Close Reading
‘Own Words’
Questions
Nat 5
Learning Intentions
To understand how to
‘use your own words’
in close reading
questions.
Success Criteria
I can …..
•Translate a writer’s words into
my own words
I know ….
•How to answer understanding
questions
Understanding
Questions
These are marked
with a U in the exam
paper. These
questions should be
the easiest
questions in the
paper, but more
often than not it is
exactly these
questions which trip
candidates up!
Meaning – Use your own words
This is the simplest type of Understanding question if you
recognise the words or phrases that are being asked about.
These questions test how well you have understood the
passage by asking you to pick out ideas and details.
This kind of question usually starts with one of the
following:
Explain what the writer means by …
Explain the significance of the word …
Show how you are helped towards the meaning of ….
How does the context help you to understand the meaning
of …
Explain this expression in your own words….
Example One:
The enormous difference between the climates of these two
towns is due to one thing: the Gulf Stream, which brings
tropic-warmed sea from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic
coasts of northern Europe.
Explain briefly in your own words why the Gulf Stream, as
described above, affects the climate of Northern Europe?
1 mark
On its most basic level this is a simple translation
exercise. Simple words from the passage may be used if
there is no other alternative. Figures of speech in the
original must always be put into plain language, and any non
standard expression, for example slang or archaisms (oldfashioned words), must be rendered in simple, formal,
modern English.
If you ‘lift’ whole phrases or sentences from the passage
you will be awarded NO marks.
Try the example below.
Example One:
The enormous difference between the climates of these
two towns is due to one thing: the Gulf Stream, which
brings tropic-warmed sea from the Gulf of Mexico to the
Atlantic coasts of northern Europe.
Explain briefly in your own words why the Gulf Stream, as
described above, affects the climate of Northern
Europe? 1 mark
Answer:
Main Idea:
The current brings warm
water to Northern Europe
making the climate more
temperate.
No marks were awarded for
answers which merely discuss
warm water or for straight
‘lifts’ from the passage.
Does this mean that you can’t use any of the original
words?
No – the rule is not quite as strict as that.
Simple, single words may be used if there is no obvious
alternative, but you must never use a complete phrase or
group of words exactly as they are used in the original.
UNDERSTANDING
Factual Questions
Some questions will be set to
test your understanding of a
text.
Factual Questions
• The most common task is to be
asked to pick out a fact from the
text and express it in your own
words.
Example….
• Here is an example from the 2000 Intermediate 2 paper.
• The topic of this text was ‘a notorious species of spider’,
the tarantula, and the narrator was the spider itself.
• ‘I’m nocturnal. I love the moonlight, the shadows, the dark
places, the dappled murk. I’m not being poetic. I’m simply
being true to my nature, my nocturnal nature. Like all
tarantulas.’
• Question: In your own words, in what way is the speaker
‘like all tarantulas’ according to the first paragraph? (1
Mark)
There are two steps to answering a
question of this type.
• Step One:
• Look in the text for the information which will answer the
question. In this case, it is provided by the word ‘nocturnal’.
• Step Two:
• Express the information in your own words in a simple
sentence which fits the way the question is worded. In this
example you had to change from 1st person (‘I’) into 3rd
person (‘the speaker’).
• An acceptable answer to gain the mark would be:
• ‘The speaker is active by night.’
• Remember, if you were simply to say ‘The speaker is
nocturnal’ or ‘He is nocturnal’ you would get no marks since
you would have failed to do step two, namely to use your
own words.
Questions that ask you to summarise
• A variation of this task is a question which asks you to pick out a number
of points the writer makes and repeat them briefly in your own words.
• Such a question frequently includes the word ‘summarise’. Here is an
example from the 2000 Intermediate 2 paper:
• In this question, the number of marks available, three, suggests the
number of pieces of evidence to be found.
• Always remember to look carefully at the number of marks. A summary
question may be worth as many as 5 marks, and you must try to persuade
the examiner to give you all of these.
• You might choose to present your answer in a numbered format.
