Edexcel International GCSE

English Language

Specification A

Paper 1

Non-Fiction Anthology

Workbook for Question 4

1
 Introduction

This 100 page resource is aimed at pupils following Edexcel International GCSE English
Language specification A. It focuses on preparation for question 4 of the Paper 1
examination on the ten non-fiction Anthology texts: The Danger of a Single Story; A Passage
to Africa; The Explorer’s Daughter; Explorers or Boys Messing About; Between a Rock and a
Hard Place; Young and Dyslexic; A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat; Beyond the Sky and
the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan; H is for Hawk; Chinese Cinderella.

The booklet can be used as a basis for teacher-led lessons, as a revision pack, or as self-
study materials for pupils who have missed the teaching of the Anthology due to absence or
starting courses late.

The study of each anthology text is divided into the following sections:
1. Background and context: Brief details about the writer and the topic of the extract
2. Summary of the text: Summary of the main issues covered in the extract
3. Get started: Pre-reading activity to lead pupils into the text
4. Read the text: Instruction to read the whole text in the Anthology before starting the
activities
5. Key vocabulary: List of vocabulary to aid understanding of the text
6. Analyse the language and structure of the text: Questions and activities to encourage
analysis
7. Consolidate your understanding: Activity to highlight key points about language or
structure
8. Answer a practice examination question: An exam-style question 4 with ten sentence
starters

Detailed suggested answers are given for sections 1-7 plus a simplified mark scheme for
pupils to self-assess their Section 8 practice essays if working independently.

A glossary of Language Features: Technical Terms is included at the end of the booklet and
words in the booklet marked * are explained in this list with examples from the Anthology
extracts.

The non-fiction extracts are NOT included in this booklet. Pupils should have their own
copies of the EdExcel IGCSE English Anthology which is issued by the examination board.

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 Contents

Title Author Page

The Danger of a Single Story Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 4

A Passage to Africa George Alagiah 16

The Explorer’s Daughter Kari Herbert 26

Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, Stephen Norris 36

taxpayer gets rescue bill

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Aron Ralston 46

Young and Dyslexic? You’ve got it going on Benjamin Zephaniah 55

A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat Emma Levine 64

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Jamie Zeppa 72
Bhutan

H is for Hawk Helen Macdonald 80

Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yen Mah 90

Language features: Glossary of Technical Terms 99

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 The Danger of a Single Story
by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in

Africa. Her father was a professor and her mother
was a university registrar. Adichie studied at
university in both Nigeria and the United States. In 2005 her
first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), won the Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. Now an established and
successful novelist, she also teaches creative writing and
divides her time between Nigeria and the United States.

This text is a speech which Adichie delivered at a TED conference. TED, which stands for
Technology, Entertainment and Design, is an organisation which posts short talks online
with the slogan ideas worth spreading.

2. Summary of the text

In this speech, Adichie talks about her own identity as a

Nigerian living in the USA but also in more general terms
about how we see ourselves and how we see other people. She says
that often we make judgements about people knowing only one thing
about them and this can lead to prejudice. She refers to the power of
stories to make her point and argues that we need to be aware that everyone has more
than one story to sum up who they are. Rejecting the idea of the single story can lead us
to a paradise where prejudice does not exist.

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3. Get started

a) In this text, Adichie presents her ideas about identity. What does the word identity
mean? Using a dictionary if you wish, write one sentence to explain what is meant by
identity:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

b) Now explore your own ideas on identity by reading the descriptions of person i) and
person ii) below and think about the type of person you imagine each of them to be.
Circle three of the adjectives listed below to describe how you imagine person i). Then,
using a different colour, circle three adjectives to describe how you imagine person ii).

i) A fifty-year-old very strict GCSE teacher who always wears a suit and tie

ii) A twenty-year-old woman with pink hair, a nose-stud and many tattoos who
spends every summer weekend at music festivals

Choose from these adjectives:

unconventional studious exciting staid fashionable dependable
reliable sensible carefree trendsetting predictable impulsive

There are no ‘correct’ answers here but look at Suggested Answers for ideas on the
assumptions we make about identity.

c) Search on Youtube for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story and
watch the writer deliver the talk to a live audience

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of The Danger of a Single Story which starts on page 2 of
your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

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5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 7 was obligated felt that she must

line 14 impressionable and vulnerable easily influenced and easily hurt
line 20 a mental shift a change of view
line 21 my perception of literature the way that I saw books and stories
line 22 kinky hair curly hair
line 25 the unintended consequence a result that was not meant to happen
line 28 conventional doing the usual, expected things
line 29 as was the norm as was usual
line 31 house boy a boy who helps with housework
line 37 raffia dried palm leaves
line 38 it had not occurred to me I had never thought
line 49 her default position the view she took without thinking
line 50 patronizing superior
line 51 catastrophe disaster
line 57 incomprehensible hard to understand
line 64 immigration people leaving their home country
line 64 synonymous meaning the same thing
line 65 fleecing taking all the money from
line 70 immersed involved in, concerned with
line 71 abject hopeless or dejected
line 75 to dispossess and to malign to exclude or to criticize people

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Look closely at the first line of the text. Which words and phrases tell
you that this is a spoken rather than a written text?

2. The first story Adichie tells is about her childhood reading and writing. How does she
use contrast* in lines 3-13 to show the differences between what she read about in books
and what she saw and experienced in Nigeria where she lived? How did the audience
react at this point in the Youtube video you watched of the talk?

Words marked * are explained in the glossary at the back of this booklet, pages 99-100

3. Which two words in line 14 (starting What this demonstrates… ) show the power of

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stories for children?

4. Why was the discovery of African writers so important for Adichie? Why does she
repeat the phrase people like me in line 21 and line 26? What does she mean when she
says that she went through a mental shift in my perception of literature (lines 20-21)?

5. The second story or anecdote* Adichie tells involves Fide who worked for her family in
Nigeria as a house-boy (lines 28-41). Why was she surprised to see the basket made by
Fide’s brother? What does Adichie mean by, Their poverty was my single story of them?
(lines 40-41)

6. The third story Adichie tells is about her university roommate (lines 42-53). What three
things did Adichie’s roommate do which showed that she had a single story about Africa?
How does Adichie use humour* here to make a point?

7. Why do you think that line 48, She assumed I did not know how to use a stove is
foregrounded* by being placed in a one-sentence paragraph? How might this affect the
spoken delivery of the speech? Similarly, why do you think there is a colon (:) in front of a
single story of catastrophe (line 51)? How would this affect the delivery of the speech?

8. Find a triple* (or rule of three) in lines 51-53 (starting, In this single story) and comment
on its meaning and effects.

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9. How does Adichie explain in lines 54-60 that she comes to understand her roommate’s
response to her? What link does she make between her roommate’s response to Africans
and the way she, as a child, viewed Fide’s family?

10. In the fourth story Adichie tells she describes a trip to Mexico (lines 61-72). Why does
she say that this story makes her feel guilty and overwhelmed with shame? What single
story had she believed about Mexican people?

11. How does Adichie use repetition*, contrast* (or opposites) and sentence lengths in
lines 73-77 to make her point about the importance of stories?

12. The extract ends with a reference to Alice Walker, an African American writer, reading
stories with her family to reach a kind of paradise (line 81). What does Adichie say, in the
last sentence of the extract, that we need to do in order to reach a kind of paradise?
What does she mean by this?

7. Consolidate your understanding

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 The stories used in the text are listed below. Add brief notes in each
box to explain what each story shows. The first is done for you.

Adichie’s single story of her childhood reading and writing

Adichie’s early writing reflected her early reading of British and American
books. As a child she believed that books should be about white children in
foreign countries and could not be set in Nigeria where she lived. This was
her ‘single story’ about literature.

Adichie’s single story of Fide’s family

Adichie’s roommate’s single story of Africa

Adichie’s single story of Mexico

The story of Alice Walker reading a story to her family

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

9
 How does the writer use language and structure to explore ideas about
identity? You should support your answer with close reference to the
extract, including brief quotations (12 marks)
Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about identity and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

In this speech, Adichie explores ideas about who we are and how we see others…

The talk is structured around five anecdotes or stories which…

Adichie describes the contrast between her early reading and writing and …

The discovery of African books caused Adichie to …

The story of Fide and his family…

Adichie uses humour to add power to the story of her American roommate…

Adichie admits that she too is guilty of …

At the end of the extract, Adichie uses powerful language to …

The reference to Alice Walker…

The message of the text…

The Danger of a Single Story: Suggested Answers

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3. Get started

a) The word identity is used when we talk about who we are. The Collins
dictionary definition is: the state of having unique identifying
characteristics, the individual characteristics by which a person is
recognized. People may identify themselves or others through gender or race, sexuality
or marital status, education or career, wealth or poverty, family or friends, experiences,
where they live, or in countless other ways.

b) There is no right answer here: the exercise aims to show that we all make assumptions
about people, often giving them a single story.

i) Some people might assume that the fifty-year-old teacher is studious, staid,
dependable, reliable, sensible and predictable

BUT maybe this teacher swaps his suit for jeans and a t-shirt at
weekends and plays in a rock band: maybe he has more than one story

ii) Some people might assume that the festival-goer is unconventional, exciting,
fashionable, impulsive, trend-setting and carefree

BUT maybe this festival-goer puts on a smart jacket on Monday

mornings and goes to work in an office: maybe she has more than one story

In this text Adichie argues that when we make assumptions about people when we
know only one thing about them, we are judging them by a single story. This is a
dangerous thing to do because it can lead to prejudice.

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

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 1. There is a personal tone at the start as Adichie introduces herself
with I’m a storyteller. The next sentence begins with And which
creates a conversational tone.

2. As a child Adichie wrote about the things she had read about in British and
American books. Her stories featured children who ate apples, played in the snow
and talked about the weather. This contrasted with Nigeria where children ate
mangoes and the sun was always shining so no one talked about the weather. At
this point in the TED talk Adichie’s audience laughed at the contrast. Adichie’s
single story about what should be in books came from what she had read rather
than what she experienced.

3. Adichie says that we are all impressionable (easily influenced) and vulnerable
(easily hurt) to the power of stories, particularly as children. She relates this to her
own experience as when young she did not believe that stories could ever contain
characters like her.

4. Discovering African writers was important to Adichie because for the first time she
saw African people like herself feature in stories. She repeats the phrase people
like me to emphasise the point because this was so important to her as a writer. It
brought a mental shift or change in view in the way she saw literature because she
realized that she could write about things she knew.

5. When she was young Adichie was told that Fide was from a very poor family. She
was surprised to see a beautiful raffia basket that his brother had made because
she assumed that no one in such a poor family could be so talented and creative.
When she says, Their poverty was my single story of them she means that she
defined the family as simply poor and never expected anything else from them.

6. Adichie’s roommate was surprised that she could speak English, expected her to
listen to African tribal music, and assumed that she would not know how to use a
stove. The Africa she imagined was a place of wars, poverty and disease. Adichie
uses humour by describing her roommate’s disappointment when she produced a
tape of Mariah Carey rather than tribal music. The contrast highlights her
roommate’s misconceptions about African people and shows that she had only a
single story of Africa.

7. The line She assumed I did not know how to use a stove is foregrounded for
emphasis by being placed on a line on its own. The reader would probably pause
before and after the sentence to show the roommate’s implicit ignorance and
prejudice. Similarly, the colon before a single story of catastrophe makes the
reader pause to emphasise the point that the roommate, like many other people,
assumes that Africa is a place where disasters happen and aid is needed.

8. The triple is the repetition of the negative phrase, no possibility of…. The
repetition of no shows that the roommate sees Africa in purely negative terms and

12
 can see no connection between her life as an American and the life of an African
person like Adichie. The negative reflects the closed mind of the roommate who
can see Africa as no more than a single story.

9. After living in the US for several years and seeing how Africa is presented, Adichie
comes to understand that her roommate had only a single story of Africa because
Africa is so often presented in negative terms as a place with problems of poverty,
war and disease. She realises that her roommate had made assumptions about
Africa in the same way that she had made assumptions about Fide’s family and
seen nothing apart from their poverty.

10. Before going to Mexico Adichie had heard debates about immigration which
characterised Mexicans as people who try to enter the USA illegally to gain free
benefits. When she arrives, she sees Mexicans leading normal lives and feels she
has misjudged them by believing a single story.

