GE.L-P1 Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

AQA 8700 · Calculators not allowed · about 105 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Read Source A, then answer all questions. Section A (Reading): 40 marks, about 45 minutes. Section B (Writing): 40 marks, about 45 minutes. Continue your longer answers on lined paper.

Source A: The Tideline

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). This extract is from the opening of a story. A teenager, Maren, has returned alone to a coastal house that her family used to visit.

The gate had rusted to the colour of dried blood, and it screamed when Maren pushed it. She had forgotten that sound. She had forgotten, too, how the house leaned into the wind as though it were listening for something out at sea.

Nothing had changed and everything had changed. The paint still peeled from the door in long grey curls, but the curls were longer now, and a fern had unrolled itself in the gutter where no fern had any business growing. Maren stood on the path and counted the windows, the way she had counted them when she was six: one, two, three, and the small dark one at the top that had always been hers.

The key was where it had always been, under the third flowerpot, furred with green. It turned stiffly. Inside, the air was thick and still, and it smelled of salt and old paper and something underneath that she did not want to name. Dust lay over the furniture like the first fall of snow, unbroken, undisturbed. No one had been here in a long time. No one but her, now.

She walked from room to room and the floorboards spoke to her in their old language, each creak a word she half remembered. In the kitchen a single cup sat on the table, exactly where someone had left it, waiting. She did not touch it. Through the window the sea was a flat grey line, and the tide was out, further out than she had ever seen it, so that the beach stretched on and on into the mist, wet and shining and empty.

Maren pressed her hand to the cold glass. Somewhere in the house, above her or behind her, a door closed softly, and she told herself it was the wind.

Read again the first part of the Source, the first two paragraphs (from 'The gate had rusted' to 'always been hers'). List four things from this part of the text about the house.

(Total for Question 1 is 4 marks)

Look in detail at the third paragraph (from 'The key was where it had always been' to 'No one but her, now'). How does the writer use language here to create a sense that the house has been abandoned? You could include the writer's choice of words and phrases, language features and techniques, and sentence forms.

(Total for Question 2 is 8 marks)

You now need to think about the whole of the Source. This text is from the opening of a story. How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? You could write about what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning, how and why the focus changes, and any other structural features.

(Total for Question 3 is 8 marks)

Focus this part of your answer on the second half of the Source, from 'She walked from room to room' to the end. A student said: 'This part of the story, where Maren explores the house, makes the ending genuinely unsettling. The writer makes you feel that Maren is not really alone.' To what extent do you agree? In your response you should consider your own impressions, evaluate how the writer creates these impressions, and support your response with references to the text.

(Total for Question 4 is 20 marks)

Section B: Writing. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this question. Write in full sentences. You are reminded of the need to plan your answer. You should leave enough time to check your work at the end. (24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy.)

Either: Write a description of an abandoned place as suggested by this scene. Or: Write the opening part of a story about returning somewhere after a long time away.

(Total for Question 5 is 40 marks)

Mark scheme · GE.L-P1 Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

Question 1

B1 one acceptable point about the house, e.g. the gate has rusted / is the colour of dried blood
B1 a second point, e.g. the house leans into the wind
B1 a third point, e.g. the paint peels from the door in grey curls
B1 a fourth point, e.g. a fern is growing in the gutter / it has a small dark window at the top
Answer: Any four: rusted gate; house leans into the wind; peeling grey paint; fern in the gutter; small dark top window; the path/flowerpots.

Question 2

Level 4 (7-8): Detailed and perceptive analysis of language: analyses the effects of the writer's choices; selects a judicious range of textual detail; makes sophisticated and accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 3 (5-6): Clear, relevant explanation of language: explains clearly the effects of the writer's choices; selects a range of relevant detail; makes clear and accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 2 (3-4): Some understanding and comment: attempts to comment on the effect of language; selects some appropriate detail; makes some use of subject terminology, not always appropriately.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment: offers simple comment on the effect of language; selects simple references; makes simple or no use of subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- 'furred with green' on the key suggests long neglect through the metaphor of growth/decay.
- The simile 'Dust lay over the furniture like the first fall of snow' conveys stillness and an untouched, frozen quality.
- 'unbroken, undisturbed' - the pair of past participles reinforces that nothing has been moved.
- The short, blunt sentences 'No one had been here in a long time. No one but her, now.' create finality and isolation.
- Sensory language ('smelled of salt and old paper') builds a neglected, decaying atmosphere.
- 'something underneath that she did not want to name' withholds detail to unsettle the reader.

