An original Thinka practice paper modelled on the structure and difficulty of the Nov 2022 CCEA GCSE English Language 5030 paper. Not affiliated with or reproduced from CCEA.
Unit 1 甲部: Writing for Purpose and Audience
Spend 55 minutes on Task 1. Up to 57 marks are available for an organised and engaging piece of writing that matches form and purpose with audience. Up to 30 marks are available for the use of a range of sentence structures and accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Task 1: Spend 55 minutes on this task. Total 87 marks.
Write an article for your school or community website, aimed at parents and teenagers, giving your views on this question:
'Should social media companies be required to verify the age of every user before they can create an account?'
You should organise your article clearly, engage your intended readers, and support your views with reasons and examples. Write approximately 500-800 words.
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解題
A high-scoring response would: (1) adopt a clear article form and register suited to a school/community website (e.g. an engaging headline, a strong opening hook, sub-headings or clearly paragraphed sections, a concluding call to reflection), consistently pitched to be accessible and relevant to BOTH parents and teenagers as a dual audience; (2) develop a clear, sustained viewpoint on the question (whether arguing for compulsory age verification, against it, or a balanced position that reaches a reasoned conclusion), using specific, plausible reasons and examples — for instance, discussing how age verification could reduce younger children's exposure to inappropriate content or targeted advertising, while also acknowledging counter-arguments such as privacy concerns over submitting identification documents to social media companies, or the risk that determined young people would simply find ways around any verification system; (3) use a deliberate range of structural and linguistic devices to engage both audiences — for example, direct address ('You may remember...', 'As a parent, you might worry...'), rhetorical questions, a relevant personal anecdote or hypothetical scenario, and varied paragraph and sentence lengths for pace and emphasis; (4) demonstrate accurate and varied sentence structures (a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences, varied openings, accurate use of subordination) together with consistently accurate spelling, punctuation (including a range of punctuation for effect, such as dashes, colons or semicolons) and grammar throughout. Answer: this is an open writing task with no single correct answer — responses are assessed holistically against the Competence Level grid in the markingScheme, rewarding organisation, audience/purpose awareness, developed viewpoint with support, and technical accuracy.
評分準則
Assessed via a Competence Level (CL1-CL5) grid across three strands, contributing to two mark totals as printed on the paper: (A) Content, Organisation, Purpose and Audience — 57 marks, assessed across: Strand 1 Development & Style (ideas, viewpoint and support are developed with an appropriate, controlled style for the article form); Strand 2 Structuring & Linguistic Features (clear overall structure — opening/development/conclusion — with a deliberate range of structural and linguistic devices, e.g. rhetorical questions, direct address, varied paragraphing); Strand 3 Purpose & Audience (sustained, convincing awareness of writing for BOTH parents and teenagers as an article for a school/community website, addressing the set question directly). Indicative bands: CL1 (1-11 marks) — simple, list-like ideas, little sense of audience/form; CL2 (12-22 marks) — some relevant content, limited organisation, occasional audience awareness; CL3 (23-34 marks) — clear, relevant content with a developing viewpoint, reasonably organised, generally appropriate for the article form and audience; CL4 (35-46 marks) — well-developed, well-supported viewpoint, clear and purposeful organisation, consistent audience/form awareness with some engaging devices; CL5 (47-57 marks) — sophisticated, fully developed and convincingly supported viewpoint, assured and purposeful structure, skilfully sustained engagement of both audiences throughout, ambitious and effective use of article conventions. (B) Sentence Structure, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar — 30 marks: CL1 (1-6) — frequent basic errors, little sentence variety; CL2 (7-12) — some accuracy, simple sentence structures dominate, errors sometimes impede meaning; CL3 (13-18) — reasonably accurate, some varied sentence structures, occasional errors that do not impede meaning; CL4 (19-24) — mostly accurate spelling/punctuation/grammar, a good range of controlled sentence structures used for effect; CL5 (25-30) — consistently accurate throughout, wide and ambitious range of sentence structures deployed precisely and effectively for purpose. Total for the task = strand A total + strand B total, to a maximum of 87 marks.
Task 2: Spend 15 minutes on this task. Total 21 marks.
NON-FICTION EXTRACT: 'Cold Water, Clear Head'
[Paragraph 1] The first thirty seconds are always the worst. I wade in past my ankles, my knees, my waist, and the lough closes over my skin like a fist. My breath comes in short, involuntary gasps, as though someone has knocked the air clean out of me. Every nerve in my body is screaming at me to turn back towards the warm towel waiting on the shore. And then, as it always does, the shock passes, the cold settles into something closer to clarity, and I begin to swim.
[Paragraph 2] I started wild swimming three winters ago, on a morning when I could think of nothing except the argument I'd had the night before. Half an hour in the lough and the argument had lost its grip on me entirely; the cold seemed to burn the worry away, leaving only the rhythm of my own arms and the grey light on the water. Since then I have swum through every season, and I have come to rely on the way the cold demands total attention — there is no room, waist-deep in an Irish lough in January, to worry about anything except the next stroke. Sports scientists studying cold-water swimmers have recorded measurable drops in stress hormones after even a short, cold dip, and I believe them, because I have felt it, again and again, on that same stretch of grey water.
