Preparing for
National 5
Close Reading
Homework Booklet
Fiction and Non-Fiction
For candidates in S3 and S4
Book 3
Passage 1
WOMEN AND CHOCOLATE
In this article, the writer looks at the influence women have on the
advertisers of chocolate.
1. You can bet that when the first Aztec tentatively crushed a cacao bean, right
behind him was an ad executive excitedly branding the muddy brown
discovery “the food of the gods”. Or if there wasn't, there certainly should
have been - because chocolate hasn't looked back since. Mars’' new “Mars
Delight” is just the latest attempt to beguile us into seeing that a mixture of fat,
sugar and a type of caffeine is an essential part of our life.
2. The secret of chocolate’s particular appeal lies in the cocoa butter - it
melts just below body temperature - which gives it that delicious
dissolve-in-the-mouth feeling. Add to that the sudden charge of
energy you get from the sugar, the kick of the caffeine and another
chemical, which acts as a mood enhancer - and you can understand
why the Aztecs originally decreed that only nobles, priests and
warriors were allowed to eat it. Then it was seen as the cure for all
ills. And it’s true - as the confectionery industry is keen to point out that cocoa beans contain flavonoids which help high blood pressure.
And chocolate doesn't have the teeth-rotting qualities of other sweets.
3. But that’s more than counterbalanced by the fact that it’s still
crammed full of fats and sugar. “We are looking at 9 to 10 calories
per gram,” says Professor Tom Sanders, the head of nutritional
sciences at King's College, London. “And while people admit to
eating 18 grams of chocolate a day, the manufacturers think it’s
nearer 35 grams, about the size of a Crunchie bar. What’s also
worrying is the trend to “super-size” that we also see in the fast food
industry that means that people end up consuming more. Of particular
concern is that chocolate bars contain vegetable fats - also known as
trans fatty acids (TFAs) - which have been linked to coronary heart
disease. Last summer both Nestle and Cadbury said they were
thinking of removing TFAs from their products.
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4. “The Government recommends that less than 2 per cent of dietary
energy comes from trans fats,” says Hannah Theobald, nutrition
scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation. “It is good news that the
food industry is looking at ways to reduce them in food products.”
5. Ironically, these concerns are far removed from chocolate’s
beginnings - when, being made by teetotal Quakers, it was originally
promoted here as a healthy alternative to alcohol. One of the first
recorded advertisements was a couple of lines in the Birmingham
Gazette of March 1, 1824, placed by a John Cadbury. It read: “John
Cadbury is desirous of introducing to particular notice ‘Cocoa Nibs’
prepared by himself, an article affording a most nutritious beverage
for breakfast”.
6. The nutritious link was one that early chocolate marketing followed.
During the Second World War, manufacturers Caley’s urged that
female air raid wardens should be bought a box of their Fortune
chocolates not just because they'd enjoy them but because it would
supply the “extra nutrition to keep them going”. Early Mars
advertising informed women that there was a “whole meal” in a bar to
“nourish, energise and sustain”.
7. “Women are the key to chocolate advertising,” says Rita Clifton, the
chair of the leading branding agency Interbrand. “They are not only
important consumers in their own right but they also act as
gatekeepers to the rest of the family. So it’s important to get the
approach right.” So as women’s role in society changed so did the
chocolate bars and advertising. Out went the stoic “meal on the run”
idea; in came the post-Sixties “Me” sense of indulgence – running
through fields or sitting in a bath eating a flaky chocolate bar. “One of
the most ‘indulgent’ adverts is the Flake one,” Clifton says. “This is
the ultimate example of taking time out for yourself. OK, I could
never quite see the point of eating a Flake in the bath - not very
practical, but then fantasies aren't meant to be.”
8. But experts say that in recent years the style has changed again. The
Milk Tray man was kicked out in favour of the slogan “love with a
lighter touch”. The fashion, according to Yusuf Chuku, a
3
communications analyst at Naked Communications, is very much
towards a lighter, more sophisticated approach. “Because of concerns
about advertising to children, I think there's been even more of a move
towards targeting women,” Chuku says. “With health advice
constantly changing, I think advertising is now less about the guilty
secret idea, but saying it’s OK to eat some chocolate as long as you
balance it with other things.”
9. That's reflected in the different types of chocolate being developed low calorie bars like Flyte, “lighter” bars than the monolithic-looking
Mars or Snickers, or developments like Kit Kat Kubes, which can be
shared among friends. It also explains the increased demand for
organic or more exotic chocolates: if women are going to indulge,
they want to make sure it is with a high quality brand. Chuku says that
in a competitive market worth £5 billion a year in the UK, no
manufacturer can afford to miss which way the wind is blowing: “I
think the next trend will be turning back to comforting chocolates you
remember from your childhood. Watch out for the Wagon Wheel.”
