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KS3 · English Language - Reading (Fiction) and Language

KS3.E1 Reading: Fiction and Language

AQA KS3 (no formal spec code; styled on AQA GCSE English Language 8700 assessment objectives) · Calculators not allowed · about 100 minutes

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Read the source text 'The Crossing' carefully, then answer all questions. AO1/AO2 short-answer and levels-marked reading questions come first, followed by an AO4 evaluation question and an AO5/AO6 descriptive writing task. Use full sentences for all levels-marked answers and support your points with evidence from the text.

Source: The Crossing

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). All characters and events are fictitious. The narrator is describing a visit to a tidal causeway island on the north east coast of England.

I had been told the sands were safe for two hours after the boards went up at the harbour, and I believed it the way you believe anything printed on a laminated sign. The causeway to the island unrolled ahead of me, pale and ribbed like the skeleton of some enormous fish, and gulls stood along it at intervals, watching me with the flat, unimpressed patience of creatures who had seen a hundred tourists misjudge the tide.

My boots made a wet, sucking sound with every step. Somewhere behind the dunes a bell buoy clanged, off rhythm, as though the sea itself could not decide what time it was. I had left the museum on the island later than planned, distracted by a case of drowned sailors' letters, and now the light was doing that thing it does in October: thinning fast, then all at once, like a held breath finally let go.

Halfway across, I stopped. The water that had been a mild grey ribbon along the causeway's eastern edge had crept, quietly and without any fuss, onto the road itself. It slid over my boots in a thin, cold sheet before I had even decided to be afraid.

I have read that the tide here does not creep in from the front, the way you would expect, like an army advancing in a straight line. It comes from behind and beside, filling the low ground first, so that a person can be standing on dry sand and find themselves, in the space of a held breath, on an island the size of a car.

I ran. Not sensibly, not in a straight line, but towards the refuge box bolted to its stilts a hundred metres ahead, the one I had read about and privately thought I would never need. My bag banged against my hip. The gulls lifted off the causeway in a single irritated flock, as though my panic were the only genuinely stupid thing they had witnessed all week.

The ladder was colder than the water. I climbed it anyway, and from the small wooden platform at the top I watched the causeway disappear, first the white line down its centre, then the verges, then the road itself, until there was nothing beneath me but a grey, moving field where a path had been twenty minutes before.

A fishing boat's light passed far out, patient and small. I texted my sister, my hands clumsy with cold: Stuck on the refuge. Tide's in. Fine, though. Do not tell Mum. Then I sat down on the platform, pulled my knees to my chest, and waited for the sea to decide when it would let me go home.

Read again the first paragraph of the source (from 'I had been told the sands were safe' to 'misjudge the tide'). List four things the paragraph tells you about the narrator's situation.

(4)

Look at the description of the gulls in paragraph 1: 'watching me with the flat, unimpressed patience of creatures who had seen a hundred tourists misjudge the tide'. Which word most strongly shows that the gulls were not worried by the narrator's presence?

A) flat
B) unimpressed
C) patience
D) tourists

In paragraph 2, the light is described as 'thinning fast, then all at once, like a held breath finally let go'. What does the phrase 'held breath' suggest about the way the light changes?

A) The light changes gradually and predictably, with no sense of build-up
B) The light changes suddenly, after a period of tension or waiting
C) The narrator is literally struggling to breathe in the cold air
D) The light stays calm and steady throughout the paragraph

Decide whether each statement about the source is True or False.

(a)The narrator had been told the causeway was safe for two hours after the tide boards went up.(1)

True
False

(b)The narrator ran in a straight line towards the refuge box.(1)

True
False

(c)The gulls flew away calmly when the narrator began to run.(1)

True
False

(d)The narrator texted her sister after climbing onto the refuge platform.(1)

True
False

Give one quotation from the source that shows the tide moved onto the causeway suddenly or unexpectedly.

(1)

Give one quotation from the source that shows the narrator felt physically cold.