•
•
•
1…
2…
3…
•
This will help gain you a mark for each separate point made.
Warning!
• One of the commonest errors of exam
technique is to write too much for a
single mark question,
• and too little for a multiple mark
question.
Now try these examples
on your own.
They have been taken
from the Intermediate 2
past papers from 2007 –
2013
Example Two (2007): “The sight of a hobby-hawk makes no
headlines in the bird-watching world”. Explain in your own
words what is meant by “makes no headlines”. 1 mark
It was a hobby-hawk. Perhaps the most dashing falcon of
them all: slim, elegant and deadly fast. Not rare as rarebird-addicts reckon things: they come to Britain in
reasonable numbers every summer to breed. The sight of a
hobby-hawk makes no
headlines in the bird watching world. It was just a
wonderful and wholly unexpected sight of a wonderful and
wholly unexpected bird. It was a moment of perfect drama.
Answer
It is an ordinary event/it is not newsworthy or
unusual/no-one makes a fuss.
Example Three (2007): The writer refers to equestrianism
(“horsey events”), as related to the pursuit of flight. What
is the difference between this and all the other sports he
mentions? Answer in your own words. 1 mark
Think about it: all these sports are done for the joy of
flying. Skating is a victory over friction, and it feels like
victory over gravity; it feels like flying. Its antithesis is
weightlifting: a huge and brutal event, the idea of which is
to beat gravity. All the horsey events come back to the
idea of flight: of getting off the ground, of escaping
human limitations by joining up with another species and
finding flight. For every rider, every horse has wings.
ANSWER
It involves a creature/animal other than the human
participant (gloss of “joining up with another species”).
Example Four - (2007) What is the author suggesting
about the bird when he says “It turned itself into an
anchor”?
1 mark
From the tail of my eye, I saw what I took to be a
kestrel. I turned my head to watch it as it climbed, and
I waited for it to go into its hover, according to timehonoured kestrel custom. But it did nothing of the kind.
It turned itself into an anchor. Or a thunderbolt.
No kestrel this: it crashed into the crowd of martins,
and almost as swiftly vanished. I think it got one, but I
can’t swear to it, it was all so fast.
ANSWER
It changed its
shape/resembled/adopted the
shape of an anchor/looked like
an anchor. OR It descended
vertically/swiftly.
Example Five - 2007 - What does “trivial” tell us about
the writer’s attitude to golf? 1 mark
Golf always seems to me a trivial game, but every one of
its legion of addicts will tell you that it all comes back to
the pure joy of a clean strike at the ball: making it defy
gravity. Making it climb like a towering snipe. Making it
soar like an eagle, at least in the mind of the striker, as it
reaches the top of its long, graceful parabola.
ANSWER
(He thinks) it is a waste of
time/worthless/pointless/unimportant.
Example Five B – 2007 - Explain how an expression later in
this sentence makes it clear that the author is aware that
others do not share his opinion. 2 marks
Golf always seems to me a trivial game, but every one of
its legion of addicts will tell you that it all comes back to
the pure joy of a clean strike at the ball: making it defy
gravity. Making it climb like a towering snipe. Making it
soar like an eagle, at least in the mind of the striker, as it
reaches the top of its long, graceful parabola.
ANSWER
“legion” (1) suggests it has many devotees (1)
OR “addicts” (1) suggests( the intensity of) the hold of the
game (1)
OR
“pure joy” (1) conveys (the intensity of) the pleasure of
the game (1)’.
Example Six - 2008 - Explain in your own words the
contrasting impressions the writer has of the village in
Hamed Ela in the lines below.
2 marks
Our superb Ethiopian guide, Solomon Berhe, was sitting
with me in a friendly but flyblown village of sticks,
stones, cardboard and tin in Hamed Ela, 300ft below sea
level, in a hot wind, on a hot night.
ANSWER
gloss of “friendly” eg
welcoming/helpful/hospitable/kindly/nice
gloss of “flyblown” eg
rickety/flimsy/ramshackle/makeshift/uncomfortable/
physically inhospitable/unhygienic/poor
1 mark for each successful paraphrase of one side of the
contrast
Example Seven - 2008 - What does the word “drift”
suggest about how “the Afar will leave their desert
home”?
