and explain their feelings or changing emotions

Focus on key moments or incidents in their world Usually provide a sense of time or sequence Write in the first person, capturing their voice Use tenses to move accurately between past,

present ad future

“Some candidates wrote excellent journal entries. It was clear that they understood the need to give James a convincing attitude, one of grudging tolerance and even admiration for the scenery and his companion, and a suitable and plausible voice for a reader and poet. The most successful responses were able to include subtlety, sarcasm and humour, reflecting the tone of the passage and revealing an understanding of the relationship. There were occasional examples of responses written in the wrong genre, as monologues or third person accounts containing reported speech.”

Speech/talk

June 2013, October 2014

Usually formal spoken presentations for a particular purpose- often to persuade an audience to support an idea, or to explain or describe an interesting topic or past event.

Personal viewpoint using ‘I’, if appropriate Structure your speech to get your listeners

attention Speak directly to the audience by using ‘you’ and

‘we’ Use emotive language Rhetorical devices, humour, powerful ideas and

repetition to make your point Range of sentence lengths for effect

“Middle-range responses made reasonable use of the passage, with some attempt at own words, but tended to stick closely to the events and ideas in the passage, and to present them in the same order as in the passage” = mix up the three bullet points across your writing to give a more interesting structure“Although they used the format of a spoken address correctly, they generally took the form of giving an unselective narrative…such responses lacked a sense of purpose.” = remember the reason behind your talk/speech

Interview/dialogue

June 2011, October 2012

Usually included to support a dramatic event or create sense of personal connection to a story. Dialogue is transcribing what is happening (think about subtitles on TV/film)

Write the name of the interviewer/responder and the question and answer they offer

Give each person a ‘voice’ so that you would know who was speaking without their names

If creating dialogue, make it convincing by creating overlapping speech and other realistic elements

“Weaker answers needed to focus on the set questions and the portrayal of Potter rather than giving extra questions to Buchanan, making him obtrusive. “ = develop the set questions into a more natural style of interviewing someone, by asking follow up questions.

Newspaper Report

June 2012

Vital sources of information on current events, Report main facts or information about very recent specific incidents.

Headlines or sub-headlines Clear explanations about the incident Expert comment with direct quotation Who, what, where, when at the start Written in the third person Use of time connectives Verbs about what happened are in the past tense

with headline and last paragraph in present tense

“Most candidates wrote recognisable news reports and showed that they understood the need to adopt an objective viewpoint. The character of Adam, and the attitude of his family and ex-neighbours, were conveyed in the best responses by the use of short quotations revealing his passion and their admiration or belief that Adam was ‘mad’.” “Short quotations attributed to Adam when interviewed were an admissible device for conveying his character and for giving authenticity to a news report style. Excessiveuse of direct speech was less effective and became indistinguishable from a lack of modification of the language of the passage.”

Magazine Article

Usually based on an event or series of events centred around an individual or place. They discuss, analyse and investigate a topic.

Often personal and sometimes written in the first person

Offer a distinct viewpoint supported by facts Explore ideas more deeply Convincing style Often written in the present tense to describe

current situation and future to state what should change

Interview: June 2011 Examiner’s Report

“Many candidates wrote balanced and appropriate interview responses. It was clear that they understood the

need to answer the three bulleted questions using evidence or inference from the passage, and to allow the voice of Dean Potter to be conveyed. His passion for the

sport and for beating speed records, and his lack of equipment and reasons for it, were explained in most

responses, with better ones also referring to his training, his experience and his fearlessness. Weaker answers

needed to focus on the set questions and the portrayal of Potter rather than giving extra

questions to Buchanan, making him obtrusive. This often fragmented the response, weakening its structure,

and thus reduced the writing mark.”For higher level responses, you need to use the questions given and develop them into a more natural way of speaking, rather than just asking

the three questions set.

Task: Break these questions down into a more natural style of interview. You should

aim for 4 or 5 main questions, and then anticipate some shorter follow-up

questions. June 2011:Imagine that you are the reporter, Rob Buchanan. You interview Dean Potter after the climb and ask the following questions:• Incredible! How did you manage to climb the face so quickly?• How do you answer people who say that what you do is foolish?•Can you tell us about your relationship with your climbing partner, O’Neill?

Mark Scheme for Question 1 Mark Scheme for Question 1

Read the text from beginning to end, making sure that you understand any potentially confusing points. In the past, the texts that have been chosen have tended to feature events that can possibly be misinterpreted, for example in a text about sailors searching for a legendary whale, but finding a submarine, lots of students missed the fact that the ‘monster’ had been revealed to be a man-made ship instead. This is a major misreading of the text and can costs lots of marks because how you then go on to answer is based on a misunderstanding. So- make sure you haven’t missed anything big that has been implied rather than made very clear.

1. Read through the text

•Read the question. You will be asked to take on the voice of a character in the text. Think carefully about how that character might write (either formally, or informally) and read the text again thinking about events from their point of view. Also notice what you have been asked to write e.g. a speech, a letter, a report? What you produce needs to be written with the appropriate formality and style. Make sure you are planning to pitch your written piece correctly. An example would be where you are asked to write a report by a Professor. A report is a formal and factual text, and a Professor is likely to write in a way that reveals his/her level of education. It wouldn’t be a good idea to write something chatty, informal or humorous in this context.

2. Read the question

3. Find evidence to support the bullet points

•Your report should explain:•how you and your companions fell overboard and came to be on the submarine;•how you feel about the discovery of the truth about the ‘monster’;•your concerns about the captain and the existence of such a vessel.You are looking to make inferences too,

this question is not just information retrieval like 3a.

My first concern was to look for the ship. I glimpsed a black mass disappearing eastward, its lights fading in the distance. I shouted for help, swimming desperately toward the ship. My clothes were weighing me down. I was sinking! Then I found and seized the arm of my loyal friend.

how you and your companions fell overboard and came to be on the submarine

Darkness and isolation, moving with speed

Not possible to catch up and starts to realise he needs support

Waterlogged

Lucky break

Homework•Find at least 4 or 5 pieces of evidence to support each bullet point and come with your article fully annotated with inferences.•For the final bullet point, there will be limited explicit information in the text, therefore you will need to make really clear inferences that are developed from the ideas in the text.

Plenary

your concerns about the captain and the existence of such a vessel.

What evidence can you find to suggest the crew and captain

are suspicious?

What are their motivations?