Lots of Tutees, Student Teachers at different stages; all Improving their Reading and Writing
Its very important to have 2 characters ready for your narrative/story question.
Write and improve them ready to use in your exam.
.
See all the past paper story/narrative questions on the blog post 22nd September 2026…
.
****
What 2 characters could you make up that would fit all of the questions…and any future exam question…
A Brother and Sister?
Parent and Child?
Two friends?
A known person and a stranger?
.
*****
.
.
.
.
Revision ..
.
.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQovVw7yuGiKUAHSKg0AiVxqEE0EpT-j9&si=0_rFE6MesDw4rk-D
.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQovVw7yuGiIU81c1aygLt8N1417SeRPH&si=xiAWd3sC6-H0VvFL
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQovVw7yuGiKCWJxV0yuN5VLtPqQKNUS6&si=710xeMGjfr_MDkvJ
.
Past Papers.
.
Choose AQA
.
https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/past-papers/gcse-english-language/
Mini mocks
.
.
Section B – Narrative …pre-prepared characters
.
short general character descriptions (show don’t tell) that can be adapted for any situation – in full for a gcse paper 1 story question include some speech
.
.
.
Here is a ready-to-use, high-scoring character description for GCSE English Language Paper 1 (Section B) that uses show, don’t tell techniques and includes dialogue.
You can adapt the highlighted details to fit a villain, a survivor, an authority figure, or a mysterious stranger in any genre
.
The Adaptable Character Paragraph
Calloused fingertips traced the jagged rim of a chipped ceramic mug, the skin at the knuckles greyish and scarred like a dried riverbed. Beneath a brow carved with permanent, deep trenches, eyes the colour of stagnant rain scanned the empty room once, twice, lingering only on the rusted latch of the heavy wooden door. A low, gravel-scraped sigh rattled in a chest that seemed too narrow to hold it.
“Don’t bother locking it,” a voice rasped, flat as a blade sliding from its sheath. “They’re already past the gate.”
Why This Works (And How to Adapt It)
.
.
Ones with 3 literary devices and a flashback
.
.
Find pictures to describe your characters.
.
Characterisation
.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztdmtyc/revision/1
.
It’s really important to have 2 characters you have created and described that you can continually improve on and learn to take into the exam for paper 1 Q5…
.
Official AQA Past Paper Prompts
• June 2026 (Sample Paper): Description of a zoo/wildlife park OR a story about a human-animal encounter.
• June 2023: Description of a zoo or wildlife park OR a story about a first meeting between a human and an animal.
• June 2022: Description of an unusual, dilapidated place to stay OR a story about a life-saving rescue.
• November 2021: Description of a place at sunset OR a story about a new beginning.
• November 2020: Description of a mysterious place (suggested by an image) OR a story about an event that cannot be explained.
• June 2019: Description of a world turned upside down OR a story with the title “Abandoned”.
• June 2018: Description of a sea voyage OR a story about a rescue.
• November 2017: Description of a market place OR a story with the title “The Outsider”.
• June 2017: Description of a busy bus journey OR a story about two people from different backgrounds.
• Specimen Paper: Description of a place severely affected by the weather OR the opening part of a story about a journey.
.
Exam Structure Reminder
What we are trying to plan is character descriptions and a little dialogue thats interesting that we can add to any question.
.
Task
Build two characters around this dialogue, see the screenpic below…could we fit it into all of the possible questions on story/narrative from all the paper 1 Sb Q5 questions above? How?
…and then make a new piece of interesting/intriguing dialogue and build 2 more characters around it.
.
***** *****
.
Mini Mocks
.
.
Changes to Qs in 2026
.
.
Q1
.
Our resource – Changes to Q1
The Location
Lines 1 – 8
Tick three
.
outjutting
.
overhanging
.
pink mountain
.
massed together
.
.
.
.
Q3
.
Question 3 was, and still is, the structure question. However, the wording of this question has changed slightly to focus on a single effect. Instead of asking how a writer has structured a text to “interest you as a reader”, the question will focus on a particular effect the writer has tried to create in how they have structured the text.
.
Our Q3 practice
How has the writer tried to create the effect of the Despair the Mother felt in how they/he has structured the text?
***** *****
.
CGP Complete Revision and Practice Book AQA GCSE English Language
.
.
.
https://qaawyrdenglishlanguage.wordpress.com/english-language-literary-devices/
.
Colloquial Language
Hyperbole
Anecdote
Theme
Sibilance
.
Colloquial Language …not just slang, can be dialect
.
.o
Colloquial language is the informal, everyday speech that people use in casual conversations with friends and family.
Key Characteristics
Informal Tone: It fits spoken conversation better than formal writing.