1 mark
And that is where Solomon was wrong. As Ethiopia
modernises, the Afar will leave their desert home. They
will drift into the towns and cities in the highlands. Their
voracious herds of goats will die. Their camels will no
longer be of any use. The only remembrance this place
will have of the humans it bred will be the stone fittings
of their flimsy, ruined stick huts, and the mysterious
black rock burial mounds that litter the
landscape.
Answer
It will happen piecemeal/gradually/without purpose or
direction or motive on the part of those who do it.
Example Eight - 2008 - The writer tells us “There is no
modern reason for human beings to live in such places”.
Explain in your own words two reasons why this is the
case. Look in the sentences below for your answer.
There is no modern reason for human beings to live in such
places. Their produce is pitiful, the climate brutal and the
distances immense. Salt is already produced as
cheaply by industrial means. If market forces don’t kill the
trade, the conscience of the animal rights movement will,
for the laden camels suffer horribly on their journey.
ANSWER
Glosses of two from
their produce is pitiful
eg what they turn out is minimal;
the climate (is) brutal
eg the weather is oppressive;
the distances (are) immense
eg they have to travel a very long way;
Salt is already produced as cheaply by industrial means
eg salt can be obtained equally, efficiently in other ways;
Market forces [will] kill the trade
eg economic factors will overcome them;
the conscience of the animal rights movement
eg people concerned with animal welfare will act against
them
Example Nine - 2008 - What is the effect of the writer’s
inclusion of the words “Those who call themselves” in the
sentence beginning in line 51? 1 mark
Those who call themselves environmentalists celebrate
this. “Leave nothing and take nothing away,” read the signs
at the gates of nature reserves. Practical advice, perhaps,
but is there not something melancholy in what that says
about modern man’s desired relationship with nature? Will
we one day confine ourselves to watching large parts of
our planet only from observation towers?
ANSWER
Suggests disagreement/cynicism
Example Sixteen - 2008- Explain in your own words why
“the nomads are on a path to extinction as a culture”.1
They say there is less traffic across the Sahara today
than at any time in human history, even if you include
motor transport. The great days of camel caravans are
over. As for the inhabitants, the nomads are on a path to
extinction as a culture. Nomadic life does not fit the
pattern of nation states, taxes, frontiers and controls.
And though for them there is now government
encouragement to stay, their culture is doomed. Amid the
indescribable majesty of this place—the crumbling towers
of black rock, the scream of the jackal, the waterless
canyons, yellow dunes, grey plateaus and purple thorn
bushes—I have felt like a visitor to a monumental ruin,
walked by ghosts. There are fragments of pottery,
thousands of cave paintings of deer, giraffe, elephant,
and men in feathers, dancing . . . but no people, not a soul.
ANSWER
Their way of life does not (readily)/conform to (modern)
rules and/or boundaries (idea of imposition and/or
constriction).
(gloss of “does not fit the pattern of nation states, taxes,
frontiers and controls”)
Example Eighteen - 2009 - Explain in your own words
(a)what the marchers were objecting to, according to the
lines below. 2 marks
The march was in protest at a government edict making
Afrikaans compulsory in schools. From January 1976, half
of all subjects were to be taught in it, including ones in
which difficulties of translation were often an issue.
ANSWER
A Government rule/law/decree/statute/order (gloss of
“edict”) (1)
forcing teaching in Afrikaans/making it
obligatory/enforced/required
(gloss of “compulsory”) (1)
Example Eighteen (b) why this issue was so important to
them, according to the lines below. 1 mark
The march was in protest at a government edict making
Afrikaans compulsory in schools. From January 1976, half
of all subjects were to be taught in it, including ones in
which difficulties of translation were often an issue.
To pupils accustomed to being educated in English, the
Afrikaans policy was the last of a line of insults delivered
in the name of “Bantu” or “native education”. They thought
being taught in Afrikaans, the language of a regime that
had tried to “unpeople” them, would cost them their last
remaining freedom—that of thinking for themselves, using
their minds.
