Name:
ENGLISH GCSE

REVISION BOOKLET

SECTION A: READING

In the reading paper there are FOUR questions. Each question tests a different skill. Knowing the style of questions and the skills you are being tested on will help you score as many marks as possible.

Use these skill summaries and revision sheets so you understand exactly how to approach each question!

QUESTION 1: This question tests your ability to RETRIEVE RELEVENT INFORMATION and to present it in a WELL STRUCTURED answer
8 marks
Aim to spend about 13 MINUTES answering this question

Skill summary: INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

  • In question 1 you have to FIND the relevant INFORMATION to answer the question
  • This question is worth 8 marks
  • This answer must be written in your OWN WORDS and each point you make must be supported with a SHORT QUOTE
  • You must be sure to include only information that is relevant to the question so read the question carefully
  • Make sure you select information from the whole text rather than just from the beginning
  • The way you structure your answer is important so make sure you indicate where in the text the information comes from and use connectives to link your points together into a well structured paragraph

SAMPLE QUESTION AND ANSWER:

FROM: JANUARY 2011 AQA HIGHER PAPER – this can be found on the AQA website

Question 1:

What do you learn from Elizabeth Hyde’s article about where she has been and what she has been doing? (8 marks)

We learn that Elizabeth Hyde and her family have been on a very challenging but exciting “225 mile trip down the Colorado river” which was very well planned and organised by “an army of guides” who had brought “masses of gear”.

The holiday was completely focussed on river rafting with no time for other activities as they were “on the water for 5 – 8 hours a day” and when they weren’t actually on the water they only had time to do the basic essentials such as “eating sleeping and bathing”.

Even though the holiday was very challenging, Elizabeth loved it and had an exciting, fun, magical experience which she describes as “Disney-like” although it was also action packed and actually quite frightening at times, being compared to a “white knuckle roller coaster ride”.

As well as the excitement and adventure, Elizabeth was also amazed by the stunning scenery which was “spectacular” and the “great views” and we can see that she enjoyed her experience so much that she would like to do it again, even claiming that the experience left her wanting to “run away and become a river guide”.

PRACTICE TEXTS AND QUESTIONS

Gourmet horse riding in Andalucía

Andalucía in southern Spain is as famed for its robust cuisine as its rugged horse riding trails. This new holiday combines galloping off into the mountains with eating fantastic local food

Guide Karen leads a group of riders up a hillside trail in Andalucía. Photograph: Neil Armstrong

The Serranía de Ronda is horse country. This mountainous region in southern Andalucía is just an hour north of the Costa del Sol, but a world away from its high-rise hotels. It is an unspoilt land of pueblosblancos (white villages), where every family keeps a horse in the garden, riding is a way of life and festivals are centred on displays of equestrian skill. A fitting place, in short, for a riding holiday.

Andalucía is also known for its cuisine, notably gazpacho, jamónibérico, fried fish and, of course, sherry. I was there to experience a new holiday, Gallops for Gourmets, that combines the twin pleasures of riding and food. The trip was based at El Nobo, a stunning Moorish-style cortijo (country estate) in Gaucín, one of the white villages. I had La Bumba all to myself – a little stone cottage perched on the edge of the mountain with views stretching all the way to Gibraltar and, on a clear day, to the Atlas mountains and Africa.

We spent four days out of seven on horseback. My mount was Nube, a beautiful dun-coloured mare who liked to be neck reined; that is, ridden western-style with the reins loose in one hand. For someone accustomed to the more uptight English style, it took some getting used to. But some constructive criticism from my guide, Karen, helped me to get the hang of it eventually. At best, I felt like a cowgirl, galloping after baddies along the old smugglers' trails. In the 19th century they were used to transport contraband brandy and tobacco – now we were in pursuit of some highly prized produce of our own.

We rode out to small farmers dotted around the mountains, who produce some of Andalucía's finest ingredients. Karen is English but has lived in Andalucía for several years, and has befriended every horseman, muleteer and shepherd in the area. Local landowners have given her permission to ride through their property, so she is able to lead her groups to places where no other visitor can go and food producers no one else has access to. She knows the terrain inside out, and frequently plunged down what looked like a sheer mountain drop but turned out to be a wild pig or goat track. This made for nerve-racking but exhilarating riding.

The first producer we visited was a beekeeper, who showed us his hives and gave us gifts of rich, dark honey, fragrant with wildflowers. Later, we ate it drizzled over fried aubergines. Another day we rode through cork oak forests, where the trees' bark was peeled back as if they were slipping off a coat – a hallmark of the still-thriving cork industry. When the rains come, pigs are released to eat the acorns, which contribute to the delicate flavour of ibéricoham. Riders often catch a glimpse of the pigs, but the rains were late this year. We picnicked on a ledge overlooking the valley, listening to the tinkling of cowbells and feasting on goat's cheese and chorizo, chilled fino and refreshing tinto de verano(red wine and lemonade).

