Analyse, Review, Comment

In the Unit 2 GCSE examination, you will be given a page of brief stimulus information, followed by a question assessed for writing

The stimulus material does not need to be directly addressed in your writing – it is designed to get your creative juices

flowing by opening the relevant mental gateways!

Text type

Audience

Purpose

Text type

Audience

Purpose

To Analyse

•To objectively and critically evaluate, scrutinise or deconstruct an object, experience or event

To Review

•To offer your opinion and/or judgement on an object, experience or event which your audience might also be considering in order to help them arrive at a decision

To Comment

•To share your insights, opinions and experiences on any matter of interest

In reality these 3 related purposes are combined in this part of the exam with ‘Comment’ tending

to be the dominant approach

Think of yourself as a feature writer for a magazine or newspaper – your editor

tasks you with producing 250-300 words on a range of subjects for a

weekly column.

The subjects are all driven by social or cultural issues of interest to the readers – this is basically the task the examiners

are setting here

Text type

Audience

Purpose

The audience for this task is not usually stated – so you can write for a general adult reader

Text type

Audience

Purpose

You will have 35 min to write a focused essay which responds to the question which will be

related to the stimulus topic

The key to securing a good mark in this task is making good use of thinking and planning

time

You should make brief planning notes in any format that suits you and then order your ideas to fit the 5 paragraph

essay plan structure we have already looked at

Don’t waste time writing full sentences – instead try using:

•abbreviations symbols •Mind mapping or other graphic organisers

This will leave you 20-25 min to write a response which:

Directly addresses the topic

Has an attention grabbing first sentence

Is structured and paragraphed

Adopts the right tone

Is authoritive and balanced

Is written in expressive standard English

Is written in an energetic and entertaining style

Makes use of anecdotes , evidence and examples for interest

Ends as strongly as it began with a summative comment

Example question 1

It’s extraordinary that Japan continues to kill an estimated 650 whales a year in the name of scientific research.

Experimentation on animals is essential. Without it our treatment of terrible diseases would still be in the Dark Ages, with unnecessary human suffering on a worldwide scale.

Older people who own a pet are likely to extend their own lives by up to two years with companionship proving to be an important factor in their general health.

Ordinary people are not prepared to pay the price for free range meat products. Cheaper mass produced food is often the only option for many families living close to poverty

Comment on the relationship between human beings and animals

Example question 2

A change is as good as a rest – we all need change to freshen up our lives.

Many more teenagers than ever before are concerned about their health and are taking up exercise as a result.

Many people believe that change is not always for the best and that traditional ideas and ways of living have much to commend them.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence – people are never satisfied with what they’ve got.

What changes could we make to improve the quality of our lives?

Create your own question

Play the Examiner!