Key Requirements:

- Section A requires students to understand and interpret two unseen

texts to show understanding of how writers use language and to
compare the two texts.
a. develop skills of how to analyse how writers use linguistic and
structural devices to achieve their effects
b. explore links and connections between writers’ ideas and
perspectives
c. This will assess students’ understanding of a response to the
stimulus material.
- Section B requires students to use both reading and writing abilities to
produce a piece of directed writing based on the texts they've read.
a. It assesses the students' abilities to write according to
guidelines in response to stimulus material.
b. The responses will be assessed for relevant information,
appropriateness of style and approach and quality and
accuracy of expression
- Section C allows students to develop their own writing either creatively
imaginatively or to produce a coherent argument
a. develop transactional and imaginative writing skills for a
variety purposes and audiences and to engage the reader and
use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately

Examples of Texts:

Fiction, for instance, short stories and extracts from novels biography,
autobiography and speeches, newspapers and magazine articles, travel writing,
diaries, letters, web pages

To Note:

Both the texts will always be linked by theme.

Section A – Reading Section. (AO1, AO2, AO3)
Tips from the Chief Examiner:

1. read the questions carefully

2. use highlighters or underlining to help focus on correct information
3. encourage the use of own words as far as possible when required.
However,
4. This is important in the language questions and responding to Section B,
but on questions 3 and 6 (10 marks), you need to be able to interpret
the quotations you might use

Questions 1,2,4, and 5 (1 to 2 marks each)

These questions do not require candidates to use their own words. They are
simple retrieval questions. And candidates who try to use their own words will
either waste time on these very short questions or will find themselves not
quite finding the right points that they should have made

Questions 3 and 6 (10 marks)

AO2 asks candidates to explain how the writers' use of language creates
effects. Vague comments which do not focus on how language works are not
successful ways of responding. Similarly, feature spotting does not
demonstrate an understanding of language.

Feature spotting is where a candidate says the writer has used similes, the
writer has used metaphors without A) giving examples and B) explaining the
impact.

What you SHOULD be doing: Consider how the writer does these things (uses
language devices to achieving a specific purpose) and not what the writer
simply says or uses.

Give a more detailed response, exploring how the writer uses linguistic and
structural devices to achieve effects. Understand how writers create texts for
audience and purpose.

Phrases to introduce quotations:

1. The evidence that supports this is

2. This is evident when
3. This is apparent when
 4. This is illustrated by
5. This is demonstrated by

Phrases to introduce Explanation:

1. This suggests that

2. This infers that
3. This implies that
4. This insinuates that
5. This shows that

A good structure to follow: A candidate makes a point about a text. They

provide a quotation or evidence from the text to support that point and then
they explain how that quotation supports the point they've made

Questions 7 (Comparison Question – 15 marks)

What to NOT do:

1. It is not acceptable that they write about text one and write about text
two and assume there is a comparison.

What you SHOULD do:

1. There must be some comparative vocabulary, for example, whereas, on

the other hand, however, or similarly.
2. Remember comparison doesn't have to be differences, it can be
similarities.
3. Make relevant and cogent connections and contrasts of the ways the
writers present their ideas and perspectives.
Section B – Writing Section (AO1, AO4, AO5)
Synopsis: Section B is designed to test the candidate's ability to use relevant
information from the unseen extracts that are used in response to section A
and to present it for a given audience and purpose.

Types of Directed Writing Questions: Candidates are asked to use a

recognised form of writing such as a speech or talk, a letter, a magazine article
or a website contribution.

Marking Criteria: Responses are assessed on the relevance of the information,

the sense of audience and purpose and the quality and accuracy of expression.

General Tip: A candidate should read a range of texts and practice presenting
the ideas in these texts for different audiences and purposes. They should
learn how to write texts for specified audiences and purposes, also learn the
conventions associated with different forms of writing as well as how to
address a range of audiences.

What you SHOULD do:

1. Think carefully how to address the audience (use of humour, relatable

scenarios, being respectful, formal/informal tone and showing mutual
ground if it’s a letter/conversation with a friend)

Tips on writing different forms of texts:

Letters:

Letters can be formal or informal, they could be a letter to a friend, they

could be letter to their principal of their educational establishment, there
could be a letter to an editor of a magazine or paper, they could be a letter to
a person in office.

