Analysing Non-Fiction - Sample answer â version one
The sample answer in this section is an example of an extended response to the longer type of questions in your exams.
You will also answer short response questions that might ask you to select and list key points from a text - or summariseTo give a brief statement of the main points. and synthesise Bringing together information from two (or more) sources. information from two texts.
Question
Refer to both Extract 1 and Extract 2.
Compare how the two writers convey different attitudes towards helping homeless people.
In your answer, you should:
- compare their attitudes
- compare the methods they use to convey their attitudes
- support your ideas with quotations from both texts
Ireland and Dickens have very different attitudes towards helping homeless people. In Extract 1, Ireland has a positive attitude towards helping homeless people, the volunteers are âat the readyâ. On the other hand, in Extract 2, Dickens seems shocked and is âfrightenedâ at first by the homeless person. He does not try to help at first.
In Extract 1, Mr Kershaw describes the sleep out as âreally funâ. However, Dickens thinks that fruit and vegetables sold on the market are âcared forâ more than the homeless âchildrenâ are.
Feedback - basic
This answer:
- Uses key words from the question showing that the response will focus on it.
- Uses the writersâ surnames â you should always use their surname not their first name.
- Picks out some differences between the attitudes of Ireland and Dickens. Connectives âon the other handâ and âhoweverâ make this clear.
- Quotes from the texts, eg âat the readyâ, âfrightenedâ, âreally funâ and âchildrenâ.
- Attempts inferenceReading between the lines to work out things which are not explicitly stated in the text., eg Dickens thinks that market produce is âcared for moreâ than the children are.
However it would have been better if:
- They had explored the connotationAn idea or image which is suggested by a word, which is not its dictionary meaning, eg the connotation of 'desk' might be school. of language choices eg, âat the readyâ implies that volunteers are eager to help. The quotations âreally funâ and âfrightenedâ are simply being used to retell parts of the extracts, rather than analysing language.
- They had identified methods such as punA play on words, relying on similar sounding words or two meanings of one word. eg, âthe traditional Box Factorâ is a play on words referring to the TV series âThe X-Factorâ, adding a touch of humour and creating a lighter tone. The question asks you to âcompare the methods usedâ â this answer does not do that.