11. The words story and stories are repeated multiple times to emphasise their
importance. Contrasting positive and negative terms such as dispossess/
empower and break/ repair are used to show the power of stories. Short, blunt
sentences such as Stories matter make the point hit home.

12. At the end of the extract Adichie tells the story of another writer, Alice Walker,
telling stories to her family which allowed them to regain a kind of paradise.
Adichie relates this to her theme by saying that when we reject the single story
and understand that there is always more than one story of a person or a place,
we too can reach paradise – and maybe by this she means a world without
prejudice.

7. Consolidate your understanding

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 Adichie’s single story of her childhood reading and writing
Adichie’s early writing reflected her early reading of British and American
books. As a child she believed that books should be about white children in
foreign countries and could not be set in Nigeria where she lived. This was
her single story about literature.

Adichie’s single story of Fide’s family

As a child Adichie knew that Fide, the houseboy, came from a poor family.
When she visited his house and saw a beautiful raffia basket made by his
brother, she realised that their poverty was my single story of them and that
actually, as well as being poor, they were creative and talented.

Adichie’s roommate’s single story of Africa

The roommate assumed that as an African, Adichie would not speak English,
would like tribal music and would not know how to use a stove. She had a
single story of Africa as a place of poverty, wars and disease.

Adichie’s single story of Mexico

When Adichie visited Mexico, she was surprised to see Mexicans going
about their daily business and realised that she had been influenced by the
news in the US which presented Mexicans as illegal immigrants. She sees
that she has stereotyped Mexicans in the same way that she has been
stereotyped as an African.

The story of Alice Walker reading a story to her family

Alice Walker shares a story with her family to lead them to a kind of paradise
and Adichie says that if we reject single stories and understand that every
person and place has more than one story, we too may reach a paradise
where prejudice does not exist.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

14
If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

15
 A Passage to Africa
by
George Alagiah

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

George Alagiah was born in Sri Lanka, lived in West Africa and
worked as a TV reporter across Africa. He now lives in the UK
and works as a newscaster for the BBC. Here he writes about
his experience of reporting on the civil war in Somalia in the 1990s.

2. Summary of the text

In this extract from his autobiography, Alagiah describes his

experience as a BBC television reporter in Africa in the 1990s.
Whilst reporting on the war in Somalia he witnessed human suffering
caused by violence and starvation. He was deeply affected by what he
saw, particularly remembering a man who smiled in the midst of his suffering
and caused Alagiah to reflect on the relationship between journalist and subject.

3. Get started

Imagine that you are a journalist who has been sent to report on a situation
in which people are dying because their country is at war and because they
have no food. Your TV company expects pictures and first-hand accounts. What
difficulties might there be in carrying out this assignment? Note down a few words and
phrases to describe the issues you might face.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of A Passage to Africa which starts on page 4 of your
Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

16
5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 3 hamlet a small village

line 3 the back of beyond remote, a long way from anywhere
line 8 ghoulish ghastly, connected to death or disaster
line 13 callous insensitive, cruel
line 18 enervating drained of energy
line 18 terminal hunger starvation which will end in death
line 21 deliverance moving from one state to another
line 22 dispatch TV report
line 26 festering infected, rotting
line 28 deposed dictator a leader who has been replaced
line 30 putrid rotting, smelly
line 36 taboo something that is never spoken about
line 39 clammy damp, sweaty
line 44 shroud his corpse cover his dead body
line 45 till the soil dig or hoe the earth to plant crops
line 55 feeble weak
line 60 passive not active
line 67 muster gather
line 69 encounter meeting
line 71 seminal influential
line 72 context background information to help
understanding

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Look again at lines 1-15. How does Alagiah build tension by giving hints
to the reader that this is going to be a story of horror and disaster?
Think about:
 The reference to faces in lines 1-2
 How he emphasises the remoteness of the village (lines 3-7)
 What he says about journalists and why he uses a simile* about drugs (lines 8-15)

2. Look again at lines 16-23. How does the writer make the description of the death of a
ten-year-old girl from starvation particularly powerful for the reader?

17
Think about:
 Why he gives the names and ages of the girl and her sister (lines 18-19)
 What he says about their living conditions (line 17)
 The language he uses to describe the girl’s death (lines 19-23)

3. Look again at lines 24-31. How does Alagiah use the senses of sight and smell to
describe the plight of the old woman?
Think about:
 The sights and smells he describes
 The effect on the reader

4. Look again at line 32. What is the effect of this sentence?

Think about:
 Why the sentence is placed in a single-sentence paragraph
 Where a similar phrase has appeared before in the extract

5. Look again at lines 33-45. How does Alagiah use language here to affect the reader?
Think about:
 The use of emotive language*: find some examples
 Any emotions Alagiah might be feeling here: support points with short quotations

6. Look again at lines 46-56. Write two or three sentences to describe and analyse
Alagiah’s reactions to the man’s smile.
Think about:

18
  The repetition of the words face and smile
 Lines 49-51 beginning It touched me…
 The question in line 52

7. Look again at lines 57-68. How does the man’s smile make Alagiah consider the
relationship between journalist and subject?
Think about:
 The journalist is active, the subject is passive and other contrasts*
 How Alagiah feels about his position as a journalist in this situation

8. Look again at lines 69-74. Write two or three sentences to describe and analyse how
Alagiah was affected by his encounter with the man who smiled.
Think about:
 His statement that meeting the man was a seminal moment in the gradual
collection of experiences we call context
 His direct address to the man in the last sentence of the extract

7. Consolidate your understanding

The man who smiled inspired Alagiah to write about the village of Gufgaduud.

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References to his face help to structure the extract. Complete the flow chart with brief
notes to show how references to the face run through and shape the extract.

lines 1-2:
The extract opens with a reference to the thousand hungry lean, scared
and betrayed faces which Alagiah saw but there is one I will never forget.

line 32:

line 46-51:

line 52-56:

line 57-68:
Seeing the man’s smile causes Alagiah to think about…

line 69-74:

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

How does the writer use language and structure to convey his thoughts
and feelings about what he sees in Somalia? You should support your

20
answer with close reference to the extract, including brief quotations
(12 marks)
Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about what he sees in Somalia and HOW he
says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

Alagiah builds tension from the start of the extract by emphasizing…

The reader senses that this story will be…

The writer was evidently deeply affected by witnessing…

Alagiah builds a picture of …

The language used to describe…

Emotive language is used to …

Alagiah conveys his personal response to what he sees by…

The extract is structured around references to the man who smiles…

The man who smiles makes Alagiah feel…

The beginning and end of the extract are linked by…

A Passage to Africa: Suggested Answers

3. Get started

21
It could be difficult to witness suffering at close hand. A journalist might find it intrusive
to interview people in such terrible circumstances. They could feel a conflict between
doing their job as a journalist and wanting to help people in need.

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1.
 Alagiah refers to the thousand hungry, lean, scared and
betrayed faces he saw in Somalia and says that there was one
he will never forget, telling us that this man is significant but that there are
a thousand others also suffering.
 The remoteness of the village is emphasised by the phrase in the back of beyond,
the long directions in how to get there, and the description of Gufgaduud as like a
ghost village as if the people living there hardly exist.
 He admits that journalists are ghoulish in the way that they seek out stories which
shock and after a while it takes more extreme stories to shock them, just as drug
addicts need more and more of a drug.

2.
 Naming the girl and her mother and sister makes us think of them as the real
people they are rather than as characters in a piece of writing and this makes it
easier for us to empathise with their situation.
 The word hut tells us that the girls live in a basic shelter probably with few
comforts; the words lying on the dirt floor suggests that they are so weak they
have fallen to the ground and are facing death with no comfort whatsoever.
 The fact of Habiba’s death is given in a short, direct, statement which shocks:
Habiba had died. Alagiah’s reflections on her death are thoughtful and he uses a
long sentence full of commas to convey this simple, frictionless, motionless
deliverance from a state of half-life to death itself as if he is trying to make sense
of it.

3.
 There is a smell of decaying flesh from a wound in the woman’s leg which makes
the air putrid; the repetition and parallel phrasing in, It was rotting; she was
rotting emphasises that the woman is close to death as we can see in the
description of her festering wound and sick, yellow eyes.
 The reader may feel horror, revulsion, pity or even anger at the description and
these emotions are also seen increasingly in the writer’s language as the extract
progresses

4.
 The sentence And then there was the face I will never forget is foregrounded by
being placed in a single-sentence paragraph, suggesting that this face is important
 A similar sentence began the extract when Alagiah referred to the thousand faces
he had seen in Somalia, adding that there is one I will never forget.

22
5.
 Emotive language: revulsion is repeated for emphasis and followed by the word
disgusted because it seems cruel to be disgusted by other humans; the human
body is described as being sucked of its vitality which sounds unpleasant; terms
such as bodily functions and excretion sound almost scientific but when paired
with hear and smell they are graphic descriptions of what Alagiah sees and
experiences
 Alagiah feels disgust at what he sees and perhaps guilty that he wipes his hand
after touching the clammy palm of a mother with a sick child; he feels pity but also
admiration for those people who even in despair attempt to keep their dignity, for
example the woman who covers her body or the man who keeps his hoe next to
him as if he will one day return to working on the land

6.
 In this section the word face appears three times and smile or smiled appears nine
times so it is clear that this encounter is important to the writer
 The parallel phrasing of It touched me and It moved me emphasises the fact that
Alagiah feels an emotional connection with the man who smiles
 The question What was it about that smile? shows Alagiah’s curiosity to find out
why someone in such a desperate situation would smile at a journalist

7.
 This interaction leads Alagiah to consider the relationship between the active
journalist and the passive subject as here it is exaggerated; he draws further
contrasts between me and him… us and them… the rich world and the poor world
 Alagiah is conscious that he is part of the rich world, well-fed and strong and
confident and feels that he must write the story of what he has seen in Gufgaduud

8.
 Alagiah feels that meeting the man was seminal or influential on his thinking; he
realises that journalists can study facts and figures but these show nothing
compared to the experience of meeting people such as the man who smiled
 At the end of the passage, Alagiah expresses regret that he never learned the
man’s name but speaks directly to him in an informal tone which contrasts with
the more formal language of the rest of the extract; the words I owe you one
suggest that he is grateful for the insight the man gave him into the suffering he
witnessed in Somalia.

7. Consolidate your understanding

23
 lines 1-2:
The extract opens with a reference to the thousand hungry lean, scared
and betrayed faces which Alagiah saw but there is one I will never forget.

line 32:
The sentence And then there was the face I will never forget is
foregrounded by being placed in a paragraph on its own, showing the
significance of this man; beginning the sentence with and suggests a pause
at the start for further emphasis

line 46-51:
The repetition of the words face and smile show the significance the writer
attaches to this gesture

line 52-56:
The question What was it about that smile? shows Alagiah’s curiosity

line 57-68:
Seeing the man’s smile causes Alagiah to think about the relationship
between journalist and subject and the contrasts between him as strong
and confident and the man as weakened by hunger and ground down by
conflict.

line 69-74:
Alagiah realises that the man has given him real insight into the situation in
Somalia and feels in his debt; he perhaps sees that although this man was a
single individual, there are thousands like him

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified

24
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

The Explorer’s Daughter

by
Kari Herbert

25
A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

Kari Herbert’s father was an explorer and as a child she lived

in the Arctic with her family, among the Inughuit people. In
this extract, she describes revisiting the area as an adult,
staying near Thule, a remote settlement in the north of Greenland.

2. Summary of the text

In writing about her visit to Greenland, Kari Herbert describes

watching a hunt for the narwhal, a toothed whale. Although
she realises that the people of the Arctic rely on narwhal hunting to
survive, she feels sadness that such beautiful creatures are killed.