(1)

Identify the word class (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) of each underlined word as it is used in the source.

(a)'clanged' in 'a bell buoy clanged, off rhythm'(1)

(b)'irritated' in 'lifted off... in a single irritated flock'(1)

(c)'quietly' in 'had crept, quietly and without any fuss'(1)

The writer describes the causeway as 'pale and ribbed like the skeleton of some enormous fish'.

(a)Name the language technique used in this description.(1)

(b)Give one other quotation from the source that uses the same technique.(1)

Explain the effect of the writer's word choice 'clanged' in the phrase 'a bell buoy clanged, off rhythm, as though the sea itself could not decide what time it was'.

(3)

Look again at paragraph 1 (from 'I had been told the sands were safe' to 'misjudge the tide'). How does the writer use language here to create a sense that the causeway is an unsettling place? You could include the writer's choice of words and phrases, and language features and techniques.

(6)

Look again at paragraph 4 (from 'I have read that the tide here does not creep in from the front' to 'the size of a car'). How does the writer's use of language here create a feeling of threat?

(6)

Look again at paragraph 5, which begins 'I ran.'

(a)Quote the short sentence the writer uses to open this paragraph.(2)

(b)Explain the effect of this short sentence on the reader.(2)

Look at the final paragraph, especially the text message: 'Stuck on the refuge. Tide's in. Fine, though. Do not tell Mum.' Explain how the writer's use of short sentences here affects the tone of the ending.

(3)

You now need to think about the whole of the source. How has the writer structured the text to build tension as the passage develops? 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.

(8)

What is the effect of the writer's choice to tell this story from a first-person point of view?

(6)

Compare the tone of the opening paragraph with the tone of the final paragraph. What has changed, and how has the writer achieved this change?

(5)

The writer says the narrator had read about the refuge box and 'privately thought I would never need' it. What can you infer about the narrator's state of mind before the tide turned?

(4)

What idea about nature or human behaviour does this extract explore overall? Support your answer with reference to the text.

(a)Identify one idea or message the extract explores.(2)

(b)Support your answer with one quotation or reference from the text.(2)

A student said: 'This extract makes the sea feel like a living, threatening character rather than just a setting.' To what extent do you agree? In your response you should consider your own impressions of the extract, evaluate how the writer creates these impressions, and support your response with references to the text.

(10)

Descriptive writing task. You are advised to spend about 30 minutes on this question. Write in full sentences and plan before you begin. Leave time to check your work. (16 marks for content and organisation, 8 marks for technical accuracy.)

Write a description of a moment when a character realises they have misjudged a natural danger, such as a rising tide, a change in weather, or an encounter with wildlife. You may base your answer on the narrator's experience in 'The Crossing', or invent your own character and setting.

(24)

Mark scheme · KS3.E1 Reading: Fiction and Language

Question 1

B1 one acceptable point, e.g. she had been told the sands were safe for two hours after the boards went up (oe)
B1 a second point, e.g. she trusted the laminated sign / did not question the warning (oe)
B1 a third point, e.g. the causeway leads to an island (oe)
B1 a fourth point, e.g. gulls were standing along the causeway watching her (oe)
Answer: Any four of: told the sands were safe for two hours after the boards went up; she believed the sign without question; the causeway leads to an island; gulls stood along the causeway; the gulls had seen many tourists misjudge the tide before.

Question 2

B1 B) unimpressed (cao)
Answer: B) unimpressed

Question 3

B1 B) suggests a sudden change after a period of tension/waiting (cao)
Answer: B

Question 4

(a) B1 True (cao)
(a) Answer: True
(b) B1 False (cao)
(b) Answer: False
(c) B1 False (cao)
(c) Answer: False
(d) B1 True (cao)
(d) Answer: True

Question 5

B1 accept any exact quotation showing suddenness, e.g. 'It slid over my boots in a thin, cold sheet before I had even decided to be afraid' or 'in the space of a held breath, on an island the size of a car' (cao)
Answer: e.g. 'It slid over my boots in a thin, cold sheet before I had even decided to be afraid.'