ANSWER
it was a threat to their self-esteem or identity (gloss of
“unpeople”)
OR it was a threat to their (intellectual) independence
(gloss of “thinking for themselves”)
OR it was the last straw (gloss of “the last of a line of
insults”)
Example Nineteen - 2009 - Explain in your own words why
Dickens’s books were not “banned under apartheid”. 1 mark
That is where Dickens came in. Many books were banned
under apartheid but not the classics of English literature.
Pupils arriving hungry at school every day were captivated
by the story of a frail but courageous boy named Oliver
Twist.
The book was a revelation. Systemised oppression of
children happened in England too! They were not alone.
Slave labour, thin rations and cruel taunts were part of a
child’s life in the world outside as well.
One former pupil, now in his forties, says of Dickens: “Four
or five of us would be together and discuss the stories. And
to think he wasn’t banned! The authorities didn’t know what
was in these books, how they helped us to be strong, to
think that we were not forgotten.”
ANSWERS
They were abiding/memorable/lasting/ageless
OR they were masterpieces (gloss of “classics”)
OR the regime did not understand their content (gloss of
“didn’t know
what was in these books”)
Example Nineteen (2009) (b) In your own words explain why
Dickens’s book Oliver Twist would have “captivated” the Soweto
children. 2 marks
That is where Dickens came in. Many books were banned under
apartheid but not the classics of English literature. Pupils
arriving hungry at school every day were captivated by the story
of a frail but courageous boy named Oliver Twist.
The book was a revelation. Systemised oppression of children
happened in England too! They were not alone. Slave labour, thin
rations and cruel taunts were part of a child’s life in the world
outside as well.
One former pupil, now in his forties, says of Dickens: “Four or
five of us would be together and discuss the stories. And to
think he wasn’t banned! The authorities didn’t know what was in
these books, how they helped us to be strong, to think that we
were not forgotten.”
ANSWERS
They identified with Oliver and/or the events portrayed in
the book/
Their lives were like/the same as Oliver’s (1)
Because they too were subjugated/exploited (gloss of
“oppression” or
“slave labour”)
OR they too were underfed (gloss of “hungry” or “thin
rations”)
OR the inference can be made that they too were in poor
health (gloss of “frail”)
OR they too were brave (gloss of “courageous”)
OR they too were mocked (by oppressors) (gloss of “cruel
taunts”)
Any one (1)
Example Twenty 2009 - Look at the lines below.
Explain in your own words why Hugh Masekela thought
Dickens was so important. 2 marks
The veteran South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela
later chose Nicholas Nickleby as his favourite book on a
popular radio programme, Desert Island Discs, telling the
presenter what its author did for people in the townships:
“He taught us suffering is the same everywhere.”
ANSWERS
He showed that pain/distress/misery/anguish (gloss of
“suffering”) (1)
Was the same throughout the world/in all places/the
world over
(gloss of “everywhere”) (1)
Example Twenty One (2009) - Explain in your own words
how the grandmothers instilled a love of books in their
grandchildren. 2 marks
The love of books that enabled an author dead for more
than 100 years to inspire thousands of schoolchildren
came mainly from grandmothers who had educated their
families orally, then urged them to read widely and learn
all that they could.
ANSWER
They taught them by word of mouth (gloss of “orally”) (1)
And then drove/pushed/encouraged (gloss of “urged”) them
to read (1)
Example Twenty Two - 2010 - Looking in the paragraph
below for your answer, explain in your own words what the
writer’s original “reaction” to the name Qin Shihuangdi was.
1 marks
Qin Shi Who? My reaction entirely. I had heard of the
Terracotta Army, of course. I had even seen some of them
when a vanguard of warriors came to London in the 1980s.
But I couldn’t have told you who Qin Shihuangdi
(pronounced Chin Shur Hwang Dee) was. Even if you’d said
he was the First Emperor of China, I’d have had only the
haziest recollection of what you were talking about.