[Paragraph 3] There is a community to it, too, one I did not expect when I first pulled on a wetsuit alone at dawn. Now I swim most Saturdays with a loose gathering of neighbours: a retired teacher, a nurse coming off a night shift, two teenagers who cycle down before school. We rarely swim for more than twenty minutes, and we talk for twice as long afterwards, hands wrapped around flasks of tea on the jetty, watching the mist lift off the water. In a world of screens and scheduled small talk, there is something almost old-fashioned about a group of strangers-turned-friends who show up, whatever the weather, because the water is what brought them together.
[Paragraph 4] I still do not entirely trust that first thirty seconds. I doubt I ever will. But I have learned to trust what comes after it: the clear head, the strange calm, the sense of having done something my body did not, at first, want to do. Perhaps that is the real appeal of cold water — not the cold itself, but everything it leaves behind once you have swum through it.
Explain how the writer has presented wild swimming in a way that engages readers' interest. Support your comments with evidence from the extract.
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解題
The writer engages readers' interest through several techniques. The opening is deliberately visceral and immediate: 'The first thirty seconds are always the worst' draws the reader straight into the physical shock of the experience, and the simile 'the lough closes over my skin like a fist' uses violent, concrete imagery to make the cold tangible for a reader who has never experienced it, while the short, list-like structure of 'my ankles, my knees, my waist' mimics the writer's own gradual, reluctant entry into the water, controlling the reader's pace of reading. The writer also uses personal anecdote to engage readers emotionally rather than simply informing them: the detail about swimming after 'an argument' and feeling it 'lost its grip on me entirely' gives the writing a relatable, honest, confessional quality, and is reinforced with an appeal to authority ('sports scientists studying cold-water swimmers have recorded measurable drops in stress hormones'), which adds credibility to what might otherwise seem a purely personal claim. The shift in paragraph 3 from solitary swimming to community — 'a retired teacher, a nurse coming off a night shift, two teenagers' — broadens the appeal of the piece beyond one individual's experience, using specific, varied character details to suggest wild swimming's appeal cuts across ages and backgrounds, which invites a wider range of readers to see themselves reflected in the piece. Finally, the reflective, circular structure of the conclusion, returning to 'that first thirty seconds' from the opening, gives the extract a satisfying sense of closure while reframing the initial discomfort ('I still do not entirely trust that first thirty seconds') as something ultimately worthwhile, leaving the reader with a considered, memorable final thought rather than a simple summary. Answer: the writer engages interest through a visceral sensory opening, personal anecdote reinforced by an appeal to authority, an expanding sense of community, and a reflective, circular conclusion — each explained above with specific evidence from the extract.
評分準則
Assessed via the Competence Level (CL1-CL5) Reading grid across three strands: Strand 1 Read & Understand/Selection (accurate selection of relevant techniques/evidence); Strand 2 Develop & Sustain Interpretation (developed explanation of HOW each technique engages readers, not just identification); Strand 3 Explain & Evaluate Elements of Writer's Craft (evaluative comment on the effect/success of the writer's choices). Indicative bands (21 marks total): CL1 (1-4) — minimal, unsupported comment, e.g. 'it is interesting'; CL2 (5-8) — basic identification of a technique (e.g. 'cold water') with little explanation; CL3 (9-13) — accurate identification of two or more techniques (e.g. sensory imagery, anecdote) with some explanation of effect, supported by quotation; CL4 (14-17) — clear, developed explanation of several techniques (imagery, anecdote, structure) with well-selected evidence and a sense of their combined effect on the reader; CL5 (18-21) — sophisticated, precise analysis of a range of techniques (e.g. simile, appeal to authority, structural shift, circular conclusion), fully supported with well-integrated evidence, and evaluative comment on how effectively engagement is sustained across the whole extract.
Task 3: Spend 10 minutes on this task. Total 12 marks.
NON-FICTION EXTRACT: 'Cold Water, Clear Head'
[Paragraph 1] The first thirty seconds are always the worst. I wade in past my ankles, my knees, my waist, and the lough closes over my skin like a fist. My breath comes in short, involuntary gasps, as though someone has knocked the air clean out of me. Every nerve in my body is screaming at me to turn back towards the warm towel waiting on the shore. And then, as it always does, the shock passes, the cold settles into something closer to clarity, and I begin to swim.
[Paragraph 2] I started wild swimming three winters ago, on a morning when I could think of nothing except the argument I'd had the night before. Half an hour in the lough and the argument had lost its grip on me entirely; the cold seemed to burn the worry away, leaving only the rhythm of my own arms and the grey light on the water. Since then I have swum through every season, and I have come to rely on the way the cold demands total attention — there is no room, waist-deep in an Irish lough in January, to worry about anything except the next stroke. Sports scientists studying cold-water swimmers have recorded measurable drops in stress hormones after even a short, cold dip, and I believe them, because I have felt it, again and again, on that same stretch of grey water.
[Paragraph 3] There is a community to it, too, one I did not expect when I first pulled on a wetsuit alone at dawn. Now I swim most Saturdays with a loose gathering of neighbours: a retired teacher, a nurse coming off a night shift, two teenagers who cycle down before school. We rarely swim for more than twenty minutes, and we talk for twice as long afterwards, hands wrapped around flasks of tea on the jetty, watching the mist lift off the water. In a world of screens and scheduled small talk, there is something almost old-fashioned about a group of strangers-turned-friends who show up, whatever the weather, because the water is what brought them together.