Question 6

B1 accept any exact quotation, e.g. 'The ladder was colder than the water' or 'my hands clumsy with cold' (cao)
Answer: e.g. 'The ladder was colder than the water.'

Question 7

(a) B1 verb (cao)
(a) Answer: Verb
(b) B1 adjective (cao)
(b) Answer: Adjective
(c) B1 adverb (cao)
(c) Answer: Adverb

Question 8

(a) B1 simile (accept extended metaphor is not credited; must say simile) (cao)
(a) Answer: Simile
(b) B1 accept any valid simile, e.g. 'like an army advancing in a straight line' or 'like a held breath finally let go' or 'Dust... ' is not present here so must be from this text, e.g. 'colder than the water' is a comparison but not a simile, do not accept; correct examples use 'like' or 'as' (cao)
(b) Answer: e.g. 'the way you would expect, like an army advancing in a straight line' or 'thinning fast, then all at once, like a held breath finally let go'

Question 9

B1 identifies that 'clanged' is a harsh, discordant or jarring sound (oe)
B1 links this to a sense of unease, disorder or something being wrong/off-kilter (oe)
B1 connects the sound to the personification of the sea 'unable to decide', reinforcing unpredictability, ft to a developed point about foreshadowing danger (oe)
Answer: 'Clanged' is an onomatopoeic, harsh sound that jars against the calm setting, creating unease; combined with the personification of the sea 'not deciding' the time, it foreshadows the unpredictable, dangerous tide to come.

Question 10

Level 3 (5-6): Clear, relevant explanation of language: explains clearly the effects of the writer's choices; selects a range of relevant detail; 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; some use of subject terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment: offers simple comment on the effect of language; selects simple references; simple or no subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- The simile 'pale and ribbed like the skeleton of some enormous fish' makes the causeway seem dead or dangerous, associating it with something that has died.
- 'unrolled ahead of me' suggests the causeway is unnervingly long and stretching away from safety.
- The gulls' 'flat, unimpressed patience' personifies them as knowing observers, which is unsettling because it implies the narrator's danger is routine and expected.
- 'a hundred tourists misjudge the tide' hints at repeated past incidents, foreshadowing the narrator's own mistake.
- The measured, almost documentary tone of the opening (the laminated sign, the two-hour warning) creates false reassurance that the rest of the extract undercuts.

Question 11

Level 3 (5-6): Clear, relevant explanation of language: explains clearly the effects of the writer's choices; selects a range of relevant detail; 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; some use of subject terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment: offers simple comment on the effect of language; selects simple references; simple or no subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- The simile 'like an army advancing in a straight line' sets up an expected, controllable danger, which the writer then subverts.
- 'It comes from behind and beside' uses directional language to suggest the tide is deceptive and surrounds its victim rather than approaching head-on.
- 'filling the low ground first' implies a hidden, creeping process invisible until too late.
- 'in the space of a held breath' repeats the earlier breath imagery, linking the tide's speed to something almost supernatural or impossibly fast.
- The stark comparison 'an island the size of a car' uses a small, mundane image to shock the reader with how quickly safe ground shrinks.

Question 12

(a) B1 'I ran.' (cao, must be exact)
(a) B1 identifies it as a short/minor sentence (oe)
(a) Answer: 'I ran.' - a short, simple sentence.
(b) B1 creates a sudden change of pace after the slower build-up in the previous paragraphs (oe)
(b) B1 mirrors the narrator's panic/urgency, mimicking the abruptness of the action itself (oe)
(b) Answer: The abrupt, two-word sentence speeds up the pace sharply, mirroring the narrator's sudden panic and the urgency of the moment after the slower, descriptive paragraphs before it.

