A680 Information and Ideas Exam

2 Hours – 40% of GCSETuesday 29th May 9am

Reading a textYou should spend 1 hour 10 minutes on this section of the paper (45-

50 minutes on the writing section)

• Read the first text – answer the first set of questions on this text. Then read the second text and answer the questions on this text. This will ensure you don’t get muddled with the texts and give your hand a rest!

• After you have read the text, you need to unpack the text. Which means deciding on what the purpose of the text is, who it was written for and what tone the writing has.

• DON’T start the reading questions until you are confident that you have:-Read the passage to the endFormed a view of what it is aboutConsidered some of the ways the writer has tried to communicate his/her point of view

And remember: Underline and annotate the text to help you plan your answers the questions.

The Foundation Paper - Reading

There are two reading passages and one set of questions on each passage.

The questions on the first passage will ask you WHAT the passage is about.•The questions on the second passage will ask you HOW the writer has presented the material.

Each question is worth 20 marks so spend no more than 35 minutes on each text.

Don’t forget this when you are planning your time management in the examination

So when reading the extracts for the first time, you should

identify…• Tone (friendly, argumentative, sad, shocking, excited etc.)

• Purpose (persuade, argue, advise, inform, entertain etc.)

• Audience (age, gender, interests, education...)

• Form (e.g. letter, broadsheet article, tabloid article, leaflet etc.)

Outline = Summary

With the first text you will be asked to outline two or three elements of the text in an outline or summary. This is not asking you to explore or explain what the writer has written, just ‘WHAT’ the text says about the points in the question.

Imagine it like this: you are an editor and have been asked to rewrite the

text without all the excess.

The Outline Question: What the examiners are

looking for• Understanding of TASK and TEXT• An OVERVIEW of the material• A clear focus on each separate, relevant

point you make without overlap into other points

• Confident use of “own words” with NO copying/lifting from the text

• A range of (but not necessarily all of the) points

The second text

With the second text you will be asked to explore ‘HOW’ the writer has achieved the effect and tone of their piece.

These questions will be about the presentation of the text.

Examine how the passage has been written and produced: make points about structure, information and language which are supported with examples from the text.

These questions are looking for you to explore HOW the writer has achieved their tone and purpose and you will have to use evidence to support your answers.

Language and Presentation

Persuasive techniques: list of 3, emotive,

repetition...

Descriptive devices: imagery, onomatopoeia,

speech...

Informative techniques: imperatives, facts...

How is the reader addressed? Is it friendly,

aggressive....

How the piece begins, develops and ends.

How does the writer support their points?

Balance of fact and opinion

Presentation – What are you looking for as evidence?

The writer’s language choices

Structural features

The second text – TOP TIPsYou should always structure your answer around the effect/tone/mood the text has and then use the language, structure and non-written features to support your point. Avoid making the language/structure feature your point.

E.g. The tone of the text is sarcastic. The writer achieves this by insert evidence Or: The purpose of the text is to shock the reader, the headline intensifies this with its use of insert evidence.

Instead of: There is imagery in the piece and this...

The best way to ensure you do this is to PLAN

Avoiding the genericIn order to analyse and explore a text in detail, and reach those higher bands, you have got to avoid those awful generic phrases: this is effective... this draws the reader in... It is powerful...

Instead think about:• This draws the reader in = it creates a friendly

tone/ excitement/ shock/mystery/tension BY ...• It is powerful = technique X makes the reader

feel.../causes the reader to feel...• This is effective = the effect of X is to make the

writer’s point.../ is to make the reader feel.../ is to highlight the...

What the Examiners are looking for on the second text

questions?• A range of relevant points (about information,

language and structure as appropriate)

• Effective supporting reference to the text with a clear attempt at analysis of what is referred to

• A good understanding of the TASK and the TEXT

The Foundation Paper- Writing

You will be asked to do ONE writing task from a choice of TWO. In both Foundation and Higher Tiers this task will be worth a total of 40 marks.

At least a third of the marks will be awarded for the technical aspects of your writing, which includes spelling and punctuation.

You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on Section B and write between a side and a side and a half.

Do ensure you have time to PLAN your response before you begin to write.

The Foundation Paper- Writing

In Section B of the written examination you will be assessed on Assessment Objective 4:

write to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways to engage the reader

This requires you to develop your own ideas, and present them clearly using an engaging choice of vocabulary, tone and structure to keep your reader interested.

The Foundation Paper- Writing

organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherenceYou must organise your writing in a logical, helpful way so that the reader can follow your ideas easily. A strong beginning is essential and an effective ending. Careful planning is essential to achieve this.

use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.Using a variety of sentence structures helps keep your writing interesting by varying the pace. It is important that you check your spelling and punctuation carefully.

Writing – Top Tips• DO plan your work carefully! Take five minutes at least to work

out WHAT you are going to say and HOW you are going to say it.

• DON’T write too much! If you are going onto more than three sides ask yourself why!

• Remember that QUALITY is all important and that QUANTITY need only be enough to show what you can do at your best.

• Accurate spelling, punctuation and sentence structure matter.

What the Examiners are looking for:- (Grade C)

• General control of the material: but some ambition, too.• A relevant understanding of what you have set yourself

to do. Sense of the audience, where there is one.• Some variety of vocabulary: “fit the word to the idea not

the idea to the word”.• A clear beginning, middle and end.• Effectively linked paragraphs.• Generally accurate sentence structures.• Mainly accurate spelling: possibly some errors in

ambitious vocabulary.• Simple punctuation mostly accurate and secure.