4
Passage 2
BRIONY
This passage, taken from the opening chapter of a novel, introduces us to the
character of Briony Tallis and her family.
1. The play—for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets,
constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined
the collection box in red crêpe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest
of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch. When the
preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished
draft and wait for the appearance of her cousins from the distant north. There
would be time for only one day of rehearsal before her brother, Leon, arrived.
2. At some moments chilling, at others desperately sad, the play told a tale of the
heart whose message, conveyed in a rhyming prologue, was that love which did
not build a foundation on good sense was doomed. The reckless passion of the
heroine, Arabella, for a wicked foreign count is punished by ill fortune when
she contracts cholera during an impetuous dash towards a seaside town with her
intended. Deserted by him and nearly everybody else, bed-bound in an attic, she
discovers in herself a sense of humour. Fortune presents her a second chance in
the form of an impoverished doctor—in fact, a prince in disguise who has
elected to work among the needy. Healed by him, Arabella chooses wisely this
time, and is rewarded by reconciliation with her family and a wedding with the
medical prince on “a windy sunlit day in spring”.
3. Mrs Tallis read the seven pages of The Trials of Arabella in her bedroom, at her
dressing table, with the author’s arm around her shoulder the whole while.
Briony studied her mother’s face for every trace of shifting emotion, and Emily
Tallis obliged with looks of alarm, snickers of glee and, at the end, grateful
smiles and wise, affirming nods. She took her daughter in her arms, onto her
lap, and said that the play was “stupendous”, and agreed instantly, murmuring
into the girl’s ear, that this word could be quoted on the poster which was to be
on an easel in the entrance hall by the ticket booth.
4. Briony was hardly to know it then, but this was the project’s highest point of
fulfilment. Nothing came near it for satisfaction, all else was dreams and
frustration.
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5. There were moments in the summer dusk after her light was out, burrowing in
the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with
luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves, every one of which
featured Leon. In one, his big, good-natured face buckled in grief as Arabella
sank in loneliness and despair. In another, there he was, cocktail in hand at
some fashionable city bar, overheard boasting to a group of friends: Yes, my
younger sister, Briony Tallis the writer, you must surely have heard of her. In a
third he punched the air in exultation as the final curtain fell, although there was
no curtain, there was no possibility of a curtain. Her play was not for her
cousins, it was for her brother, to celebrate his return, provoke his admiration
and guide him away from his careless succession of girlfriends, towards the
right form of wife, the one who would persuade him to return to the
countryside, the one who would sweetly request Briony’s services as a
bridesmaid.
6. She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so.
Whereas her big sister’s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes,
unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony’s was a shrine to her controlling
demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the
usual animals, but all facing one way—towards their owner—as if about to
break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled. In fact,
Briony’s was the only tidy upstairs room in the house. Her straight-backed dolls
in their many-roomed mansion appeared to be under strict instructions not to
touch the walls; the various thumbsized figures to be found standing about her
dressing table—cowboys, deep-sea divers, humanoid mice—suggested by their
even ranks and spacing a citizen army awaiting orders.
7. A taste for the miniature was one aspect of an orderly spirit. Another was a
passion for secrets: in a prized varnished cabinet, a secret drawer was opened by
pushing against the grain of a cleverly turned dovetail joint, and here she kept a
diary locked by a clasp, and a notebook written in a code of her own invention.
In a toy safe opened by six secret numbers she stored letters and postcards. An
old tin petty cash box was hidden under a removable floorboard beneath her
bed. In the box were treasures that dated back four years, to her ninth birthday
when she began collecting: a mutant double acorn, fool’s gold, a rain-making
spell bought at a funfair, a squirrel’s skull as light as a leaf.
8. At the age of eleven she wrote her first story—a foolish affair, imitative of half
a dozen folk tales and lacking, she realised later, that vital knowingness about
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the ways of the world which compels a reader’s respect. But this first clumsy
attempt showed her that the imagination itself was a source of secrets: once she
had begun a story, no one could be told. Pretending in words was too tentative,
too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know. Even writing out the she
saids, the and thens, made her wince, and she felt foolish, appearing to know
about the emotions of an imaginary being. Self-exposure was inevitable the
moment she described a character’s weakness; the reader was bound to
speculate that she was describing herself. What other authority could she have?
Only when a story was finished could she feel immune, and ready to punch
holes in the margins, bind the chapters with pieces of string, paint or draw the
cover, and take the finished work to show to her mother, or her father, when he
was home.
