Miss Footenotes

1

Survival Guide to

Close Reading

Credit Skills

Miss Footenotes

2

The Holy Grail of Close Reading

This booklet will help you prepare for your Credit Close

Reading exam. It examines the types of questions that you

will be asked to answer on, explains how to answer them and

gives you past paper examples that you can try for yourself.

The types of questions that we will look at are:

In your own words

Word choice

Sentence structure

Link

Figures of speech (Imagery)

Use of Contrast

Context

Miss Footenotes

3

In Your Own Words

In type of question you had to select the appropriate answer from then passage

and then re-write it in your own words. It is your opportunity to show that you

have a good command of the English language.

In this type of question it is often helpful to consider whether or not there is a

more neutral word that you could use to substitute. For example: The word

―mob‖ could be substituted with ―crowd‖ or the word ―destroyed‖ could be

replaced with the phrase ―will never be the same‖.

Look at the exemplar answer below:

Task: Peer Assess candidate answers below:

―The man was quite motionless except for the rhythmic fluttering and trembling of his hands. His head was utterly concealed beneath a cascade of matted hair that seemd to have no form or colour.‖

Look at Paragraph 1 above:

In your own words what contrasting image does the writer give of the

movements of the man? (2/1/0) (SQA 2004) Candidate responses:

A

His movements were tight and controlled. His hands acted like birds –

Highlights contrast as birds are dainty and beautiful the man was

ugly.

B

He stays totally stationary apart from his hands which shake gently

and steadily.

C

After saying he looked horrible, the writer makes his movements

seem more pleasant like a bird

Now have a go at the selected past paper questions that focus specifically on ‗in

your own words‘ questions. Try to master these before moving onto the next

section.

3. ―. . . unorthodox piece of urban theatre . . .‖ (Paragraph 2)

In your own words, explain what this means. (2/1/0)

Miss Footenotes

4

At some moments chilling, at others desperately sad, the play told a tale of the heart whose message, conveyed in a rhyming prologue, was that love which did not build a foundation on good sense was doomed. The reckless passion of the heroine, Arabella, for a wicked foreign count is punished by ill fortune when she contracts cholera during an impetuous dash towards a seaside town with her intended. Deserted by him and nearly everybody else, bed-bound in an attic, she discovers in herself a sense of humour. Fortune presents her a second chance in the form of an impoverished doctor—in fact, a prince in disguise who has elected to work among the needy. Healed by him, Arabella chooses wisely this time, and is rewarded by reconciliation with her family and a wedding with the medical prince on ―a windy sunlit day in spring‖.

Look at Paragraph 2.

3. Briony‘s play is a story with a message.

In your own words, explain what the message is. (2/1/0)

Q) Her play was not for her cousins, it was for her brother, to celebrate his return, provoke his admiration and guide him away from his careless succession of girlfriends, towards the right form of wife, the one who would persuade him to return to the countryside, the one who would sweetly request Briony‘s services as a bridesmaid.

9. Look closely at the final sentence of Paragraph 4.

In your own words, give two reasons why Briony has written the play for

her brother.(2/1/0)

Q) It was a relief not to be writing out the she saids, or describing the weather or the

onset of spring or her heroine‘s face—beauty, she had discovered, occupied a narrow

band. Ugliness, on the other hand, had infinite variation. The Trials of Arabella was

intended to inspire not laughter, but terror, relief and instruction, in that order, and

the innocent intensity with which Briony set about the project—the posters, tickets,

sales booth—made her particularly vulnerable to failure.

19. Why did Briony prefer writing about ugly rather than beautiful

characters? Use your own words in your explanation.

Miss Footenotes

5

You enter into the inner chamber of the tomb by a low passageway more than 25 feet long. It‘s more of a journey than a gateway. You don‘t have to crawl on hands and knees, but neither can you walk upright. The stone roof bears down on your spine; a single enormous slab of stone forms the wall you brush with your left shoulder. You must walk in that stooped position just a moment too long, so when you‘re admitted to the cairn two sensations come at once: you‘re glad to stand, and the other is a sudden appreciation of stone. You are admitted into a solemn place. You are standing in a high, dim stone vault. There is a thick soundlessness, like a recording studio, or a strongroom. A moment ago, you were in the middle of a field, with the wind and curlews calling. That world has been taken away, and the world you have entered into is not like a cave, but a place of artifice, of skill. Yes, that‘s it, what you notice when you stand and look around is cool, dry, applied skill. Across five thousand years you can still feel their self-assurance.

13. In your own words, describe two sensations which might be felt by

someone entering the cairn.

“Congealed blood, and the bright stains of fresh”. (SQA, 2004)

What does this description tell you about the wounds to the man‘s feet? (2/1/0)

“The same-shaped ewers and pitchers and bowls I had seen as old artefacts were

visable here in the hands of woman faffing around at the kitchen door of their

huts.” (SQA, 2005) (2/1/0)

Explain what is unusual about the word choice in this sentence.

―Therein lies the problem, though. The glamourisation of parkour has been a

catalyst for its growth but has also communicated mixed messages. The

explosion in popularity has caused a schism to develop within the parkour

community over the movement‘s philosophy.‖

10. ―. . . a catalyst for its growth . . .‖ (Paragraph 8)

In your own words, explain what ―catalyst‖ means in this expression.

Miss Footenotes

6

Word Choice Look at the example below to see how to answer this type of questions:

This short extract is from a story called 'Tunes for Bears to Dance To', by Robert

Cormier. In the story, Henry works for a Mr. Hairston, who runs a shop.

