Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation

Own Words Questions Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation

Own Words Questions Reading for analysis and evaluation is one of the most important aspects of your work in English. As we saw before the holiday, this is one area of the course where we may struggle. This means that we mustget our skills in place early on.

Get out your yellow ‘Reading’ jotter. Own Words Questions

Inside your jotter, take the heading ‘Tips for Reading’ Tips for Reading 16/8/13

Own Words Questions Here are some tips to help you with this paper… • Read the question carefully • Check which section of the passage you have been directed to. • Never leave a question blank. • Check how many marks the question is worth. Ensure your answer is detailed enough. • Follow the instructions in your ownwords and quote with care.

Own Words Questions One of the most important skills that you need to develop as you seek to improve your skills in English is your ability to read texts CLOSELY. You must do this to examine the writer’s meaning and the way in which they have used language. Today, you are going to begin a your study of close reading and you will be introduced to some of the formula and strategies that you will need to know.

Own Words Questions Formula: • Locate relevant parts of passage (Look for quotes or line references in question) • Consider how many marks are available. • Highlight in passage pieces of relevant text- match these to marks available. • Translate information into your OWN WORDS-bullet point to make each separate point clear.

Question 1

Own Words Questions 1. While some people dread the return to school after the long summer holiday, I am often quite relieved. After six weeks of lazy days, it is nice to get back into a routine and get your brain working again. In your own words, explain why the writer feels ‘relieved’ to return to school after the long summer holidays. (2 marks)

While some people dread the return to school after the long summer holiday, I am often quite relieved. After six weeks of lazy days, it is nice to get back into a routineand get your brain working again. • In your own words, explain why the writer feels ‘relieved’ to return to school after the long summer holidays. (2 marks) The idea that you need to put into your own words, is the idea of ‘routine’. This means having a structure to your day. This means to be thinking and keeping your mind active.

1. While some people dread the return to school after the long summer holiday, I am often quite relieved. After six weeks of lazy days, it is nice to get back into a routineand get your brain working again. • In your own words, explain why the writer feels ‘relieved’ to return to school after the long summer holidays. (2 marks) • He likes to get some order back to his days. • He is happy that he can get his mind active again.

Question 2

2. Although they lost the match, Scotland should be proud of their performance at Wembley. For the first time in a long time, they worked as a team and produced some good quality football. Winning is not always everything. • In your own words, explain why the writer feels Scotland ‘should be proud of their performance’. (2 marks)

2. Although they lost the match, Scotland should be proud of their performance at Wembley. For the first time in a long time, they worked as a team and produced some good quality football. Winning is not always everything. • In your own words, explain why the writer feels Scotland ‘should be proud of their performance’. (2 marks) This means that they performed well as a group. This means that the standard of their game was very high. They played well.

2. Although they lost the match, Scotland should be proud of their performance at Wembley. For the first time in a long time, they worked as a team and produced some good quality football. Winning is not always everything. • In your own words, explain why the writer feels Scotland ‘should be proud of their performance’. (2 marks)

Question 3

Question 3 The press went wild for the first official family portrait, but it left me feeling cold. While they try hard to look like the average family, this picture reminds us all that they are far from average. It is too stage managed.From the perfection of their Hollywood smiles to the vast green space that they call their back garden, it is clear the new generation of Royals will be just as distant as the past. In your own words, explain why the photograph left the writer ‘cold’ (2 marks)

Question 3 The press went wild for the first official family portrait, but it left me feeling cold. While they try hard to look like the average family, this picture reminds us all that they are far from average. It is too stage managed.From the perfection of their Hollywood smiles to the vast green space that they call their back garden, it is clear the new generation of Royals will be just as distant as the past. In your own words, explain why the photograph left the writer ‘cold’ (2 marks) It is too perfectly posed and set up. It does not show a normal British family, but a very wealthy one. They look too perfect with their dazzling teeth. The size of the garden shows that they are very wealthy.

Question 4

Question 4 Moving house is said to be the most stressful experience of your adult life. Having just gone through it, it is easy to see why. From unreliable moving companies to the organising and packing of a lifetime of possessions, moving house involves packing your entire life into the back of a lorry. It is no easy task. In your own words, give two reasons why moving house is ‘the most stressful experience of your adult life’ (2 marks)

Question 4 Moving house is said to be the most stressful experience of your adult life. Having just gone through it, it is easy to see why. From unreliable moving companies to the organising and packing of a lifetime of possessions, moving house involves packing your entire life into the back of a lorry. It is no easy task. In your own words, give two reasons why moving house is ‘the most stressful experience of your adult life’ (2 marks) You have to put up with untrustworthy removal men You need to sort out and box up all of your belongings.

