Question 2: Model Answer (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language)

Read lines 9–13.

What impressions does the writer create of Lily in these lines?                                            [5]

You must refer to the language used in the text to support your answer, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

When I first met Lily she was still lovely. Even if she had not worn flamboyant and colourful clothes, people would have gazed in admiration in the street. She could always turn heads. She still taught, part-time, at the Central School of Art, where she was seen as a living legend, the last of an era. When I was first married to Ewan, I used to visit her in her cluttered flat and sit for hours, eating sandwiches and listening to her as the day darkened outside.

The overall impression the writer creates of Lily in these lines is a positive one. She seems to be attractive as she is described as “still lovely” and that people “gazed in admiration” at her in the street. [Marking comment] The fact that she “could always turn heads” suggests that she was a striking character who caught people’s attention. [Marking comment] In addition, the narrator describes her as a “living legend” and “the last of an era” at the Central School of Art, which suggests that she was a special teacher who was well known and well respected, as well as someone who had been there for a long time. [Marking comment] She is clearly a sociable person who likes to talk, as the narrator would “sit for hours” listening to her, and the fact that the narrator seems happy to do so implies that she was an interesting and engaging person. [Marking comment] Overall, she appears to be unconventional and maybe a bit eccentric, as even though her flat is “cluttered” she seems to embrace a bohemian lifestyle and is one of a kind. [Marking comment]