EnglishReading like an examiner: language and structure30 min★★★ difficulty

Writing a full language answer in twenty minutes

You now know what to say about words, grammar and structure. The exam also tests whether you can say it in the time available. This lesson builds one complete answer to a real question shape, then marks it against the criteria.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Study the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read

Key learning points

• The question shape
• Three minutes of planning that saves ten
• One paragraph, written out
• Marking your own work honestly

This lesson at a glance

30 minutes
19 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

effectivenessimpactgrammaticalfeaturesquestion

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Writing a full language answer in twenty minutes

An English teaching video on this topic from First Rate Tutors. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Study the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You can write about sentence forms and about a word's connotations.

Recap: Sentence and text structure as a deliberate choice Recap: What a single word choice does

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Method: Anything the writer does on purpose: word choice, sentence form, order.
Sustained: Kept going properly across a whole answer, not just in one sentence.
Judicious: Well chosen - short, exact quotations rather than large chunks.
Terminology: The correct names for features, used accurately and only when needed.
Range: Covering more than one kind of method rather than four examples of the same one.

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Planning three points in three minutes

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

The question shape

A typical wording: 'How does the writer use language to make the storm feel threatening? You could include word choice, language features and sentence forms.' Twenty minutes, twelve marks. That is roughly three developed paragraphs. Anything more and each point gets thin; anything fewer and you cannot show range.

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Three minutes of planning that saves ten

Underline three quotations of no more than three words each, and make sure they are different kinds of method: one word choice, one language feature, one sentence form. From an original extract - 'The wind shouldered the fence flat. Rain. It came in ropes, in sheets, in walls of grey.' - you might take 'shouldered' (verb choice), 'in ropes, in sheets, in walls' (a list that escalates) and 'Rain.' (a one-word minor sentence).

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

For a twelve-mark language question in twenty minutes, aim for about...

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Which set of quotations shows the best range?

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Writing and marking the answer

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

One paragraph, written out

Here is a model of the first point. 'The writer describes how the wind "shouldered" the fence flat. The verb makes the wind sound like a body pushing past something in its way, so the storm feels deliberate rather than accidental. "Shouldered" also carries a casual strength - the fence is knocked down without effort - which makes the reader feel the storm is not even trying yet.' Quotation, effect, then a second layered reading. Roughly sixty words, and it can be repeated three times inside the time.

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Marking your own work honestly

Check four things and write the missing ones on your answer. Did every paragraph quote? Did every quotation get an effect on the reader? Did you use three different kinds of method? Did you avoid 'this makes the reader want to read on'? If the answer is yes four times, it is a strong answer even if it is short. If you missed the same box twice, that is your target for next time - not 'write more'.

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

In the model paragraph, what comes straight after the quotation?

Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

'Rain.' as a one-word sentence mainly...

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

Three developed points beat six undeveloped ones - length is not the mark scheme.
Terminology on its own scores nothing; a correct label with no effect is still empty.
Do not write an introduction restating the question; start with your first point.
Copying out a long quotation eats time you need for the effect.

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

You could include word choice, language ____ and sentence forms.' Twenty minutes, twelve marks.

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Writing a full language answer in twenty minutes

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. 'Judicious' quotations are...
2. Which opening line is the better use of exam time?
3. A list that escalates - ropes, sheets, walls - shows the rain...
4. The self-marking check does NOT include...
5. 'Sustained' analysis means...
6. The best target after marking your own answer is...

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

The last bus

The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.

She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.

Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.

Original extract written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.

Reading response
Reading
Read the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
Writing
Write your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.
250–350 words
Reading log
Reading
Note the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.
20 minutes' reading

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

0 points