[Paragraph 4] I still do not entirely trust that first thirty seconds. I doubt I ever will. But I have learned to trust what comes after it: the clear head, the strange calm, the sense of having done something my body did not, at first, want to do. Perhaps that is the real appeal of cold water — not the cold itself, but everything it leaves behind once you have swum through it.
In your own words, write down two reasons why the writer finds wild swimming appealing: one reason from Paragraph 2 and one reason from Paragraph 3. For each reason, present two pieces of supporting evidence from the extract.
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解題
Reason 1, from Paragraph 2, in the writer's own words: wild swimming clears her mind and relieves her worries, because the intense cold forces her to concentrate completely on the present moment, leaving no space for other concerns. Two pieces of supporting evidence: (i) she describes how, after an argument, 'the argument had lost its grip on me entirely' once she had been swimming, showing the emotional relief it gave her; (ii) she notes that 'sports scientists studying cold-water swimmers have recorded measurable drops in stress hormones', showing this effect is not just her personal impression but is backed by external, scientific evidence. Reason 2, from Paragraph 3, in the writer's own words: wild swimming has given her an unexpected sense of community and friendship with people she would not otherwise have met. Two pieces of supporting evidence: (i) she lists the varied group she now swims with — 'a retired teacher, a nurse coming off a night shift, two teenagers who cycle down before school' — showing the swimming group brings together people of different ages and backgrounds; (ii) she describes how they 'talk for twice as long afterwards, hands wrapped around flasks of tea on the jetty', showing the friendships extend well beyond the swim itself. Answer: Reason 1 = the cold clears her mind/relieves stress (evidenced by the argument 'losing its grip' and the scientific stress-hormone research); Reason 2 = it has built an unexpected community/friendship (evidenced by the varied group of neighbours and the time spent talking afterwards).
評分準則
Checklist mark scheme, 6 marks per paragraph/reason, to a maximum of 12: for each reason — [1-2] marks for a reason correctly identified and accurately expressed in the candidate's OWN words (not lifted directly from the text) — [1] a basic/partial own-words reason, [2] a clear, accurate own-words reason; [2] marks for the first piece of supporting evidence correctly identified from the correct paragraph; [2] marks for the second piece of supporting evidence correctly identified from the correct paragraph. Evidence copied without any own-words framing, or evidence taken from the wrong paragraph, does not score. A reason expressed only as a direct quotation (not in the candidate's own words) is capped at 1 mark for that reason component.
題目 3 · Analytical Response to Media Text Language (Competence Level Grids)
20 分
Task 4: Spend 15 minutes on this task. Total 20 marks.
MEDIA TEXT: homepage of the website for 'Lough & Lens: The Ballymona Wild Swim Festival'
[Page header] Across the very top of the page, filling almost the full width of the screen, is a large, bold headline in bright teal, sans-serif capital letters: 'DIVE IN. THIS SUMMER, THE LOUGH COMES ALIVE.' Directly beneath it, in smaller white italic text, sits the sub-heading: 'Three days. One lough. Hundreds of swimmers just like you.'
[Hero image] Below the headline is a large, wide, full-colour photograph showing a group of swimmers silhouetted against a golden sunrise on open water, with steam rising gently off the surface. Overlaid across the bottom of the photograph, in bold white capitals on a semi-transparent dark banner, is the caption: '6:47 AM, DAY ONE.'
[Body text] Ever swum before the rest of the world was awake? Ever felt the shock of cold water turn into something like joy? This August, Lough Road is throwing open its shoreline for three days of swimming, music, food and friendship — and there is a place in the water waiting for you. Whether you are a seasoned open-water swimmer or have never dipped a toe past the paddling pool, our guided sessions, warm welcomes and famously friendly volunteers mean everyone finds their depth here.
[Bullet list, each preceded by a small coloured icon] Guided sunrise swims for all abilities. Live local music on the shore every evening. Food stalls serving hot soup, coffee and traditional soda bread. Free hot-water showers and changing tents. Junior swim sessions for ages eight and up.
[Countdown graphic] A digital-style countdown clock, in large orange numerals against a dark background, displays the days, hours and minutes remaining until the festival begins.
[Testimonial box] A small rounded box, set apart from the rest of the page with a pale blue background, contains a circular photograph of a smiling participant wrapped in a towel, beside the quote in large quotation marks: 'I came for one swim and stayed for the whole weekend. Best decision I made all summer.' — Aoife, first-time swimmer.
[Call-to-action button] Centred near the bottom of the page is a large, bright orange rectangular button with rounded corners and bold white capital text reading: 'BOOK YOUR PLACE.'
Explain how language has been used to develop a sense that the Lough & Lens festival is an exciting event that readers should not miss. Present evidence to support your comments.