3. Get started

Different people may have differing views about hunting. Write down some
reasons why hunting might take place.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of The Explorer’s Daughter which starts on page 6 of
your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 4 spectral all the colours of the rainbow

26
line 5 merge join together
line 5 methodically in an orderly way
line 26 harpoon spear
line 35 knoll small hill
line 39 crucial vital, very important
line 43 sound an area of water
line 46 kayak a small canoe-like boat
line 52 capsized overturned
line 53 foolhardy risky, unwise
line 56 dilemma problem
line 65 imported goods supplies brought in from other countries

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. In the first paragraph, Herbert watches the hunters on the water and is
affected by the beauty of the scene. Complete the quotations below which
describe the beauty of the light and the movement of the narwhal.

a) Quotations about the beauty of the light:

 line 3: catching the light in a __________ ________ __ _______________

 line 6: the ______________ kingdom

 line 8: evening light was turning ___________-_________ , ___________ off man and
whale and catching the soft billows of smoke from a lone hunter’s pipe

b) Quotations about the movements of the narwhal:

 line 4: narwhal circled in the fjord, looking as if they were going to ___________ but
always _______________, ____________________ passing each other by

2. In paragraphs 2 and 3, the writer presents some facts about narwhal whales and why they
are hunted. Tick the statements below which are true and correct those which are false.

a) The narwhal’s blubber contains minerals and vitamins

27
 True/ false___________________________________________________________

b) The narwhal’s blubber contains vitamin D

True/ false __________________________________________________________

c) The meat of the narwhal is used for food for both people and dogs
True/ false __________________________________________________________

d) A narwhal’s tusk can grow up to six feet in length

True/ false __________________________________________________________

e) A narwhal’s tusk is of no use to hunters

True/ false __________________________________________________________

3. In paragraphs 4-6, Herbert describes seeing local men hunting the narwhal, watched by
their wives. Analyse the emotions felt by the wives and by the writer as they watch the hunt
by answering the questions below:

a) The wives gasp or jump (line 37) every time they see a hunter near to a narwhal. How
does the language here raise the tension to convey how important it is to them that their
husbands catch narwhal?

b) As the writer sees a hunter close to a pair of narwhal, she says I urged the man on in my
head (line 50). How does the language here show the writer’s wish for the hunter to be
successful in the hunt?

c) The writer also says, At the same time my heart urged the narwhal to dive, to leave, to
survive (lines 54-55). Why does she also want the narwhal to escape and how does her
language show this?

4. In the final paragraph, the writer discusses the dilemma she faces in Greenland over her
feelings about hunting. Complete and add to the chart below with the points she makes for
and against hunting.

Points for hunting Points against hunting

Life is harsh in the Arctic and Animals and sea mammals should
hunting provides … be protected because of…

28
5. What conclusion does the writer reach about hunting at the end of the extract?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

29
7. Consolidate your understanding

The writer feels a conflict between head and heart: in her head, she understands
the Inughuit people’s need to hunt; in her heart, she loves the narwhal for their
grace and beauty. Fill the boxes below with notes and short quotations to show
the language she uses to describe how she feels in her head and how she feels in her heart.

She appreciates the beauty

of the narwhal: plumes of spray…
catching the light in a spectral
play of colour (line 3)

Heart

She describes the scene of the hunters

on the water as…

The writer presents facts: It is

Impossible to import all food
needed in the Arctic: one annual
supply ship, twice-weekly plane

Head
Use of technical language
eg.mattak, vitamin C,
shows she is thinking
through the detail

30
8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

How does the writer use language and structure to present the conflict in
her thoughts and feelings about hunting? You should support your answer
with close reference to the extract, including brief quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about hunting and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

The writer understands the practical reasons for hunting narwhal but feels a conflict…

She loves watching the hunters and describes the setting and atmosphere…

The movements of the narwhal are described as …

The writer’s language shows that she feels it is a magical experience to see the narwhal…

The writer presents the facts…

Life in the Arctic is harsh and …

The conflict the writer feels is clear as she watches…

She respects the hunters for their…

Her strong wish for the narwhal to survive is shown when…

The final short sentence of the extract ….

31
 The Explorer’s Daughter: Suggested Answers

3. Get started

Answers may include:

 For food
 To use skins or fur for clothing
 For sport
 As a tradition
 To control the numbers of particular species
 For money

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. a)
 line 3: catching the light in a spectral play of colour
As the plumes of spray rise up, the colours of the rainbow are
reflected, making this a beautiful sight

 line 6: the glittering kingdom

The word glittering shows that the light is sparkling across the water and the
beauty of the scene causes the writer to take a sharp intake of breath; the word
kingdom makes it seem almost magical, like a scene from fairytale

 line 8: evening light was turning butter-gold, glinting off man and whale and
catching the soft billows of smoke from a lone hunter’s pipe
The compound adjective butter-gold suggests a richness of colour and the word
glinting shows how the light reflects on the scene which seems almost like a
painting

1.b)
 line 4: narwhal circled in the fjord, looking as if they were going to merge but
always slowly, methodically passing each other by
The movements of the narwhal are fluid and graceful, almost as if they are in a
carefully choreographed dance

2.
a) True 
b) False: The blubber is a rich source of vitamin C
c) True 
d) True 
e) False: The tusk seems of little use to the narwhal but can be used for harpoon tips,
handles, carvings and was even used as a beam to hold up houses

3.

32
a) Narwhal meat is part of the Inughuit diet because fruit and vegetables cannot grow in
the Arctic climate and importing food to the region is difficult. The wives know that if
their husbands catch a narwhal they will have food and any surplus can be sold to bring in
extra income.

b) Having lived in the Arctic as a child, the writer has an affection for the Inughuit people
and realises that they depend on hunting to survive. She knows that hunting on the
freezing water is dangerous as the hunters are in flimsy kayaks which could easily capsize.
The hunter she watches is armed with only a single harpoon and she feels respect for his
bravery as he takes aim at the narwhal.

c) The writer also wants the narwhal to escape the hunter because she loves these
creatures, as shown in her description of them at the start of the extract, and she hates
the thought of them being killed. Her thoughts are shown by the verb urged which
suggests strong feeling, and by the triple infinitive in which each of the three verbs (dive…
leave… survive) means that the narwhal will be saved.

4.
Points for hunting Points against hunting
Food is hard to grow in the Arctic Animals and sea mammals should
and tricky to import so hunting be protected because of their
provides food for the people and beauty
their dogs
The writer feels affection for the
The Inughuit do not use cruel narwhal and does not want to see
methods and they do not kill for them killed
sport

They use every part of the animals

they kill

5. In the last line of the extract the writer concludes that Hunting is still an absolute
necessity in Thule which suggests that, although she does not like the thought of animals
being killed, she understands the need to hunt in some parts of the world.

7. Consolidate your understanding

33
 She appreciates the beauty
of the narwhal: plumes of spray… She finds the movements of the narwhal
catching the light in a spectral fascinating as they methodically weave
play of colour past each other, as if in a choreographed dance

She describes the beauty of the Heart She creates atmosphere in her
hunting scene, emphasising description of the light catching
the richness of the butter-gold the soft billows of smoke from
evening light which is a lone hunter’s pipe
glinting off man and whale
as if they are one unit

She describes the scene of the hunters on the water as a glittering kingdom
as if it is a fairytale and feels that seeing the narwhal is a magical experience,
saying I fell to wondering if the narwhal existed at all or were instead mischievous
tricks of the shifting light

The hunters do not kill for sport or

pleasure: narwhal meat is an essential Use of factual language: it is
contributor to their survival impossible to import all food
needed in the Arctic: one annual
supply ship, twice-weekly plane
Uses examples: all parts of the narwhal
are used eg. tusks for harpoons
and handles Head

Use of technical language

eg.mattak, vitamin C, She conveys the tension of the
shows she is thinking hunters’ wives as they watch
through the detail the hunt and gasp or jump in
fear so we see how important
hunting is for the Inughuit

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

34
 If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill

35
 by
Steven Norris

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

This extract is taken from an article published in The

Guardian newspaper in 2003. It tells the story of two men
who were rescued from a life raft after their helicopter crashed into the
sea during an expedition to explore Antarctica.

2. Summary of the text

The writer of this newspaper article presents some

background to the rescue of Steve Brooks and Quentin
Smith. He describes the rescue operations needed to save them from
this failed exploration and the language he uses gives some insight into his opinion of the
two explorers.

3. Get started

Study the language of the full title of this extract: Explorers or boys messing
about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill. How do the writer’s word
choices give a hint of his views about Brooks and Smith and their expedition?

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of Explorers or Boys Messing About? which starts on
page 8 of your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to
help with difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where
necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

36
line 1 farce ridiculous comedy
line 2 Bering Strait sea between Alaska and Russia
line 20 ditched land on water in an emergency
line 21 scrambled moved hurriedly in a disorderly way
line 26 deciphered worked out the meaning
line 28 surveying uncharted waters studying areas not previously mapped
line 29 dispatched sent
line 31 poor visibility not being able to see
line 50 amphibious vehicle able to travel on land and sea
line 50 ice floes sheets of ice floating in the sea
line 53 scramble military helicopters prepare helicopters for action
line 54 ironically a result the opposite of that expected
line 57 Jane’s Helicopter Markets a reference book about helicopters

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Look again at lines 1-21. Some words and phrases used by the
writer are listed below. In each one, analyse what the writer’s
choice of words in bold shows about how he views Brooks and
Smith. The first has been done for you.

 Their last expedition ended in farce (line 1)

The word farce implies that the trip was a ridiculous, almost comic, disaster

 … almost led to tragedy when their helicopter plunged into the sea (line 5)

 … a nine-hour rescue…. involved the Royal Navy, the RAF and British coastguards
(lines 6-9)

 … the men’s adventure had cost the taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of
thousands of pounds (lines 10-11)

37
  Experts questioned the wisdom of taking a small helicopter… into such a hostile
environment (lines 11-12)

 … confusion about what exactly the men were trying to achieve…. claims the
team were planning… Ms Vestey claimed she did not know what the pair were up
to, describing them as ‘boys messing about with a helicopter’. (lines 14-18)

 Mr Brooks, 42, and 40- year-old Mr Smith, also known as Q, ditched into the sea…
and scrambled into their life raft.

2. Look again at lines 22-30. What details does the writer give about the rescue mission
and what do you notice about how the writer presents these details?

3. In lines 36-45 the writer gives information about the two men’s previous travel
experiences. What aspects of these experiences does the writer emphasise and what
does his language show us about his opinions of the two men?

4. A previous expedition to cross the Bering Strait in an amphibious vehicle is described in

lines 46-55. Why was this expedition halted and what was ironic about it?

5. In lines 56- 69 the writer includes many quotations to give other people’s views of the
men’s actions. Summarise what each of the following said. What was the writer trying to
achieve by including these particular quotations?

38
 Günter Endres, editor of Jane’s Helicopter Markets and Systems said that:

 A spokesman for Brooks and Smith said that:

 A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said that:

 Ms Vestey, Mr Brooks’ wife, said that:

 By choosing these quotations, the writer is aiming to show that:

7. Consolidate your understanding

39
The words and phrases below are used in the text in connection with
 EITHER Mr Brooks and Mr Smith and their expedition
 OR their rescuers and the rescue
Use one colour to highlight the words and phrases used in connection with Brooks and
Smith and their expedition. Use a different colour to highlight words and phrases used in
connection with the rescuers and the rescue.
Then complete the sentences below to explain any differences you notice between the
two sets of words and phrases.

farce Falmouth coastguard boys messing about

HMS Endurance steaming dispatched

ditched into the sea adventure Chilean naval vessel

Royal Navy, the RAF and British coastguards what the pair were up to

scrambled into their life raft RAF Kinloss plunged

surveying uncharted waters walked barefoot for three days

have their bottoms kicked Lynx helicopters

Many of the words and phrases used to describe the two men and their expedition are:
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Many of the words and phrases used to describe the rescuers and rescue are:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

40
 How does the writer use language and structure to make his opinions of
Brooks and Smith clear to the reader? You should support your answer
with close reference to the extract, including brief quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about Brooks and Smith and HOW he says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

The writer’s opinion of Brooks and Smith is clear from the start of the extract when…

The language used to describe the expedition creates a picture of …

Although the two men’s ages are given as 42 and 40, they are presented as…

The writer emphasises that the rescue operation is…

Background information about the previous travels of Brooks and Smith….

A previous expedition the Bering Strait is described ….

