GCSE English Language P1: Q3

Model and guidance

Last week, I kicked off this series going over questions one and two for the first GCSE English Language paper (AQA, November 2019 paper).

You can view that post here and for convenience here is the insert again.

Q3 is one of the questions which makes students feel most uncomfortable. It’s the one which asks you to comment on structure as opposed to language like Q2.

As students tend to spend less time practising commenting on structure, many struggle with it.

But once you understand what you can comment on, it’s no harder than the other questions.

Q3

How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? (whole source)

Guidance

1. Move through the passage from top to bottom, aiming to cover the opening, build up to the climax, the volta (or turning point), the climax and the ending. If you have one paragraph for each of these plot points, then you should have a comprehensive response.

2. Ensure you’re focusing on structural features and not literary devices because you’ll only gain marks for comments clearly related to structure or structural devices.

3. Comment on a range of structural features, aiming for 8. In my response I reference:

   1. Contrast

   2. Foreshadowing

   3. Narrative viewpoint

   4. Suspense/ tension

   5. Volta (turning point)

   6. Dramatic irony

   7. Climax

   8. Cliffhanger

Response

The author begins with the beautiful imagery of the mountainside, 'the irregular peaks of the mountain range.' And the narrator captures Zoe’s feeling of tranquility with beautiful imagery such as the 'gentle six-pointed flakes' of snow. This feeling of tranquility then contrasts with the chaos and devastation later caused by the avalanche at the end of the scene, when it surges down the mountain 'like a tsunami at sea'.

In the second paragraph the author foreshadows the avalanche knocking the narrator unconscious and (possibly) killing her, 'she almost thought she could die in that place, and happily.' This is Zoe's internal thinking and this is the first, but not the last reference to death, which hints at the protagonist being caught by the avalanche later.

The author then describes how confident Zoe is comparing herself to an eagle 'ready to swoop', which suggests she feels powerful and invincible. And this then suggests to the reader that Zoe is feeling overconfident. This combined with the foreboding language, 'a pre-echo of death', hints that something terrible is going to happen.

Shortly after, the scene reaches a turning point from 'she felt a small slab of snow slip from underneath her'. This is perhaps the first definitive clue that there is an avalanche coming as Zoe is 'bucked'. Here the verb ‘bucked’ suggests Zoe feels the snow slips suddenly, violently throwing her off-balance.

However, Zoe ignores this warning and other warning signs such as the 'whisper of her skis' being 'displaced by a rumble.' It's clear at this point the author is employing dramatic irony and the tension comes from waiting for Zoe to finally notice the warning signs of the avalanche approaching. The dramatic irony reaches its peak when Zoe smiles at the 'pillar of what looked like grey smoke' atop the mountain.

The scene then reaches its climax when the protagonist is caught by the avalanche unaware, without enough time to save herself, as a result of having been caught up in the beauty of the landscape and the excitement of skiing, racing her boyfriend down the slope.

The author describes the avalanche from Zoe's point of view, and this limited viewpoint creates suspense as we try to piece together what exactly is happening to Zoe. As she has been blinded by the snow, she can only describe what she feels. We can therefore only infer what happens to Zoe, but it’s suggested that a tree falls on her when the author describes 'the sound of a million termites chewing on wood'.

But ultimately the scene ends there on a cliffhanger, and we are left wondering whether or not Zoe has survived.

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Best,

Morgan