How To Approach Question 2 On English Language Paper 1 (aqa)

When answering question 2 on English Language Paper 1 (AQA), it is important to show that you are fully aware of the multiplicity of ways that language is being used. You can scan the extract you are given to see if there are any interesting language choices, and ask yourself some of the following questions:

1. What is the register of the language that is used? For example, is it formal or colloquial?

2. Is the language literal, or perhaps more literary or lyrical?

3. Can I interpret the language in multiple ways? How might this change the reader s overall understanding of the text, and what might it reveal about the author s intentions?

For this kind of question, it is also a good idea to ensure that you are familiar with literary techniques, such as metaphors, similes, alliteration, assonance, hyperboles, personification, pathetic fallacy, emotive language, triplets, listing, rhetorical questions, interjections, exclamatives, oxymorons, onomatopoeia, motifs, allusions, repetition, imagery, and colour imagery. Try to ensure that you understand what these terms mean and can identify them being used. What is their effect?

You can also think about how the writer has structured language for maximum impact. Perhaps they have used a longer, more descri ptive sentence to provide detail, or they have composed a short sentence for abrupt impact. They might have used a cyclical structure, where the language at the end links to that at the start, or they may instead have thought carefully about how a sequence of events or perspectives will be ordered.

Once you have read an extract, try to think of a handful of main points that you want to discuss, and group them into paragraphs. In your introduction, briefly outline the main points that you will be discussing and how these explore the question you have been asked. Then, when beginning each paragraph, ensure that you start by making a clear point that links to the question and back this up with short and appropriate quotes from the extract. Next, state what literary or structural technique is being used, or what type of language. Deepen your analysis by exploring the effect of this, remembering to mention the multiplicity of meanings that certain words could have, and drawing on what particular words denote or connote. To finish your paragraph off, consider what the impact is of the things you have discussed and explore what the writer might have been trying to achieve. When you start your next paragraph, aim to link it in some way to the one before it to ensure your essay flows well. When writing your conclusion, sum up what you have discussed, but try to avoid merely repeating what you have already written. A good way to get around this is by trying to take a step back and think about what the writer was trying to achieve, what the reader might learn from the extract, or why what it has explored matters.