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解題
Language is used throughout the webpage to build a sense of excitement and urgency. The headline opens with the short imperative sentence 'DIVE IN', a command that immediately involves the reader as a participant rather than a passive observer, reinforced by the present-tense claim that 'THIS SUMMER, THE LOUGH COMES ALIVE', which personifies the lough itself as energetic and vibrant, suggesting the event is dynamic rather than a static, ordinary listing of activities. The body text opens with two rhetorical questions in direct succession — 'Ever swum before the rest of the world was awake? Ever felt the shock of cold water turn into something like joy?' — which invite the reader to imagine themselves in the experience and use repetition of the pattern 'Ever...?' to build rhythm and anticipation before the festival is even named. Direct, inclusive address is used consistently ('a place in the water waiting for you', 'everyone finds their depth here'), which works to make every reader, regardless of swimming experience, feel personally and specifically invited, removing any sense that the event is only for a narrow, expert audience. The bulleted list of attractions ('Guided sunrise swims... Live local music... Food stalls... Free hot-water showers... Junior swim sessions') uses short, varied noun phrases in rapid succession to suggest a packed, varied programme without slowing the reader down with full sentences, giving an impression of abundance and choice. Finally, the testimonial from 'Aoife, first-time swimmer' — 'I came for one swim and stayed for the whole weekend. Best decision I made all summer' — uses authentic, informal, first-person language and a superlative ('Best decision') to provide persuasive social proof from someone readers can imagine being like themselves, reinforcing the urgency of the final instruction to 'BOOK YOUR PLACE'. Answer: excitement and urgency are built through the imperative, personifying headline, rhetorical questions inviting the reader in, inclusive direct address, a fast-paced bulleted list of attractions, and an authentic first-person testimonial — all explained above with evidence.
評分準則
Assessed via the Competence Level (CL1-CL5) Reading grid across the same three strands as Task 2 (Read & Understand/Selection; Develop & Sustain Interpretation; Explain & Evaluate Elements of Writer's Craft), applied here to language in a media text. Indicative bands (20 marks total): CL1 (1-4) — minimal, unsupported comment; CL2 (5-8) — basic identification of a language feature (e.g. 'it uses questions') with little explanation; CL3 (9-12) — accurate identification of two or more features (e.g. imperative, direct address) with some explanation of effect, supported by quotation; CL4 (13-16) — clear, developed explanation of several features (rhetorical questions, inclusive address, listing, testimonial) with well-selected evidence; CL5 (17-20) — sophisticated, precise analysis of a range of language techniques with full, well-integrated evidence and evaluative comment on how effectively excitement/urgency is built across the whole text.
Task 5: Spend 10 minutes on this task. Total 10 marks.
MEDIA TEXT: homepage of the website for 'Lough & Lens: The Ballymona Wild Swim Festival'
[Page header] Across the very top of the page, filling almost the full width of the screen, is a large, bold headline in bright teal, sans-serif capital letters: 'DIVE IN. THIS SUMMER, THE LOUGH COMES ALIVE.' Directly beneath it, in smaller white italic text, sits the sub-heading: 'Three days. One lough. Hundreds of swimmers just like you.'
[Hero image] Below the headline is a large, wide, full-colour photograph showing a group of swimmers silhouetted against a golden sunrise on open water, with steam rising gently off the surface. Overlaid across the bottom of the photograph, in bold white capitals on a semi-transparent dark banner, is the caption: '6:47 AM, DAY ONE.'
[Body text] Ever swum before the rest of the world was awake? Ever felt the shock of cold water turn into something like joy? This August, Lough Road is throwing open its shoreline for three days of swimming, music, food and friendship — and there is a place in the water waiting for you. Whether you are a seasoned open-water swimmer or have never dipped a toe past the paddling pool, our guided sessions, warm welcomes and famously friendly volunteers mean everyone finds their depth here.
[Bullet list, each preceded by a small coloured icon] Guided sunrise swims for all abilities. Live local music on the shore every evening. Food stalls serving hot soup, coffee and traditional soda bread. Free hot-water showers and changing tents. Junior swim sessions for ages eight and up.
[Countdown graphic] A digital-style countdown clock, in large orange numerals against a dark background, displays the days, hours and minutes remaining until the festival begins.
[Testimonial box] A small rounded box, set apart from the rest of the page with a pale blue background, contains a circular photograph of a smiling participant wrapped in a towel, beside the quote in large quotation marks: 'I came for one swim and stayed for the whole weekend. Best decision I made all summer.' — Aoife, first-time swimmer.
[Call-to-action button] Centred near the bottom of the page is a large, bright orange rectangular button with rounded corners and bold white capital text reading: 'BOOK YOUR PLACE.'
Select TWO examples of presentational features used on this webpage to make it appealing to the reader. Explain the intended effect of each of these two presentational features.
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解題
Presentational feature 1: the large, wide hero photograph showing swimmers silhouetted against a golden sunrise, with the overlaid caption '6:47 AM, DAY ONE'. Intended effect: placing a striking, atmospheric image prominently near the top of the page allows the reader to grasp the appeal and mood of the event instantly and emotionally, before reading any of the persuasive body text — the specific time given in the caption also makes the scene feel real and immediate, as though it is a genuine moment from a real event rather than a generic stock image, increasing the reader's trust and interest. Presentational feature 2: the large, bright orange rectangular 'BOOK YOUR PLACE' button with rounded corners and bold white capital text, positioned centrally near the bottom of the page. Intended effect: the bright, contrasting orange colour and bold capitalised text make the button visually dominant against the rest of the page's design, drawing the reader's eye directly to it after they have read the persuasive content above; its clear, direct imperative wording and prominent placement are intended to prompt the reader to act immediately, converting their interest into a booking rather than leaving the decision for later. Other valid examples: the countdown clock graphic (creates urgency by visually representing time running out); the testimonial box with a photograph (adds credibility/relatability through a real, named participant); the bulleted list with icons (makes varied information quick and easy to scan). Answer: any two valid presentational features (e.g. the hero photograph with caption, the orange call-to-action button, the countdown clock, or the testimonial box), each with a clearly explained intended effect on the reader.