1. Your address is not necessary neither is a little drawing of an envelope

with the correct address.
2. What examiners are looking for are your register, the salutation and
closing. Ex. Salutation and closing shouldn’t be ‘Dear John’ and ‘Yours
faithfully’ as the closing is only appropriate for a formal letter where you
do not know the person you’re writing to.
3. For an informal letter, it’s best to sign off with ‘best wishes’ or
something more personal and informal.
 4. For a formal letter, if it’s a ‘Dear sir’, it should be ‘Yours faithfully’ and if
it’s a ‘Dear Mr. Smith, it should be ‘Yours sincerely’.

Speech/Talk:

Speeches are more formal and talks are less formal.

1. Greets and closing should be appropriate but make sure you are not
flowery or effusive in your greetings. Ex. Greetings with ‘beloved
principal and honoured students’ are not effective but ‘Good afternoon
and greetings to my principal and teachers, and hello to my fellow
classmates’ is perfectly acceptable.
2. Speeches and talks can use rhetorical devices, they can address the
audience directly, they can use rhetorical questions inclusive pronouns
and so on and again the register should be maintained throughout.
3. It should not be ‘Good afternoon, I’m here to talk to you about __’ and
‘thank you for listening’ at the end where you sandwich a response that
reads more like an essay. Be more interactive and consider how you’d
speak to an audience.
4. Do not include bullet points in your speech.
5. Do not provide stage directions (e.g., in a speech, adding directions like
*whispers* *pause*

Articles/Reports

1. You can use headings and subheadings to signpost your article, i.e., help
your reader navigate through different sections of your text. This is
optional but appropriate.
2. Do not draw any images to substitute pictures in newspapers or
magazines.
3. Bullets points are also appropriate.
4. You could have interviews and eyewitness accounts.
5. You could include the use of research and made up statistics.

Journals/Diaries and Blogs

1. Write a considerable amount and do not imitate the disjointed form of a

diary (three sentence entries as a note form, etc.)
2. These can take various forms but should have personal experience and
comment.
3. They can have some informality and this register needs to be maintained
throughout.
Important things to note:
1. Section B encourages students to think about audience, purpose,
language, tone, format, using evidence from both texts and in particular
using their own words.
2. The bullet points are extremely important and should be addressed with
a balanced number of points for each.
3. Candidates should use their own words and not copy chunks or even
quote, even with quotation marks, from the original text in their
responses.
4. You can make up statistics and use of research but make sure they seem
credible enough. You will not be tested for the accuracy of your facts but
the information should be believable.
5. Register needs to be maintained throughout. An easy way to lose marks
is by only addressing your audience or maintaining your formal/informal
register in the beginning and the ending. You must maintain it
throughout your answer.
6. Be sure to identify and remember when to use an informal or formal
register.
7. When using synonyms, make sure you understand their connotation and
use it accordingly. Different words will carry varying degrees of formality
and some may be more or less appropriate for particular groups of
audience. (ex. Beautiful could be said to a friend as a compliment while
the word ‘elegant’ is more appropriately said in a manner of respect to
someone older).
8. Understand how Standard English is used in formal contexts. Standard
English is the equivalent of the smart clothes you wear for an interview
as opposed to the cool clothes you might wear for a party. In other
words, you know it's the difference between talking to your head
teacher and talking to your mates. So standard English is smart formal,
correct and controlled.
9. All bullet points must be addressed but you’re also rewarded for using
original and relevant points of your own wherever appropriate.
10.There should be a clear structure of introduction, main sections, and
conclusion. Use appropriate paragraphing for both Section B and Section
C.

Tips:
1. Use the texts provided by Edexcel in the past examinations to
understand how writers cater to different audiences with their forms
 and language. Note when a writer uses informal or formal register for a
specific purpose and how this has been achieved effectively.
2. Make sure you plan out your answer beforehand. Use lists, spider
diagrams (whatever is convenient for you) but make sure you do not
write draft responses in your planning. Spend 5 to maximum of 10
minutes. Plans should aid your memory and not detail out every
sentence you will be using in your answer.
3. Make sure your read the question carefully, recognise and underline the
keywords, and decide what the main points of the question really are.
Think about the audience and the appropriate register, the type of the
text and the correct format and what rhetorical devices you can include
for an effective response.
Section C – Writing Section (AO4, AO5)
There will be a choice of three titles. The essays may be narrative, descriptive,
personal arguments to more discursive. The three titles will cover, discursive
argumentative will be one. Narrative and personal is another and descriptive
and perhaps personal is the final one. There may be opportunity to respond
personally and imaginatively to the themes presented in the reading texts. But
it is not appropriate to copy for them or use the key ideas from them.