9. Her efforts received encouragement. In fact, they were welcomed as the Tallises
began to understand that the baby of the family possessed a strange mind and a
facility with words. Briony was encouraged to read her stories aloud in the
library and it surprised her parents and older sister to hear their quiet girl
perform so boldly, making big gestures with her free arm, arching her eyebrows
as she did the voices, and looking up from the page for seconds at a time as she
read in order to gaze into one face after the other, unapologetically demanding
her family’s total attention as she cast her narrative spell.
10. The play she had written for Leon’s homecoming was her first attempt at drama,
and she had found the change quite effortless. It was a relief not to be writing
out the she saids, or describing the weather or the onset of spring or her
heroine’s face—beauty, she had discovered, occupied a narrow band. Ugliness,
on the other hand, had infinite variation. The Trials of Arabella was intended to
inspire not laughter, but terror, relief and instruction, in that order, and the
innocent intensity with which Briony set about the project—the posters, tickets,
sales booth—made her particularly vulnerable to failure.
Adapted from the novel Atonement by Ian McEwen
7
National 5
Learning Intention:
The following assignments are designed to assess your skills in
Reading. You are expected to show that you can:
Understand, analyse and evaluate detailed written texts, by:
1.1 Identifying and explaining the purpose and audience as appropriate to genre
1.2 Identifying and explaining the main ideas and supporting details
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning and effect,
using appropriate critical terminology
The assignments will also provide the opportunity for you to
demonstrate your skills in Literacy, covering the Reading
outcome. You are expected to show that you can:
Read and understand complex word-based texts by:
1.1 Selecting and Using Information
1.2 Explaining a range of aspects
1.3 Evaluating effectiveness
Success Criteria:
You will be asked questions to allow you to demonstrate that you
can:
 identify the purpose and audience of the text you are reading and
justify this by quoting or referring to its content;
 show clear understanding of the most relevant points of the text;
 infer from the text, drawing on appropriate evidence/quotations to
support your thinking;
 identify and analyse various features of a writer’s use of language and
its effect;
 use appropriate textual reference or quotation to support statements;
 evaluate the effectiveness of the writing.
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What you have to do:
1. Read the whole of the passage very carefully. It might help to
read it more than once.
2. If the passage is fictional, think about the genre you are reading:
poetry/prose/drama have different features.
3. Answer the questions using your own words as far as
possible. You do not have to answer in sentences.
4. Pay attention to the number of marks awarded to each
question: this gives you a guide of how many pieces of
information/evidence are required in the answer.
5. The codes listed in the right hand column refer to the
assessment standards at the top of this page.
9
Task 1a
Approaching a passage
 As with all areas of Close Reading, it is a good idea to annotate the text
as you read through it.
 This not only helps you to identify good examples of the writer’s
language and use of structure, but it will also help you to recognise the
writer’s main points (in non-fiction). Furthermore, it will help you to
anticipate the questions you might be asked.
 As you read, you should underline interesting examples of word choice,
imagery and sentence structure.
 If the passage is non-fiction, you should also try to identify the writer’s
main points as you read. Each paragraph will make one main point
with supporting detail so underline the point that is being made in
each main paragraph as you read. (This is the topic sentence.)
1. Read Passage 1 following the above approach.
2. Read Passage 2 following the above approach.
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Task 1b
Remember: Use your own words as far as possible in your answers.
It is acceptable to ‘quote and explain’ but quotation alone will gain no
marks unless you are specifically asked to do so.
Purpose
1.1 Identifying and explaining the purpose and audience as appropriate to genre
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
9a. What would you consider to be the main purpose of this
article? Justify your answer with reference to the passage
as a whole.
3
1.1
1.2
b. Explain how effective you think the writer has been in
achieving his aims. Justify your answer with reference to
evidence from the passage as a whole.
1.1
1.3
4
Mrk
Read Passage 2: Briony
8. This extract is taken from a novel. What do you think is
the writer’s purpose in writing this section which shows
Briony with her mother and refers to her brother and
sister?
1
Code
Eng
Lit
1.1
1.2
11
Task 2
Audience
1.1 Identifying and explaining the purpose and audience as appropriate to genre
Mrk
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
1 a. Who would be likely to read this article? Think about:
•
Age and/or
•
Interests and/or
•
Nationality and/or
•
Another audience you can identify
Code
Eng
Lit
2
1.1
1.2
b. Referring to evidence from the passage, explain how
2
you reached this conclusion.
1.1
1.2
1
1.1
1.2
b. Referring to evidence from the passage, explain how you
2
reached this conclusion.
