GCSE English Revision List 2027

Source 1, a modern blog post: 'I used to think allotments were for retired men in flat caps. Then I got one, and now I understand: mud under your fingernails is the closest thing to therapy the NHS will never prescribe.' Source 2, a magazine article from 1962: 'The modern housewife, I am assured, has neither the time nor the inclination for growing her own vegetables, preferring the convenience of the supermarket trolley to the indignity of a spade.' Compare how each writer presents attitudes to growing your own food.

1. Identify Source 1's viewpoint: positive and personal, presenting allotment gardening as therapeutic through informal, humorous language.
2. Identify Source 2's viewpoint: dismissive and generalising, assuming disinterest through the loaded word 'indignity' and the stereotype 'modern housewife.'
3. Compare method: Source 1 uses first-person anecdote and direct experience to persuade; Source 2 uses a generalised, unsupported claim to state an assumption as fact.
4. Compare tone: Source 1 is self-deprecating and enthusiastic; Source 2 is faintly mocking and assumes its stereotype needs no evidence.
5. Final answer: Source 1 presents growing your own food positively through personal anecdote, while Source 2 presents it dismissively through an unsupported generalisation, reflecting a shift from individual enthusiasm to assumed convenience across the two eras.

In Paper 2, how many non-fiction sources do you read?

Two.