We visited Paco and Paca, a wonderful couple whose tiny farmstead housed a traditional bread oven, once used by the entire village. We baked some bread too, and ate it with a stew of pigs' cheeks.

Usually, we arrived back at El Nobo in the early afternoon, when I would spend the hours before dinner sunbathing and reading on my wraparound terrace, sipping homemade lemonade and occasionally cooling off in my plunge pool (the October sun was fiercely hot), or in the infinity pool in the terraced gardens, among citrus trees and bright flowers. The sound of the horses grazing beyond the screen of olive trees was soothing, and most evenings I lingered there until the sun dropped behind the peaks.

  1. What do we learn from this article about where Rachel Dixon has been and what she has been doing? (8 marks)

When I read the information that has been underlined and printed in bold, it all adds up to give the impression of a very enjoyable holiday, in a beautiful place, eating delicious food. I want to make sure I convey that idea in my answer.

Also, when I write my answer, I am going to deal with the information in the order it happened in – starting at the beginning and working my way through to the end – rather than writing about the place first and the activities second.

TRY IT YOURSELF BEFORE COMPARING YOUR ANSWER TO THE MODEL ANSWER ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE:

MODEL ANSWER

Rachel Dixon has been on a holiday in the ‘Serrania de ‘Ronda’ which is a beautiful, rural area of ‘unspoilt land’ in ‘southern Spain’. The holiday is special because it combines horse riding with eating and enjoying delicious food as the area is ‘known for its cuisine’.

In the second paragraph she points out that this was a ‘new holiday, Gallops for Gourmets’ and she was able to enjoy staying in beautiful accommodation with wonderful views as her ‘stone cottage’ was ‘perched on the edge of a mountain’.

The holiday included lots of horse riding as we can see in paragraph three when she explain they ‘spent four out of seven days on horseback’ and we also learn that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the Spanish style of riding which ‘took some getting used to’.

They spent the time riding out to different farms in the area and, on each farm, trying different local foods such as ‘dark honey’ which they ate ‘drizzled over aubergines’ as well as baking bread which they ‘ate with a stew of pig’s cheeks’.

The riding wasn’t always easy but it was very exciting as they ‘frequently plunged down a sheer mountain drop’ but there was also time to relax and unwind as she was able to spend time ‘sunbathing and reading’ or ‘cooling off in my plunge pool’.

Although there was a lot of information that I initially underlined or highlighted that was relevant to the answer, I haven’t included all of it.

That’s because my answer provides a detailed and accurate summary of where she went (a beautiful, natural part of Spain) and what she did (rode horses, ate great food and relaxed) without missing out anything significant. Anyone who hadn’t read the actual article would still know exactly what it was about because all relevant details are covered.

Park life: the wildlife of Britain's cities

Far from destroying the British love of nature, our cities have become urban oases for wildlife

An urban fox in a town garden Photograph: Alamy

Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, the British are more obsessed with nature and wildlife than any other nation on earth. Television programmes such as Springwatch have legions of loyal fans; the RSPB has more than one million members, while almost as many have joined their local wildlife trust; two out of three of us feed birds in our gardens.

And yet this national passion for wildlife is a very modern phenomenon. Its origins lie in a major change that occurred in British society around two centuries ago: the shift from a mainly rural society to a predominantly urban one, a change that at the time threatened to destroy our passion for nature altogether.

Until 1800, as many as three in four Britons lived in the countryside. A lucky few were rich landowners, living a life of leisure, but the vast majority were poor, and spent most of their waking hours working the land. If they thought about wildlife at all, it was probably with a very practical approach: was a particular creature dangerous, or simply good to eat? They certainly had little time for the appreciation of nature we take for granted today.

The industrial revolution changed our relationship with the natural world forever. Within a couple of generations, our ancestors moved lock, stock and barrel from the countryside into towns and cities. By the end of the 19th century, almost four out of five Britons lived in urban areas.

But they didn't forget their rural heritage. Indeed, Victorian Britons soon began to hanker after the life they had left behind. Excursions into the countryside, first by railway and later by road, became a regular part of people's lives. Societies such as the London Natural History Society, founded in 1858, and the West of Scotland Ramblers' Alliance, created in 1892, were formed to enable men and women to enjoy days out in the hills, woods and fields of rural Britain. By the beginning of the 20th century, an increase in mobility and leisure time saw a surge of interest in outdoor hobbies such as rambling and birdwatching; pastimes that would see an even more rapid growth after the second world war.