ANSWER
He had never/barely heard of him/puzzlement
Example Twenty Three - 2010 - Look at the paragraph
below. Give in your own words two reasons why it is
“rather shocking” that most people in the West do not
know about Qin. 2 marks
That probably goes for the vast majority of people in the
West. And given that he is one of the most colossal
figures ever to have walked the earth, that is rather
shocking. For Qin Shihuangdi, its First Emperor, created
China more than two millennia ago, establishing the world’s
longest-lasting empire. A visionary, a brutal tyrant and a
megalomaniac, he is the greatest historical figure that
most of us have never heard of.
Answer
He is a very important person in history (gloss of “colossal”
or “greatest”);
He set up/founded China (gloss of “created”);
He set up/founded an imperial dynasty (gloss of “First
Emperor”);
His regime was the most permanent/durable/prolonged
(gloss of “long-lasting”)
Any two.
Example Twenty Four - 2010 - Explain in your own words
two of the consequences of the improvements Qin made to
his war chariots. 2 marks
Through clever diplomacy and brilliant military strategy he
conquered and subdued neighbouring states. He achieved
this by developing a highly organised army. Qin chariots
had an improved design of smaller wheels with more spokes
that provided greater stability and durability. The width of
axles was made uniform, a seemingly small innovation with
massive repercussions: the chariots could ride relatively
smoothly down the same ruts in the road and so avoid
churning up the entire highway. The light infantry were
armed with extremely sharp bronze weapons and crossbows
and supported by cavalry.
ANSWERS
Glosses of
stability eg firmness/solidity/strength/
steadiness/balance
durability eg toughness/long-lasting quality/
sturdiness/resilience
chariots could ride relatively
smoothly (down the same ruts in the
road)
eg progress (in channels/grooves/
furrows) was easy/easier
avoid churning up the entire highway eg road was not made
uneven/less
smooth/harder to make progress on/
not so damaged
Any two
Example Twenty Five - 2010 - Explain in your own words
any two ways in which Qin managed to “tighten his grip on
every aspect of life”. 2 marks
The first Emperor survived at least three assassination
attempts in subsequent years, incidents that served to
tighten his grip on every aspect of life. He created a
surveillance culture in which neighbours were expected to
spy on each other and lived in fear of terrible punishments
for failing to do so or for breaking the many laws. One of
the most miserable punishments, which very often proved
to be a death sentence, was to be dispatched into the
wilderness to toil on the construction of the wall Qin
Shihuangdi had ordered to be built along the northern
frontier of the empire.
ANSWER
Glosses of
surveillance culture/spy people watched/observed one
another
terrible punishments severe reprisals/penalties
Many laws multiplicity of regulations/edicts/
rulings/instructions
Any two
Example Twenty Six - 2010 - The writer calls the Great Wall
an “iconic symbol”.
(a)Why is it appropriate to call the wall a “symbol”? 1 mark
Although there had been a tradition of building walls to
mark the boundaries of territory and keep neighbours out,
the First Emperor’s undertaking was the most significant
building project to date, aiming to protect the borders from
nomads. His wall was rather farther north than what we
think of today as the Great Wall, which is the series of
fortifications (not one single wall) built in the Ming Dynasty,
which ruled China for almost three centuries from 1368.
Little of the Qin wall remains beyond a few mounds that are
believed to be from the First Emperor’s era. But he is
regarded as the grandfather of the Great Wall, that iconic
symbol of China’s historical separateness and age-old
industriousness.
ANSWER
It represents/stands for/is (readily) recognisable as
representative (of China)
Example Twenty Seven: (b) In your own words, explain
fully what aspects of China it symbolises. 3 marks
Although there had been a tradition of building walls to
mark the boundaries of territory and keep neighbours
out, the First Emperor’s undertaking was the most
significant building project to date, aiming to protect the
borders from nomads. His wall was rather farther north
than what we think of today as the Great Wall, which is
the series of fortifications (not one single wall) built in
the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China for almost three
centuries from 1368. Little of the Qin wall remains
beyond a few mounds that are believed to be from the
First Emperor’s era. But he is regarded as the
grandfather of the Great Wall, that iconic symbol of
China’s historical separateness and age-old
industriousness.
