Analysing non-fiction - Question and extracts
The sample answers in this section are examples of extended responses - rather than the short response questions.
Extended response questions ask you to demonstrate the skills of comparison and evaluation.
The extracts your exam questions are based on will be longer than the ones here. You should still be able to find at least four or five points to answer this type of question.
Remember that shorter responses only need three or four points.
First of all, scan, read and annotate the extracts. Remember to link each point to a quotation or example.
Question
Refer to both Text 1 and Text 2.
Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and perspectives on food.
Support your answer with detailed references to the texts.
Text 1:
Text 1 is from Such, Such Were the Joys, an autobiographical essay by George Orwell, published in 1952.
The food was not only bad, it was also insufficient. Never before or since have I seen butter or jam scraped on bread so thinly. I do not think I can be imagining the fact that we were underfed, when I remember the lengths we would go in order to steal food. On a number of occasions I remember creeping down at two or three o'clock in the morning through what seemed like miles of pitch-dark stairways and passages â barefooted, stopping to listen after each step, paralysed with about equal fear of Orwellâs nickname for the headmaster., ghosts and burglars â to steal stale bread from the pantry. The assistant masters had their meals with us, but they had somewhat better food, and if one got half a chance it was usual to steal left-over scraps of bacon rind or fried potato when their plates were removed.
As usual, I did not see the sound commercial reason for this underfeeding. On the whole I accepted Sambo's view that a boy's appetite is a sort of Unhealthy. growth which should be kept in check as much as possible. A A common âsayingâ, eg ânever judge a book by its cover.â often repeated to us at St Cyprian's was that it is healthy to get up from a meal feeling as hungry as when you sat down. Only a generation earlier than this it had been common for school dinners to start off with a slab of unsweetened A boiled pudding made with fat and flour., which, it was frankly said, âbroke the boys appetites.â But the underfeeding was probably less Obvious. at preparatory schools, where a boy was wholly dependent on the official diet, than at public schools, where he was allowed â indeed, expected â to buy extra food for himself. At some schools, he would literally not have had enough to eat unless he had bought regular supplies of eggs, sausages, sardines, etc.; and his parents had to allow him money for this purpose. At Eton, for instance, at any rate in College, a boy was given no solid meal after mid-day dinner. For his afternoon tea he was given a miserable supper of soup or fried fish, or more often bread and cheese, with water to drink.
Such, Such Were the Joys, George Orwell 1952
Text 2:
Text 2 is from an article called How schools can join Food Revolution Day 2015 from JamieOliver.com posted on 6 May 2015.
Food Revolution Day is kicking off on Friday 15 May to get children everywhere excited about good, fresh, real food. Itâs a global day of action to celebrate the importance of cooking from Starting with the basics, without premade ingredients., and to raise awareness of how it impacts our health and happiness.
Greenvale School in Lewisham, London, is a community special school for children and young people between the ages of 11 and 19 who have severe and profound learning difficulties. On Food Revolution Day 2014 all of the students in the school took part in Jamieâs live lesson in some way: even if they were not able to practically get involved in the cooking due to because of their physical disability, they were still able to smell and feel the ingredients with support from staff.
Some of the children focussed on shaking up the salad dressing, and others were given tasks of chopping, grating, picking herbs, and wrapping, based on ability. Each class had set up their tables in front of the screen and students were excited and well prepared! In the week leading up to the big day the students did a range of prep work, including reading an adapted version of the recipe with symbols and pictures, sequencing what had to done, designing posters for school, checking up online shopping to see how much the ingredients would cost, measuring out ingredients, and finding out about the different ingredients and how they grow. The response from the staff was incredibly enthusiastic, with many commenting after on what fun it had been was, and what a success it had been with the students that had got involved.
How schools can join Food Revolution Day 2015 , JamieOliver.com 6 May 2015