IGCSE

ENGLISH
PROGRAMME
SUMMARY & WRITERS EFFECT 2

Name: YEAR 11
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

In the previous lesson, you reviewed the basic skills involved in summary
writing. Remember that good reading and writing skills ensure that
information is understood, appropriately selected, and well-communicated.
Good summary skills involve several steps which you can condense
accordingly once you have mastered them.

In this lesson, you will review writer’s effect.

What is Writer’s Effect?

To put it simply, writer’s effect is the effect the writer is trying to create in
readers.

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If you are still unsure what this means, think about the last movie or TV show
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you watched. What did you think and feel throughout the
a m whole movie or
g r you, but the director
ro
show? The storyline and acting should have impacted
P
i s h
will also use images and sound to affect you in either a positive or negative
way. This is the same for video games, g l entertainment parks, and even
n
shopping malls. The creator wants toEimpact or influence you.
S E
C fiction and non-fiction. However, for your
Writer’s effect is evident in both
IG
IGCSE examination, you twill only be asked to analyse writer’s effect for
e s
u b your understanding of writer’s effect in the writing
fiction. (You will apply
component as youEdhave to create an impact for your readers.)
In the examination, you are graded for your ability to:

• select evocative or unusual words and for an understanding of ways in

which the language is effective

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

• select a range of choices to demonstrate an understanding of how

language works, and these should include images.

Always remember the examiner will accept any sensible responses that are
relevant to the correct meanings of the words in the context and have some
validity.

How to Approach a Writer’s Effect Task/Question

1. Read the whole text. You need to understand the context before you
can effectively identify the writer’s effect based on the paragraphs.
Remember that writer’s effect is actually found throughout a text. It is

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just that in your examination, the task gives you specific paragraphs to
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focus on.
a m
2. Read the task/question. g r
r o
P for your writer’s effect.
3. Underline keywords. There is usually a focus
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4. Read the selected paragraphs carefully.
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(You may approach Steps 5 and 6 inEeither order, or simultaneously.)
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5. Choose as many wordsCor phrases that you feel are relevant to the
t IG
s
focus given in the task/question.
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6. Form a generalbeffect or overview. A general effect or overview means
d u
E impact or influence the writer wants to create in readers
the general
about something. For example, if the writer wants readers to fear a
character (general effect/overview), he would use various words and
phrases such as ‘intimidating’, ‘eyes blazing like fire’, and ‘face
upturned and a loud shriek erupted from its mouth’ (the choice of
words/phrases).

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 2

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

7. For each writer’s effect, write down, in continuous form:

• The general effect/overview
• The words/phrases you have chosen
o Quote the word/phrase
o Explain the meaning (if it is abstract, explain it in a literal
way)
o Write down how it creates an effect in readers
• (This is not necessary, but it is a good practice to have.) Conclude
the paragraph by restating the general effect/overview.
8. Proofread and edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.

In Task 1, you will attempt Steps 1 to 5. Once you are done, you will be guided
on how to choose the right words/phrases and determine the general
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effect/overview using two paragraphs from a text you read last week for m
a m
Reading Lesson 2. Then, in Task 2, you will revisit
g r Steps 5 and 6, and
o
Prthe steps.
complete the rest. For Task 3, you will attempt all

il sh
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S E
C20 minutes)
Task 1 [22] (Estimated time: I G
t
sthen answer the questions that follow.
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Read the following text,
u
Ed stay in a lonely farmhouse, three friends set off on a walk
After an overnight
that has a mysterious ending.

An Unexplained Disappearance

1 Next morning, the three friends sat at the long table enjoying Mrs

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 3

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

Grace’s farmhouse breakfast. Arthur Hilyer, the historian, joked about the
loneliness of the location. Anita Myborg, the naturalist, hoped to watch rare
birds of prey. Grant Frensham loved tramping across the moors. Mrs Grace
glanced at their map. ‘I hope you wouldn’t be thinking of going into
Malbrun. That’s a bad village. No one’s gone there since a young man got
locked up overnight. They say that it’s full of dangerous animals. And
around it, there’s what we call the wild forest – a terrible place, with sudden
deep waters and paths that lead you nowhere and trap you. Just keep right
and skirt the village and the forest.’

2 After breakfast, the three walkers set off in high spirits, marvelling
at the view before them. Hilyer likened it to the work of a famous painter.
The track they took wound up the hill like a shiny, yellow ribbon, tapering
from their view until the forest finally swallowed it up. To their left, the
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land fell away suddenly, like a cliff face, with tiny sheep on the valley floor,

a m
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resembling ‘white patches,’ Anita said. Beyond, stood lines of grey hills
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o
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like uniformed guards.

