How to Answer Question 2 (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language)
Revision Note
Paper 2, or Component 2, is the “non-fiction” paper. You will be given two reading extracts: one written in the 21st century which will be printed in a separate resource booklet, and one written in the 19th century which will be printed on your question paper. The two texts will be linked by a theme. You will have six reading questions to answer in 1 hour, as follows:
Source | Question number |
|---|---|
21st-century text | Questions 1 and 2 |
19th-century text | Questions 3 and 4 |
Both texts | Questions 5 and 6 |
The following guide details how to answer Questions 2. It includes:
Question 2 overview
How to answer Question 2
Exam tips
Question 2 overview
Question 2 is the first of the 10-mark questions in this exam paper and will be about the 21st-century text. The assessment objective for this question is AO2 which primarily tests your ability to analyse how a writer uses language to achieve particular effects. Therefore, this question will be a “how” question, as in “how does the writer try to show…”
Although the assessment objective for this question is the same as in Paper 1 Questions 2, 3 and 4, it is important to remember this is the non-fiction paper and you are expected to use the whole of the text in your answer. This means that you should take your evidence, such as direct quotations, from the start, middle and end of the text in order to access the full range of marks.
Exam Tip
Candidates are often tempted in a “how” or AO2 question to look first for any specific techniques the writer may have used, such as rhetorical questions. However, this is not the correct approach. Instead, look for evidence, not techniques. By selecting the most appropriate evidence from the text, including individual words or phrases the writer has used to describe something, you are considering how the writer has shown the focus of the question.
The most effective and efficient approach to this question is to work methodically through the text, selecting appropriate evidence and then commenting on these details. In this way, you will be able to accumulate a range of details and information, and present a clear and detailed response
As this question is worth 10 marks, it is important that you spend 15 minutes on it (including time for reading and annotation) and that you write enough in your response to warrant a full range of marks.
How to answer Question 2
The following example of Question 2 is taken from the Summer 2022 exam. The “theme” of this exam was Punch and Judy shows, a traditional type of puppet show once popular in English seaside towns.
In order to achieve full marks, you should:
Read the question carefully and highlight the focus (what you are being asked to find evidence of in the text)
Work through the text methodically:
Highlight any information directly relevant to the focus of the question from the start, middle and end of the passage
Annotate in the margins what your selected evidence tells you that answers the question
For the above question, you might highlight the passage like so:
Knockout Punch Mark Poulton’s Punch and Judy puppet show entertains the crowds every summer on Weymouth seafront. He calls it his dream job, even though times are harder now. Reporter Craig Arnott met up with him. It’s Tuesday morning on Weymouth seafront and the sky is thick with grey clouds. I have only strolled 50 yards when I bump into Weymouth’s Mr Punch and Judy man, Mark Poulton, who is one of just three licensed Punch and Judy performers left in the UK. We’d met briefly the night before when I watched his Monday evening show down on the beach. For the rest of the week, his shows run four or five times daily throughout the summer. As it threatens to rain, we dip into a cafe where he tells me it’s his dream job, the only one he had ever wanted since watching a Punch and Judy show with his mother as a 5-year-old child. “We came here for a week’s holiday,” he explains. “I watched every performance that week. As soon as I got home, I transformed my teddies into puppets and set up my own show in the back garden.” When he was just 16, he secured his first summer season at Llandudno, before taking his show all over the country, and then being invited to perform on Weymouth’s sands in 2005. He’s a master of his craft, having taught himself to carve his wooden puppets and design and make their costumes. He says that Weymouth has had a Punch and Judy show since 1880, making it an important part of the town’s history. “And I’m now a part of the town’s history and tradition too. During the summer I draw big crowds,” he tells me proudly. “In fact, many people tell me they come to Weymouth purely to see the rare sight of a Punch and Judy show still being performed on the beach.” He looks up and smiles, a man in love with his work and with Weymouth. “It’s the perfect home for Punch and Judy shows,” he says. “With its safe, sandy beach people are happy to come and sit on the sand, but there are always people up on the seafront enjoying the show too.” Now 48 years