Home > Subjects > English > English level 2 > 2.6 Unfamiliar texts > Subject content > Writing an answer
- Subject: English
- AS: 90380
- Level: 2
- Credits: 3
- External
2.6 Read unfamiliar texts and analyse the ideas and language features
Writing an answer
A good answer is one that clearly shows your understanding of the text and directly answers the question with specific detail. It is important to write in standard English so the marker can easily understand your answer.
How to answer a question
- Read the question carefully and answer by following all instructions.
- Answer all 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.
- Be clear, to the point, and use keywords in your answer.
- Don’t write the question into your answer as this wastes time.
- Look at the amount of space provided for the answer to give you an idea 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 give a straightforward explanation of what the language feature is and an obvious effect.
Merit and excellence requires you to then discuss the effects of the feature 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, analyse how it works, and why it was chosen for a particular purpose and audience.
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 an effective comparison? If you have never played rugby you can still understand 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.