A quotation from a helicopter expert…

The comment from a spokesman for Brooks and Smith…

References to the cost to the taxpayer of the rescue appear twice in the article as well as
in the headline, showing that…

The article begins and ends with the implied suggestion that the two men…

Explorers or Boys Messing About: Suggested Answers

41
3. Get started

The title’s question, Explorers or boys messing about? casts doubt that the
two men are fit to be called explorers. Calling them boys suggests that they
have behaved like children. The phrase messing about creates a picture of children
behaving badly. The statement, Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill carries a note of
bitterness that the actions of the two men have led to an expensive rescue operation
which has to be paid for by ordinary people such as those who will be reading this
newspaper. Before we have even read the article, the title tells us that the writer does
not approve of the men’s actions.

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1.
 The word farce implies that the trip was a ridiculous, almost comic,
disaster

 The phrase almost led to tragedy shows the risks taken by Brooks and Smith and
suggests that they could easily have been killed
Plunged implies that the helicopter lost power and was out of control

 Nine-hour and the listing of the organisations involved shows that the men took up
a lot of the rescuers’ time

 The word adventure makes it sound like a pleasure trip rather than a serious
expedition; the emphasis on the cost shows that the writer feels that taxpayers
should not be paying for the rescue

 The experts contrast with Brooks and Smith who are presented as foolish to take
the
helicopter into such a dangerous or hostile environment

 The word confusion suggests that the men had no clear plan and were not well
prepared. The phrases what the pair were up to and boys messing about present
them as child-like. The word claim casts doubt on the truth of what is said.

 The ages of the men are given to show that, although they have been presented in
child-like terms, they are actually adults who should have known better than to
take such risks. Mr Smith’s nickname of Q comes from James Bond stories as Q is
the name of the man who supplies James Bond with spy gadgets. The implication
is that Quentin Smith sees himself as a James Bond-type figure which makes him
seem a little ridiculous as he needed to be rescued.

2. The writer gives details of how Mr Brooks called his wife in London for help which

42
 suggests that the men had not prepared for any problems that might occur.
Mr Brooks’ Breitling emergency watch is mentioned as emitting distress signals and
the writer states that this was a wedding present, which shows that Mr Brooks was
known by family and friends to be a risk-taker.
Much emphasis is placed on the events after distress signals are received. Many
verbs show the urgency of the situation as signals are deciphered and passed on, a
ship begins steaming towards the scene, and two helicopters are dispatched.
The expense of the rescue operation is emphasised through mention that the first
helicopter was driven back due to poor visibility and a second had to be sent.

3. The writer calls the men adventurers rather than explorers which signals some
disapproval. Mr Brooks is described as a property developer which would give
him no skills as an explorer. The writer gives the number of expeditions completed
by Mr Brooks but the details make them sound unwise as the reader wonders why
anyone would trek solo to Everest, walk barefoot in the Himalayas or put
themselves in danger of being charged by a gorilla.
The writer says that Quentin Smith claims to have been flying since he was five
Years old which sounds unlikely, and the word claims suggests that the writer does
not believe this at all.

4. This expedition to cross the freezing water between the US and Russia was halted
because Russia threatened military action if they tried to cross the border.
This suggests poor planning and was ironic because the expedition was meant to
promote good relations between Russia and western countries.

5.
 Günter Endres, editor of Jane’s Helicopter Markets and Systems said that:
He was surprised by their choice of helicopter

 A spokesman for Brooks and Smith said that:

It was not known what had gone wrong as conditions had been excellent.

 A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said that:

The bill for the rescue operation would be paid by the taxpayer

 Ms Vestey, Mr Brooks’ wife, said that:

The two men had been checked over and would probably get a telling-off

By choosing quotations from these people, the writer is aiming to show that:
 The men have behaved irresponsibly by failing to plan their expedition properly.
 Their rescue took military organisations away from important work and cost a lot
of money.

43
7. Consolidate your understanding

Brooks and Smith Rescuers

farce Falmouth coastguard
boys messing about HMS Endurance
ditched into the sea steaming
adventure dispatched
what the pair were up to Chilean naval vessel
scrambled into their life raft Royal Navy, RAF, British coastguards
plunged RAF Kinloss
walked barefoot for three days surveying uncharted waters
have their bottoms kicked Lynx helicopters

Many of the words and phrases used to describe the two men create a picture of chaos
and confusion, such as farce, ditched, scrambled and plunged, as if events are out of their
control. The descriptions of them as boys messing about and having their bottoms kicked
makes them sound like little boys being naughty rather than adults.

Many of the words and phrases used to describe the rescuers and rescue are proper
nouns, such as Royal Navy or HMS Endurance, names of organisations or equipment with
capital letters giving a sense of their importance. The words and phrases used to describe
their actions, such as steaming, dispatched or surveying uncharted waters suggests that
the rescuers are active and in control of events.

44
8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

45
 Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by
Aron Ralston

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

In 2003, Aron Ralston was hiking alone in Blue John Canyon,

in the Utah desert in the United States. When his right arm
became trapped by a boulder, the only way he could free
himself was by amputating his arm using a pocketknife. He then had to climb down a 20-
metre slope and return through the canyon before reaching safety and medical help. His
story was made into a film, 127 hours.

2. Summary of the text

This extract is taken from Aron Ralston’s autobiography. In it,

he describes hiking in the canyon, how his arm becomes
trapped and his feelings as he realises he cannot free himself.

3. Get started
Watch the film 127 Hours if you can, or find the trailer on Youtube

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of Between a Rock and a Hard Place which starts on
page 10 of your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below
to help with difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

46
5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 1 drop-off a sheer downward slope

line 4 claustrophobic being in a small space
line 6 canyon a deep, narrow valley with steep sides
line 7 lip edge
line 8 stem move with feet and back against opposite walls
line 10 counterpressure balancing
line 11 crevice a narrow gap in the rocks
line 15 ledge a narrow shelf of rock
line 18 dangle hang freely
line 25 teeters move slightly, wobble
line 26 squat crouch down
line 28 akin like
line 29 quake move slightly, wobble
line 31 rotating turning
line 32 consumes fills
line 35 time dilates time slows down
line 37 yank pull sharply
line 38 ensnares traps
line 42 paralyses stops movement
line 45 flaring agony intense pain
line 45 grimace and growl pull a face, groan
line 46 naïve innocent
line 50 adrenaline a hormone released as a response to stress

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. What is meant by the phrase Between a Rock and a Hard Place when
used in conversation?

2. Look again at lines 1-7. In what ways is Ralston’s language here detailed and precise
and why is this important?

3. In lines 8-19, how does Ralston’s language show that he is a highly experienced climber
who plans out every move?

47
4. In lines 20-34, how does the use of verbs raise the tension as Ralston moves across the
canyon?

5. When the rock falls Ralston writes that Time dilates (line 35) or seems to slow down.
How does Ralston convey this feeling of time slowing, and the drama of the situation,
through word choice and sentence structure in lines 35-41?

6. In lines 42- 47 Ralston describes the moment when he realises that his hand is trapped
and the pain hits him. How does he use word choices, sentence lengths, alliteration* and
direct speech to convey his feeling of panic?

7. In lines 48-56, how does Ralston use anecdote*, alliteration*, sentence lengths, direct
speech and word choices to convey the effort involved in his attempt to free his hand?

8. What effect is created in this extract by the use of the first person (I) and the present
tense?

7. Consolidate your understanding

48
Consider the structure of the extract by adding a short summary of each paragraph to the
flowchart below. The first has been done for you.

Paragraph 1: Ralston describes the geography of the canyon in detail,

including precise measurements of the rocks around him

Paragraph 2: He describes the technique of moving through crevices

and introduces the technical term of st------

Paragraph 3:

Paragraph 4:

Paragraph 5:

Paragraph 6:

Paragraph 7:

Paragraph 8:

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

49
 How does the writer use language and structure to create suspense and
drama in his account?
You should support your answer with close reference to the extract,
including brief quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about his experience and HOW he says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

The extract is written in the first person and the present tense which …

Ralston sets the scene by describing…

The writer’s use of technical terms shows that he is an experienced climber…

The precise use of language in describing …

The tension is raised when…

When the rock falls…

Time seems to slow down and Ralston shows this…

Ralston uses various techniques to convey the pain he experiences…

The language reflects the panic that Ralston feels as…

The structure of the extract emphasizes the tension as we see Ralston’s initial
confidence…

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Suggested Answers

50
6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. A rock and a hard place are essentially the same thing, so if someone says they are
in between a rock and a hard place they mean that whatever course of action they
take, it is going to be difficult.

2. Ralston describes the geography of the canyon by providing precise detail about
the rocks and the spaces between them. He gives figures of distances and
measurements: the overhang is eleven or twelve feet high and a slot narrows to a
consistent three feet. This is important because as a climber he needs to take
calculated risks and understanding the spaces around him could save his life.

3. Ralston uses terms such as stemming, a way of moving through narrow spaces
which would be familiar only to climbers. He begins the paragraph by saying that
he sometimes uses this technique, showing that he climbs often, and says it allows
him to move fairly easily although to the average reader it probably sounds very
difficult. His consideration of factors such as counterpressure and friction contact
show his experience. It is clear that he plans every move when he looks at the
chockstone below him and calculates that after stepping onto it he will have nine
feet to descend before making it onto the rocks on the canyon floor.

4. At the start of this section there are many verbs which show Ralston’s precise
movements – traverse, press, kick, lower, step – and make the reader feel that he
is in control and moving expertly. When he steps onto the chockstone, the verb
teeters raises the tension as the stone wobbles but the verbs squat and grip
suggest that he is steadying himself. The verb dangle, denoting a vague,
uncontrolled movement, once again raises the tension. As the stone shifts and he
lands on the rocks below, Ralston writes I know this is trouble as events are
happening which he cannot control. The -ing endings give a sense of immediacy
as he sees the rotating (a verb used as an adjective here) boulder falling towards
him.

5. The colon (:) in line 36 introduces a list of actions separated by semi-colons (;) and
the punctuation slows the pace as if time is moving slowly. The verbs are violent –
smashes… yank… ricochets… crushes… ensnares – suggesting that Ralston has lost
control of events and is struggling to avoid disaster. This long list is followed by a
minor sentence (so-called because there is no verb) Then silence, to show that all
movement has stopped and Ralston is trapped.

6. Ralston at first feels disbelief at what has happened. The exclamation, Good God,

51
 my hand, lacks an exclamation mark, suggesting that these words, if said at all, are
delivered in a grim whisper. The pain sounds like fire in the phrase flaring agony
and the alliteration in Ralston’s grimace and growl makes his reaction seem
animalistic. As he starts to understand his situation he becomes more pro-active
as he gives himself instructions in direct speech ‘Get your hand out of there!’ and
the word yank denotes forceful pulling. Again, this paragraph ends with a short
sentence, But I’m stuck, which gives a sense of finality.

7. Ralston thinks of a story of a mother finding superhuman strength to save her

baby and wonders if he can summon the strength he needs to save himself. He
knows his body’s chemicals are in full flood: the harsh alliteration emphasises his
desperation and the image contrasts with the pain which has been described as
fire-like through the descriptions searing-hot and flaring agony. The effort of
trying to free himself is seen in the verb choices of shove… heaving… pushing…
lifting which all describe strong movements. Again, Ralston uses direct speech to
spur himself on – ‘Come on… move!’ - but just like the previous two paragraphs,
this paragraph ends with a short sentence and this time it is one word, Nothing,
signifying Ralston’s despair at this point.

8. This is an extract from an autobiography and the first-person narration makes it a

very personal account. Writing in the present tense gives a sense of immediacy
and suspense as the reader may feel as if they are experiencing events as they
happen.

7. Consolidate your understanding

52
 Consider the structure of the extract by adding a short summary of each
paragraph to the flowchart below. The first has been done for you.

Paragraph 1: Ralston describes the geography of the canyon in detail,

including precise measurements of the rocks around him

Paragraph 2: He describes the technique of moving through crevices

and introduces the technical term of stemming.

Paragraph 3: He plans the moves he will make in order to reach the

rocks on the canyon floor.

Paragraph 4: He describes the careful movements he makes onto the

chockstone.

Paragraph 5: He lets go of the chockstone and sees it falling towards

his head.

Paragraph 6: Time seems to slow down as the rock smashes his left
hand against the wall.

Paragraph 7: He realises that his hand is trapped between the rocks

and the pain hits him.