Question 13

B1 identifies the clipped, fragmented sentences as matching the abruptness of a real text message (oe)
B1 notes the shift in tone from the earlier fearful, descriptive prose to something calmer, understated or even humorous (oe)
B1 links this contrast to characterisation, e.g. the narrator downplaying danger to reassure her sister, creating bathos or dramatic irony given what the reader has just witnessed (oe)
Answer: The short, clipped sentences mimic the informal, hurried style of a real text message, creating a sudden shift from the tense, descriptive prose to a flatter, more matter-of-fact tone; the understatement ('Fine, though') creates bathos and dramatic irony, since the reader knows how frightening the situation really was.

Question 14

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 use of 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 calm, factual register (the tide timetable, the laminated sign) that lulls the reader before undercutting it, a classic 'false security' opening.
- Focus narrows from the wide causeway and gulls to the narrator's boots and feet, mirroring her growing awareness of the water at ground level.
- The turning point 'Halfway across, I stopped' is a clear structural pivot from description to sudden action.
- A flashback-style explanation (paragraph 4, 'I have read that...') interrupts the action to build dread by explaining exactly how dangerous the tide's behaviour is, delaying the climax.
- The pace quickens through short sentences and short paragraphs as the narrator runs and climbs, mirroring rising urgency.
- The final paragraph pulls back to a wide, still view (the causeway gone, the fishing boat's light) before ending on a quiet, unresolved note, creating a structural contrast between the earlier panic and the current stillness.

Question 15

Level 3 (5-6): Clear, relevant explanation of viewpoint: explains clearly the effects of the first-person narration; selects a range of relevant detail; accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 2 (3-4): Some understanding and comment: attempts to comment on the effect of viewpoint; selects some appropriate detail; some use of subject terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment: offers simple comment on the effect of viewpoint; selects simple references; simple or no subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- First person allows direct access to the narrator's private thoughts and misjudgements ('I believed it'), creating dramatic irony as the reader senses danger before she does.
- Physical sensations ('boots made a wet, sucking sound', 'clumsy with cold') are reported immediately, increasing the reader's sense of shared experience and immediacy.
- The limited viewpoint means the reader only learns about the tide as the narrator does, building suspense through restricted knowledge.
- The confessional, slightly self-mocking tone ('Not sensibly, not in a straight line') creates intimacy and makes the narrator's fear feel personal and believable.
- The closing understatement in the text message reveals character through the narrator's own words, showing her instinct to downplay danger to others.

Question 16

Level 3 (5): Detailed and perceptive comparison of tone: analyses how specific language and structural choices create the shift; selects a judicious range of examples.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear comparison of tone: identifies a difference in tone and explains some of the language choices that create it; relevant examples.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple comparison of tone: identifies that the tone changes, with simple or general supporting reference.
Indicative content:
- The opening tone is confident and almost bureaucratic (timetable, laminated sign, 'I believed it'), suggesting misplaced trust in official information.
- The final paragraph's tone is quieter and more resigned ('waited for the sea to decide when it would let me go home'), showing acceptance rather than panic.
- The shift is achieved partly through pacing: short, urgent sentences in the middle give way to longer, calmer sentences at the end.
- The text message injects a wry, understated humour absent from the opening's straightforward factual tone, showing the narrator processing fear through humour and reassurance of others.
- Both paragraphs share a controlled, faintly ironic narrative voice, but the final paragraph's irony is directed at herself ('Do not tell Mum') rather than at the situation, showing character development through the ordeal.

Question 17

Level 2 (3-4): Clear inference, well supported: explains what the phrase suggests about the narrator's overconfidence or complacency, with accurate reference to the text.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple inference: identifies that the narrator felt confident or safe, with limited or general supporting reference.
Indicative content:
- The word 'privately' suggests a quiet, unspoken confidence, as though she had never seriously considered failing to judge the tide correctly.
- This shows a degree of overconfidence or complacency, treating the danger as something that happens to other, less careful people.
- It creates dramatic irony, since the reader can guess (from the earlier warnings) that she may indeed need the refuge, contrasting with her private certainty.
- This detail sets up her later panic and fear as a meaningful contrast, showing how quickly confidence can turn to alarm.