評分準則
Checklist mark scheme, 5 marks per feature, to a maximum of 10: for each of the two features selected — [1] mark for correctly and specifically identifying a genuine presentational feature from the text (not a language feature); [4] marks (a 4-mark graded qualitative descriptor) for the quality of the explanation of its intended effect — [1] a vague/generic effect (e.g. 'it looks nice'); [2] a basic, valid effect stated; [3] a clear, well-explained effect linked to a plausible reader response; [4] a precise, insightful explanation of the intended effect, showing clear understanding of how presentation is used purposefully to appeal to or persuade the reader. Accept any two of: hero photograph/caption, countdown clock, testimonial box/photograph, bulleted list with icons, call-to-action button, colour scheme, use of capitals/bold text in the headline.
Unit 4 甲部: Personal or Creative Writing
Spend 55 minutes on Task 1. Complete only one task (Option a: Personal Writing speech/essay OR Option b: Creative Writing narrative based on visual prompt). Up to 58 marks are available for organisation, form and engagement; up to 30 marks are available for sentence structures, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
1 題目 · 88 分
題目 1 · Extended Personal or Creative Composition (Choice of Prompt)
88 分
Task 1: Spend 55 minutes on this task. Total 88 marks. Complete only ONE of the following options.
EITHER
(a) Personal writing: Write a speech to be delivered at your school's leavers' assembly, describing a challenge you overcame during your time at school and explaining what you learned from the experience. Your audience is your fellow students, teachers and families attending the assembly.
OR
(b) Creative writing: Write a story for entry into a young writers' anthology. The audience is readers aged 16-18. Base your story on the following picture, which you should use as the basis for your writing: a single lit window glows in a long row of otherwise dark, terraced houses late at night; snow is falling steadily, and a single line of footprints leads from the street, up the front path, to the lit house's front door.
Write approximately 500-800 words.
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解題
Option (a): a high-scoring speech would open with a device that immediately engages a live audience (a direct address, a striking short statement, or a rhetorical question), establish a clearly described challenge (e.g. an academic struggle, an injury affecting a sporting ambition, overcoming shyness to perform on stage) with specific, concrete detail rather than vague generalisation, structure the account so tension or difficulty is built before resolution, and close with a reflective, audience-appropriate insight into what was learned, using rhetorical techniques suited to spoken delivery (repetition, direct address to 'you', varied sentence length for emphasis, an inclusive tone appropriate for a mixed audience of peers, teachers and families). Option (b): a high-scoring story would use the picture prompt as a genuine springboard for original narrative rather than simply describing it, establishing atmosphere and tension through the winter setting and the visual detail of the single lit window and lone set of footprints (for example, building suspense around who is arriving, or why only one house is lit, or whose footprints they are), developing a clear narrative arc (a beginning that establishes mystery/atmosphere, a middle that develops character, situation or revelation, and an ending that resolves or meaningfully unsettles the reader), and using descriptive and structural techniques appropriate for an audience of 16-18 year old readers (varied sentence length and structure for pace, sensory imagery, controlled use of dialogue if included, a title if appropriate). For either option, technical accuracy is assessed separately: a wide, controlled range of sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, varied openings) and consistently accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar throughout. Answer: this is an open writing task with no single correct answer — responses to either option (a) or (b) are assessed holistically against the Competence Level grid in the markingScheme, rewarding organisation, form/audience awareness, developed and engaging content, and technical accuracy.
評分準則
Assessed via a Competence Level (CL1-CL5) grid across three strands, contributing to two mark totals as printed on the paper, applied equally to whichever option (a) or (b) the candidate completes: (A) Content, Organisation, Form and Engagement — 58 marks, assessed across: Strand 1 Development & Style (ideas/narrative are developed with an appropriate, controlled style for the chosen form); Strand 2 Structuring & Linguistic Features (clear overall structure with a deliberate range of structural and linguistic/descriptive devices); Strand 3 Purpose & Audience (sustained awareness of the speech's live-assembly audience, or the short story's 16-18-year-old anthology readers, and full, purposeful use of the set task — the challenge overcome, or the picture prompt). Indicative bands: CL1 (1-11) — simple, list-like or minimally developed content, little sense of form/audience; CL2 (12-23) — some relevant, developing content, limited organisation, occasional form/audience awareness; CL3 (24-35) — clear, relevant, developed content, reasonably organised, generally appropriate for the form and audience; CL4 (36-47) — well-developed content with clear narrative/reflective shape, purposeful organisation, consistent form/audience awareness, some genuinely engaging devices; CL5 (48-58) — sophisticated, fully developed and engaging content, assured and purposeful structure, skilfully sustained engagement of the audience throughout, ambitious and effective use of the chosen form's conventions. (B) Sentence Structure, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar — 30 marks, using the same bands as Unit 1 Task 1: CL1 (1-6); CL2 (7-12); CL3 (13-18); CL4 (19-24); CL5 (25-30), each defined by increasing accuracy and increasing range/control of sentence structures. Total for the task = strand A total + strand B total, to a maximum of 88 marks. Only ONE option (a) or (b) should be marked; if both are attempted, the higher-scoring response is credited.