old, Mark knows that being Weymouth’s Punch and Judy man won’t make him rich, but that doesn’t put him off. “I love the thrill of the work and living off your wits. You’re constantly pushing to find new routines that will attract an audience.” His seaside show is one of the last to rely on audiences giving a donation when his assistant goes around with the collecting box. Although his shows often draw audiences of over 200, he tells me that in 2016 he had threatened to end his beach performances because of the poor behaviour of some children. “Obviously I encourage their participation in the show, and I want them to shout and yell, but I had kids throwing stones at the show and the parents just sat there and let them do it. I even had adults sunbathing in front of the show, so people who wanted to watch couldn’t sit there. They refused to pay to watch the show and some of the children were trying to deliberately stop the show by banging on the show booth. I just became fed up and at the time it kind of destroyed my faith in humanity. I just got a load of verbal abuse from the kids and their parents did nothing.” Fortunately for Weymouth, when he announced he might stop performing, he was overwhelmed with messages of support and he decided to continue. Despite his obvious passion for keeping the tradition of Punch and Judy alive, in recent years it has been hard for Mark to cover his costs and make a living. “I make a little bit of extra money from selling souvenir key rings after the performances but it’s never enough.” This year he successfully appealed for donations on a Facebook crowdfunding page to raise money, and quickly raised enough to cover his expenses. Outside the cafe, darker clouds are beginning to gather as his first performance of the day approaches. “Sometimes people are glad of something to watch when it’s raining,” he says, “and I’m always happy to do the shows, come rain or shine.” |
4. Start your answer using the wording of the question and a summary statement:
For example: “The writer tries to show that Mark Poulton loves his work as a Punch and Judy man by reporting his own words to show how much enjoyment and dedication he has for his job.”
5. Make as many separate points that answer the question as you can in the time:
For each point you make, support it with evidence from the text
Try to use multiple pieces of evidence to support a point; do not just limit yourself to one quote when there is more evidence available
Ensure you take evidence from the start, middle and end of the text
Exam Tip
You can use the “summary and support” format to answer this question, just like in Paper 1 Questions 2, 3 and 4. The examiners are again looking for a range of accurate and perceptive comments about the focus of the question, along with an exploration of the subtleties of the writer’s techniques in crafting an impression of something.
This means considering how the writer has manipulated you as a reader to think in a certain way. As this is a 10-mark question, it is important to use as much evidence as you can in your answer, working through the section of text in a logical order and exploring more than just the explicit information you are presented with right at the start of the passage.
Exam tips
Once again, do not “feature spot”:
This means identifying literary techniques a writer may have used without any context of how the technique contributes to the impression being created
You are rewarded for the use of well considered, accurate and relevant subject terminology only where appropriate and where it supports your comments effectively
An effective way of doing this is to firstly consider what “type” of writing you have been presented with
For example, if it is an article written by a reporter, then it is likely to use direct quotations from the subject of the article
Make sure you make a range of points from the whole of the text:
Do not just limit your answer to the first few lines you read
The examiners are looking for a well chosen “range of evidence”
Ensure that you provide substance and detail in 10-mark questions:
Responses that are too brief, or that use a PEE structure that only makes 2–3 actual points, will only score 2–3 marks out of 10
Do not be too anxious to put pen to paper immediately:
It is more important to make sure you know exactly what the question is asking of you
Exam Tip
Embedding your quotations means that your quotes form part of your sentence, rather than standing alone. This means, instead of writing “This is shown by the quote…”, the quote is embedded as part of your point. This enables you to include more specific references to the text in your point and avoids overly long quotes which do not focus on the specific words or phrases that are important.
For an exemplar model answer to Component 2, Question 2, please see Question 2: Model Answer
You can find a more detailed guide to analysing language in our article How to Analyse Language in an English Language Exam, as well as a guide to Analysing Non-fiction and Fiction in an English Language Exam.
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