Answer
Gloss of “historical” or “age-old” eg long-standing (1)
Gloss of “separateness” eg isolation (1)
Gloss of “industriousness” eg capacity for hard work (1)
Example twenty Eight :2011 - The writer tells us that “all
the popular beliefs about texting are wrong”.
Look at the paragraph below, and then explain in your
own words what two of these popular beliefs are. 2
marks
People think that the written language seen on mobile
phone screens is new and alien, but all the popular beliefs
about texting are wrong. Its distinctiveness is not a new
phenomenon, nor is its use restricted to the young. There
is increasing evidence that it helps rather than hinders
literacy. Texting has added a new dimension to language
use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a
disaster.
ANSWER
Contradiction of “its distinctiveness is not a new
phenomenon”
Contradiction of “its use [is] restricted to the young”
Contradiction of “it helps rather than hinders literacy”
Contradiction of “its long-term impact is negligible”
Contradiction of “it is not a disaster”
eg (the language) being different is newfangled/modern/recent
eg only children/juveniles/ teenagers use it
eg it impedes/restricts/obstructs linguistic/verbal
competence
eg it will have a significant effect
eg it is a tragedy
Example Twenty Nine - 2011 - Read the lines below, and
then explain in your own words two points the writer is
making about abbreviations.
2 marks
English has had abbreviated words ever since it began to be
written down. Words such as exam, vet, fridge and bus are
so familiar that they have effectively become
new words. When some of these abbreviated forms first
came into use, they also attracted criticism. In 1711, for
example, Joseph Addison complained about the way words
were being “miserably curtailed”—he mentioned pos (itive)
and incog (nito).
ANSWERS
Glosses of two of “English has had abbreviated words
ever since it began to be written down” – eg this is not
new/has a long history (1)
And “attracted criticism” or “complained” – eg have
always had a hostile reception/met with disapproval (1)
And “have effectively become new words” – eg have been
accepted into the language in their own right (1)
Example Thirty 2011 – Read the lines below, and then
explain in your own words in what ways “The keypad isn’t
linguistically sensible”.
2 marks
Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most
natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn’t
linguistically sensible. No one took letter-frequency
considerations into account when designing it. For example,
key 7 on my mobile contains four symbols, pqrs. It takes
four key-presses to access the letter s, and yet s
is one of the most frequently occurring letters in English.
It is twice as easy to input q, which is one of the least
frequently occurring letters. It should be the other way
round. So any strategy that reduces the time and
awkwardness of inputting graphic symbols is bound to be
attractive.
ANSWER
The letters which are used most often (gloss of
“frequently occurring”) (1)
are not the most easily/most quickly written (gloss of
“access” or “input”) (1)
(Rate of incidence and manipulation are the two areas of
correspondence.
Example Thirt One : 2011 - Look at the lines below, and
then explain briefly and in your own words what the
writer means when he refers to “literacy awareness”.
1 mark
An extraordinary number of doom-laden prophecies have
been made about the supposed linguistic evils unleashed
by texting. Sadly, its creative potential has been virtually
ignored. But children could not be good at texting if they
had not already developed considerable literacy
awareness. Before you can write and play with
abbreviated forms, you need to have a sense of how the
sounds of your language relate to the letters. You need to
know that there are such things as alternative spellings.
If you are aware that your texting behaviour is
different, you must have already realised that there is
such a thing as a standard.
ANSWERS
Knowledge about/sensitivity to language
Example Thirty Two: 2012 - Look at lines 1 – 3, and then
explain in your own words what is meant by tennis players
being “a funny bunch”.
1 mark
Tennis players are a funny bunch. Have you noticed how
they always ask for three balls instead of two; how they
bounce the ball the same number of times before serving,
as if any deviation from their routine might bring the world
collapsing on their heads?