Yet, for many people, the occasional visit to the countryside was not enough; they also wanted to bring nature into their daily lives. Town and city parks were created, where on summer evenings and weekends they could enjoy a breath of fresh air in a green space. Later, towards the end of the 19th century and during the early years of the 20th, the demand for private green spaces created a growing network of urban gardens. As time went on and Britons became more prosperous, they sought to attract wildlife to those gardens by providing food, water, and places to nest. In doing so, urban dwellers were creating a vital refuge for the wildlife itself.

These places – many of them in the heart of our towns and cities – provide a vital oasis for Britain's wild creatures, a haven as important as anywhere in the British Isles for supporting a diverse range of plants and animals. Perhaps because of the wide range of wildlife found in our urban areas, and the frequency with which we encounter these city creatures, urban Britons are just as connected to nature as – arguably sometimes more so than – their rural neighbours. The countryside and those who live there no longer have a monopoly onnature.

Two hundred years after the greatest change in British society, landscape and nature began, we and the wildlife are together again. Yet this is not in some bucolic, rural idyll, but in the heart of our biggest and busiest cities. These are the places where Britain's wild creatures can still be seen, loved and appreciated in all their beauty, diversity and wonder.

  1. What do we learn from this article about the way British people feel about nature and how this has changed over the years? (8 marks)

QUESTION 2: PRESENTATION
8 MARKS
SPEND AROUND 13 MINUTES ON THIS QUESTION

Skill summary: PRESENTATION

  • This question usually asks you to comment on the picture and the heading but may also ask about other presentational features such as text boxes, underlining, colour and so forth
  • You need to pick out SPECIFIC details about the heading or picture – it’s not good enough just to say ‘it catches your eye’ or ‘it stands out’ – you must explain why
  • When analysing the heading look for interesting or important information as well as language techniques that have been used
  • Remember to link anything you say to the EFFECT it has – what does it make the reader think, feel or do? How does it help the text to achieve its purpose?
  • It’s very difficult to answer this question confidently if you haven’t identified the PURPOSE of the text first

Question 2:

Explain how the heading, sub-headline and picture are effective and how they link with the text (8 marks)

The headline is effective because it both informs and intrigues the reader, encouraging them to read the article. By suggesting that a ‘fearsome’ dinosaur ‘died of a sore throat’ the headline surprises and amuses the reader as this doesn’t seem very likely or even possible and the reader will be encouraged to read the article to find out how it happened.

The subheading is effective as it helps to clarify the heading by mentioning that a ‘parasite’ was involved but also by informing the readers that this information is the result of a ‘new study’ which implies something that was previously unknown and therefore encouraging the reader to read the article in order to understand what this new information reveals.

The size and angle of the picture make it effective – and link it to the heading – as it shows an enormous and ‘fearsome’ looking dinosaur skeleton towering over the people below. Using this picture reinforces the sense of disbelief that such a powerful and frightening creature could be killed by something as silly as a ‘sore throat’.

Linking this spectacular creature to a disease which affects pigeons increases the reader’s interest and links to the text which reveals in the final paragraph that a parasite could have ‘made it increasingly difficult to swallow’ and that ‘Sue may eventually have starved to death’ at which point we finally understand how it was possible.

Are You Fit for Adventure? Three SimpleWorkouts to do Anywhere

Ned Feehally, one of Britain's top boulderers holds a swing on a difficult testpiece in Snowdonia National Park, Wales.

We adventurers often daydream of climbing rugged peaks, swimming in pristine high alpine lakes, traversing across blue-green glaciers, or trekking along rugged ridgelines with dramatic views… while we’re sitting at our desk eating donuts. Do you feel like reaching for your next adventure is just making your arms sore?

We’re working with renowned climber and adventure fitness guru Steve Bechtel of Climb Strong to develop a fitness regimen that can get even the couch potatoes among us ready to climb the highest peak in North America in one year. These workouts are being formulated for members of Expedition Denali specifically to train for climbing Denali in 2013, but if you want to follow along with the team you should start now with the following simple exercises.

No gym? No excuse. No weights? No worries. You can do these exercises in your birthday suit on your kitchen floor (although that is not recommended).

Start by gauging your base level fitness with the three tests below, and focus on achieving the listed benchmarks in about a month.

The 3-Minute Step Test
Use this test to assess both recovery ability and muscular endurance in the legs. You’ll need a stopwatch, a 12-inch box, and a metronome. (Don’t have a metronome? Find one online or download one of several apps.) The idea is to step on and off the box, switching legs each step and keeping a regular pace for the entire three minutes. You’ll want to record your beginning heart rate, the total number of steps, and your heart rate one minute after the end of the test.