Regional Differences: Words and phrases often change depending on the geographic area or local culture.
Everyday Phrasing:
It includes common contractions, relaxed grammar, and familiar expressions.
Common Examples
Contractions: Using “gonna” instead of “going to,” or “wanna” instead of “want to”.
Regional terms: Saying “soda” in some regions, “pop” in others, or “coke” for any soft drink.
Casual phrases: Saying “no worries” instead of “it’s okay,” or “knackered” for exhausted in British English.
Colloquial Language vs. Slang
Colloquialisms are widely accepted and understood by most native speakers within a region or culture.
Slang is often created by specific subcultures or younger groups and can change or disappear very quickly
.
Are all ‘Idioms’ Colloquial Language?
.
https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2012/03/idiomatic-colloquial.html
.
.
Teenage colloquial phrases
.
https://www.google.com/search?q=teenage+general+colloquial+language+examples&oq=teenage+general+colloq&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgCECEYoAEyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRifBTIHCAQQIRifBTIHCAUQIRifBTIHCAYQIRifBdIBCTEyNzM2ajBqN6gCFLACAfEFIuYshTvp4EM&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
.
https://www.assignmentdesk.co.uk/blog/others/colloquial-examples
.
Spot some Colloquial Language here
.
https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/373395-unseen-20th-and-21st-century-literary-texts.pdf
.
Task
Write a paragraph of teenage dialogue that includes colloquialisms and idioms
.
Task for next English tuition
.
Explain Hyperbole and Anecdotes and Sibilance to explain to a younger person.
There is evidence student achieve higher marks for P1 Sb Q5 …the narrative or story option.
We can plan alot of this in advance.
Characters – plan characters before the exam.
.
https://youtu.be/Qrc4X1nxipo?si=IWmwR-jgfPg9abpf
.
https://qaawyrdenglishlanguage.wordpress.com/w-workpage-character-descriptions/?preview=true
SUPER FAIRY MODEL CHATS JUMPS CZ
.
O.D.E. from M.O.D.E.L.
.
https://qaawyrdflexischool.wordpress.com/english-literary-devices-ode/
.
Remember the Mnemonic & write it down before creating an english exam question answer or other language or literature work, and the chances are you will be able to recall at least 10 literary devices.
1
Using the extract see how many metaphors you can find.
.
The classroom was a zoo of restless whispers, a boiling pot of anxious youth awaiting the trial of the bell. Standing at the front, the teacher was a lighthouse in a fog of confusion, cutting through the haze with a voice of pure iron. Time, a thief in the pocket of the afternoon, slipped away unheeded as the clock on the wall became a glaring eye, watching every reluctant tick. Outside, the playground was a desert of forgotten dreams, swept clean by the howling ghost of the wind. Inside, each student navigated a labyrinth of shifting expectations, their thoughts a tangled skein of wool waiting for a hand to untangle the knots
.
How many Metaphors? (Ans on a -Z page but try the exercise first).
.
2
Try to create at least 20 metaphor phrases of your own and link them together.
More
.
https://medium.com/writers-republic/famous-metaphor-examples-37cce52b0c66
Looking at ‘E’ in SUPER (first 5 of 25 possible Literary Devices)
1
Understand Emotive Language
2
Write your own paragraphs
3
Look for Emotive Language when exams both Language and Literature ask you to analyse an authors writing.
4
Use Emotive Language in both Language (P1 Section B – Descriptive or Narrative for Language Paper 2 Section B…(Article, Essay, Leaflet, Letter, Speech) ….
In Literature Analysing Text Extracts & Poetry & Unseen Poetry – spot Emotive language.
5 Any task that asks you to use Persuasive Language.
.
So what is it? … …
.
https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/emotive_language.htm
.
Look at Le Tour de France website
Imagine you are a rider or commentator or supporter and write a 2 paragraph emotive language description inspired by the race.
.
.
Check – are these personally emotive words for cycle racing – (& other sports) if not why can’t AI give good examples?
Try a list of your own Emotive words – are they words unconnected especially with a particular sport? Use them & see.
.
The Landscape & Terrain
Triumph & Reflection
A
.
Try another 2 paragraphs about the World Cup
.
Lots of Examples
.
https://cognito.org/blog/emotive-language-examples-gcse-english
.
https://www.revisiongenie.com/blog/emotive-language-examples-for-gcse-and-a-level-success
.
https://geniebook.com/exam-preparation/gce-o-level/article/understanding-emotive-language-what-it-40-examples
.
.
GCSE English resource examples of emotive language in paragraphs essays, articles, letters, speeches and leaflets.
In paragraphs