Unit 4 乙部: Reading Literary and Non-fiction Texts
Spend 50 minutes on Tasks 2, 3 and 4. Task 2 requires comparing two literary extracts provided in an insert. Tasks 3 and 4 require analytical responses to non-fiction article extracts.
3 題目 · 62 分
題目 1 · Comparative Literary Text Analysis (Two Extracts)
32 分
Task 2: Spend 20 minutes on this task. Total 32 marks.
EXTRACT 1: 'The Light' (from an original short story)
The lamp had been turning for eleven hours and Marion had stopped counting the seconds between flashes. Outside, the wind came at the tower in long, shuddering waves, and somewhere below her the sea was doing something to the rocks that she preferred not to picture. The radio had gone to static an hour ago. She told herself it was only static.
Twice now she had thought she heard a voice beneath the wind — not words, just a shape a voice might make — and twice she had climbed down to the door and found nothing but the black rectangle of the night, rain coming in sideways to sting her face. She did not climb down a third time. Instead she sat with her back against the cold iron of the lamp housing and watched the beam sweep out over water she could not see, thinking that somewhere out there, if the boats were right, there were still three men who had not come home.
Her hands had stopped shaking an hour ago, which she did not find reassuring. She had read once that the body gives up trembling when it has decided, quietly and without asking permission, that trembling will not help.
EXTRACT 2: 'The Orchard' (from an original short story)
By late August the apples had started to come down of their own accord, soft thuds in the long grass that Grandda always said sounded like the orchard clearing its throat. I used to lie beneath the biggest tree with a book I rarely read, listening for the next fall, watching wasps drift lazily between the fallen fruit and the branches still holding on.
The heat had gone out of the sun by four o'clock, leaving only a gold, unhurried light that lay across the grass in long stripes between the trees. Grandda would come out around then with two mugs of tea gone slightly too milky, and we would sit on the same two upturned crates we always sat on, not talking much, watching the swallows cut low over the hedge.
I did not know, that last summer, that I was storing something up. I only knew that the orchard smelled of warm grass and split apples, that my grandfather's hands were steady around his mug, and that there was nowhere else, in the whole world, I would rather have been.
Compare and contrast how the writers have created atmosphere in these two extracts. Present supporting evidence from both texts.
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解題
Both writers use sensory detail and controlled sentence structure to build atmosphere, but to contrasting effect. In Extract 1, atmosphere is built through violent, unsettling imagery: 'the wind came at the tower in long, shuddering waves' personifies the storm as a living, aggressive force, while the euphemistic understatement 'she preferred not to picture' what the sea was doing to the rocks invites the reader to imagine something worse than is directly stated, increasing tension through implication rather than explicit description. Sentence structure reinforces this unease: short, blunt sentences ('The radio had gone to static an hour ago. She told herself it was only static.') create a clipped, anxious rhythm that mirrors Marion's own suppressed fear, and the repetition of her checking the door 'twice' before deciding not to a third time builds a sense of mounting, unresolved dread, culminating in the unsettling final image of her hands having 'stopped shaking', which she 'did not find reassuring' — an ironic, ominous detail that leaves the extract's tension deliberately unresolved. In Extract 2, by contrast, atmosphere is built through gentle, unhurried sensory imagery: 'soft thuds in the long grass' and 'a gold, unhurried light that lay across the grass in long stripes' use soft consonants and a slow visual image to create warmth and calm, while the simile-like comparison of falling apples to 'the orchard clearing its throat' offers a homely, affectionate personification quite different in tone from the aggressive personification of the storm in Extract 1. Sentence structure here is longer and more flowing ('I used to lie beneath the biggest tree with a book I rarely read, listening for the next fall...'), mirroring the leisurely, untroubled pace of the remembered afternoon, and the extract closes not on unresolved tension but on nostalgic reflection: 'there was nowhere else, in the whole world, I would rather have been', a warm, conclusive statement that contrasts sharply with Extract 1's open, anxious ending. Both extracts share a first/close-third person reflective narrative voice and a focus on a single, sustained setting, but where Extract 1 uses fragmented pacing and implication to build dread, Extract 2 uses expansive, unhurried pacing and affectionate detail to build comfort and warmth, showing two very different uses of atmosphere-building technique for opposite emotional effect. Answer: Extract 1 creates tense, threatening atmosphere through violent personification, understatement and clipped sentence rhythm; Extract 2 creates calm, nostalgic atmosphere through gentle sensory imagery, affectionate personification and unhurried sentence rhythm — both evidenced above, with a shared reflective narrative voice used to opposite emotional effect.
