Prelim Revision
National 5 Close Reading
Tone Questions
“She was the kind of girl the others
longed to be: an empty headed, bleach
blonde, walking skeleton.”
1.
•
•
•
A) In the extract above is the writer being:
Sympathetic
Sarcastic
Sincere
1
Tone Continued
“Becoming a walking Barbie takes great skill;
about as much as is needed to become the star
player of Manchester United. It involves a hard
slog every weekday morning as they plaster on
their foundation and practice applying their
eyelashes –all training for ‘the big game’ on
Saturday night.”
b) From what we are told in the above lines, justify
your choice.
2
Answer 1.b
• Answers must shown an understanding of
the apparent incompatibility (1) of the
writer’s attitude to Barbie looks and his
attitude to football training (1).
Tone Continued
Five years ago all the major magazines –like
Glamour or Heat- would have slaughtered me
for such a comparison. They would have
defended the rights of the young and misguided
to dress whatever way they wanted. It is only in
recent years that a change has occurred, that
magazine editors are finally seeing the light…
1. c) Quote an expression that suggests that in the
past Glamour did not agree with the writer.
1A
Answer 1.c
• “…Glamour or Heat would have
slaughtered me for such a comparison.”
• “They would have defended the rights of
the young and misguided…”
• “It is only in recent years that a change has
occurred…”
• “in recent years… magazine editors are
finally seeing the light”
Explain
It’s the damned fake tan and false eyelashes that
they really despise. The low cut tops and layer
upon layer of foundation. They might condemn
women for giving into the latest fashion trends or
wearing uncomfortable heels but this is far more
acceptable to the feminists.
2. a) Explain clearly how the writer suggests that
the feminist group thinks the Barbie look is worse
than ordinary fashion.
2
2.a Answer
• Answers must show appreciation of the degree of
distaste (1) suggested by ‘damned’ used for
Barbie looks and ‘condemned’ used for normal
fashion (1)
• Eg. The use of ‘damned’ for Barbie looks suggests
that they will suffer eternal punishment (1)
whereas ‘condemned’ just suggests they find
them guilty of bad fashion choices (1)
Evaluation
Beauty is a hot potato in the magazine world. On
one hand, women love to read about the latest
trends and see what all the celebrities are
wearing. On the other hand, magazines don’t
want to be accused of promoting a certain look or
of suggesting everyone should follow the size zero
trend.
2.b) The writer uses imagery to describe the topic of
beauty. Identify and quote a suitable example . Go
on to explain clearly why this is an effective way
to describe the topic.
2
2.C
“The rights of the Barbie dolls and the
fashion conscious have been championed
by a variety of well-meaning men.”
2.c) How does the author’s word choice
assert the author’s attitude to men?
4
2C II
“The rights of the Barbie dolls and fashion
conscious have been championed by a
variety of well-meaning men.”
2c ii) Given the issue being discussed, why
might the word ‘men’ be unexpected here?
2
Answer 2cii
• The topic being discussed affects only
women (1) yet ‘men’ are mentioned as the
people defending them (1).
Question 3.
Research has shown that women who
spend more than half an hour on their
appearance are less likely to get jobs at
interviews.
3. In your own words, what exactly has been
discovered by the research?
1
Answer 3
Women who spend a long time on their
appearance are unsuccessful at finding
employment (1).
Must be some attempt to gloss.
Q.4
But why shouldn’t they be the shade of a tangerine or dress for
work like they’re going to a nightclub? It’s their life, isn’t it? If
they want to dress like a misguided thirteen year old let loose
with a bottle of spray tan, then who are we to judge?
If they want to get up at five am to look good at 8, then what
business is it of ours? I know I’d rather have, for example, a
good looking doctor than one whose had her full eight hours
rest.
4.a) Identify a feature of the structure of the paragraph and
explain how this feature affects the tone of the paragraph.
3
Q.4
But why shouldn’t they be the shade of a tangerine or dress for
work like they’re going to a nightclub? It’s their life, isn’t it? If
they want to dress like a misguided thirteen year old let loose
with a bottle of spray tan, then who are we to judge?
If they want to get up at five am to look good at 8, then what
business is it of ours? I know I’d rather have, for example, a
good looking doctor than one whose had her full eight hours
rest.
And all this, for the sake of looking good.
4.b)i.) Explain the importance of the final sentence.
1
ii.) How does the writer emphasise this as important? 2
Q.4 Answer
• The single line paragraph (1)
• The fact that the last sentence begins with
‘And’ (1)
Any of which must be followed by:
• Draws attention to the content (1) and
therefore emphasises the sarcastic tone (1)
• Conveys the strength of feeling (1) and
therefore adds to the sarcastic tone (1)
Q.5
Why would any sensible, mature woman want to look like a
tangerine on sticks? Why would they want to look like
they’ve gotten into a fight with a bottle of spray tan and
lost? People blame it on the Jordan effect, or the Cheryl Cole
obsession many of us have. Longer hair! Shorter hem lines!
More mascara!
The fact is, the money and time being spent on make up
could easily be used for more productive things.
5. Identify any one aspect of sentence structure and one of
word choice used by the writer and explain how its use
helps to underline the point he is making.
3
Question 5 Approach
• Identify the technique used (1)
• Explain how the technique underlines the
message (2)
Q.5 Answer
• Valid technique identified (1)
• Full explanation of how this technique
underlines the message (2)
•
•
•
•
Variety of sentence lengths (1)
Use of questions (1)
Use of simile (1)
Reference to contemporary celebrities (1)
Q.6 (a)
Some women have defended themselves by
saying that their job requires them to dress
a certain way –beauticians and bar staff for
instance. This of course is ridiculous, their
clients are far more interested in their skills
than they are in how they look.
6. (a) Using your own words, explain why
these women believe they have to look
good.
1
Answer 6.a
• Gloss of ‘their jobs require them to dress
this way’ (1)
Q.6 (b)
Some women have defended themselves by
saying that their job requires them to dress
a certain way –beauticians and bar staff for
instance. This of course is ridiculous, their
clients are far more interested in their skills
than they are in how they look.
6. (b) Using your own words, explain the
argument used to counter this belief
1U
Answer 6.b
• Their ability to do their job is more
important than their appearance (1)
Question 7
a) Who would be likely to read this story?
Think About:
Age
Interests
Nationality
Another audience you can identify
b)Referring to evidence from the passage,
explain how you reached this conclusion.