Paper 1 - How to approach the questions

How to Approach Question 1

• The first thing to take into account is the line you are looking at. The question will clearly state a section for you to look at, and you should focus yourself on this area.
• Secondly, this is a short and easy question. You should only spend around 2-3 minutes on it.
• Read the question carefully, as it will ask for a specific thing and you need to answer it directly.
• The question will ask for words or phrases. There is no need for long quotations
• This question is simple and light start to your paper.

How to approach Question 2

• Focus yourself on the lines that you need to answer the question
• The question is worth 4 marks, meaning you should have four different ideas or interpretations that answer the question
• The question states "IN YOUR OWN WORDS". This means you should to pick any quotations from the text, and not write a PEE paragraph
• You should try to quickly jot down for ideas and move on

How to Approach Question 3

• Focus yourself on the area where you will pick your quotations and ideas
• The question is worth five marks, so you should pick five relevant ideas based on the question
• This question always asks for brief quotations so remember to back each of your points with relevant quotations
• There is no need to make this a PEE paragraph; get five quick ideas and move on

How to Approach a Question 4

• This text will be one of the ones that you have already studied; read through it and remind yourself of the text
• Now you need to focus yourself on the question. Is the question asking about thoughts and feelings, or is it asking how tension is built; whichever one it is, you should start thinking about relevant points that you could make.
• For this question, you should aim for around three detailed PEE paragraphs, which means you should be thinking about three relevant ideas for each of those paragraphs from your text
• When thinking about quotations, try to pick quotations that are brief, as well as rich with language and structural devices for you to pick out, comment on and analyse.
• Remember to structure your paragraphs using Point, Evidence and Explain, and don't forget to round off your paragraphs with a brief conclusion.
• This question is around 12 marks, so you should spend around 15 minutes on this question.
• When analysing devices, remember to be insightful and perceptive with your points, and always refer back to the question that is being asked.

How to Approach a Question Five

• This question will be asking you to compare two texts: One you have studied, and the one you have answered questions 1,2 and 3 for the exam. Read the unseen text again and familiarise yourself with it.
• Next, you need to understand what the question is asking you to do. Most likely, it will be asking you to compare the writer's perspectives of their experiences. Go through both texts, and briefly annotate the texts for potential ideas you could make
• Using these annotations, spend 5 minutes on planning out 3-4 comparative points between the two texts. These could be similarities or differences.
• The mark scheme states that you need a range of comparative pints, so aim for around 3-4 PEE comparative paragraphs.
• When making your point, use brief quotations to support your idea. Once you have made a point on one of the texts, state whether the point is similar or different to the other text, and support your idea with a perceptive analysis of the quotation. You should pick secondary quotations to back your point as well.
• Don't forget to choose quotations that is rich with language and structural devices for you to pick, comment on and analyse. You should not pick the same quotes as you did for question 4.
• Don't forget to round off your paragraphs with conclusions.
• This question is 22 marks so spend 35 minutes on this question. This question also accounts for more than half the marks, so make sure you leave enough time at the end of the exam to answer it.