SA 4EB1 JAN2019

One mark for any one of the following:

• he is an author

• he often writes fiction

• he writes for children and adults

• he earns a living through writing

• it is in his interest for people to read

• he is a reader

One mark for any one of the following:

• gives everyone an equal chance in life

• helps people become confident readers

• helps people become enthusiastic readers

• supports literacy programmes

• supports libraries

• encourages reading

Reward responses that demonstrate how the writer persuades

the reader that it is important to read.

Responses may include:

• how he presents himself as ‘biased’ and emphasises this: ‘obviously and enormously’

• the use of the charity: ‘the Reading Agency’

• the use of lists: ‘Firstly ... very real drive’, which suggests the enthusiasm

generated by reading

• the use of repetition: ‘new words’, ‘new thoughts’ emphasises the educational aspect

of reading

• the use of alliteration: ‘communicate’, ‘comprehend’

• the use of ‘26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks’ emphasises the skill

involved in both reading and writing

• the use of personal address ‘you’

• the use of lists to create an increasing sense of the empathy gained by reading:

‘feel things, visit places and worlds’

• the unusual expression ‘everyone else out there is a me’ which attracts the reader

• the use of non-standard sentence structures -sentences beginning with ‘And’

• ‘What it is good for’ suggests a colloquial and chatty tone which engages the reader

(and emphasises this is taken from a lecture)

• there is a strong sense of the writer’s personal opinions: the use of first person –

many examples

• the use of Einstein as an expert strengthens his argument.

One mark for any one of the following:

• sports

• computer games

• friendships

• (social life is conducted on) smart phones

• (moving towards) adolescence

One mark each for any two of the following:

• they are very busy

• school commitments/homework

• (part-time) jobs

• family (accept individual family members)

• friends/relationships/hanging out

• music

• screens/TV/Internet/games/texting/ Instagramming/smart phones

• they do not like being stuck in a book/frustrates their smart phone sense of being

everywhere at once

• reading can make them anxious and angry

• books smell like old people

Reward responses that demonstrate how the writer describes

teenagers’ attitudes towards reading.

Responses may include:

• the initial negative/critical image of teenagers: ‘hooded’, ‘like monks or druids’,

‘eyes fastened to the smart phones’ sets the tone for the article

• the dismissive terms used to describe what teenagers do read: ‘scraps’, ‘excerpts’,

‘pieces’, ‘from everywhere and nowhere’

• the use of organisations: ‘Pew Research Center’,

‘Common Sense Media’ adds authenticity and authority to the article

• the use of the word ‘chore’ to describe the teenage attitude to reading

• the implied criticism of teenagers’ attitudes: ‘reading has lost its privileged

status’, ‘few kids are ashamed’, ‘doesn’t flourish in many kids’, ‘look at you blankly’

• the use of a list to itemise all the distractions that teenagers have

• the use of negative language: ‘frustrated’, ‘anxious’, ‘angry’

• the use of conciliatory comments: ‘this is not a new story’ suggests the writer is

reasonable

• the use of italics ‘somehow’ suggests otherwise and the use of the ominous short

sentence ‘Or so we would like to think.’

• the use of positive language to describe the benefits of reading: ‘life-changing’,

‘literally and spiritually

immeasurable’

• the use of first person (many examples).

Responses may include the following points:

Text One

• conveys his enthusiasm from the start: ‘one of the most important things one can do’

• the experience of reading fiction is described as educational: ‘learn new words, to

think new thoughts’, ‘To discover that reading is pleasurable’

• links reading positively with modern life: ‘words are more important than they ever

were’, ‘we navigate the world with words’, ‘as more and more reading matter is found online, not in

books, we need to follow’

• offers positive advice: ‘finding books they enjoy’, ‘letting them read them’

• criticises adults who impose their values on children’s reading: ‘I don’t think

there is such a thing as a bad book’, ‘can easily destroy a child’s love of reading’, ‘generation

convinced that reading is uncool’, ‘comics have been accused of promoting illiteracy’

• the details of how fiction creates empathy - many examples

• the use of Einstein to support his ideas.

General points candidates may make on the whole of Text One

• first-person account helps to engage the reader

• the use of speech/colloquial style

• the positive points convey the writer’s optimism.

Text Two

• starts off with negative points about teenage behaviour: ‘hooded, gathered around a

table’, ‘eyes fastened to the smart phones’

• suggests that modern technology is to blame: ‘attached to screens of one sort or

another’, ‘most of all screens’, ‘frustrates their smart phone sense’, ‘Digital culture has

enveloped us’

• uses research organisations: ‘Pew Research Center’, ‘Common Sense Media’

• suggests that these concerns are not new: ‘television altered consciousness’

• these concerns may not be a problem: ‘kids survived and became adults’

• conveys a pessimistic viewpoint: ‘Or so we would like to think’, ‘At least for a few

vital hours’.

General points candidates may make on the whole of Text Two

• engages the reader by the use of inclusive pronouns: ‘we’, ‘you’

• colloquial style engages reader ‘kids’

• general tone of criticism of teenage habits.

Points of comparison

• Text One is positive and persuasive; Text Two is negative and persuasive

• Text One is about the importance of reading; Text Two is critical of