Question 3

Level 4 (7-8): Detailed and perceptive analysis of structure: analyses the effects of structural choices; selects a judicious range of examples; sophisticated and accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 3 (5-6): Clear, relevant explanation of structure: explains clearly the effects of structural choices; selects a range of relevant examples; clear and accurate subject terminology.
Level 2 (3-4): Some understanding and comment on structure: some appropriate examples; some use of subject terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment on structure: simple references; simple or no subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- Opens with a single sharp sensory detail (the gate's scream) to hook the reader before widening out.
- Zooms from outside (gate, house exterior) to inside (rooms, kitchen), mirroring Maren's journey in.
- The motif of counting windows links her childhood past to the present, shifting the time focus.
- Focus narrows to a single object (the cup 'waiting') to build unease, then pulls back to the wide empty beach.
- Ends on an unresolved sound (the door closing) - a structural cliffhanger that reframes everything before it.
- Repeated contrasts ('Nothing had changed and everything had changed') structure the whole extract around tension.

Question 4

Level 4 (16-20): Perceptive and detailed evaluation: evaluates critically and in detail the effect(s) on the reader; shows perceptive understanding of writer's methods; selects a judicious range of examples; develops a convincing and critical response to the statement.
Level 3 (11-15): Clear and relevant evaluation: evaluates clearly the effect(s) on the reader; shows clear understanding of writer's methods; selects a range of relevant textual references; makes a clear and relevant response to the statement.
Level 2 (6-10): Some evaluation: makes some evaluative comment on effect(s); shows some understanding of writer's methods; selects some appropriate references; makes some response to the statement.
Level 1 (1-5): Simple, limited evaluation: simple comment on effect(s); limited understanding of method; simple references; simple response to the statement.
Indicative content:
- Agree: the personification of the floorboards speaking 'in their old language' suggests the house itself is alive/aware.
- Agree: the cup left 'waiting' implies a recent, unseen presence, undercutting the idea that she is alone.
- Agree: the final soft door and 'she told herself it was the wind' invites doubt - the reassurance rings hollow.
- Agree: the abnormally far-out tide and the mist create a threshold/liminal atmosphere that heightens unease.
- Partial disagreement: much is left ambiguous; a reader could argue the unease is Maren's grief or memory rather than a real presence.
- Evaluation of method: withholding (the thing 'she did not want to name'), sound imagery, and the final unresolved cadence work together to unsettle.
- A convincing response weighs how far the evidence supports 'not really alone' versus a psychological reading, reaching a judgement.

Question 5

Content and organisation (AO5, 24 marks)
- Level 4 (19-24): Compelling, convincing communication; extensive and ambitious vocabulary with sustained crafting of linguistic devices; varied and inventive structural features; writing is compelling with a range of convincing and complex ideas; fluently linked paragraphs with seamless discourse markers.
- Level 3 (13-18): Clear, consistent communication; increasingly sophisticated vocabulary and some crafted linguistic devices; effective use of structural features; engaging with a range of clear connected ideas; coherent paragraphs with integrated discourse markers.
- Level 2 (7-12): Some successful communication; conscious/begins to vary vocabulary with some linguistic devices; some structural features; some clear ideas; some use of paragraphs and discourse markers.
- Level 1 (1-6): Simple, limited communication; simple vocabulary and limited devices; evidence of simple structure; one or two relevant ideas simply linked; random or no paragraphing.
Technical accuracy (AO6, 16 marks)
- Level 4 (13-16): Sentence demarcation consistently secure; wide range of punctuation used with high accuracy; full range of sentence forms for effect; secure Standard English with controlled grammar; high level of accuracy in spelling including ambitious vocabulary; extensive and ambitious use of vocabulary.
- Level 3 (9-12): Sentence demarcation mostly secure; range of punctuation used, mostly with success; varied sentence forms for effect; mostly controlled Standard English; generally accurate spelling including complex words; increasingly sophisticated vocabulary.
- Level 2 (5-8): Sentence demarcation mostly secure and sometimes accurate; some control of a range of punctuation; attempts a variety of sentence forms; some use of Standard English; some accurate spelling of more complex words; varied vocabulary.
- Level 1 (1-4): Occasional sentence demarcation; some evidence of conscious punctuation; simple range of sentence forms; occasional Standard English; accurate basic spelling; simple vocabulary.

Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing - Worksheets, Questions and Revision