Paragraph 8: He pulls and pushes to try to release his hand but

nothing happens.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

53
If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

Young and Dyslexic? You’ve got it going on

54
 by
Benjamin Zephaniah

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

Benjamin Zephaniah is a successful poet and writer who often

gives live performances of his work. When he was at school in
the 1970s, he struggled with reading and writing and later was diagnosed as
dyslexic. This article was published in 2015 in a book called Creative,
Successful, Dyslexic, by Jessica Kingsley.

2. Summary of the text

Zephaniah was at school in a time before dyslexia was

understood and he describes his clashes with teachers. He
explains that after learning to read and write at 21 years old he published
poetry, plays and novels and went on to become Professor of Poetry and
Creative Writing at Brunel University. He argues that dyslexia can be a
creative gift because it allows people to see the world differently.

3. Get started
Find one of Zephaniah’s books in a library or watch a performance of his
poetry on Youtube.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of Young and Dyslexic? which starts on page 12 of your
Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

55
line 1 dyslexia difficulties with reading and writing
line 2 architects people who design buildings
line 4 compassion kindness towards other people
line 23 stereotyping having a fixed idea about someone
line 32 borstal a school for young offenders
line 35 observant pay attention, be aware
line 37 statistics numbers, figures
line 40 conquering beating, defeating
line 50 phonetically spelling a word how it sounds
line 80 defect fault, weakness

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

Answer the following questions to analyse the ways in which Zephaniah

uses language and structure to convey to the reader the experience of
being dyslexic.

1. He sees dyslexia as a means of seeing the world more creatively and uses a metaphor*
to refer to dyslexic people as members of two creative professions. What are these
creative professions and why do you think Zephaniah uses this metaphor? (line 2)

2. He feels he was let down by the education system and although he is not angry about
it, his language is very negative. What triple* does he use to describe the system and
what is the effect? (lines 4-5)

3. The phrase the past is a different kind of country (line 7-8) is a literary reference, a
paraphrasing of the first line of the novel The Go-Between by LP Hartley, published in
1953. What are the exact words of the first line of the novel and what is significant about
Zephaniah’s use of this reference?

4. He gives examples and anecdotes* in lines 9-23 to build a picture of his schooldays. In
your own words, summarise briefly three or four of his interactions with teachers and
analyse what went wrong for Zephaniah at school.

56
5. He describes his own shortcomings or faults in lines 24-35. What bad behaviour does
he admit to and how did he start to make better choices?

6. He refers to statistics in lines 36-45. Why does he say If you look at the statistics, I
should be in prison? (line 37) and what similarities and differences between himself and
prisoners does he list?

7. He uses direct and personal language. Find some examples of his use of the first
person (I) and short sentences in lines 45-54.

8. Zephaniah shows honesty in describing the difficulties he still faces because of his
dyslexia. Find some examples in lines 55-69 and explain the way he overcomes these
difficulties when writing and performing.

9. He gives advice to other people with dyslexia in lines 70-88. Give two or three
examples of the advice he gives.

10. He uses structure to present a powerful argument by linking the ending of the article
to the beginning. Analyse the ways in which the last paragraph of the article links to the
first paragraph.

7. Consolidate your understanding

In section 6 you studied ten techniques used by Zephaniah in this

57
essay. Using only the text to help you, try to write one of these techniques
with a few brief notes in each of the bubbles below.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English

Language, question 4

58
How does the writer use language and structure to convey the experience of being
dyslexic?
You should support your answer with close reference to the extract, including brief
quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about his experience and HOW he says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

Zephaniah argues that dyslexic people are creative and he uses a metaphor…

At school in the 1970s, his dyslexia was not recognised and he criticises the education
system …

The literary reference to …

Zephaniah’s school experience …

He reveals that ….

Zephaniah lists the features of his early life which …

The language is direct and personal when …

There is honesty in the way …

Zephaniah’s advice…

The writing is structured…

Young and Dyslexic?: Suggested Answers

59
6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Zephaniah refers to dyslexic people as architects and designers. Architecture and

design are creative, high-status professions and by using these terms Zephaniah is
saying that dyslexic people have the potential to be high-achievers who can shape
society.

2. The triple is no compassion, no understanding, no humanity. The triple negative

(no) shows Zephaniah’s feeling that education was lacking in the 1970s and the
triple abstract nouns (compassion, understanding, humanity) present the positives
that he felt should have been present.

3. The Go-Between, a novel about growing up, begins, The past is a foreign country:
they do things differently there. Zephaniah paraphrases the line to show that his
schooldays were many years ago and that times have changed. The fact that
Zephaniah struggled to learn to read and yet now makes reference to a classic
novel from English Literature shows what he has achieved.

4. When Zephaniah questioned a teacher over whether there would be more good in
the world if humans spent less time sleeping, he felt he was being creative in his
thinking but remembers that the teacher called him stupid. He got into trouble
after challenging the racism of a teacher who referred to people in Africa as local
savages. When he asked for help with writing a teacher told him to go and play
football and Zephaniah later realised how he was stereotyped. These examples
and anecdotes show that Zephaniah was an intelligent and creative pupil who was
disadvantaged by the racist attitudes of those around him and the lack of
awareness of dyslexia in the 1970s.

5. He hints at involvement in dubious money-making schemes in his early teens

when he admits that he found reading hard work but he thought that all he
needed to do was read how much a banknote was worth. He was expelled from
several schools for challenging teachers and for fighting. He admits that he took
revenge on a teacher who had claimed that the Nazis weren’t that bad by stealing
the teacher’s car and driving it into his garden. At borstal, looking closely at others
and realising he did not want to be like them helped him to make better choices in
his behaviour.

6. Zephaniah realises that many features of his background are similar to those of

60
 people in prison and he uses a list to make the point: a black man brought up on
the wrong side of town whose family fell apart, in trouble with the police when I
was a kid, unable to read and write, with no qualifications and, on top of that,
dyslexic. The difference is that for him opportunities opened up.

7. The personal pronoun, I, appears 17 times in this section, showing that this is a
highly personal account. Zephaniah recalls writing poems before he could read
and write accurately and his confidence in himself is conveyed through short,
direct sentences such as I never thought I was stupid and I just had self-belief.

8. He still finds some words difficult to spell and gives the example of a word like
knot. Often, he will draw or write a symbol of the word and come back to it later.
When faced with a book he still notes the size of it in assessing how long it will
take to read. He can perform poetry live but will never read from his novels in
public because of the energy this requires.

9. He feels that if someone does not understand dyslexia then it is their problem, not
his. He says that in many ways dyslexia is a natural way to be because it is strange
that, in writing, a sound can be represented by a squiggle. He advises that
dyslexia is not a measure of intelligence and should not be considered a defect.
He argues that dyslexic people are creative because they have to think of different
ways to do things and often see the world differently. He uses the pronouns we
and us to include himself with other dyslexic people and says that we are the
architects. We are the designers. He feels that dyslexic children should be proud
of their creativity.

10. The first and last paragraphs are linked through the repetition of the phrases, We
are the architects, we are the designers as Zephaniah argues that dyslexic people
are part of the creative forces driving society forwards. Placing this metaphor at
both the beginning and the end of the piece emphasises the positivity of the
article.

7. Consolidate your understanding

61
8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

62
If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

by
63
 Emma Levine

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

This piece of travel writing is taken from a book which is linked to

Emma Levine’s television series about unusual sports around the
world. Here, Levine describes filming a donkey race in Karachi, Pakistan.

2. Summary of the text

Levine describes finding a good viewing spot to watch the

donkey race and waiting for the start which is frantic and
noisy. Filming from the boot of a moving car, she is in the middle of the
action when the race ends in a pile-up and the atmosphere darkens.

3. Get started
Search Youtube for Donkey racing in Karachi to watch a donkey race like the
one described in the extract.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat which starts on
page 15 of your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below
to help with difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

64
line 1 crest of the hill top of the hill
line 3 Wacky Races a TV cartoon comedy about silly races
line 7 Karachi a city in Pakistan in Asia
line 8 eternity for ever
line 8 brow of the hill top part of the hill
line 16 fumes gas or vapour from engines
line 17 revved up pressed the accelerator
line 19 entourage people surrounding them
line 20 neck-and-neck equal, going at the same speed
line 26 jostled pushed
line 30 Formula One motor racing
line 31 anarchic without rules, uncontrolled
line 31 flouting ignoring or breaking the rules
line 34 reflexes natural reactions
line 49 punters people who had laid bets on the race result
line 52 bookmakers people who organize the betting
line 54 volatile unpredictable, likely to explode
line 56 emerged came out, returned
line 59 sedate slower, more careful

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. In lines 1-6, how does Emma Levine establish a positive and humorous
tone to begin the description of the donkey race?

2. How does the writer build up the tension as the race is about to start in lines 7-14?

3. As the race begins, how does the writer use references to the senses to convey its
sights, sounds and smells in lines 15-27? Analyse the effectiveness of some short
quotations.

65
4. When the race speeds up, the pace of the writing increases. How are word choices,
comparisons, lists and punctuation used to convey the speed of the race in lines 28-41?

5. The writer, Emma Levine, is filming the race from the boot of a car driven by Yaqoob.
What impression is given of the character of Yaqoob in lines 28-41?

6. How does the writer use short sentences and a triple* to signal the change in
atmosphere as the pile-up happens and the race is ended in lines 42-53?

7. What else do we learn about Yaqoob in lines 54-63 and what does this add to the tone
of the extract?

8. A chronological piece of writing describes events in the order they happened from
beginning to end. Is this a chronological piece of writing?

7. Consolidate your understanding

In this extract, the writer not only describes the donkey race. She also

66
describes the people watching the race and her own race to get pictures. She uses many
different writing techniques to convey her experience.
Find one short quotation to show each of the following:

 The positive and humorous tone established at the start of the extract

 The build-up of tension as they wait for the race to begin

 References to the senses in describing the race as it starts

 The speed of the race

 The character of Yaqoob

 The change in atmosphere when the race is ended

 The humour of the ending

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English

Language, question 4

67
How does the writer use language and structure to engage the reader’s interest in the
donkey race? You should support your answer with close reference to the extract,
including brief quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about the donkey race and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

The extract is chronological as the race is described …

The tone of the opening of the extract is …

The reference to the TV comedy cartoon Wacky Races…

Levine raises the tension as …

The race is described with emphasis on the senses…

As the race speeds up the pace of the writing…

Levine develops the character of Yaqoob by …

The speed and excitement of the race is …

The tone changes when…

The ending of the extract links back to the start …

A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat: Suggested Answers

68
6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Levine describes herself with the lads which sounds informal and
friendly. Their enthusiasm for following the donkey race in the car is shown in the
phrase they loved the idea. They suggest filming from the boot of the car and the
fact that they see it as no problem to get to the front shows their eagerness to
help and have some fun at the same time. The comparison of the donkey race to
the old TV cartoon comedy of Wacky Races sets a humorous tone.

2. Levine emphasizes the length of the wait for the start of the race by using
exaggeration or hyperbole in the phrase We waited for eternity. The anti-climax
when the only movement is a villager on a wobbly bicycle brings some humour but
the anticipation is raised again in the repetition of Coming, coming as they
question other spectators about when the race will begin.

3. Through the description the reader can smell and hear the race before they see it.
The donkey carts are in a cloud of fumes and dust created by the vehicles
following them. The writer describes the noise of horns tooting, bells ringing as
spectators use rattles and cheer and shout. In the middle of this, the actual race is
dwarfed (seems small) and the sight is described as two donkeys with their jockeys
perched on top of the tiny carts using their whips energetically, giving an
impression of urgency, speed and danger.

4. The speed of Yaqoob’s driving is shown by the word swerve, a word which also
hints at a lack of control. The comparisons with Formula One and a city rush-hour
suggest the speed of the race while the words without rules and anarchic show
that the race is chaotic. The long sentences and listing of qualities needed to
compete, separated by semi-colons (beginning the ability to cut in front of a
vehicle) speed up the pace of the writing to reflect the speed of the race. Brackets
around no lane discipline here and dashes before and after for it was a main road
give the piece a conversational, breathless tone to show excitement, as if there is
no time for proper sentences.

