Paper 2: Comprehension

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: read the question BEFORE the text
• 2Getting started: locating explicit information accurately
• 3Building confidence: turning a quotation into an inference
• 4Building confidence: spotting tone and attitude
• 5Stretch: staying text-bound — not importing your own knowledge
• 6Stretch: reading a whole extract for gist, then for detail

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: decoding 'identify / state / give' and counting the marks
• 2Getting started: accurate retrieval without over-writing
• 3Building confidence: explaining meaning vs merely retrieving
• 4Building confidence: interpreting implication (reading beyond the literal)
• 5Stretch: answering 'why does the writer...' (purpose and approach)
• 6Stretch: matching length and depth to the tariff across a question

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: unpacking audience, purpose and format (the APF check)
• 2Getting started: matching register to the format
• 3Building confidence: using the text's points as evidence
• 4Building confidence: structuring a persuasive piece in ~120 words
• 5Stretch: deploying persuasive devices with control
• 6Stretch: keeping to the word limit and landing a justified conclusion

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: deducing an unknown word from its context
• 2Getting started: contextual meaning vs a bare dictionary definition
• 3Building confidence: explaining a figurative / metaphorical word
• 4Building confidence: the quote-then-infer technique for Q7
• 5Stretch: matching answer length to the mark tariff
• 6Stretch: quoting precisely to anchor an inference

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: telling evaluation apart from describing and summarising
• 2Getting started: evaluating the TEXT, not the topic
• 3Building confidence: judging the argument — assertion, balance and overreach
• 4Building confidence: judging evidence — statistic vs anecdote, selective vs vague
• 5Stretch: building the balanced strength-weakness-judgement answer in 120 words
• 6Stretch: evaluating LANGUAGE two ways — persuasive effect vs weak proof

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: applying QUOTE → IDENTIFY → EFFECT
• 2Getting started: analysing diction and connotation
• 3Building confidence: analysing imagery (metaphor and personification)
• 4Building confidence: analysing a rhetorical question and repetition
• 5Stretch: analysing sentence structure and tone
• 6Stretch: turning a Band-1 'identify only' answer into Band-3 analysis

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)

Worked examples (6)

• 1Getting started: telling a main point from supporting detail
• 2Getting started: cutting examples and repetition
• 3Building confidence: putting a point into your own words
• 4Building confidence: covering the whole text, not just the start
• 5Stretch: trimming an over-length draft to the word limit
• 6Stretch: structuring a coherent, linked summary

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)
• ✓Model answer — 8021 Paper 2-style question (illustrative extract)