AQA English Language Unit One

Understanding and Producing Non-Fiction Texts

QUESTION 3

Main menu: overview of question three active reading strategies active reading example active reading practice question 3 exemplar skills checklist mini-assessment

Overview

Question 3 is the language analysis question, where you are required to identify features of words and phrases and comment on their use. This can be a tricky question, so you must read the question focus carefully and use any bullet points to help you structure your answer.

You are being assessed on identifying language features and commenting on their effects on the reader.

Key information

question 3 always refers to Source Three

this question is worth a total of 12 marks

you need to score a minimum of 8 marks to gain a C grade

use the active reading strategies on slide 4

spend about 20mins on this question, including reading

Back to main menu

Active Reading Strategies

In order to help you understand the information in each source, it is important that you employ a range of active reading strategies.

These active reading strategies should be used for question 3.

read the question carefully and highlight key words

- make sure you understand what each question is looking for

use any bullet points to help give your answer focus

- a bullet point might ask for a particular use of language e.g. persuade

- a bullet point may ask you to focus on certain things e.g. people

circle and comment on any interesting uses of language (words)

- circle any interesting or unusual uses of words and phrases

- write a very brief (2-3 words) comment next to the circle

- you do not have to know the specific language term e.g. adjective

Back to main menu

Active Reading Example

The following text is taken from the June 2011 Foundation Level exam.

Look at how the reader has been actively involved by highlighting the topic sentence and summarising the content.

Back to main menu

Interesting (verb) shows movement

Powerful descriptive phrase

These words (nouns) show place

emotive phrase conveys feeling

Punctuation shows thoughts and feelings e.g. dialogue

Active Reading Practice

Activity: read the next two paragraphs in this source and try to identify features of language (interesting words and phrases) and briefly comment on their effect on the reader.

A hundred yards away, a pipe with a tap stuck out of the ground. Someone had put flowers around it. Already two other laughing children were carefully filling buckets with cool, fresh, clean water.

Not the yellow water from the faraway field with worms wriggling in it, so horrible tasting every drop had to be boiled – but sweet, clear running water from the newly-dug well. Like the other children, Honorin had been frightened of the people who came to talk about stopping illness. But the grown-ups had gathered and listened, and nodded.

Back to main menu

Question 3 exemplar

Check source

Highlight key words i.e. how, language, describe, POV

Activity: Write two more Point Evidence Comment paragraphs that explain how the writer uses language to describe.

Back to main menu

Use bullet points The writer uses interesting words and phrases to describe

the village and the problems of getting water. Words like

‘skirted’ and ‘pile of stones’ are used in the advert. These

descriptions show how difficult it is to collect fresh water in

the village as there are a lot of things in the way.

1. Make a Point about the use of words (use your circles) *min of 3 req

2. Give short quotation as Evidence

3. Comment on the effect upon the reader (use your brief notes)

Q3 Skills Checklist

What you need to do:

use active reading strategies

make 3-4 points about the use of language

give 3-4 short quotations as evidence

use 3-4 comments about effect on reader

Back to main menu

January 2012Time Allowed 20mins

Now read Source 3, the Sport Relief webpage for schools about Fantastic Fundraising Ideas, and answer the question below.

3. How does the webpage use language: to inform and to persuade schools to take part in Sport Relief?

Remember to: give some examples of language features that inform give some examples of language features that persuade explain the effects.

(12 marks)

Assessment practice

Back to main menu