5. Levine refers to Yaqoob affectionately as our young driver and she sounds
confident in his abilities in finding the perfect place to view the race. She uses the
word relished to signal his enjoyment of the process and her descriptions of his
sharp flick of the steering wheel, his quick reflexes and nerves of steel suggest that
she admires his abilities. The phrase Yaqoob loved it tells us that he revels in the
challenge of the race with his hand permanently on the horn and his language
growing more colourful as the excitement mounts. Yaqoob is presented as an
exuberant character which adds interest to the writing.

6. After several longer sentences, the short sentence The race was over ends the
paragraph with a tone of finality. A pause is suggested by the first word of the
next paragraph, and, as if this is a conversation in which the speaker has stopped

69
 for breath before giving the details of the trouble which followed. The conflicts
between jockeys, officials, punters and bookmakers are presented in the triple
Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising to show the combination of
vocal disagreements, physical fights and internalised anger which sours the
atmosphere.

7. At the end of the extract we learn that Yaqoob does not yet have a driving licence
because he is too young. Although the writer does not find this information as
funny as Yaqoob and his friend Iqbal, it ends the extract on a humorous note. It
also provides a link back to the reference to Wacky Races at the start and the
description of Yaqoob’s driving in the middle of the extract, and so adds to the
structure of the writing.

8. This is a chronological piece of writing because events are described from

beginning to end in the order in which they happened.

7. Consolidate your understanding

 The positive and humorous tone established at the start of the extract
I asked the lads if we could join in the Wacky Races…

 The build-up of tension as they wait for the race to begin

We waited for eternity…

 References to the senses in describing the race as it starts

a cloud of fumes and dust… jockeys perched on tiny carts … horns tooting, bells
ringing…

 The speed of the race

Formula One without rules, or a city-centre rush hour gone anarchic…

 The character of Yaqoob

his hand permanently on the horn and his language growing more colourful…

 The change in atmosphere when the race is ended

And then the trouble began…. Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers
rising

 The humour of the ending

I don’t even have my licence yet because I’m underage!

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

70
If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan

71
 by
Jamie Zeppa

A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

In her twenties, Jamie Zeppa left Canada to work as a teacher

in Bhutan. Bhutan is a mountainous, landlocked country in
South Asia which was not exposed to western culture until the second
half of the twentieth century. In this autobiographical writing, she reflects on her arrival
there and describes the affection she developed for Bhutan and its people.

2. Summary of the text

When Zeppa arrives in Bhutan, she is struck by the

mountainous terrain but does not feel the same
enthusiasm for Bhutan as the other new teachers she meets. The capital, Thimphu,
seems small and unsophisticated. However, after a week-long orientation session with
other new teachers, learning about Bhutanese history and mixing with Bhutanese people,
she feels admiration for this small country, and it seems that she will grow to love it.

3. Get started

Find Bhutan on a map of the world and do some research about its history,
geography and culture.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of Beyond the Sky and the Earth which starts on page 17
of your Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help
with difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

72
line 10 pine-panelled room walls covered in wooden panels
line 15 convulsion irregular, involuntary movement of the body
line 15 crests and gorges peaks and valleys
line 15 pinnacles highest points
line 17 altitude height above sea level
line 24 impish mischievous but fun
line 28 ecstatic very happy
line 31 intersections crossroads
line 32 landcruiser large four-wheeled drive car
line 32 incomprehensible hard to understand
line 33 pitched roof a roof that slopes downwards on two sides
line 33 trefoil window in shape of three joined circles
line 40 a Rambo poster an advertisement for a popular American film
line 41 cultural infiltration signs of western customs
line 51 blueprints plans
line 56 aristocratic from a high social class
line 60 voluminous loose and full
line 61 complexions skin tones
line 64 ex-pat someone living outside of their home country
line 70 orientation session introductory information and training
line 76 indigenous originally from Bhutan
line 82 felicitously-named a well-chosen name
line 87 hue colour or shade
line 87 hue [and] cry public shouts, historically to catch criminals
line 89 cordial pleasant, friendly
line 96 preservation keeping

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

Each of the statements below describes a way in which the author tries to
convey her thoughts and feelings about Bhutan to the reader. Using short
quotations where possible, find evidence from the text for each statement.

1. Zappa uses imaginative language to describe the landscape of Bhutan (lines 1-18).

2. The writer’s language in describing her first morning in Bhutan shows that she
feels quite negative about her arrival whereas two other new teachers, Lorna and
Sasha, feel positive about the experiences to come (lines 19-29).

73
3. Her description of roads, buildings and shops shows how unfamiliar Bhutan feels
and what she means by the Bhutanese-ness of everything (lines 30-42).

4. She emphasizes Bhutan’s remoteness by describing the long journey to get there
(lines 7-9) and by referring to the signs of the outside world that she sees (lines 38-
42)

5. She shows interest by listing facts about Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan (lines 43-
53).

6. The description of the appearance, clothes and manners of the Bhutanese people
shows the writer’s developing affection for Bhutan and its people (lines 54-69).

7. Zappa’s interest in Bhutan is shown in her fascination with the former names of
the country (lines 70-86).

8. At the end of the extract the uncertainty Zappa felt when she first arrived in
Bhutan at the start has been replaced by more positive feelings about the country
(lines 96-98)

7. Consolidate your understanding

The bullet points below list some words and phrases used by Zappa to

74
describe Bhutan, in the order they appear in the text. Some are positive and some are
negative.
Use one colour to highlight those which are positive and use another colour to highlight
those which are negative. What do you notice?

 Powdered milk, plasticky white bread and flavorless red jam

 Policemen using … incomprehensible… hand gestures

 Packages of stale, soft cookies

 Hideously colored Orange Cream Biscuits

 Cracked sidewalks and faded paintwork

 A grand, whitewashed, red-roofed, golden-tipped fortress

 Beautiful aristocratic faces

 Dark, almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones and gentle smiles

 Young man… explaining politely in impeccable English

 Dignity, unselfconsciousness, good humor, grace

 Earlier names for Bhutan are just as beautiful

 I am full of admiration for this small country

I notice that: ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

How does the writer use language and structure to convey her thoughts
and feelings about Bhutan to the reader?

75
You should support your answer with close reference to the extract, including brief
quotations (12 marks)

Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about Bhutan and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

This extract shows that the writer’s thoughts and feelings about Bhutan develop …

When she first sees the mountainous landscape of Bhutan, the writer…

The description of breakfast on her first morning is…

There is a contrast between the writer’s thoughts and feelings and those of…

The unfamiliarity of Bhutan is shown through the phrase the Bhutanese-ness of

everything…

Bhutan’s remoteness is emphasized through…

The listing of what Zappa has learned about Thimphu…

The writer’s developing affection for Bhutan is shown in her description of the
appearance, clothes and manners of the Bhutanese people…

The former names of Bhutan and its districts…

At the end of the extract…

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan: Suggested Answers

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

76
 1. Zappa imagines that the mountains were formed by a giant child
building intricate shapes, as in a sand pit. She pictures the child
piling up rock, pinching mud… knuckling out little valleys… poking holes to form the
mountains and gorges. The listing of present participles ( -ing words) suggests the
huge effort which would be involved in forming such vast landscapes.

2. The writer’s attitude is shown through her description of an unappealing breakfast

which emphasises the negatives. The coffee is instant, the milk is powdered, the
bread is plasticky and the jam is merely red because it has no flavour. Zappa’s
breakfast companions, two other Canadian teachers, demonstrate more positive
feelings through Lorna’s ringing laughter and Sasha’s impish smile. Having both
travelled widely in the past, Lorna and Sasha feel ecstatic to be in Bhutan and the
writer stays close to them, hoping that she will soon feel the same.

3. Bhutan is very different from the writer’s home in Canada. The roads have no
traffic lights and policemen direct cars with hand signals. The buildings are
decorated with pictures of flowers, jewels and clouds. The shops all seem to sell
the same things, from dried fish to stale biscuits. The few signs of Western
culture, such as teenagers in acid-washed jeans serve only to emphasise the
differences between Bhutan and Canada.

4. The writer describes taking five different flights over four days to get to Bhutan,
travelling via Montreal, Amsterdam, New Delhi and Calcutta. As she describes the
city of Thimphu, the phrase signs of the outside world suggests that Bhutan feels
alien to her and cut off from the rest of the world because it is so different.

5. The writer lists facts such as: Thimphu looks old but was only created thirty years
previously; before the 1960s it consisted of rice fields and a few farms; it has a
grand, whitewashed, red-roofed, golden-tipped fortress.

6. The description of the Bhutanese people is positive and admiring. The writer
describes them as a very handsome people with beautiful aristocratic faces,
detailing their dark, almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones and gentle smiles. She
describes their clothes in some detail, and her use of the Bhutanese terms for
items of clothing such as the women’s kira and the men’s gho, shows that she is
keen to learn more about the culture. The writer’s positive impression is shown in
her reaction to the young man who offers directions as she emphasises his
helpfulness and politeness, leading her to comment on the dignity,
unselfconsciousness, good humor, grace of the Bhutanese people.

7. The writer says that many of the former names of Bhutan such as South
Sandalwood Country are beautiful. Her listing of the names given to the country’s
districts such as Land of Longing and Silver Pines shows her fascination with the
country and she calls the districts felicitously-named.

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 8. After listing the difficulties faced by the country of Bhutan from the 17 th century
onwards, Zappa’s final sentence, I am full of admiration for this small country that
has managed to look after itself so well, shows that her initial uncertainty about
Bhutan has been replaced by a desire to learn about a new culture so different
from her own. The ending of the extract suggests that she will come to feel great
affection for Bhutan and its people.

7. Consolidate your understanding

Positive descriptions are in bold

 Powdered milk, plasticky white bread and flavorless red jam

 Policemen using … incomprehensible… hand gestures
 Packages of stale, soft cookies
 Hideously colored Orange Cream Biscuits
 Cracked sidewalks and faded paintwork
 A grand, whitewashed, red-roofed, golden-tipped fortress
 Beautiful aristocratic faces
 Dark, almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones and gentle smiles
 Young man… explaining politely in impeccable English
 Dignity, unselfconsciousness, good humor, grace
 Earlier names for Bhutan are just as beautiful
 I am full of admiration for this small country

I notice that: The writer’s descriptions of Bhutan are negative at the start of the extract
but as the writing progresses and she learns more about Bhutan her language changes.
The second half of the extract contains more positive language than the first half.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

78
Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

H is for Hawk
by
Helen Macdonald

79
A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

Goshawks are birds of prey which are aggressive and difficult to

train. Helen Macdonald, an experienced falconer, adopted a
hawk after the sudden death of her father left her heartbroken. She felt that
the challenge of training a hawk would distract her from the grief she was
feeling. In this extract, she describes the day she first saw her hawk.

2. Summary of the text

Macdonald describes the day she collected her hawk. As the

bird is taken from its box she is overwhelmed by its power
and beauty, but when the details are checked, she realises that this is
not her hawk. When a second box is opened to reveal the hawk she has ordered, she
feels no connection with it. She pleads with the breeder to let her have the first hawk
instead.

3. Get started
Research two literary references in this extract:
1. The writer refers to a madwoman in line 51 in a reference to the
novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë in which a mad woman lives in
the house of Jane’s employer, Mr Rochester. Find out the identity of the mad
woman and the part of the house in which she lives.

2. In line 68, the writer compares herself to an actor in a production of Medea, a

play from Ancient Greece. Find out what happens to Medea’s children in the play.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of H is for Hawk which starts on page 20 of your
Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 1 ring numbers identifying rings on the legs of hawks

80
line 1 sheaf a pile of papers
line 7 squinted looking at something with difficulty
line 11 infinite endless, unlimited
line 11 irrigated flooding into
line 12 talons claws
line 19 quills feathers
line 20 conjuring trick magic trick
line 21 griffon a legendary creature
line 26 aviary a large bird cage
line 28 cormorant a large diving bird
line 28 pigment flakes flecks of paint colour
line 36 incubator heated box
line 41 hackles raised angry or upset
line 43 intimation hint, suggestion
line 51 melodrama a sensational, emotional literary work
line 60 breach of etiquette failure to behave properly
line 63 falconer person who keeps birds of prey
line 65 barrage of incoherent appeals pleading in a confused way
line 68 Medea a play written in Ancient Greece

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

Find some evidence from the text for each of the statements below, using
the line references to find examples of what is described:

1. Macdonald first describes the hawk before she sees it, when it is still in the box. The
description emphasises sounds and movements, and Macdonald uses short sentences to
convey the tension she feels (lines 5-13).

