GCSE English Language P1: Q1 and 2
Model and guidance
With lots of students sitting GCSE mock exams now and in the coming weeks, I thought I would share some full mark model solutions to the AQA English Language papers.
I’m going to start with paper 1 (from the November 2019 series) and work my way through each question.
Here’s the insert you’ll need.
I’ve found this paper using this website, Save My Exams, which lists all of the papers going back to 2017 in a more logical and convenient way than the official AQA site.
Photo by Tom Coomer on Unsplash
Q1
List four things about Zoe’s surroundings (lines 1–5)
Guidance
For this question, there are two things that you should keep in mind:
You have to refer only to the lines specified (as with many other questions).
You should keep to the most objective statements possible (those which cannot be argued).
Response
It is snowing
There is the smell of pine resin
St-Bernard-en-Haut is below the mountain on which they ski
To the west is a mountain range
Q2
How does the writer use language to describe Zoe’s feelings? (lines 9–14)
Guidance
This question tests your ability to close read or in other words analyse language. There are few things to keep in mind for this question:
You don’t have to comment on all of the suggested criteria. The language is conditional, saying ‘you could include’ so you don’ have to include all of the criteria.
However, I would strongly recommend commenting on both language techniques (aka literary devices) plus words and phrases. If you can’t think of anything meaningful to say about the use of sentence forms, then just ignore it because you’re not going to gain marks if you’re waffling.
You must make meaningful comments about Zoe’s feelings (or whatever the question in front of you asks you to do). It isn’t enough to simply spot techniques.
Try to pick up on underlying themes and connected ideas. In the passage, you should notice a few semantic fields (words which share the same theme or subject matter). There will be a limited number of key ideas that you can comment on, so here for example, there are only a few comments you can make about how Zoe is feeling, but you can comment on several words or descriptions to highlight each of those feelings.
Try to make 8 clear and distinct points (here about how Zoe is feeling) which are supported with short embedded quotes like I model below.
Response
In the first line, the writer uses a simile to capture the clarity that this experience skiing on the mountains has for Zoe, 'clear and pure as ice'. The word 'clear' implying that this is a moment of clarity that and the word 'pure' suggesting this is a moment of 'purity', perhaps spiritual purity. This simile combined with the personification of the mountain and how it 'breathed back at her' suggests that this is a life defining moment for Zoe. This description of the mountain breathing with Zoe implying a deep psychic connection with the natural world, a sense of the divine or being in harmony with nature; it is a moment of purity, 'pure as ice...which [can] never be taken away.'
Then there is the description of 'snow and silence' which is repeated. The deliberate repetition of the sibilance perhaps emphasising the soft, tranquil atmosphere and the repetition, the empty echoing nature of the environment which Zoe finds peace in. This repetition also slows down the narrative and gives the reader time to pause and reflect on how Zoe pauses to take in the beauty of the 'silence' and the sublime beauty of the vast but lifeless landscape.
Next is a list separated by semicolons and the writer describes the moment as 'the complete arrest of life; a rehearsal and a pre-echo of death.' All of these clauses are related to death or the absence of life. This language although beautiful is also foreboding and foreshadows the near death experience or death of the narrator later. It suggests she recognises on some level that she accepts life as a preparation for death and that she perhaps senses her death coming .
Following this foreboding language, the writer describes Zoe feeling confident comparing her skis to 'weird talons'. Zoe also chants to herself, 'I am alive. I am an eagle.' The italics here signposting that this is her own inner monologue. These are sort of affirmations, and this language contrasts with the language of death. Perhaps the writer is trying to emphasise how alive Zoe feels, 'ready to swoop' because she doesn't fear death. Eagles are apex predators at the top of the food chain. They are associated with confidence, freedom and power. Perhaps Zoe feels confident, free and powerful, as 'she is ready to swoop', the verb 'swoop' implying that she is going to race down the piste with the grace and confidence of an eagle hunting.
Give this post a thumbs up if you found it helpful and would like to see the solutions to the rest of this paper.
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Best,
Morgan