Section A - Reading

Question 1: Retrieval
Approaching and
answering Question 1

Question 1:
Retrieval
8 marks
15 minutes, including active reading
time
Make 4-5 relevant points
Youre not analysing language
Youre showing you fully understand
the text, using evidence (short,
embedded quotes) to prove it

1
.

Read the question, and highlight the most

important words in it.
The most important words are those telling you
what to write about in your answer.
What do you learn from Elisabeth Hyde's articleabout
where she has been and what she has been doing?
What do you learn from Ben Leachs article about the
issues and concerns regarding the building of wind
farms?
What do you learn from the article about the reasons
behind Zaki Badawis success?
What do you learn from Tim Jonzes article about the
popularity of the Mercury Music Prize?
What do you learn from the article about the benefits
of a third runway at Heathrow Airport?

2
.

What do you learn from Ben Leachs

article about the issues and
concerns regarding the building of
Actively
read Text 1: Find whatever it is
wind farms?
youre looking for in the text (e.g. where she has been
and what she has been doing / issues and concerns
regarding wind farms / the reasons behind Zaki Badawis
success / the popularity of the Mercury Music prize/ the
benefits of a third runway at Heathrow Airport) and
highlight 4 or 5 points as you are reading it.
To answer the above question, you are looking for
what?...

Issues and concerns!

IN
GROUPS

3
.

Purpose and
Audience
Now youre ready to write up
your ideas, think about the purpose of the
article, and who its audience might be. When writing
an introductory sentence to your answer, you can
mention these things.
For Question 1, likely purposes will be to inform (or to
make the reader aware), explain or describe.
Sometimes it may be clear that a text is aimed at a
particular group. If youre not sure about the
particular group, dont guess but simply mention the
reader / its readers (the articles readers) / or even
us.

IN
GROUPS

3
.

Purpose and
Audience
Dont write things like this:
Text 1 aims to inform readers about the success of the
Mercury Music Prize, and also to entertain them and
make them think the Mercury Music Prize is a really
good thing. The audience are people who are in their
teens and 20s and who like music or are in bands
themselves.
Text 1 aims to tell readers about all the problems to
do with wind farms in the UK. Readers will be people
who are concerned about the environment and the
government and they will be shocked, sad and angry
when they read the article.

Whats wrong with these

openings?
WHAT
TO

AVOID

3
.

Purpose and
Audience
Do write things like this:
Text 1 aims to inform Guardian Music readers about
the success of the Mercury Music Prize.
Text 1 explains to Telegraph readers the reasons
behind the success of the businessman Zaki Badawi.
In this article Ben Leach explains issues and concerns
to do with wind farms to readers, perhaps especially
those concerned about the countryside or the
environment.

Whats better about these

openings?
WHAT
TO

WRITE

3
. Write your clear, simple opening
sentence.

Now you need to address the question, writing about

the things youve highlighted by re-phrasing them
and putting them in your own words.

Dont copy chunks

of the text.

Pepper your points

with two or three

word quotes.

Aim for 2-3 sentences per point;

IN
GROUPS

explain points to show youve understood the text.

3
.

Connective

The text /
article

The
reader
(or we)

Firstly
Secondly
Thirdly
As well as
this
Furthermore
Moreover
Finally
Lastly

Argues
Describes
Emphasises
Explains
Highlights
Informs
Raises
Refers to
Reveals
Shows
Tells

Is made
aware
Is informed
Is told
Learns
Discovers
Realises

USEFUL WORDS &

PHRASES

Question 1: Retrieval Sample Mark

Scheme