2. When the hawk is taken out of the box, a long sentence in the present tense with
emphasis on sounds, movements and light, conveys the drama of the situation (lines 13-
19).

3. When Macdonald first sees the hawk, she conveys her excitement through short
sentences and metaphorical language (lines 19-23).

4. As the hawk is held by leg straps, hanging downwards, Macdonald imagines the bird’s

81
experience of being kept in an aviary, then in a box, and now seeing the wider world with
such powerful eyesight. She lists what she imagines the hawk can see (lines 23-31).

5. The writer thinks of how frightened the hawk must be feeling and how the fear affects
its eyes (line 41) and brain (line 47).

6. When Macdonald realises that this is the wrong hawk, and then sees the older hawk
that she has ordered, she uses short sentences and informal language to convey her
feelings (lines 46-50).

7. The writer’s description of the second hawk reflects her negative feelings towards it
(lines 50-59).

8. The intensity of the writer’s thoughts and feelings is clear in her description of herself
as she asks to take the first hawk instead (lines 59-68).

9. The extract is structured with a link between the beginning and the end as the piece
starts with a hint that taking the wrong bird home could be a possibility (line 3-4).

10. The extract ends on a note of high tension (lines 68-70).

7. Consolidate your understanding

Analyse the effectiveness of each of the following quotations. The

first one has been done for you.

82
  The air turned syrupy, slow, flecked with dust. (line 12)
The writer raises the tension in the moment before the hawk is taken from
the box. The language suggests that time, turned syrupy, has slowed in
anticipation. Syrup is a sticky, slow-moving substance and the two commas
slow down the pace of the sentence. Time has slowed so much that the
writer can see the dust in the air.

 a whirring, chaotic clatter of wings and feet and talons and a high-pitched
twittering and it’s all happening at once (line 14)

 a great flood of sunlight drenches us and everything is brilliance and fury

(line 17)

 She came out like a Victorian melodrama: a sort of madwoman in the

attack (line 51)

 A tall, white-faced woman with wind-wrecked hair and exhausted eyes was
pleading with him on a quayside, hands held out as if she were in a seaside
production of Medea. (line 66)

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

How does the writer use language and structure to present her thoughts
and feelings about the hawks? You should support your answer with close
reference to the extract, including brief quotations (12 marks)
Note:

83
  Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about the hawks and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

As she waits for the hawk to be taken out of the box, Macdonald conveys the tension she
feels …

When the hawk is released from the box, the writer’s language …

A shift to the present tense…

The image of sunlight …

The multiple metaphors used to describe the hawk…

Every detail of the hawk is described …

The writer imagines what the hawk can see and how it feels …

The language used to describe the second hawk conveys the writer’s negative feelings…

Macdonald’s request to take the first hawk rather than the second is a moment of high
drama…

The extract is structured with a link between beginning and end…

H is for Hawk: Suggested Answers

3. Get started

1. Jane Eyre was published in the Victorian era, in 1847. Jane discovers
that the mad wife of her employer, Mr Rochester, is kept locked and
84
 guarded in the attic of his large house. In H is for Hawk, the second hawk is
described as coming out of its box like a Victorian melodrama: a sort of
madwoman in the attack, a pun on attic, to convey the drama and confusion of
the moment.

2. Medea is an Ancient Greek tragedy written in 431BC by Euripides. In the story,

Medea takes revenge on her unfaithful husband by murdering the two children
they had together. In H is for Hawk, the writer feels that as she pleads to take the
first hawk rather than the one she had ordered, she is so emotional that she must
look like a character from Medea.

These references are examples of intertextuality, when a writer of one text refers
to other works of literature within it.

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. There is a sense of anticipation from the start as the hawk is hidden in the box’s
dark interior. The hawk’s movements are sudden and violent as the box shook as if
someone had punched it, hard, from within and the noise of the thump
emphasises the strength of the bird. As the delicate operation to open the box
begins, short sentences such as Concentration. Infinite caution. build the tension
as every move causes a thump from inside the box. The atmosphere is described
as The last few seconds before a battle which is an appropriate image to precede
the noise and chaos which erupts as the hawk is taken from the box.

2. The long sentence beginning And with the last bow pulled describes the noise and
movement as the hawk is taken out of the box. The noise is conveyed through the
alliteration of the hard c sound in chaotic clatter. The repetition of -ing in
whirring…. twittering… it’s all happening at once which leads to the shift to the
present tense gives a sense of drama and excitement as if the reader is witnessing
the scene too. The description of the great flood of sunlight emphasises that the
hawk is seeing daylight for the first time since being taken out of the box and the
result is its brilliance and fury. The plosive consonants of the b sounds in barred
and beating suggest the strength of the wings. The sharpness of the quills and the
image of the hawk as a type of prickly porcupine presents it as a potential danger.

3. The short sentences starting with Two enormous eyes. My heart jumps sideways
create a disjointed feel to reflect the emotional effect on the author when she
sees the hawk for the first time. The listing of different metaphors to describe the
hawk suggests that Macdonald feels that no description can do it justice. The
hawk is something magical like a conjuring trick but also something dangerous like
a reptile which might remind us of Satan’s disguise in the Garden of Eden. This

85
 impression is reinforced by the next metaphor which sees the hawk as a fallen
angel, like Satan. References to light and to precious metal show the value the
writer places on the hawk. She imagines it on the pages of a medieval, illuminated
book and the simile like gold falling through water creates a picture of the hawk
flying free. The reality is different as it is held upside down like a broken
marionette or puppet.

4. After being in an aviary and then a box with nothing to look at, the writer states
that now the hawk can see everything, emphasising the power of the hawk’s
eyesight which it would need in the wild to see its prey from a great height. The
list is a mix of the mundane and the beautiful: the flakes of paint on parked cars
and the heather on the hills to the white scraps of gulls above the glitter on the
waves.

5. The hawk’s eyes are described as wild which reminds us that this is a bird that is
meant to fly free and being confined in this way is frightening. Its eyes are the
colour of sun on white paper giving the impression of a piercing yellow. The writer
suggests the hawk’s eyes look like this because the whole world had fallen into
them at once as if so many sights new to the hawk have been overwhelming.
The hawk’s brain is described as alien, as if the hawk is like a creature just landed
from space, trying to make sense of a new world. The writer imagines its brain
fizzing and fusing with terror as if in danger of exploding while trying to make
sense of everything it has seen.

6. The short, disjointed sentences, such as It was the wrong bird. This was the
younger one. show the writer’s thought processes as she realises the mistake. The
exclamation Oh, lacking an exclamation mark to suggest quiet disappointment, is
foregrounded by being on its own on the line to emphasise her deflation after so
much excitement. When the next box is opened and she sees the second hawk,
the informal language of Dear God, it did shows her growing unease.

7. The first image of the second hawk uses intertextuality in the simile like a
Victorian melodrama: a sort of madwoman in the attack. This literary reference,
with a pun on attack/ attic, to Jane Eyre’s discovery of Rochester’s mad wife in the
attic and a way of showing the uncontrolled movements of the second hawk.
Many comparative adjectives show the differences between the hawks: the
second is smokier… darker… bigger. The second hawk is not twittering like the
first hawk but wailing like someone in pain. When the writer looked at the eyes of
the first hawk she empathised with the bird’s fear, but when she looks in the eyes
of the second hawk all she sees is madness. She felt a connection with the first
hawk, but with the second bird she feels But this isn’t my hawk.

8. The writer’s thoughts and feelings are shown through direct speech. We hear her
exact words as she awkwardly asks if she can take the first hawk instead. The
man’s lack of reply makes the situation more difficult and the use of questions
and ellipses (…) show the hesitancy of Macdonald’s speech which she describes as
a desperate, crazy barrage of incoherent appeals. Another example of

86
 intertextuality is used as she compares herself, a white-faced woman with wind-
wrecked hair and exhausted eyes, to a character from Medea, a tragic tale from
Ancient Greece, showing the intensity of her feelings.

9. At the start of the extract, the man supplying the hawk says Don’t want you going
home with the wrong bird. This gives a unity to the piece when we realise near
the end that this is a possibility. The ‘twist’ is that the first hawk, which was the
‘wrong’ bird because it was not the one that she had ordered, turned out to be the
‘right’ bird for her.

10. The emotions of the writer in this piece involve more than those involved in
collecting the hawk. We know that she decided to train a hawk to help her to
cope with the grief she was experiencing following the death of her father. At the
end of the extract, she hints that the man giving the hawk senses that her request
to take a different hawk wasn’t a simple one so maybe he will be sympathetic.
The final words of the extract There was a moment of total silence add tension to
the ending as we do not hear him definitely agree that Macdonald can take the
first bird. However, the sentence I’m sure nothing I said persuaded him more than
the look on my face suggests that he will agree.

7. Consolidate your understanding

 The air turned syrupy, slow, flecked with dust. (line 12)
The writer raises the tension in the moment before the hawk is taken from

87
 the box. The language suggests that time, turned syrupy, has slowed in
anticipation. Syrup is a sticky, slow-moving substance and the two commas
slow down the pace of the sentence. Time has slowed so much that the
writer can see the dust in the air.

 a whirring, chaotic clatter of wings and feet and talons and a high-pitched
twittering and it’s all happening at once (line 14)
As the hawk is taken out of the box the action speeds up. The repetition of
-ing endings brings the action into the present and gives a sense of
immediacy. The alliteration of hard c sounds denotes the noise caused by
the movements of the hawk. The bird’s size and physicality are
emphasized by references to wings and feet and talons. The repetition of
and with the phrase it’s all happening at once gives a breathless quality to
the writing which conveys the excitement of the writer.

 a great flood of sunlight drenches us and everything is brilliance and fury

(line 17)
The writer describes the sunlight metaphorically as a flood which drenches
to show its powerful effect. This is the exact moment that the hawk is
taken out of the box and the sunlight and its brilliance seem symbolic of
the change that owning a hawk could bring to the writer’s life.

 She came out like a Victorian melodrama: a sort of madwoman in the

attack (line 51)
This reference to Charlotte Brontë’s Victorian novel Jane Eyre compares
the second hawk to Bertha Mason, the madwoman kept in the attic by her
husband, Mr Rochester. The pun on attack/ attic suggests both the
wildness of the hawk and its previous confinement in aviary and box.

 A tall, white-faced woman with wind-wrecked hair and exhausted eyes was
pleading with him on a quayside, hands held out as if she were in a seaside
production of Medea. (line 66)
The writer conveys the intensity of the emotion she feels in asking to be
allowed to take the first hawk rather than the one she had ordered. As she
pleads with the man on the quayside she compares herself to a character
in a tragedy from Ancient Greece. In the play, Medea kills her own
children.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

88
Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

Chinese Cinderella
by
Adeline Yen Mah

89
A note to IGCSE students: When using this resource, make sure that you have your EdExcel
Anthology to hand. A range of coloured pens or highlighters would also be useful for
annotating the anthology extract.

1. Background and Context

Adeline Yen Mah grew up in a wealthy family in Hong Kong

but her childhood was unhappy. Her mother died
following her birth and her siblings blamed her. She was rejected by her new
stepmother, treated coldly by her father, and sent away to boarding school.

2. Summary of the text

In this extract, Adeline describes being taken home from

boarding school and summoned to her father’s study. Her
father informs her that she has won an international creative writing
competition and, for the first time ever, he tells her that he is proud of her. She is
emboldened to ask him if she can go to England to study at university like her brothers
and, to her delight, he agrees.

3. Get started
Find a copy of Chinese Cinderella in a library or bookshop. Look at the
Introduction and Preface and the pictures of Adeline and her family. Read
the whole book if you can.

4. Read the text

Read the whole text of Chinese Cinderella which starts on page 25 of your
Anthology. Use the Understand Key Vocabulary box below to help with
difficult words, annotating your text with definitions where necessary.

