English Language Paper 1
Question 2
AO2: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects
and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.
Level 4
Shows detailed and perceptive understanding of language:
• Analyses the effects of the writer’s choices of language
• Selects a judicious range of textual detail
• Makes sophisticated and accurate use of subject terminology
AQA Example
The opening paragraph consists of a single, complex sentence perhaps reflecting the onward
movement of the coach. The adjective ‘exposed’ and the noun ‘force’, evoke the idea of
vulnerability, danger, and how little control man has over the power of nature. The verb ‘rocking’,
progresses the cumulative effect of the list of verbs, ‘shaking’, ‘trembled’, ‘swayed’ leading to the
simile, ‘rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man’ suggesting the coach is lurching
haphazardly, its movement out of control.
Mr Bruff Example 1
The writer describes the setting in a way that makes it sound idyllic. The sound of water resembles
“a chime of fairy bells”. This simile conveys a how delicate and pretty the sound was and emphasises
how lovely it would have been to hear if you lived there. It’s almost as if the surroundings are
magical, and trying to resemble a real home for Brightly, who lives outside like a homeless person.
The “fairy bells” symbolise a magical sentimental world, that perhaps provides an escape for
Brightly’s difficult existence.
Mr Bruff Example 2
In this extract Shelley uses the literary device of pathetic fallacy, using setting to reflect Dr
Frankenstein’s mood. Shelley’s use of grim weather, with rain which “pattered dismally”
foreshadows and reflects Dr Frankenstein’s mood over his creation. The use of onomatopoeia in this
quotation is also very effective. By describing how the rain “pattered” as it hit the window. The
reader can imagine the scene more vividly- it’s as if we too can hear the raindrops. This then scares
the reader and increases the tension as we begin to experience the events of this chapter as if we
are in the room with Dr Frankenstein himself.
Shelly uses sentence structure to convey the overwhelming power of the bad weather in the extract.
The compound-complex sentence “It was already one in the morning…… a convulsive motion
agitated its limbs” is made up of numerous clauses and is so long that it is difficult to read aloud
without being breathless. This is a deliberate technique used by Shelley who wants to convey the
fact that the weather was overwhelming, just like the use of sentence structure. With to semi-colons
and five commas, this sentence is chaotic. The chaotic sentence structure is a reflection of the
chaotic weather, reflecting the chaos of the experiment taking place.
Question 2
AO2: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects
and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.
Level 4
Shows detailed and perceptive understanding of language:
• Analyses the effects of the writer’s choices of language
• Selects a judicious range of textual detail
• Makes sophisticated and accurate use of subject terminology
AQA Example
The opening paragraph consists of a single, complex sentence perhaps reflecting the onward
movement of the coach. The adjective ‘exposed’ and the noun ‘force’, evoke the idea of
vulnerability, danger, and how little control man has over the power of nature. The verb ‘rocking’,
progresses the cumulative effect of the list of verbs, ‘shaking’, ‘trembled’, ‘swayed’ leading to the
simile, ‘rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man’ suggesting the coach is lurching
haphazardly, its movement out of control.
Mr Bruff Example 1
The writer describes the setting in a way that makes it sound idyllic. The sound of water resembles
“a chime of fairy bells”. This simile conveys a how delicate and pretty the sound was and emphasises
how lovely it would have been to hear if you lived there. It’s almost as if the surroundings are
magical, and trying to resemble a real home for Brightly, who lives outside like a homeless person.
The “fairy bells” symbolise a magical sentimental world, that perhaps provides an escape for
Brightly’s difficult existence.
Mr Bruff Example 2
In this extract Shelley uses the literary device of pathetic fallacy, using setting to reflect Dr
Frankenstein’s mood. Shelley’s use of grim weather, with rain which “pattered dismally”
foreshadows and reflects Dr Frankenstein’s mood over his creation. The use of onomatopoeia in this
quotation is also very effective. By describing how the rain “pattered” as it hit the window. The
reader can imagine the scene more vividly- it’s as if we too can hear the raindrops. This then scares
the reader and increases the tension as we begin to experience the events of this chapter as if we
are in the room with Dr Frankenstein himself.
Shelly uses sentence structure to convey the overwhelming power of the bad weather in the extract.
The compound-complex sentence “It was already one in the morning…… a convulsive motion
agitated its limbs” is made up of numerous clauses and is so long that it is difficult to read aloud
without being breathless. This is a deliberate technique used by Shelley who wants to convey the
fact that the weather was overwhelming, just like the use of sentence structure. With to semi-colons
and five commas, this sentence is chaotic. The chaotic sentence structure is a reflection of the
chaotic weather, reflecting the chaos of the experiment taking place.