Question 5

Question 5 I have learned more from my grandparents than I have from any other person in my life. They were always the first people that I turned to when I needed advice about anything. They had lived through difficult times and always knew how to put my problems into perspective. They always had the ability to show me that no problem was too big to overcome. What, according to the writer, did he learn from his grandparents? (2 marks)

Question 5 I have learned more from my grandparents than I have from any other person in my life. They were always the first people that I turned to when I needed advice about anything. They had lived through difficult times and always knew how to put my problems into perspective. They always had the ability to show me that no problem was too big to overcome. What, according to the writer, did he learn from his grandparents? (1 mark)

Question 6

Question 6 The 2014 Commonwealth Games rescued a seemingly dying institution. These were the most important Commonwealth Games in a generation. Following the disastrous Games in Delhi, where athletes performed in near empty, hastily constructed venues and against the twin shadows of corruption and poverty, Glasgow had to rediscover the ‘friendly’ nature of the friendly Games. In your own words, why were the 2014 Commonwealth Games so important? (2 marks)

Question 6 The 2014 Commonwealth Games rescued a seemingly dying institution. These were the most important Commonwealth Games in a generation. Following the disastrous Games in Delhi, where athletes performed in near empty, hastily constructed venues and against the twin shadows of corruption and poverty, Glasgow had to rediscover the ‘friendly’ nature of the friendly Games. In your own words, why were the 2014 Commonwealth Games so important? (2 marks) The Games were important because they had to be better than the last games in India where few tickets were sold and the stadiums were of poor quality.

Question 7

Question 7 The true success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games had little to do with the sporting moments themselves. The true stars of the Games were not the athletes: it was the city that shone brightest. Glasgow showed the entire world that it was a city filled with fun, laughter and a contagious sense of humour. In your own words, what does the writer think was the most successful element of the Games? (2 marks)

Question 7 The true success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games had little to do with the sporting moments themselves. The true stars of the Games were not the athletes: it was the city that shone brightest. Glasgow showed the entire world that it was a city filled with fun, laughter and a contagious sense of humour. In your own words, what does the writer think was the most successful element of the Games? (2 marks) The writer believes that the biggest success was the city of Glasgow itself because it proved to the world what a great place it is.

Question 8

Question 8 The new Scottish football season will be one like no other. For the first time in the league’s history, three of the biggest names in Scottish football find themselves exiled from the wealth and status of the top table of the Premier League. It will be a tricky year of adjustment as the giants of Edinburgh join their Glasgow rivals Rangers in the lower leagues for the first time. In your own words, why does the writer think that this will be a season like ‘no other’? (2 marks)

Question 8 The new Scottish football season will be one like no other. For the first time in the league’s history, three of the biggest names in Scottish football find themselves exiled from the wealth and status of the top table of the Premier League. It will be a tricky year of adjustment as the giants of Edinburgh join their Glasgow rivals Rangers in the lower leagues for the first time. In your own words, why does the writer think that this will be a season like ‘no other’? (2 marks) It will be a season like no other because three of the leagues most successful teams will not be playing in the top division and will instead play at a lower level.

Question 9

Question 9 The imprisonment of Rolf Harris was a deeply unsettling experience for millions. Not only were his crimes utterly despicable, countless people felt that they had been tricked into loving and respecting this warm, jovial entertainer, only to discover that behind the laughter and the artwork lay a much more sinister and dangerous side. In your own words, why does the writer feel that the imprisonment of Rolf Harris was a deeply unsettling experience? (2 marks)

Question 8 The new Scottish football season will be one like no other. For the first time in the league’s history, three of the biggest names in Scottish football find themselves exiled from the wealth and status of the top table of the Premier League. It will be a tricky year of adjustment as the giants of Edinburgh join their Glasgow rivals Rangers in the lower leagues for the first time. In your own words, why does the writer think that this will be a season like ‘no other’? (2 marks) It will be a season like no other because three of the leagues most successful teams will not be playing in the top division and will instead play at a lower level.

Context Questions Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation

Context Questions Reading for analysis and evaluation is one of the most important aspects of your work in English. As we saw before the holiday, this is one area of the course where we may struggle. This means that we mustget our skills in place early on.

Contrast Questions Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation

Contrast Questions • Contrast questions ask you to identify where a writer has deliberately used two very different words or phrases together to express an idea.

Contrast Questions Formula: • Quote words or phrases that convey BOTH sides of contrast. • Explain how the first word/ phrase conveys one side of contrast • Explain how the second word/ phrase conveys other side of contrast

Question 1 Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation

While the sharp angled skyscrapers of New York surround you from all corners, forming an uncomfortable barrier between you and the world beyond the city, the London skyline is softer and more welcoming being decorated with a mixture of curved, historic monuments and spiked glass towers of modernity. • What according to the writer is the contrast between the New York and London skylines?

Reading for Understanding/Analysis and Evaluation