5. Understand Key Vocabulary

line 1 relentlessly harsh and continuing

90
line 5 typhoon a tropical storm
line 13 chauffeur driver
line 15 foreboding dread, feeling something bad will happen
line 29 bridge a card game
line 38 ruse scheme or trick
line 58 radiant glowing, joyful
line 58 revered colleague an admired and respected co-worker
line 59 prominent important, well-known
line 60 given him face raised his status
line 71 lurch leap, sudden movement
line 79 elementary simple, undeveloped
line 81 contradict disagree, argue with
line 83 graduate finish a university degree
line 83 obstetrics medical care in childbirth
line 85 foolproof will never go wrong
line 88 Wordsworth William Wordsworth, English poet, 1770-
1850

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. How does the language used in lines 1-7 show that Adeline prefers to be
at school rather than at home and that she dreads the thought of going
home at the end of term? Analyse two or three examples.

2. Find and analyse two or three examples in lines 8-31 which show that her family do not
care about her.

3. Adeline is very nervous about seeing her father in his room. How does her language in
lines 32-39 convey her uncertainties?

91
4. What does the conversation between Adeline and her father in lines 40-67 tell us about
their relationship? Analyse the way Adeline’s father speaks to her and the way in which
Adeline reacts to him and the news of her competition win.

5. How does Adeline’s language in lines 68-90 convey the joy she feels when her father
agrees that she can go to England to study at university?

6. What similarities or differences can you see between Adeline at the start of the extract
and how she appears at the end?

7. Consolidate your understanding

Analyse the effectiveness of each of the following quotations. The

first one has been done for you.

 Time went by relentlessly (line 1)

92
 The adverb relentlessly carries negative connotations and suggests
something unpleasant which carries on without stopping. Adeline knows
that time will keep moving on until the end of the school term which she
dreads because she will have to go home.

 the thought of leaving school throbbed at the back of my mind like a

persistent toothache (line 6)

 full of foreboding, I ran downstairs as in a nightmare (line 15)

 I was overwhelmed by the thought that I had been summoned by Father to

enter the Holy of Holies (line 32)

 My whole being vibrated with all the joy in the world. I only had to stretch
out my hand to reach the stars (line 61)

 How did that line go in Wordsworth’s poem? Bliss was it in that dawn to
be alive. (line 87)

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

How does the writer use language and structure to convey her relationship
with her family?
You should support your answer with close reference to the extract,
including brief quotations (12 marks)

93
Note:
 Three pages are allowed for your answer in the examination
 Remember to consider LANGUAGE and STRUCTURE in your answer
 Write about WHAT the writer says about her relationship with her family
and HOW she says it
 Use some of the sentence starters below if you wish

Ten Sentence Starters:

The story that Yen Mah tells and the language she uses makes it clear that her family…

At boarding school, Adeline feels that …

When a chauffeur comes to take her home…

The details she gives us make it clear that …

Adeline’s reaction when she is told she must see her father in his room…

The language she uses shows that she is nervous of her father …

Their conversation shows that this is a difficult relationship…

When her father agrees that Adeline can go to England…

Adeline’s joy is seen in her language …

The extract shows a development in Adeline’s character as at the start…

Chinese Cinderella: Suggested Answers

6. Analyse the language and structure of the text

1. Adeline knows that it is eight weeks until the end of term and writes

94
 that time goes by relentlessly. This adverb carries negative connotations and
suggests that she dreads the end of term because she will have to go home. She is
evidently thinking about this as she sits with friends as she says My heart was not
in it as they play Monopoly. The thought of leaving school is described as
throbbing like a persistent toothache and the simile shows that home for her is an
uncomfortable, painful place.

2. A chauffeur arrives to take Adeline home but she has evidently not been told to
expect him. She describes herself as full of foreboding, expecting bad news as the
only other times she has been taken home is when someone has died. The
chauffeur speaks defensively to her as if perhaps he takes his cue from the way her
family treat her. During the drive she feels full of dread and wonders what she has
done wrong, suggesting that she is often blamed for things. When the car stops at
a strange house, we realise that the family has moved without telling her which
seems very cruel. No one welcomes her at the door and the servant tells her that
her (step) mother is out and her siblings are by the pool so they do not bother to
greet her.

3. Adeline’s questions, See me in his room? and Why? show her nervousness and the
fact that going into her father’s room is so unusual that she feels overwhelmed at
the thought of it. She says that she has been summoned as if ordered and has
never been invited there as a guest. She refers to the room as the Holy of Holies as
if it is a sacred place. When she sees her father smiling and dressed in bathrobe
and slippers her initial relief changes to uneasiness as she wonders if this is a ruse
or a trick. This might lead us to wonder if this has happened in the past.

4. Adeline’s father’s greeting is a command Sit down! which does not suggest an
affectionate relationship. His instruction Don’t look so scared shows that he
realises that she feels intimidated by him. His first priority in giving her the news
that she has won the writing competition is to describe the pride he felt in telling
his colleague. However, he evidently is proud of her and shows interest by asking
about the competition.
Adeline’s disbelief at the news that she has won the competition is shown in, Is it
possible? Am I dreaming? Me, the winner? with the triple rhetorical questions
emphasising her delight.
Her writing ambitions are revealed through her use of hyperbole in My whole
being vibrated with all the joy in the world and metaphor in I only had to stretch
out my hand to reach the stars. Her joy at winning seems to outweigh any
negative feelings about her father.

5. Adeline’s heart gives a giant lurch which shows her surprise and delight. Her
excitement is reflected by her use of questions and exclamations after she absorbs
the news. The simile to describe going to England as being like entering heaven
shows that this was her goal as she feels that it does not matter what subject she
will study as long as she is in England. She is not deflated by her father’s negative
reaction to her idea of studying Literature and agrees to study Medicine as he
wishes. Her quotation from a Wordsworth poem, Bliss was it in that dawn to be

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 alive, shows her joy and perhaps hints that her literary ambitions are still there.

6. At the start of the extract Adeline is uneasy and worried as she dreads the end of
the school term when she will have to return to her family. She is nervous when
she arrives at home and is summoned to her father.
There seems to be a change in Adeline at the end of the extract. She has won an
international writing competition, her father has told her that she is proud of her
and she feels sufficiently confident to ask if she can go to England to study at
university. She is clever enough to know not to contradict her father and to agree
to study Medicine as he wishes. Her final words Father, I shall go to medical
school in England and become a doctor. Thank you very, very much sound
compliant but it is clear that this is her way of achieving her ambition. Adeline at
the start of the extract seems child-like but at the end she is on the way to
becoming a young woman.

7. Consolidate your understanding

 Time went by relentlessly (line 1)

The adverb relentlessly carries negative connotations and suggests
something unpleasant which carries on without stopping. Adeline knows
that time will keep moving on until the end of the school term which she
dreads because she will have to go home.

 the thought of leaving school throbbed at the back of my mind like a

persistent toothache (line 6)
Toothache can be painful and Adeline uses the simile to show the
unhappiness of her family life. Most boarding school pupils would look
forward to the end of term when they could see their families again but for
Adeline going home will be a painful experience because she knows her
family do not want her.

 full of foreboding, I ran downstairs as in a nightmare (line 15)

The words foreboding and nightmare create a feeling of dread. Adeline
evidently has no contact with her family during termtime and when the
driver comes to collect her she assumes it will be bad news.

 I was overwhelmed by the thought that I had been summoned by Father to

enter the Holy of Holies (line 32)
The word summoned would normally be used for something serious such
as going to court after committing a crime and Adeline finds the experience
overwhelming because she has never been in her father’s room before.
Referring to the room as the Holy of Holies shows how mysterious it seems,
as if it is a religious place where certain codes of behaviour are expected.

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  My whole being vibrated with all the joy in the world. I only had to stretch
out my hand to reach the stars (line 61)
When Adeline hears that she has won the international writing
competition she is overjoyed. Her delight is conveyed through hyperbole
or exaggeration.

 How did that line go in Wordsworth’s poem? Bliss was it in that dawn to
be alive. (line 87)
Although Adeline has agreed to study medicine rather than literature, her
love of the written word is shown in the way she uses a quotation from a
Wordsworth poem to convey her joy. Wordsworth is an English poet and
she is going to England to study medicine, but in later life she achieves her
first ambition to become a writer.

8. Answer a practice examination question: IGCSE EdExcel English Language, question 4

If you are studying by yourself, check your answer against the simplified
mark scheme below

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 Mark AO2: How the writer uses language and structure to achieve
effects
1-2 Limited understanding of language and structure; few
references to the text

3-4 Some understanding and comment on how the writer uses

language and structure; some references to the text

5-7 Clear understanding with explanation of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; apt and relevant
references to the text

8-10 Thorough understanding and exploration of how the writer

uses language and structure to achieve effects; detailed
references support the points made

11-12 Perceptive understanding and analysis of how the writer uses

language and structure to achieve effects; references skilfully
selected to clarify points made

Language Features: Glossary of Technical Terms

Language feature Meaning and example

Abstract nouns Meaning: A word which names something that we cannot see or touch

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 Example: My disbelief paralyses me… The flaring agony throws me into a panic…
Anxiety has my brain tweaking (Between a Rock and a Hard Place, lines 42, 45, 48)

Address the Meaning: Speaking or writing directly to an audience or reader

reader
Example: We are the architects, we are the designers (Young and Dyslexic? line 2): the
word we creates unity whereas you could create a distance between writer and reader

Alliteration Meaning: When words close together begin with the same sound

Example: an alien brain fizzing and fusing with terror (H is for Hawk, line 44)

Anecdote Meaning: A very short story based on someone’s personal experience

Example: Adichie tells a story of her childhood writing, starting, when I began to write,
at about the age of seven…. (The Danger of a Single Story, line 6)

Contrast Meaning: Putting two opposite ideas together for effect

Example: the relationship between me and him, between us and them, between the rich
world and the poor world (A Passage to Africa, lines 62-63)

Direct speech Meaning: The exact words said, enclosed in speech marks

Example: ‘Writer!’ he scoffed. ‘You are going to starve!’ (Chinese Cinderella, line 77)

Emotive language Meaning: Language which aims to produce an emotional reaction in the reader

Example: My desperate brain conjures up a … story in which an adrenaline-stoked mom

lifts an overturned car to free her baby (Between a Rock and a Hard Place, lines 49-50)

Exclamations Meaning: An abrupt or excited utterance

Example: How marvellous it was simply to be alive! (Chinese Cinderella, line 71)

Foregrounding Meaning: When a certain word, phrase or sentence is brought to the reader’s attention

Example: And then there was the face I will never forget (A Passage to Africa, line 32) is
foregrounded by being placed in a paragraph on its own

Language feature Meaning and example

Hyperbole Meaning: Using exaggeration for effect

Example: We waited for eternity on the brow of the hill (A Game of Polo with a Headless
Goat, line 8)

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Imagery Meaning: Figurative language such as similes and metaphors

Example: [The hawk] is a conjuring trick. A reptile. A fallen angel… Something bright
and distant, like gold falling through water. (H is for Hawk, lines 20-23)

Intertextuality Meaning: Reference to one literary text within another

Example: How did that line go in Wordsworth’s poem? Bliss was it in that dawn to be
alive. (Chinese Cinderella, lines 87-88)

Onomatopoeia Meaning: When a word sounds like the noise it makes

Example: a whirring, chaotic clatter … and a high-pitched twittering (H is for Hawk, lines
14-15)

Rhetorical Meaning: A question asked for effect which does not expect an answer
question
Example: … how should I feel to be standing there so strong and confident? (A Passage
to Africa, lines 64-65)

Structure Meaning: The ways in which different parts of the writing fit together in a particular
order to make one text

Example: In The Danger of a Single Story, Adichie tells four stories (her early writing, Fide
the house boy, her American roommate, her visit to Mexico) to show that we can
misjudge people if we only think of one aspect of their lives

Suspense Meaning: To create a feeling of tension where the reader does not know what might
happen next

Example: One hunter…. picked up his harpoon and aimed – in that split second my heart
leapt for both hunter and narwhal; ….. he was so close… (The Explorer’s Daughter, lines
48-50)

Triple Meaning: A list of three

Example: … my heart also urged the narwhal to dive, to leave, to survive (The Explorer’s
Daughter, lines 54-55)

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