評分準則
Assessed via the Competence Level (CL1-CL5) Reading grid across three strands (Read & Understand/Selection; Develop & Sustain Interpretation; Explain & Evaluate Elements of Writer's Craft), applied comparatively across both extracts. Indicative bands (32 marks total): CL1 (1-6) — minimal, unsupported comment on one extract only, no real comparison; CL2 (7-13) — basic identification of atmosphere in each extract (e.g. 'scary' vs 'peaceful') with little explanation or comparison; CL3 (14-19) — accurate identification of technique in both extracts (e.g. imagery, sentence length) with some explanation and a basic comparison, supported by quotation from both texts; CL4 (20-26) — clear, developed comparison of technique and effect across both extracts (imagery, personification, sentence structure, narrative voice), well-selected evidence from both; CL5 (27-32) — sophisticated, precise comparative analysis of a range of techniques across both extracts, fully supported with well-integrated evidence from both texts, and evaluative comment on how effectively contrasting atmospheres are achieved. Response addressing only one extract in any depth: cap at CL2 (max 13 marks).
題目 2 · Analytical Response to Non-fiction Extract Part 1 (Interest / Opening)
15 分
Task 3: Spend 15 minutes on this task. Total 15 marks.
NON-FICTION EXTRACT: 'The Last Corner Shop'
[Opening] The bell above the door still rings the same note it rang twenty years ago, a thin, slightly cracked chime that used to mean my grandmother had ten pence for me if I'd been good and nothing at all if I hadn't. I have to duck now to get through the doorway, which I do not remember doing as a child, and the smell — a peculiar mix of newsprint, boiled sweets and something faintly like paraffin — hits me before my eyes have adjusted to the gloom. Nothing, it seems, has moved in two decades. Everything else on this street has.
[Development of viewpoint] I counted on my way here: four shopfronts on this row are empty, their windows papered over or, worse, left bare and grimy, and a fifth has become a vape shop with a neon sign that hums audibly even in daylight. The bakery where my mother bought bread every Friday for thirty years closed in March; a delivery app's dark kitchen, all shutters and no window display at all, has taken its place, serving a menu no one on this street can walk in and browse. I do not think this change is simply sad, in the vague, nostalgic way people mean when they say a place 'isn't what it was'. I think something more specific and more troubling is happening: a high street built around chance encounters, around shopkeepers who knew your name and your usual order, is being replaced by a high street built around nobody knowing anybody at all.
[Further development] Mr Devine, who has run this shop since before I was born, does not share my gloom, or at least not entirely. 'People still need somewhere to stand and talk for two minutes,' he told me, ringing up a bag of sugar and a newspaper for the only other customer in the shop, a woman he greeted by name before she had said a word. 'The big shops don't do standing and talking. They do queuing.' I am not sure he is wrong, exactly, but I am not sure two minutes of conversation over a counter is enough to hold a street together on its own, not when everything around that counter keeps closing.
[Conclusion] I bought a newspaper I did not especially want, mostly so the bell would ring twice more before I left, once for me and once, I suppose, for the version of this street I am trying not to admit I have already lost.
Explain how the writer has presented the corner shop in the opening paragraph in a way that engages readers' interest. Support your comments with evidence.
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解題
The writer engages readers' interest in the opening paragraph through vivid, specific sensory detail and personal anecdote. The extract opens with precise auditory and olfactory imagery — 'a thin, slightly cracked chime' and 'a peculiar mix of newsprint, boiled sweets and something faintly like paraffin' — which immerses the reader immediately in the physical, sensory experience of the shop rather than simply describing it in general terms, making the memory feel authentic and specific rather than generic nostalgia. The writer also uses personal anecdote to draw the reader in emotionally: the detail about a grandmother giving 'ten pence for me if I'd been good' is a small, concrete, relatable childhood memory that many readers can connect to their own experience, establishing an intimate, confiding tone from the very first lines. The physical detail that the writer now has 'to duck now to get through the doorway, which I do not remember doing as a child' is an effective, understated way of conveying the passage of time without simply stating 'I have grown up' or 'many years have passed' — it shows this through a small, physical, believable observation instead. Finally, the paragraph ends with a short, pointed contrast: 'Nothing, it seems, has moved in two decades. Everything else on this street has.' The stark juxtaposition of these two short sentences, and the deliberate repetition of structure between them, creates a sense of intrigue and raises an implicit question for the reader — what has changed, and why? — which draws the reader forward into the rest of the extract to find out. Answer: interest is engaged through vivid sensory imagery, a relatable personal anecdote, an understated physical detail conveying time's passing (ducking through the doorway), and a pointed, contrastive closing statement that creates intrigue — all evidenced above.
評分準則
Assessed via the Competence Level (CL1-CL5) Reading grid across three strands (Read & Understand/Selection; Develop & Sustain Interpretation; Explain & Evaluate Elements of Writer's Craft), focused on the opening paragraph. Indicative bands (15 marks total): CL1 (1-3) — minimal, unsupported comment; CL2 (4-6) — basic identification of a technique (e.g. 'sensory description') with little explanation; CL3 (7-9) — accurate identification of two or more techniques (e.g. sensory imagery, anecdote) with some explanation of effect, supported by quotation; CL4 (10-12) — clear, developed explanation of several techniques (imagery, anecdote, understated physical detail, contrastive ending) with well-selected evidence; CL5 (13-15) — sophisticated, precise analysis of a range of techniques, fully supported with well-integrated evidence and evaluative comment on how effectively interest is engaged from the very opening of the extract.