3
il sh
Half way up the hill was a stone hut that figured on their map, and
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beyond was a small circle of trees that would serve as a bird-watching hide.
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Anita said, ‘Go on. I’ll catch up later. This is just the right place for eagles.’
S
C binoculars.
G
She was holding a pair of powerful
I
t
s Frensham and Hilyer reached the summit and
4
e
Ten minutes later,
b they had seen at the beginning of their walk. Soon
u
Ed
entered the woodland
the track divided into two, and a signpost pointed to Malbrun. Hilyer
frowned, unsure of himself. Then he said, ‘I think we should investigate.
As a historian, I’d like to set the record straight about this place’.

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

5 Frensham said, ‘You heard what Mrs Grace said, about those
strangers that go up and down the track, and the lights in the sky at night. I
think she believes in UFOs – but it’s dangerous nonetheless.’

6 Hilyer was a fiery man. In a moment he began to argue, and a fierce

disagreement broke out between them. Frensham lost his temper too, and
turned his back on Hilyer. He set off along the right-hand path, passing a
high wire fence and hearing what he thought was the occasional gunshot.
He walked far that day, meeting only one other rambler, and returned to
the farmhouse late in the afternoon. There he found Anita, who had spent
her time watching eagles and had not tried to rejoin the two men. Of Hilyer
there was no sign. Eventually they called in the local police officer, who
seemed unhelpful but who questioned Frensham closely for nearly an hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ e
m
a m
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7 As Hilyer approached Malbrun village, he sensed something was

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wrong. There were the remains of barbed wire strewn on the ground, and
at one point the path was virtually blocked.hHe P had come so far he was
l s better of him. He waited to
ithe
n
disinclined to turn back, and curiosity gotg
E had followed him; then, impatient
E
see whether Frensham had relented and
S
C the village.
and wanting to get on, he entered

t IGreaction was that there had been a catastrophic

8
e s
His initial, shocked

u b where they remained intact, were nothing but

earthquake. The houses,
Ed inspection he saw that the walls were pockmarked with
shells. On closer
tiny bullet holes. Then he wondered whether the place had been created as
a ruin, maybe a film set. Before him was what seemed to be a workshop,

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

with a door that hung off its hinges and creaked in the wind as if in a ghost
town. He entered cautiously, and immediately two grotesque figures with
wild expressions and wearing army gear lunged at him. They rattled and
roared, as hinges and levers swivelled, swinging backwards and forwards
in a vast jangling of unrestrained metal. Hilyer, frightened, flung himself to
the floor. Then, allowing himself to look on this terrible sight, he saw that
they were nothing but mechanical figures, and it dawned on him that he had
stumbled across some secret military installation.

9 He rushed outside, his face contorted with alarm, and collapsed onto
a low stone wall. All was silence once more, but for a moment he seemed
to see faces peering out of the windowless houses and what looked like an
officer’s peaked cap.

10
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Fear deprived him of his senses, and in blind panic he ran out of the
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m
village and into the terrible depths of the wild forest, watched by two silent
a
g r
o
men in uniform.
Pr
i s h
1. Read the following writer’s effect g l
task/question. Then, underline the
n
key words. (As you underline E the keywords, notice the focus of each
E
CS focus, which means you still need to
paragraph. This is a general
G is the writer’s general overview for these
Ithink
determine what you
s t
e
b Think about whether it is described in positive or
descriptions/topics.
u
Ed [6]
negative way.)

Re-read the descriptions of

(a) the view as the walkers set off in paragraph 2, beginning ‘After
breakfast…’

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 6

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

(b) the village and what happened in the workshop in paragraph 8,

beginning ‘His initial, shocked reaction…’.

Select three words and phrases from each paragraph for these
descriptions, and explain how the writer has created effects by using
language.

2. Now, look at the paragraphs involved and read it carefully one more
time.

3. Underline as many words/phrases as possible that are related to the

writer’s effect task/question even though the question only asks for
three. You can decide which three you want to use in Task 2. (Hint:
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There are up to 8 words/phrases for each paragraph.) [16] m
a m
g r
o
Pr
il sh
n and Choosing the Right
Determining the General Overview
g
E
Words/Phrases S E
C
I G
t
Here is a guide on how to approach the writer’s effect task/question using
s
b e
the passage “An Unwelcome Appearance” about Sacha Wilkie’s gap year
d u
E her parents showing up at the dormitory she lived in.
before university and
Since you have already read the whole text in last week’s Reading Lesson 2,
we will go straight to Step 2.

