Do Now Task

For 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 April

Question 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:

Letter

June
2014

Express a personal opinion- now

considered very old-fashioned!

Report

Journal/
diary

Speech/
talk

October
2013

October
2011

June
2013,
October
2014

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.

A personal record of things

that have happened to the
writer and often include their
thoughts or feelings

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.

Interview/
dialogue

Newspaper
Report

Magazine
Article

June
2011,
October
2012

June
2012

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 Wilkies (or even Sachas) experiences at
the hostel.

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.

Give a sense of the writers 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.

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 narrativesuch responses lacked a sense of purpose. =
remember the reason behind your talk/speech

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.

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. Excessive
use of direct speech was less effective and became indistinguishable from a lack of
modification of the language of the passage.

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)

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

Usually based on an event or

series of events centred around
an individual or place. They

Often personal and sometimes written in the first

person
Offer a distinct viewpoint supported by facts

Tips from the Examiner:

Interview: June 2011 Examiners 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
For higher level responses,
you need to use the
writing mark.

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, ONeill?

Mark Scheme for Question 1

Mark Scheme for Question 1

1. Read through the text

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 havent missed anything big that has been implied
rather than made very clear.

2. Read the question

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 wouldnt be a good idea to
write something chatty, informal or humorous in this
context.

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.

how you and your companions fell overboard and came

to be on the submarine
Not
possible to
catch up
and starts
to realise
he needs
support

Waterlogged

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.
Lucky break

Darkness
and
isolation,
moving with
speed

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?