A2 English Language and Literature Unit 3: Varieties in Language and Literature

Total mark /100 (60% of A2/ 30% of the total GCE) (UMS mark /120) Exam: 2 hours 45 minutes

Section A: /40 Marks ( 40% of exam)

An unprepared prose non-fiction extract - will be drawn from texts from the 18th century to the present day and be related to the topic/theme of Family Relationships. Students will write a critical analysis of the unseen spoken or written extract linked to the chosen topic. They will apply their knowledge and understanding of literary and linguistic concepts. Wider reading for this unit should include examples drawn from a broad range of sources across genres and contexts, for example: reviews, travel writing, diaries, letters, reportage, biography and autobiography, media texts and screen plays, obituaries, court proceedings, political speeches, online newspapers, Prime Ministers Question Time, reality TV, written and video diaries, newspaper features.

The Essay Question: 1. Read the text in the Source Booklet which accompanies your topic title i.e. Family Relationships. Write a critical analysis of the text you have read. You should analyse how effectively the writers or speakers choices of structure, form and language convey attitudes, values and ideas in the writing. In your response, you should demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of literary and linguistic concepts. Assessment objectives AO1 Select and apply a range of linguistic methods to communicate relevant knowledge using appropriate terminology and coherent, accurate written expression Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in
1 weighting

/10

AO2

/30

a range of spoken and written texts.

What you have to do in the exam

1. You will read a non-fiction prose passage you have not seen before. It could be

from a written or a spoken source. It could come from any time between the late 18th century and the present day. Your passage should relate in some way to Family Relationships. It will be one of four texts, with a clear heading at the top of the page. Ignore the other texts completely!
2. You have to identify and comment on the attitudes, values and ideas

expressed by the writer or speaker.

3. You have to analyse the use of structure, form and language and show how

these convey the attitudes, values and ideas of the writer or speaker. 4. You have to express your opinion about how effectively the writer or speaker achieves their purposes in the passage.

Another approach
Some of you may have used Nevilles Three Questions to think about the texts for 1b in the AS Exam, this is a similar task though more complex in terms of the text you will be presented with. It will still prove very helpful, though, to answer the following 3 questions before thinking of other features: 1. Who is the writer/speaker? (Who is creating the language?) 2. What does the writer/speaker want the reader/listener to think, feel or do? 3. In what situation is the reader/listener receiving the text? You will also find it helpful to think about Nevilles Supplementary Question: 4. Is there anything significant about the way that this text has reached its reader or listener that effects the form, structure and language used? And finally: although Family Relationships is the key term in the exam boards description of the texts, the attitudes, values and ideas explored may come from a range of other topic areas, and be only obliquely related to families. Explore them anyway!
2

Assessment Objectives