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 7

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

Here is the question and how you would underline the keywords:

Re-read the descriptions of:

(a) the dormitory in paragraph 5, beginning ‘Her dormitory was

actually rather unpleasant …’;

(b) Mrs Wilkie in paragraph 8, beginning ‘Later that evening, Sacha

suddenly became aware …’.

Select three words and phrases from each of these descriptions, and
explain how the writer has created effects through the use of language.

Notice that the beginnings of the paragraphs have also been underlined, not
just “paragraph 5” and “paragraph 8”. The reason for this is you may count
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the paragraphs wrongly (sometimes the paragraph number is not given to
m
a m
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you in the examination unlike in this worksheet), or there may be a misprint.
g
o
Pr
If you focus on the beginning of the paragraph when analysing the text, you

il sh
will not end up reading the wrong paragraph.

We will only focus on (a) for this example guide. n g

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S E
For (a), the dormitory is the focus of the writer’s effect. However, notice the
C
I G
dormitory is a vague description. You need to read and decide how the
s t
e
writer describes the dormitory, then write a general overview.
b
d u
E
Here is the paragraph.

5 Her dormitory was actually rather unpleasant. The bunks with thin,
worn mattresses were crammed together. There was no shade on the light bulb
which flickered spasmodically. Although everyone was meant to take

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 8

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

turns doing basic cleaning and emptying bins, this rarely happened. The
window frame seemed welded shut, its surface encrusted with years of dead
flies. The surface of the sink in the corner looked like a relief map, with river-
like cracks meandering from tap to plug hole and mini-mountain ranges
moulded from toothpaste.

As you read the paragraph, you can already get a sense that the writer is
describing the dormitory in a negative way. So, you can underline these
phrases to support your general overview:

5 Her dormitory was actually rather unpleasant. The bunks with thin,
worn mattresses were crammed together. There was no shade on the light
bulb which flickered spasmodically. Although everyone was meant to take
e
m
turns doing basic cleaning and emptying bins, this rarely happened. The

a m
r
window frame seemed welded shut, its surface encrusted with years of dead

r og
flies. The surface of the sink in the corner looked like a relief map, with river-
like cracks meandering from tap to plug hole Pand mini-mountain ranges
i s h
g l
En
moulded from toothpaste.

S E
C
However, notice you can further expand your general overview. Here are a
few examples of what you t IGcan write along with three words/phrases to
es
support each generalboverview:
du
The E
dormitory is The writer wants to The writer wants to
described as being create an effect of create the effect of a
extremely disgust at how terrible very neglected
uninhabitable due to the living conditions dormitory that has
are.

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

lack of care and accumulated so much

maintenance. dirt over the years.
“crammed” “welded shut" “encrusted with years
“flickered “encrusted with years of dead flies”
spasmodically” of dead flies” “river-like cracks
“encrusted with years “river-like cracks meandering”
of dead flies” meandering” “mini-mountain ranges
moulded from
toothpaste”

Once you have decided on your general overview and three words/phrases,
you can begin to craft your explanation. Here is how you would explain
“crammed” and “encrusted with years of dead flies” for the first general
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overview:
m
a m
General overview: The dormitory is described ras being extremely
o g
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uninhabitable due to lack of care and maintenance.r
is h
First Quote from text “crammed”
l
g to overflowing
word/phrase: Explain
E n
the packed
meaning S E
How the G
C
t I writer It makes it seem as if the people who
s
useselanguage live there are objects, since they sleep
u b
d in these beds with no space or privacy.
E Quote from text “encrusted with years of dead flies”
Second
word/phrase: Explain the thick hardened layers of dead flies
meaning coating the surface

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

How the writer It suggests permanence. So many flies

uses language have died there and not cleaned up
that there is a permanent layer now.

Remember there are many ways to explain how a writer uses language. This
is a guide for you to start with. As you become more skilled in this, you will
automatically know what to write and how to explain how a writer uses
language to create an effect.

Task 2 [35] (Estimated time: 30 to 40 minutes)

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1. Refer back to your selected phrases in Task 1, #3. Fill in the table
m
m
accordingly. Write a general overview and pick three words/phrases
a
g
that you feel best support your general overview.r Remember that you
o
Pr to make sure you choose
want to choose a variety, and you also want
words/phrases that you feel you canlis
h
explain properly. [20]
n g
(a) General overview: E
S E
C
I G
t
s text
First b
Quote efrom
word/ Ed
u
phrase: Explain the meaning

How the writer uses

language

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

Second Quote from text

word/
phrase: Explain the meaning

How the writer uses

language

Third Quote from text

word/
phrase: Explain the meaning e
m
a m
g r
o
Pr
il sh
How the writer uses
language
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E
S E
C
I G
Conclusion (Optional):
s t
b e
du
E