題目 3 · Analytical Response to Non-fiction Extract Part 2 (Viewpoint / Development)
15 分
Task 4: Spend 15 minutes on this task. Total 15 marks.
NON-FICTION EXTRACT: 'The Last Corner Shop'
[Opening] The bell above the door still rings the same note it rang twenty years ago, a thin, slightly cracked chime that used to mean my grandmother had ten pence for me if I'd been good and nothing at all if I hadn't. I have to duck now to get through the doorway, which I do not remember doing as a child, and the smell — a peculiar mix of newsprint, boiled sweets and something faintly like paraffin — hits me before my eyes have adjusted to the gloom. Nothing, it seems, has moved in two decades. Everything else on this street has.
[Development of viewpoint] I counted on my way here: four shopfronts on this row are empty, their windows papered over or, worse, left bare and grimy, and a fifth has become a vape shop with a neon sign that hums audibly even in daylight. The bakery where my mother bought bread every Friday for thirty years closed in March; a delivery app's dark kitchen, all shutters and no window display at all, has taken its place, serving a menu no one on this street can walk in and browse. I do not think this change is simply sad, in the vague, nostalgic way people mean when they say a place 'isn't what it was'. I think something more specific and more troubling is happening: a high street built around chance encounters, around shopkeepers who knew your name and your usual order, is being replaced by a high street built around nobody knowing anybody at all.
[Further development] Mr Devine, who has run this shop since before I was born, does not share my gloom, or at least not entirely. 'People still need somewhere to stand and talk for two minutes,' he told me, ringing up a bag of sugar and a newspaper for the only other customer in the shop, a woman he greeted by name before she had said a word. 'The big shops don't do standing and talking. They do queuing.' I am not sure he is wrong, exactly, but I am not sure two minutes of conversation over a counter is enough to hold a street together on its own, not when everything around that counter keeps closing.
[Conclusion] I bought a newspaper I did not especially want, mostly so the bell would ring twice more before I left, once for me and once, I suppose, for the version of this street I am trying not to admit I have already lost.
Explain how the writer's viewpoint about the changing high street develops across the rest of the extract, after the opening paragraph. Support your comments with evidence.
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解題
The writer's viewpoint develops from specific observation into a more analytical, then complicated, and finally personal and unresolved position. In the second paragraph, the viewpoint moves beyond the opening's nostalgic tone into concrete, quantified evidence: 'four shopfronts on this row are empty' and the bakery's replacement by 'a delivery app's dark kitchen, all shutters and no window display at all' are specific, factual observations that give the writer's concern evidential weight rather than vague sentiment. The writer then explicitly refines and sharpens her own viewpoint, rejecting a simpler reading of the situation: 'I do not think this change is simply sad, in the vague, nostalgic way people mean... I think something more specific and more troubling is happening' — this direct address to the reader's likely assumption, followed by correction, makes the writer's argument feel more precise and considered, identifying the loss of 'chance encounters' and shopkeepers who 'knew your name' as the real issue, rather than sentimental attachment to the past for its own sake. The introduction of Mr Devine's quoted, more optimistic view — 'People still need somewhere to stand and talk for two minutes... The big shops don't do standing and talking. They do queuing' — complicates the writer's argument rather than simply supporting it, showing balance and a willingness to represent a perspective that partly contradicts her own; however, the writer's careful, qualified response — 'I am not sure he is wrong, exactly, but I am not sure two minutes of conversation... is enough' — shows her viewpoint has been nuanced, not abandoned, by this counter-evidence. Finally, the extract's conclusion moves from analysis into personal, emotional admission: the final image of buying an unwanted newspaper 'so the bell would ring twice more... once, I suppose, for the version of this street I am trying not to admit I have already lost' reveals that beneath the writer's analytical argument lies a specific, personal grief, leaving the extract's viewpoint on an unresolved, reflective note rather than a confident final judgement. Answer: the viewpoint develops from concrete evidence of decline, to a sharpened, specific argument about lost community connection, through a complicating counter-voice (Mr Devine) that the writer engages with rather than dismisses, to a final, personal and unresolved admission of loss — all evidenced above.
評分準則
Assessed via the Competence Level (CL1-CL5) Reading grid across three strands (Read & Understand/Selection; Develop & Sustain Interpretation; Explain & Evaluate Elements of Writer's Craft), focused on the development of viewpoint across the remainder of the extract. Indicative bands (15 marks total): CL1 (1-3) — minimal, unsupported comment on viewpoint; CL2 (4-6) — basic identification that the writer is 'sad' or 'worried' about change, little tracing of development; CL3 (7-9) — accurate identification of a shift or development in the writer's view with some explanation, supported by quotation; CL4 (10-12) — clear, developed tracing of how the viewpoint develops (evidence, refined argument, counter-voice) with well-selected evidence; CL5 (13-15) — sophisticated, precise tracing of the full development of viewpoint across the extract (from evidence, to sharpened argument, to complication via Mr Devine, to personal/emotional conclusion), fully supported with well-integrated evidence and evaluative comment.
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