Presentational Features

In your exam you will be asked to write about presentational features. If you are doing English language and literature this will be for Q2 and will ask you to link headline and photo to the text. If you are sitting English only (and you didn't sit any literature exams) you will compare presentational features in two texts.

The very worst answer as to why that feature is used is always 'to attract the reader's attention'. Well, of course it is. This is so obvious that it needs explaining to show you understand the feature: 'to bring the reader's attention to the important theme in the headline regarding X which is the main focus of the story, as shown by the quote "x..." is far better for Q2 on Lang/Lit. If you are going to write about the reader's attention be specific and explain in detail.

Headlines.
These are important and in Q2 they need to be linked to the text. Headlines are not just there 'to tell the reader what the article is about'. In fact, most headlines don't do that: they may startle the reader ('Horror Crash') or amuse the reader ('Slimezilla!').

Headlines tend to use set formulae, use this as a mental checklist -

Puns? Is there a play on words like 'Slimezilla!' in January's exam which was appropriate as the article was about monster jellyfish in Japan and Godzilla was a Japanese monster. Oh, and jellyfish are slimy.

Alliteration - there is often an alliterative aspect to a headline which highlights the key words or concepts. Think about the sounds alliteration makes - S sounds (sibilance) can be sinister and suspicious (see?): f sounds angry as are plosives such as 'b' or 'p' - or plosives can also be excitable.

Important Colons: leading to more detail. Many headlines have two words, then a colon, then subsidiary detail about the story. The central message of the article is summarised in the first two words and then developed further after the colon. Check your article and find quotes that prove this.

Pictures: the picture is not there 'to show the reader more about the story', this is not an analytical answer. Picture editors at newspapers choose and photoshop images to give certain messages. You need to read the article and work out what that message is.

Colour: what are the connotations of the colours in that image? Blue can be linked with depression or sadness, but also professionalism, or hope (blue skies). Think about the tone of the article and how the colour choice supports it.

Facial expression / shot type: one of the most obvious things to write about, but also the hardest, is facial expression. As a human you are brilliant at reading the message that other people's facial expressions are giving you. Transfer this skill to the article. What emotion or thought is that face having? How can you link it to the article? Is there eye contact between the person in the picture and the reader to create a sense of relationship or empathy?

What about the background? The setting is vital. How is it shot? What can we see and what messages are there? Link this to the text clearly.

For A/A* - could we see the picture as metaphorical? Is there something there that could be far more symbolic of the entire tone or message of the article?

For English only: what about slogans or logos? Text boxes? Fonts?

For English Language and Literature only: you are linking the headline to the text and the picture to the text. DO NOT LINK THE HEADLINE TO THE PICTURE UNLESS ASKED TO. To do this you need to find quotes in the text and ask yourself how the central message or argument in that text is reflected in the picture or headline. In 12 minutes.
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How to revise English Language

You can't revise English Language? Of course you can Y11

There are these infographics on A/A*

The wonderful Mr Barton's A and C revision materials can all be found here

BBC Bitesize is always an excellent resource

Wildern English for English and English Language revision

Then there is Cherwell Online's revision channel

Or the internet sensation that is Mr Bruff

There is also your exercise book, your revision guides and a whole world of quality reading on websites such as The Guardian, The Independent and the BBC - you ought to read non-fiction texts to get ready for your exam on Tuesday.

Section B - Writing - GCSE English Language Higher

Section B:writing 

• Section B of the non-fiction texts GCSE English Paper requires you to produce two writing tasks. 
• The first is likely to ask you to inform, explain or describe (or a combination) and will be a 16 mark question to be answered in 25 minutes. 
• The second is more likely to ask you persuade or argue and will be a 24 mark question to be answered in 35 minutes. 
• Both questions will be testing the general quality of your writing, the skills being tested are the following: the way you generate and use ideas, your structure and paragraphing, the variety of your sentences and vocabulary, and the accuracy of your punctuation and spelling. 

