SPECIMEN MATERIAL

GCSE
English Literature
8702/2
Paper 2 Modern texts and poetry

Specimen 2014 Morning 2 hours 15 minutes

Materials
For this paper you must have:
• An AQA 16-page answer book.

Instructions
• Answer one question from Section A, one question from Section B and both questions in Section
C.
• Write the information required on the front of your answer book.
• Use black ink or black ballpoint pen. Do not use pencil.

Information
• The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
• The maximum mark for this paper is 96.
• AO4 will be assessed in Section A. There are 4 marks available for AO4 in Section A in addition to
30 marks for answering the question. AO4 assesses the following skills: Use a range of vocabulary
and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
• There are 30 marks for Section B and 32 marks for Section C.

8702/2
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There are no questions printed on this page.

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SECTION A Questions Page

Modern prose or drama

JB Priestley An Inspector Calls 1–2 4

Willy Russell Blood Brothers 3–4 5
Alan Bennett The History Boys 5–6 6
Dennis Kelly DNA 7–8 7
Simon Stephens The Curious Incident of the Dog in the 9–10 8
Night-Time
Shelagh Delaney A Taste of Honey 11–12 9
William Golding Lord of the Flies 13–14 10
AQA Anthology Telling Tales 15–16 11
George Orwell Animal Farm 17–18 12
Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go 19–20 13
Meera Syal Anita and Me 21–22 14
Stephen Kelman Pigeon English 23–24 15

SECTION B

Poetry Questions Page

AQA Anthology Poems Past and Present

Love and relationships 25 17
Power and conflict 26 18

SECTION C

Unseen poetry Questions Page

27.1 20
27.2 21

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Section A: Modern prose or drama

Answer one question from this section on your chosen text.

JB Priestley: An Inspector Calls

EITHER

0 1 How and why does Sheila change in An Inspector Calls?

Write about:

• how Sheila responds to her family and to the Inspector

• how Priestley presents Sheila by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

Question 2

0 2 How does Priestley explore responsibility in An Inspector Calls?

Write about:

• the ideas about responsibility in An Inspector Calls

• how Priestley presents these ideas by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
Willy Russell: Blood Brothers

0 3 How does Russell use the characters of Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons in Blood
Brothers to explore ideas about class?

Write about:

• how Russell presents Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons

• how Russell uses these characters to explore ideas about class.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

0 4 How does Willy Russell present childhood and growing up in Blood Brothers?

Write about:

• the ways particular characters change as they grow up

• how Russell presents childhood and growing up by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for the next question

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OR
Alan Bennett: The History Boys

0 5 How does Bennett use the character of Posner to explore ideas about belonging?

Write about:

• how Bennett presents the character of Posner

• how Bennett uses Posner to explore ideas about belonging.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

0 6 How does Bennett present some of the different attitudes to school in The History
Boys?

Write about:

• what different characters’ attitudes are to school

• how Bennett presents attitudes to school by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
Dennis Kelly: DNA

0 7 In DNA, Phil says: ‘I’m in charge. Everyone is happier.’ How does Kelly present Phil
as a leader?

Write about:

• how Kelly presents the character of Phil

• how Kelly uses the character of Phil to explore ideas about leadership.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

0 8 How does Kelly explore the effects of peer pressure in DNA?

Write about:

• how some of the characters respond to peer pressure

• how Kelly presents the effects of peer pressure.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for the next question

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OR
Simon Stephens: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

0 9 How does Stephens present Christopher’s father as a parent?

Write about:

• what Christopher’s father says and does and the difficulties he has to deal with
• how Stephens presents Christopher’s father.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

1 0 How does Stephens present the ways Christopher deals with loss?

Write about:

• how Christopher deals with loss

• how Stephens presents Christopher’s attitudes and feelings.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
Shelagh Delaney: A Taste of Honey

1 1 How does Delaney present the character of Helen as a mother in A Taste of Honey?

Write about:

• how Delaney presents the character of Helen

• how Delaney uses the character of Helen to explore ideas about motherhood.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

1 2 How does Delaney present prejudice in A Taste of Honey?

Write about:

• the ideas about prejudice in A Taste of Honey

• how Delaney presents these ideas by the ways she writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for the next question

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OR
William Golding: Lord of the Flies

1 3 Do you think Piggy is an important character in Lord of the Flies?

Write about:

• how Golding presents the character of Piggy

• how Golding uses Piggy to present ideas about people and society.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

1 4 What do you think is the importance of the ‘beast’ in Lord of the Flies?

Write about:

• how different characters respond to the ‘beast’

• how Golding uses the ‘beast’ to explore ideas about society and people in
Lord of the Flies.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
AQA Anthology: Telling Tales

1 5 How do writers present characters losing their innocence in ‘The Darkness Out There’
and in one other story from Telling Tales?

Write about:

• some of the ideas about loss of innocence that are presented in the two stories
• how the writers present these ideas by the ways they write.

[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

1 6 How do writers present conflict in ‘A Family Supper’ and in one other story from Telling
Tales?

Write about:

• some of the ideas about conflict that are presented in the two stories
• how the writers present these ideas by the ways they write.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for the next question

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OR
George Orwell: Animal Farm

1 7 How does Orwell use the character of Napoleon to explore ideas about power and
control in Animal Farm?