(b) General overview:

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

First Quote from text

word/
phrase: Explain the meaning

How the writer uses

language

Second Quote from text

word/
phrase: Explain the meaning

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m
How the writer uses
a m
g r
language o
Pr
il sh
n g
Third Quote from text E
S E
word/
C
I G
phrase:
t
Explain the meaning
s
b e
du
E
How the writer uses
language

Conclusion (Optional):

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

2. Now, complete the task. Write in continuous form. Use one paragraph
for each description. [15]

Re-read the descriptions of

(a) the view as the walkers set off in paragraph 2, beginning ‘After
breakfast…’

(b) the village and what happened in the workshop in paragraph 8,

beginning ‘His initial, shocked reaction…’.

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Select three words and phrases from each paragraph for these
m
m
descriptions, and explain how the writer has created effects by using
a
language.
g r
o
Pr
il sh
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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

Task 3 [15] (Estimated time: 30 minutes)

Finding a Grizzly
1 The sun was rising over the Absaroka Mountains, rising behind
some high, thin clouds so that the light that spilled into the valley was
shadowed and broken. It was a moving watercolour of a morning. Waves
of subtle pastels were flowing gently across golden August pastures. We
drove in silence. The light reached the river, and for a moment the living
expanse of water was a rippling mirror of shimmering pink and gold.

2 ‘You’re pretty sure he’ll be there?’ I asked.

3 ‘He’ll be there all right,’ Tom said. ‘He had something buried, a
bison carcass, I think. He was feeding on it all day yesterday.’

4 ‘What’s the land like where he is?’

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‘It’s a prairie location. Rolling hills and sage. Nom
m
a trees to climb in
gr knows what a
5

case he, uh …’. I didn’t know what he might do.oNobody

Pr ignore a man on foot,
grizzly bear might do. One grizzly might simply
i s h
while another one could feel obliged to ripg l him to shreds.
E n
6 We parked by the side E of the road and began walking. Five
S
kilometres in, we saw severalCravens perched on a ridge ahead of us. Tom
IG was a bear below, feeding on something. We
thought this might meantthere
e s
u
belly-crawled to the b and peeked over. We saw a few bison, grazing
top
peacefully, butEdnot too far away was some grizzly dung. Tom broke it open
with his boot and handed me a porcupine quill. I stood there with the white
needle in my hand, and it scared me as badly as anything I’d ever heard or
read about grizzly bears. I couldn’t imagine any animal eating a porcupine,

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

quills and all. We walked down a hill and across a marsh that was full of
meandering streams. If there was a bear, he would be on the other side of
the ridge ahead of us.

7 When we got there, we saw him in a bowl-shaped depression about

20 metres away, standing on a mound of dirt. He was a glistening black,
and his coat scintillated in the sun. In proportion to his massive body, his
claws were almost delicate. They were bone white: the mark of an older
bear. He began digging in the mound. In less than two minutes he had
extracted a bison carcass. He used his claws very dexterously, almost like
fingers. There was a disconcerting sound of breaking bones as the bear
gnawed away on the bison’s shoulder.

8 Tom and I heard, very faintly, the sound of a cracking branch from

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the stand of trees to the west. There was a dark shape, moving slowly, deep
m
m
in the woods. With the binoculars I could see that it was a bison. The bear
a
g r hearing is far
stiffened and stared into the trees. It is said that a grizzly’s
more sensitive than a human’s. Some people P ro grizzlies don’t see
believe
il shas we do. We retreated and
g I was certain that he did not see
well, and in fact they may not see as well

E
crouched down at a distance of 75 metres.n
us. S E
C
I G
s t
b e
1. Re-read the descriptions of:
du
E in paragraph 1, beginning ‘The sun was rising …’;
(a) the sunrise
(b) the bear in paragraph 7, beginning ‘When we got there …’.
Select three words and phrases from each of these descriptions, and
explain how the writer has created effects by using language. [15]

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Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
 YEAR 11 SUMMARY / WRITER’S EFFECT SKILL 2

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m
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Conclusion il sh
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E
In this lesson, you reviewed how to approach a writer’s effect task/question.
S Eand keyworded the task. Once you knew
C
You read the text then the question,
G
the general focus of eachI description, you read the specific paragraphs,
s t
considered the general
b e overview while selecting appropriate
d usupport that overview. Finally, you wrote your answer
words/phrases to
E
down in continuous form.

In the next lesson, we will return to revising summary skills.

Edubest IGCSE English Programme 19

Year 11 Summary & Writers Effect 2
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