Question 18

(a) B1 identifies a plausible idea, e.g. that people underestimate the power of nature, or that confidence can quickly turn to fear (oe)
(a) B1 development of the idea in the student's own words (oe)
(a) Answer: e.g. The extract explores how people can underestimate the power and unpredictability of nature, trusting signs and timetables over their own caution.
(b) B1 selects a relevant quotation, e.g. 'I believed it the way you believe anything printed on a laminated sign' (cao)
(b) B1 briefly explains how the quotation supports the idea (oe)
(b) Answer: e.g. 'I believed it the way you believe anything printed on a laminated sign' shows blind trust in official reassurance, which the tide then proves is misplaced.

Question 19

Level 4 (9-10): Perceptive and detailed evaluation: evaluates critically and in detail the effect(s) on the reader; shows perceptive understanding of the writer's methods; selects a judicious range of examples; develops a convincing, critical response to the statement.
Level 3 (6-8): Clear and relevant evaluation: evaluates clearly the effect(s) on the reader; shows clear understanding of the writer's methods; selects a range of relevant textual references; makes a clear response to the statement.
Level 2 (3-5): Some evaluation: makes some evaluative comment on effect(s); shows some understanding of the writer's methods; selects some appropriate references; makes some response to the statement.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited evaluation: simple comment on effect(s); limited understanding of method; simple references; simple response to the statement.
Indicative content:
- Agree: the sea is personified throughout, e.g. 'as though the sea itself could not decide what time it was', giving it will and unpredictability like a character.
- Agree: the tide's described behaviour, coming 'from behind and beside' rather than head on, suggests cunning or deliberate deception rather than a neutral natural process.
- Agree: the gulls act almost as the sea's knowing accomplices or witnesses, watching with 'unimpressed patience', reinforcing a sense that nature is aware and unbothered by the narrator's fear.
- Partial disagreement: some might argue the sea remains a force of nature governed by physical tide tables rather than intention, and the personification is simply a literary device to convey danger, not evidence of true characterisation.
- Partial disagreement: the calm, almost gentle final image (a fishing boat's light 'patient and small') could suggest indifference rather than menace, undercutting a purely threatening reading.
- A convincing response weighs the extensive personification and structural build-up of danger against the more neutral, factual framing at the start and the quiet resolution at the end, reaching a balanced judgement.

Question 20

Content and organisation (AO5, 16 marks)
- Level 4 (13-16): Compelling, convincing communication; extensive and ambitious vocabulary with sustained crafting of language devices; varied and inventive structural features; a range of convincing, complex ideas; fluently linked paragraphs with seamless discourse markers.
- Level 3 (9-12): Clear, consistent communication; increasingly sophisticated vocabulary with some crafted language devices; effective use of structural features; a range of clear, connected ideas; coherent paragraphs with integrated discourse markers.
- Level 2 (5-8): Some successful communication; conscious use and some variation of vocabulary with occasional devices; some structural features; some clear ideas; some use of paragraphs and discourse markers.
- Level 1 (1-4): 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, 8 marks)
- Level 4 (7-8): Sentence demarcation consistently secure; wide range of punctuation used with a high level of accuracy; full range of sentence forms used for effect; secure control of Standard English; high level of accuracy in spelling, including ambitious vocabulary.
- Level 3 (5-6): Sentence demarcation mostly secure; a range of punctuation used, mostly with success; varied sentence forms used for effect; mostly controlled use of Standard English; generally accurate spelling, including some complex words.
- Level 2 (3-4): Sentence demarcation mostly secure, 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.
- Level 1 (1-2): Occasional sentence demarcation; some evidence of conscious punctuation; a simple range of sentence forms; occasional use of Standard English; accurate basic spelling of simple words.

Reading: Fiction and Language - Worksheets, Questions and Revision