Write about:

• how Orwell presents the character of Napoleon

• how Orwell uses the character of Napoleon to present ideas about power and
control in the novel.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

1 8 ‘All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.’ How far is this idea
important in Animal Farm?

Write about:

• what you think Orwell is saying about equality and inequality

• how Orwell presents these ideas through the events of the novel.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go

1 9 How does Ishiguro present fear about the future in Never Let Me Go?

Write about:

• how Ishiguro uses different characters to present fear about the future
• how Ishiguro presents these ideas by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

2 0 How does Ishiguro present the importance of friendship for the characters in Never Let
Me Go?

Write about:

• how Ishiguro presents some of the friendships

• how Ishiguro uses some of the friendships to explore his ideas.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for the next question

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OR
Meera Syal: Anita and Me

2 1 How does Syal present the ways Meena’s attitude towards Anita changes during the
course of the novel?

Write about:

• how Syal presents Meena’s changing attitude towards Anita

• how Meena’s attitude towards Anita is influenced by the world she lives in.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

2 2 How does Syal present family relationships in Anita and Me?

Write about:

• how Syal presents some of the relationships

• how Syal uses these relationships to explore ideas about family.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]
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OR
Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English

2 3 In Pigeon English, Harrison says, ‘Somebody dies on the news every day. It’s nearly
always a child.’
How does Kelman present Harrison’s daily life?

Write about:

• what we learn about Harrison’s daily life

• how Kelman presents Harrison’s daily life by the ways he writes.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

OR

2 4 How does Kelman present ideas about being a teenager in the modern world in
Pigeon English?

Write about:

• how Kelman presents being a teenager

• how Kelman uses some of the teenagers to explore ideas about the modern world.
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks]

Turn over for Section B

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Section B: Poetry

Answer one question from this section.

AQA Anthology: Poems Past and Present

EITHER

Love and relationships

The poems you have studied are:

Lord Byron When We Two Parted

Percy Bysshe Shelley Love’s Philosophy
Robert Browning Porphyria’s Lover
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’
Thomas Hardy Neutral Tones
Charlotte Mew The Farmer’s Bride
C Day Lewis Walking Away
Maura Dooley Letters From Yorkshire
Charles Causley Eden Rock
Seamus Heaney Follower
Simon Armitage Mother, any distance
Carol Ann Duffy Before You Were Mine
Owen Sheers Winter Swans
Daljit Nagra Singh Song!
Andrew Waterhouse Climbing My Grandfather
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2 5 Compare how poets present attitudes towards a parent in ‘Follower’ and in one other
poem from ‘Love and relationships’.

Follower

1 My father worked with a horse-plough,

His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.

5 An expert. He would set the wing

And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round

10 And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,

Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
15 Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,

To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
20 In his broad shadow round the farm.

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,

Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

Seamus Heaney

[30 marks]

Turn over for the question on the Power and conflict cluster

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OR
Power and conflict

The poems you have studied are:

Percy Bysshe Shelley Ozymandias

William Blake London
William Wordsworth The Prelude: stealing the boat
Robert Browning My Last Duchess
Alfred Lord Tennyson The Charge of the Light Brigade
Wilfred Owen Exposure
Seamus Heaney Storm on the Island
Ted Hughes Bayonet Charge
Simon Armitage Remains
Jane Weir Poppies
Carol Ann Duffy War Photographer
Imtiaz Dharker Tissue
Carol Rumens The émigree
Beatrice Garland Kamikaze
John Agard Checking Out Me History

2 6 Compare the ways poets present ideas about power in ‘Ozymandias’ and in one
other poem from ‘Power and conflict’.

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
5 And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
10 ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

[30 marks]
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There are no questions printed on this page.

Turn over for Section C

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Section C: Unseen poetry

Answer both questions in this section.

To a Daughter Leaving Home

When I taught you

at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
5 as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
10 path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
15 while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
20 with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.

Linda Pastan

2 7 . 1 In ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’, how does the poet present the speaker’s
feelings about her daughter?
[24 marks]
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Poem for My Sister

My little sister likes to try my shoes,

to strut in them,
admire her spindle-thin twelve-year-old legs
in this season’s styles.
5 She says they fit her perfectly,
but wobbles
on their high heels, they’re
hard to balance.

I like to watch my little sister playing hopscotch,

10 admire the neat hops-and-skips of her,
their quick peck,
never-missing their mark, not
over-stepping the line.
She is competent at peever*.

15 I try to warn my little sister

about unsuitable shoes,
point out my own distorted feet, the callouses,
odd patches of hard skin.
I should not like to see her
20 in my shoes.
I wish she could stay sure footed,
sensibly shod.

Liz Lochhead

*peever – another name for the game of hopscotch

2 7 . 2 In both ‘Poem for My Sister’ and ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ the speakers describe
feelings about watching someone they love grow up. What are the similarities and/or
differences between the ways the poets present those feelings?

[8 marks]

END OF QUESTIONS

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There are no questions printed on this page.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT-HOLDERS AND PUBLISHERS

Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases efforts to contact copyright-holders have been
unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements in future if notified.
Question 25 Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’ from Death of a Naturalist (1966) Faber & Faber.
Question 27 ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ © 1988 by Linda Pastan Used by permission of Linda Pastan in care of JVNLA
(permissions@[Link]).
Question 27 Liz Lochhead, ‘Poem For My Sister’ from Dreaming Frankenstein & Collected Poems 1967–1984, Polygon 2003.
Copyright © 2014 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.