ANSWERS
odd/strange/curious/eccentric – ie not comical/amusing
Example Thirty Three: 2012 - Explain in your own words
why the writer can feel confident about using B. F.
Skinner to support his claims about pigeons. 1 mark
The answer, I think, is to be found in the world of pigeons.
Yes, really. These feathered fellows, you see, are the
tennis players of the bird world. Don’t take my word for it:
that was the opinion of B. F. Skinner, the man widely
regarded as the father of modern psychology.
ANSWERS
Glosses of “widely regarded” (eg seen by many
people/well-known/respected)
or “father (of modern psychology)” (eg an
innovative/authoritative figure)
OR
Skinner used pigeons in his experiments
Example Thirty Four: 2012 - Look at the lines below, and
then explain fully and in your own words what “the
connection” was. 3 marks
I know, I know. This is nothing compared with the weird
behaviour that goes on at Wimbledon, but do you see the
connection? The pigeons were acting as if they could
influence the mechanism delivering the Trill in just the
same way that Ivanisevic thought that he could influence
the outcome of his next match by watching Teletubbies.
To put it a tad formally, they both witnessed a random
connection between a particular kind of behaviour and a
desired outcome, and then (wrongly) inferred that one
caused the other.
ANSWERS
Both the pigeons and the tennis player (1)
(wrongly) thought their actions (1)
were linked to the consequences (1)
Example Thirty Five: Explain in your own words what the
“huge evolutionary benefits” of superstitions are. 2
marks
But suppose that there really is a lion living in those
bushes. The caveman’s behaviour now looks not only
sensible but life-saving. So, a tendency to perceive
connections that do not actually exist can confer huge
evolutionary benefits, providing a cocoon of safety
in a turbulent and dangerous world. The only proviso
(according to some devilishly complicated mathematics
known as game theory) is this: your superstitions must not
impose too much of a burden on those occasions when they
are without foundation.
ANSWERS
Gloss of “providing a cocoon of safety in a turbulent and
dangerous world”:
eg they insulate/shield/shelter/protect (1)
in unstable/risky/perilous/unsettled circumstances (1)
OR
gloss of “The caveman’s behaviour now looks not only
sensible but life-saving”
eg being superstitious can make you cautious (1) and
(therefore) more likely to survive (1)
Example Thirty Six: 2012 - Look again at the lines below,
in which the writer examines the nature of superstition
nowadays.
(a)
Explain in your own words the points the writer
makes.
2 marks
And this is almost precisely what superstitions look like in
the modern world. Some believe in horoscopes, but few
allow them to dictate their behaviour; some like to wear
the same lucky shoes to every job interview, but it is not
as if wearing a different pair would improve their
chances of success; some like to bounce the ball precisely
seven times before serving at tennis, but although they
are wrong to suppose that this ball-bouncing is implicated
in their success, it does not harm their prospects (even if
it irritates those of us watching).
ANSWERS
People (still) indulge in superstition (in various situations)
(1)
But it has little influence/(beneficial) effect/is harmless
(1)
Example Thirty Seven: 2013 - Explain in your own words
one of the reasons why there is a “void” which “Cowell’s
creation seems to be filling”. 2 marks
As a result, many of us will spend more time in the
virtual company of the contestants than we do with our
real-life friends and family. In a modern world in which
local communities have become increasingly fractured,
where relatives live further apart from each other than
ever before and where one in five of us will never speak to
our neighbours, Cowell’s creation seems to be filling the
void.
ANSWER
Gloss of “local communities have become increasingly
fractured” eg neighbourhoods / districts (1) are (ever
more) split / separated / disjointed (1)
OR
“where relatives live further apart from each other than
ever before” eg members of families (1) are (physically)
distant / far away from one another (1)
OR
“one in five of us will never speak to our neighbours”
eg 20%/one fifth / a (significant) number of us (1) have
no communication with people next door / in vicinity (1)
Example Thirty Eight: 2013 - Look at the lines below,
and then
explain in your own words what is meant by “engaging
with someone on the other side of the screen”; 2
marks
And perhaps, in a world increasingly dominated by
Facebook and Twitter, where friendships are made and
broken at the click of the computer mouse, we feel more
comfortable engaging with someone on the other side of
the screen rather than chatting to them over the garden
fence, as our grandparents might once have done. If we
are already sharing the details of our private lives in
Tweets and status updates, are we also becoming more
accustomed to the notion of putting our intimate selves on
display for the entertainment of others?
