Home > Subjects > English > English level 1 > 1.6 Unfamiliar texts > Subject content > Writing an answer
- Subject: English
- AS: 90057
- Level: 1
- Credits: 3
- External
1.6 Read and show understanding of unfamiliar texts
Writing an answer
A good answer is one that clearly shows your understanding of the text and directly answers the question. It is important to write in standard English so the marker can easily work out what you have said.
How to answer a question:
- Read the question carefully and answer by following all instructions.
- Answer both parts of the question.
- Take notice of visual clues such as bold, underlined, or capitalised words for instructions in the question or features within a text.
- The numbers down the side of the text are line references, so you don't have to count the lines to locate information quickly.
- Be clear, to the point, and use keywords in your answer.
- Don't write the question into your answer as this wastes time.
- Use the amount of space provided for the answer as a sign of how much to write.
- When using quotations, underline the key part of the quote that answers the question.
What to write in your answer:
- For 'achieved' your response will be shorter than 'merit' or 'excellence' and will not need a lot of personal response. Personal response helps to show the depth of your understanding and appreciation of language.
- 'Merit' and 'excellence' questions also require you to explain how a language feature works in a particular text. To say that the language feature helps to gain our attention or add emphasis is not enough. You must name the specific language feature and the idea it reinforces, show an understanding of how it works in the text, and why it was chosen. When explaining comparisons such as personification, simile, and metaphor, look at common links such as size, shape, colour, movement, and sound.
For example:
"The rugby player darted towards the try line like a child avoiding grandma's kiss."What is the language feature? A simile.
What is the comparison? Rugby player and a child.
What do they have in common? The way they move quickly to avoid others.
Why is this a good comparison? If you have never played rugby you can still understand how the child moved quickly as a rugby player might move to avoid an opposition player.Some other ideas to look out for when reading are repetition and use of questions in a text.
For more examples of how to answer questions see Extracts and answers.