Writing to describe and explain markscheme

How to get A/A*

Question 5

Question 6

You should probably always look at Bitesize

English Language GCSE Question 4 - Higher

Q4: how language is used for effect

• 16 marks - 24 minutes 
• find 3 - 4 examples in each source 
• make comparisons: write about language in source X, use a connective, then write about a similar/different use of language in source Y 
• identify vivid language and linguistic techniques 
• make developed inferences / analyses of these quotes. 

What you need to do to do well 
· You have a structured answer that compares throughout

· You have identified similarities in language

· You have identified differences in language

· You have use the words ‘vivid language’

· You have used the words ‘language techniques’

· You have written 3 or 4 clear comparative paragraphs

· You have embedded quotes

· You have explained how language is appropriate to purpose and audience

What targets you may need
· Structure your answer using the model we developed

· Identify similarities in language

· Identify a difference in language

· Use the words ‘vivid language’

· Use the words ‘language technique’

· Write more paragraphs – there should be ¾

· Embed quotes

· Explain how language is appropriate to purpose and audience

· You have ‘technique spotted’ without explaining language.

· You have mentioned purpose & audience without linking to language

How Free Eschool suggest you get A/A*

How a C looks different from an A:

And what the examiner has to say about it:

How the method works:

	Text A	Text B
Compare one similarity linking using the words 'vivid language'
Compare second similarity using the words 'language technique’
Compare a difference showing language is different and linking to purpose & audience
Summarise why language is similar & different

English Language GCSE Question 3 - Higher

Q3: Thoughts and Feelings



1. The thoughts and feelings of the writer, not the reader's response

2. Cover the range of emotions and feelings in the text: not just one.

3. Use embedded quotes and explain in your own words, don't copy out or paraphrase.

4. DO NOT ANALYSE LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES

5. Check the end - is there a twist?

6. 8 marks - 12 minutes.


What you must do to do well 
· You have answered the question

· You have embedded quotes

· You have explained the article in your own words

· You have made 3-4 developed points

· You have not wasted time with an introductory sentence

What you should do to improve
· Read the question carefully and answer it

· Embed quotes / use quotes / use shorter quotes

· Explain in your own words don’t paraphrase or copy

· Make fewer points but develop them further

· Make more points

· Stop writing introductory sentences that will not get a mark

Here's the Free Eschool video on how to achieve A/A* on Question 3

And what the examiner had to say about responses and what they are looking for

This question often asks you to look at the thoughts and feelings of people who have been on amazing adventures such as:

Simon Reeve and the opening of Tropic of Capricorn

Everest Climbers on the physical effect of altitude

Jon Krakauer Into the Wild

And the daddy of travel writing Michael Palin

English Language GCSE Question 2 - Higher

Q2. Linking Presentational techniques to texts


- The question will ask you to link the headline and picture to the text.

- 8 marks so 12 minutes

- you should analyse language features and meaning in the headline and link them to the picture and article

- check carefully: the question is unlikely to ask you to link the headline to the picture

- you should analyse the detail of the picture: connotations, colour, shot type and link to the headline and picture.

What you need to do: 
· You have explained the effect of the headline

· You have explained the effect of the headline being big & bold/pun/alliteration

· You have explained how the picture links to the text

· You have picked details from the picture and linked them to the text

· You have mentioned colour/shot types/connotations

· You have included embedded quotes

What you might need to do to improve
· Explain the EFFECT of the headline

· Explain the effect of the headline being big & bold/pun/alliteration & explain effect

· Explain how the picture links to the text

· Do not link the picture to the headline

· Mention colour/shot types/connotations/more details

· Embed quotes from the article

Here's the Free Eschool channel's video of how to achieve A/A* on question 2

You can revise presentational techniques here (though it is 45 minutes long...)

The best way to do it is to look at some articles and try to link the headline, article and text in no more than 10 minutes.

You could try this article from the Independent about whether we need to take gadgets on holiday

Or this one about hopes that England will deal with football hooliganism

Or this one from the Guardian about poverty and pay day loans

How to get A/A* on the English Language Higher GCSE paper