ANSWER
glosses of “engaging” and “screen”, eg having a
(perceived / imagined) relationship / connecting /
chatting (1) with people who appear on TV/by means of
a computer link / over the Internet (1);
watch for condensed answer worth (2), eg
“virtual/cyber connection”
Example Thirty Nine: 2013 - explain in your own words
why people do this; 1mark
And perhaps, in a world increasingly dominated by
Facebook and Twitter, where friendships are made and
broken at the click of the computer mouse, we feel more
comfortable engaging with someone on the other side of
the screen rather than chatting to them over the garden
fence, as our grandparents might once have done. If we
are already sharing the details of our private lives in
Tweets and status updates, are we also becoming more
accustomed to the notion of putting our intimate selves
on display for the entertainment of others?
ANSWER
Gloss of “more comfortable”, eg they prefer
communicating this way / feel at ease / relaxed/secure
OR
reference to a “world increasingly dominated by
Facebook and Twitter” or “at the click of the computer
mouse” – eg this is a computer-focused / dependent age.
Example Forty: 2013 - Look at the lines below, and then
explain in your own words two reasons the writer gives
in this paragraph for “our love affair with The X
Factor”. 2 marks
It’s no coincidence that our love affair with The X Factor
is so potent right now, more than ever before, as Britain
endures a period of relative austerity. In a time of
economic hardship, we are seeking out the simple and
cheap—family entertainment that makes us feel part of
something bigger. But the popularity of such shows may be
traced back even further—to the emergence of 19thcentury periodicals which relied on reader contributions.
Reality TV is merely a manifestation of a very, very old
craving. We love sentimental stories, such as Dickens’
Little Nell; we love a tear jerker, and shows like The X
Factor are no more crass or exploitative than cheap
sensational 19th-century fiction.
ANSWER
Glosses of (because of) “austerity”, “economic hardship” eg
we are hard up (1)
(“we are seeking”) [the] “simple” eg we want uncomplicated /
undemanding / straightforward material (1)
(“we are seeking”) “cheap” eg we want material which does not
cost much / is inexpensive / low-cost (1)
(“we are seeking”) “family entertainment”
eg can be
watched by everyone (1)
“craving” for “sentimental stories” and “tear jerker”
eg we like (over -) emotional / slushy / maudlin entertainment
(1)
“part of something bigger” eg gives feeling of involvement (1)
“(manifestation of) a very, very old craving” or “19th –
century fiction”
eg this is just another form of a basic or
long-standing human characteristic (1)
Any two
Example Forty One 2013 – Read the lines below, and then
explain in your own words why the writer chooses Susan
Boyle as an example to support her argument. 2 marks
Yet it seems that 21st-century viewers are looking for more
than just simple entertainment. Part of the attraction is the
sense of control The X Factor gives us: the sense that we can
put right wider social wrongs by voting for our favourite
contestants and that although our lives are being shaped by
forces beyond our control—such as government cutbacks,
widespread job losses or social deprivation—the ability to
have a say in what happens to others in reality TV shows gives
us back a much-needed sense of power. The most popular
contestants almost always have a back-story of personal
triumph over adversity which enables us to feel that we are
helping them succeed, that we are giving them a break even if
no one else will. And perhaps this is why Susan Boyle, who
grew up in a council house and was bullied as a child for her
learning difficulties, has proved such an enduring figure.
ANSWER
She represents / epitomises / the reader can relate to (1)
triumph over injustice (gloss of “social wrongs”) or
hardship (gloss of “social deprivation”) (1)
OR
The example of her success (1) shows that the voter can
redress injustice (gloss of “we can put right wider social
wrongs”) (1)