1.1
1.2
Read Passage 2: Briony
7 a. Who would be likely to read this article? Think about:
•
Age and/or
•
Interests and/or
•
Nationality and/or
•
Another audience you can identify
12
Task 3
Non-Fiction: Understanding main ideas
1.2 Identifying and explaining the main ideas and supporting details
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
2. Read carefully Paragraphs 1-2.
The writer tells us that chocolate “hasn’t looked back”
(Paragraph 1) and that it has a “particular appeal”
(Paragraph 2). Find two pieces of evidence to support
these points.
2
1.2
1.1
3a. Read carefully paragraphs 3 - 4.
The writer presents a different point of view in these
paragraphs. Summarise the main line of thought.
1
1.2
1.1
3b. Provide three pieces of supporting evidence for this
line of thought.
3
1.2
1.1
4a. Read carefully Paragraphs 5-9.
This section of the passage examines the way chocolate
has been presented to different groups of people
throughout history. What important ideas does the writer
consider in these lines?
2
1.2
1.1
b. Provide four pieces of supporting evidence for this line of
thought.
4
1.2
1.1
13
Task 4a
Fiction: Understanding main features of plot,
character and setting
1.2 Identifying and explaining the main ideas and supporting details
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning
and effect, using appropriate critical terminology
Sometimes you will need to use evidence from the passage (quotations) to
prove how you know the answer. Questions 1b & 2b ask you to justify
your answer by quoting from the passage.
Read Passage 2: Briony
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
1a. Briony Tallis has been involved in writing a play for the
homecoming of her brother, Leon. Using your own
words as far as possible, summarise what her play is
about.
3
1.2
1.1
1b. With close reference to paragraph 3, explain clearly the
difference between her mother’s opinion of this play and
what she conveys to Briony
4
1.3
1.2
2a. How would you sum up the relationship between
Briony and her mother?
1
1.3
1.3
2b. With close reference to paragraph 3, support your
opinion with two pieces of evidence.
2
1.2
1.1
14
Task 4b
Fiction: Understanding main features of plot,
character and setting ctd...
1.2 Identifying and explaining the main ideas and supporting details
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning
and effect, using appropriate critical terminology
Sometimes you will need to use evidence from the passage (quotations) to
prove how you know the answer. Questions 5a & 5b ask you to justify
your answer by quoting from the passage.
Read Passage 2: Briony
5a. With close reference to the language and ideas of
paragraphs 7-8, explain clearly what sort of person
Briony is.
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
4
1.2
1.3
5b. With close reference to the language and ideas of
paragraphs 9-10, explain clearly the contrasting aspect of
Briony’s character we learn about.
3
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.3
6. There is a sense that Briony’s first attempt as a dramatist
is not going to end well. With reference to the passage as
a whole, suggest three reasons for this.
3
15
The following tasks focus on the ‘writer’s use of
language’. This term refers to the writer’s word choice,
imagery, sentence structure and tone.
Task 5
Word Choice & Sentence Structure
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning
and effect, using appropriate critical terminology
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
5a. Read carefully the information in Paragraph 5.
Explain whether you think the word-choice in this
paragraph is an effective way of selling the product.
2
1.3
1.2
7. In the sentence “Out went …chocolate bar”, the writer
makes clear to the reader that women’s role in society
was changing. How does the writer’s use of word-choice
and sentence structure in the sentence reinforce this?
4
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.3
Read Passage 2: Briony
3. Briony’s imagination took over “after her light was out.”
(Paragraph 5) Referring closely to this paragraph, explain
clearly how the writer’s word-choice indicates the
2
intensity of Briony’s fantasies.
4. Briony and her elder sister contrast one another. From
your reading of paragraph 6, show how the writer
develops this contrast through the use of sentence
structure and word-choice.
4
16
Task 6
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
Mrk
Code
Eng
Lit
Tone
5b. Explain whether you think the tone in these lines is an
effective way of selling the product.
2
1.3
1.2
Task 7
Imagery
Just as... so too...
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning
and effect, using appropriate critical terminology
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
6. Read Paragraph 7.
In this paragraph, the writer suggests that women “act as
gatekeepers to the rest of the family”. Identify and
explain the effectiveness of the image used in this
expression.
Mrk
2
1.3
Code
Eng
Lit
1.3
17
Task 8
Evaluation
1.3 Applying knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning
and effect, using appropriate critical terminology
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
8. “Watch out for the Wagon Wheel.” (line 63)
Give two reasons why this might be an effective
advertising slogan.
Mrk
2
1.3
Code
Eng
Lit
1.3
Task 9
Summary
1.2 Identifying and explaining the main ideas and supporting details
Read Passage 1: Women and Chocolate
 Referring to the whole article, in your own words list
the key points the writer
Mrk
4
Code
Eng
Lit
1.2
18
1.2