Question 3 Extended Response (25 marks)

Candidates write about 250–350 words, responding in one of the following text types: letter, report,
journal, speech, interview, newspaper report or magazine article.

The examiner wants to see that you can:

Read (15 marks): Write (10 marks):

R1 demonstrate understanding of explicit W1 articulate experience and express what is
meanings thought, felt and imagined
R2 demonstrate understanding of implicit W2 sequence facts, ideas and opinions
meanings and attitudes W3 use a range of appropriate vocabulary
R3 analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas W4 use register appropriate to audience and
and opinions. context.

CONTENT: You must use

POINT OF VIEW: you these questions as a basis
FORM: ‘interview’ shows that this should for the interview and
should use I and
be written as a script, with opening and provide accurate
imagine you are the
closing comments from the interviewer. information based on your
character from the text.
reading.

Imagine that you are Narsingh Singh. You are being interviewed for the
Sultanpur weekly newspaper by a reporter who has heard of the arrival
of Shamdeo at the children’s home.

AUDIENCE: The reporter asks the following questions:

You are Ideas should be
writing  What were your thoughts and feelings when you found the
based and
formally for a boy?
expand on
newspaper.
 Why are you so sure that he was brought up by wolves?
information
 How do you think he will develop?
from Passage A.
Write the words of the interview, beginning with the first question.

Base your interview on what you have read in Passage A. Be careful to

use your own words.
Specifies
Marks are Write about 250 - 350 words.
how much
also awarded you should
for accurate write.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to
spelling,
10 marks for the quality of your writing.
grammar and
punctuation.

Do not copy
quotations/phrases
from the text.
Read the question carefully because it will tell you very specific information about how you should
write your answer. It is important that you read this information carefully before you begin.

- Point of view: The question may say to write from the point of view of the writer for
example, or a journalist, or a character in the text.
- Form: the question will tell you to write a letter, report, journal, speech, interview,
newspaper report or magazine article.
- Content: You will be given a list of bullet points of information you should include.
- Number of words: You will be asked to write approximately 250 - 350 words.
- How to start: The question may tell you to begin with these words.
- Audience: The question may tell you who your readers will be. If you are writing for friends
or family your writing should still be relatively formal and avoid slang.

How to approach the question

When planning….
1. Read the question carefully (see above)
a. Highlight key words and phrases.
b. Pay attention in particular to the bullet points itemizing the information you need to
include in your answer.
c. Remember that you are being tested on your reading skills.

2. Re-read the text.

a. You should have already read the text – now you need to read it in more detail,
looking for the information you need.
b. Highlight or underline the material relevant to the question using a pencil so that
you can change your mind if you need to.
c. Be aware of the atmosphere being created and the feelings of any characters in
your response. This means watching out for details and picking up on clues in the
passage as you read. Some ideas might be quite subtle and implied.
d. If a detail is relevant, use it! Make sure that you are using as much of the material as
it is possible to do. However, there may be some parts of the passage which you can
ignore because they are not covered by the question.

3. Plan your work.

a. Next, draw up a quick plan in order to organise the ideas you’ve found into a logical
structure, before you start writing. You do not have time to write a rough draft, but
you should spend a few minutes planning.
b. Use the bullet points to help you to structure your answer. The material from the
passage should be put into the appropriate section and not repeated. Do not be
tempted to add extra sections. For instance, where you are given the questions to
ask in an interview, stick to those questions only and develop the responses to them.
It can make your answers too fragmented or less focused if you add more.
c. Make brief notes on how to expand the information. You are going to be rewarded
not only for identifying relevant material in the passage but also for development of
those ideas and use of supporting detail. The more you can adapt the details from
the passage to suit the task you have been set, the more likely you are to score well
for reading.
d. Do not drift away from the text. Everything you write must be directly connected to
the passage and be supported by references to it.
When writing…
 Before you start writing decide on the appropriate tone to use – you will decide this based
on your audience, why you are writing, or the character from whose point of view you are
writing. Write in a formal style, even if you are writing a letter to a relative or friend. If
writing for a publication, remember who you are writing to and address them directly.
 Don’t forget that you should be using paragraphs.
 Remember your writing skills are being tested – the quality and accuracy of your writing is
important.
 You will be rewarded for showing a wide range of vocabulary – don’t repeat the same word
too often.
 Use your own words as far as possible. Using words or phrases from the passage here and
there when you are giving details within your answer is fine. Watch out though, that you do
not copy big chunks of text, whole sentences or lengthy phrases.
 Make sure that your writing is legible.

When checking
 Check your answer and correct any mistakes. Look out for errors like missed full stops and
careless spelling errors.
 Read your answer back to yourself to help you spot errors. Thinking about the way your
answer would sound if it were read aloud will help you to check if you are getting this right.
 Use the bullet points to remind you of what should be included and check you have covered
what is required.
 For the full marks out of 10 for Writing you need to show that you have structured your
answer, sequenced your ideas, and used ‘a wide range of original and appropriate language’.

Sample Responses
Look at the following extracts from genuine student responses to the question on page 4. Note that
they are not the full response, as the student would have needed to respond to the other two
questions in order to get full marks.

Student 1 (extract)

Reporter: What were your thoughts and feelings when you found the boy?

Narsingh: I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. When I first found
him he was playing with those cubs, I was amazed he had not been eaten. His
fingernails had grown like tiger claws and his teeth were sharp it was as if he
was half animal. I wondered what I should do with him, I decided that it was
not safe in the jungle for a small boy, so I tiptoed over to him to pick him up,
and he bites me! All the more reason for me to believe that he was raised by
wolves.
This is a Band 3 because the student:

Reading
- Shows a reasonable understanding of the text but has missed some important details.
- Has focused on the correct information for the task.
- Expands on some of the information but not as much as he could have.
- Uses some supporting detail.
- Presents ideas simply.

Writing
- Uses language clearly and appropriately.
- Worded the text plainly.
- Included some opinion but needed to develop it more for higher marks.
- Structured the paragraph well.
- Made a few technical errors, e.g. use of commas.

Student 2 (extract)

Reporter: What were your thoughts and feelings when you found the boy?

Narsingh: Well, I must say I was startled but not very surprised as it is not the
first time I seen children get abandoned to the wild. In fact, I’ve come
across four other young boys not unlike Shamedo and adopted them.
Though I must admit, I was curious as I’ve never seen someone brought
up as a wolf before. When I found him, he was trying to run away with
the other cubs but with a human-like posture. His untidy state moved
my heart: I noticed his abnormal physical features such as pointed
teeth and claw-like fingernails and the thought that crossed my mind
was: Is he still human? The things I had witnessed in those few
moments wrenched my heart, they gave me an immense feeling of
empathy towards this poor boy being abandoned by his family, being
left to fend for himself at such a young age. It was at that second I
knew I could not leave him here like this and that I must help him to
have a normal life.

This is a Band 1 answer because the student:

Reading
- Demonstrates a thorough reading of the passage and implied information.
- Uses a range of ideas.
- Develops and expands on the information.
- Integrates supporting detail into the response.

Writing
- Creates a consistent voice for the character.
- Uses convincing and appropriate language e.g. formal language with discourse markers to
indicate that it is a conversation.
- Uses a wide range of effective and interesting language.
- Has made a few minor technical errors in grammar and punctuation.