What you SHOULD NOT be doing:

1. Do not adapt the title to write what you want. You writing must be
relevant to the title and should consider all the aspects that the title is
looking for. Ex. The title ‘A strange day’ would begin and end with the
quality of strangeness, suppose waking up in the morning without the
sound of honking, the streets being unusually empty, you get to school
and the popular kid comes and talks to you. Do not forge ideas that are
irrelevant to your essay titles.
2. Do not take materials from Section B and avoid writing the plots of
movies or books you’ve read. You may take inspiration, but do not copy.
Create your own settings, characters, character personalities and events
that match what you’re asked to respond to.
3. Do not use words that you aren’t fully sure of. Using words in the wrong
context, however rich and eloquent they may sound, will cost you marks
in AO5 (that judges appropriate expression).
4. Do not write things that are offensive or provocative. Writing about
politics or religion is acceptable as long as you are not being prejudiced
and intolerant. If you’re a victim of a political scheme, present your side
of the story but do not go about raging war against a political figure for
no particular reason at all.
5. Do not go over the top with dialogues in your narrative essay. Keep this
to a minimum so that you’re not distracting readers from your main
idea.
6. Do not produce gory and graphic responses to your narrative writings.
Some examiners do not comment on this but others will.

What you should be doing:

1. Use varied vocabulary but do not be verbose. Use synonyms and

antonyms but only in cases where you fully understand the word you’re
using in context. Do not regurgitate everything from a thesaurus.
 2. Use idiomatic and expressive phrases but not cliches and never too
many that it seems memorised. Use it wherever and whenever it seems
natural to do so.
3. Use a range of adjectives and adverbs. Think of how imagery can
enhance your writing and meaning. Choose words and styles to suit
audience and purpose.
4. Use appropriate paragraphing with paragraph breaks. Use accurate
punctuation of sentences, full stops, capital letters, clear and accurate
spelling.

What Makes a Good Essay:

1. Plan an essay to understand where it’s going to land and how it will be
relevant to the title you’ve chosen.
2. Work out the ending before you’ve begun.
3. Two narrative endings to avoid: a. where it ends with ‘It was all a
dream” or ‘And then I woke up”. B) You die at the end (you cannot
narrate a story if you’re a dead person).
4. Focus on the task at hand. Do not deviate from your title. Keep your
story simple and address the title properly.
5. Your writing should be clear and not confusing.

Marking Criteria for Questions 9,10,11

• For argumentative essays, feel free to disagree or agree with the

statement given. You’re rewarded on the quality of your ideas and
expression, not your stance in an argument.
• For narrative essays, you’re rewarded for qualities such as a sense of
drama, vivid descriptions, excitement and suspense.
• For descriptive essays, you’re rewarded for your power to evoke. Ex.
‘Describe a place that has made an impression on you’ should evoke a
sense of place with, for instance, descriptions of natural scenes with
sensory language.

Final Tips to Create Effective Responses:

1. Attempt to base your writings on facts. Use events from reality that
you’re familiar with instead of imagining and writing about grand
episodes. Think about the refugee crisis in Afghanistan, the displacement
of the Rohingyas, the political effects of the Trump campaign on
minorities. Think about your own city, your own experiences or
something that you believe could easily happen to you. Do not imitate
 something that you have no clue of – write something you’re confident
in.
2. Don’t pose. You’re all young with strengths and weaknesses. You’re not
going to solve world problems, save the society from corrupt people
(these are not realistic). Think about simple events and do not
exaggerate.
3. Focus on the topic. Say, strange day – make a spider diagram: at least 4
out of the ordinary happening. Bring contrasts describing a normal day
in one paragraph. Why strange? Strang person: visualise a real person
and add a few oddities from other people.
4. Don’t overdo anything – either sentiment or drama. BE NATURAL!