Paper 1

This paper consists of three questions. You are required to answer the first
question and then either the second or third question.

In each question, there are two parts. In part (a), you are required to write a
commentary based on the passage given. In part (b), you have to produce a
piece of directed writing based on the passage.

So, without further ado, let’s go through how to answer a Paper 1 question,
step by step.

Part (a)

1. Carefully read the description of the text and the question that follows. This
is extremely important because sometimes the question only states ‘Comment
on the style and language of the passage’ while other times, it states ‘Comment
on the ways in which language and style are used to convey the writer’s
feelings/portray a place, person or thing/engage the attention of its audience’
etc.

In the second case, you need to be slightly more focused and only choose
literary techniques that will help you explain how ‘language and style are used
to convey the writer’s feelings/portray a place’ etc.

2. Read the whole passage once or twice to understand the content and then a
couple more times to pick up relevant literary techniques. (Click here for a list
of literary techniques!) You may underline them with a pencil if you want but
remember to erase all of it in the end.

Also remember to pay as much attention to the ending of the passage as the
beginning. There have been many Examiner Reports which have mentioned
that candidates spend too much time commenting on the beginning of the text
and ignore many effective techniques in the ending. In addition, titles and
subtitles should also be taken into account.

Be reminded that you don’t need to talk about EVERY literary technique used;
examiners don’t expect you to do so, and you certainly won’t have the time to.
So, choose the juiciest, most powerful, most relevant ones.
3. The next step is to choose how you want to approach the commentary. You
could either write one paragraph about one language device and the next
paragraph about another, and so on, or you could comment about the passage
as it progresses – talk about the devices used in the beginning, then the
middle and then the end. The second approach is better if the provided text
has some sort of ‘development’, e.g., contrasting weather conditions or
settings.

4. Now that you have chosen what you want to comment on and how you want
to comment on it, make a rough plan. This will help you to structure your
commentary and you will be less likely to get ‘stuck’ in the middle, wondering
what to write about.

Your plan could go something like this:

1. Intro: a few sentences to describe the overall text

2. Para 1: imagery

3. Para 2: tone

and so on.

(Steps 1-4 can take up to 15 minutes, but don’t worry – if you perform these
little tasks well, you can still write an excellent commentary in the remaining
time.)

5. It’s time to begin writing your commentary!

First of all, you need an introduction. This should be brief and give only an
overview of the text you’re reviewing. You shouldn’t start analysing just yet.

Also, don’t waste time talking about the genre and audience (unless this is
absolutely crucial to explaining the effects of language or if the question asks
for the effect on the audience, for example).

In addition, make sure to use modal verbs (could, might, should, would) and
phrases like ‘appears’ or ‘seems to be’. For instance, you could say ‘The writer
appears to be describing the difficulties he faced during his childhood which
might have helped shape him into the person he is today.’ This is because we
are only trying to interpret what the writer is saying; we do not know
EXACTLY what he or she has in mind and, therefore, we do not want to sound
conclusive.

(Other phrases you could use are: ‘paints a picture’, ‘implies’, ‘conjures up a
sense of’, ‘reflects’, ‘portrays’, ‘conveys’, ‘indicates’, ‘suggests’ etc.)

6. Next, you need to begin explaining the effects of your chosen literary
techniques. For this, you need to first make a statement, support it with a
quote and then comment on why the author may have used a particular
technique. (If you find this hard to remember, The Cambridge AS and A Level
English Language Coursebook calls this the ‘PQC structure’, or the Point,
Quote, Comment structure). For example, “The author seems to paint a rather
frightening picture of Ms. Johnson: ‘Her wild, orange hair framed her face like
a lion’s mane.’ Use of the phrases ‘wild’ and ‘lion’s mane’ may create a sense of
fear and danger in the reader’s mind.”

Now, all you need to do is follow the same PQC stucture for the rest of your
chosen techniques. However, there is the possibility that this will make your
writing seem very mechanical and, frankly, boring. Therefore, to change it up
a little bit, you could switch around the ‘P’, ‘Q’ and ‘C’, i.e. mention the quote
first, then make a point and finally produce an explanatory comment.

A second solution would be to use a variety of conjunctive devices. A useful

mnemonic for this is ‘FANBOYS’ – ‘For’, ‘And’, ‘Nor’, ‘But’, ‘Or’, ‘Yet’, and ‘So’.
You can also include words such as, but not limited to, ‘moreover’,
‘furthermore’, ‘however’, ‘despite’, ‘in addition’ etc. These will help provide a
‘flow’ to your writing.

Finally, here are some rules to remember while explaining the effects of
language devices:

 Embed quotations in your analysis but don’t use them in place of your own
words. Take this sentence as an example: “The young girl is ‘beautifully
petite’ and ‘is dressed impeccably’ which shows that…” Here, I’m using the
writer’s words (the ones between inverted commas) in place of my own
which gives the impression that I’m summarising or paraphrasing rather
than analysing. Instead, you could write this: ‘The writer seems to be
attracted to the young girl which is suggested in his description of her
appearance – ‘beautifully petite’.’
 Only comment on a language technique if it has a significant effect. Do not
identify a simile simply to show that you know it is a simile.
 Once you have talked about a certain technique, you don’t have to mention
it again when it comes up in another area of the text (unless it produces a
different effect in which case you definitely must talk about it!)
 Don’t use vague, generalised comments such as ‘This makes the reader
want to read more of the text.’ This is because it can be applied to almost
any passage!

7. And, that’s it! You don’t necessarily need a conclusion in your commentary
if your final paragraph sounds, well, final.

8. Make sure to read and review your commentary when you’re done!

Part (b)

In this part, you are required to either continue the original passage or write
another piece that is similiar to it. Your work should be about 120-150 words.

1. Look at some of the literary techniques used in the passage and choose a few
that you want to include in your writing.

2. Make a plan. You know why.

3. Get writing!

Make sure that you:

 use the language (not the exact words but ones with a similar ‘feel’) and
style of the passage.
 do NOT lift directly the text.
 use proper and consistent tense (another area where candidates need
improvement, according to many Examiner Reports).
 read it to yourself (especially if you’re asked to continue a passage, reading
your work as a continuation of the original text will help you determine
whether your writing style and language mimic those of the author).

4. You’re done!