'"Potatoes to bag up," he called over the shoulder of a customer, and Henry made his

way down to the cellar, where a bin of potatoes awaited him. He always tried to hurry

the job because the cellar was dark and damp and he often heard rats scurrying across

the floor. One day, a grey rat squirted out of a bag of potatoes and Henry had leapt

with fright, his heart exploding in his chest. He was afraid of a lot of things - the

closet door that never stayed closed in his bedroom, spooky movies about vampires -

but most of all, the rats.'

Tunes for Bears to Dance To, Robert Cormier

Question 1

The question is in two parts, with a quotation used as an introduction:

'..a grey rat squirted out of a bag of potatoes..' (line 3)

(a) What is unusual about the writer's use of the word 'squirted' in this sentence ? 2 - 0

(b) Why is it a particularly suitable word to use here ? 2 – 0

(a) The word 'squirted' is usually associated with liquids and the rat's movement is

being compared to liquid being forced out of a container, like a tube or a bottle. (This

means that the word is being used figuratively, that an unusual comparison has been

made to make the picture more interesting, more colourful, easier to understand, and

so on. This means that a figure of speech has been used by the author, such as

metaphor, simile, personification, and so on).

(b) The word is suitable (i.e. effective) to use here because it successfully suggests

that the rat moved quickly, it was small, it moved suddenly, it appeared as something

nasty. It is also onomatopoeic and the word is alliterative (i.e. from the figure of

speech called alliteration) when seen with the word 'scurrying' used earlier in the same

line of the paragraph.

Miss Footenotes

7

Word Choice

Many questions within the Credit paper will focus on the importance and effectiveness

of word choice. Remember that writers choose words very carefully to create a desired

effect on the reader, usually to paint a picture in their minds or evoke a certain

emotion. To answer you MUST QUOTE the words used by the writer that achieve a

particular effect, then EXPLAIN HOW they do so.

In order to make the correct choice, writers will think of the connotations of these

words. A connotation is an associated idea, image or feeling that springs to mind

when you think of that word. This will often be different from the denotation of the

word, which is the literal meaning of the word.

For example:

Think of the word flag. This denotes a piece of patterned material that

represents a country/nation etc.

But the word flag connotes patriotism, identity, nationality, unity etc.

Task 2: Thinking about the connotations

of a word help us think about the effect

words can have on the meaning and tone

of a text. In order to think about this in

greater detail, consider:

* The connotations of the words

underlined.

* What would the neutral version be?

* What image is created by the

underlined word?

* What emotional response is created by

the word?

Task 1: Think of the words below and write their denotation and connotation to see the difference. Home Night Red Poppy Mob Skinny Cancerous Infectious Scoffed Chaos Infested Shroud Enveloped Swooned Possession Extracted

Miss Footenotes

8

1. A malignant cloud lurked in the horizon.

2. The mob rampaged through the town.

3. The stars glittered in the night sky.

4. The streetlight sliced through the ominous night air.

5. The grey fog devoured the last, lingering remnants of light.

6. The alarm buzzed incessantly.

7. Having a pack of hounds rip apart a fox is indefensible yet there is no shortage

of intelligent people rushing to defend this countryside curse.

Below you will find examples from past papers that focus specifically on WORD

CHOICE. You should attempt these to the best of your ability.

―In the 18 months since he founded Glasgow Parkour Coaching, assisted by fellow coaches Mick McKeen, Gavin Watson and David Lang, Grant says he has seen only one injury. ―It happened over there,‖ he says, pointing to a row of innocuous wooden posts. In front of him, traceurs and traceuses from tonight‘s class are poised like trapeze artists on railings completing a study in balance. ―The main problem for us is bureaucracy and the persistent idea that this is a dangerous activity,‖ says Grant.‖

17. Comment on the writer‘s use of the word ―innocuous‖ to describe the wooden

posts in Paragraph 15.

What two ideas are suggested by the expression “a hermit demented by

solitude”? (SQA 2004) (2/1/0)

―Childhood memories of underwater programmes on TV flooded in, mixing with books

and magazines on sharks and the film cartoon of Marine Boy. Once I had gained some

confidence, Stuart returned to the surface to collect underwater photographer Gavin

Anderson. ….‖

Why do you think the writer has chosen the word ―flooded‖ to describe how his

memories returned?

Miss Footenotes

9

5. ―. . . and Emily Tallis obliged . . .‖ (Paragraph 3) 2008

What does the word “obliged” suggest about Emily‟s reaction to the play?

(2/0)

Briony was hardly to know it then, but this was the project‘s highest point of fulfilment. Nothing came near it for satisfaction, all else was dreams and burrowing in the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves, every one of which featured Leon. In one, his big, good-natured face buckled in grief as Arabella sank in loneliness and despair. In another, there he was, cocktail in hand at some fashionable city bar, overheard boasting to a group of friends: Yes, my younger sister, Briony Tallis the writer, you must surely have heard of her. In a third he punched the air in exultation as the final curtain fell, although there was no curtain, there was no possibility of a curtain. Her play was not for her cousins, it was for her brother, to celebrate his return, provoke his admiration and guide him away from his careless succession of girlfriends, towards the right form of wife, the one who would persuade him to return to the countryside, the one who would sweetly request Briony‘s services as a bridesmaid.

7. We are told that Briony‟s imagination took over “after her light was out”.

(Paragraph 4)

By referring closely to the passage, explain how the writer‟s word choice indicates

the intensity of Briony‟s fantasies.

―She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so.

Whereas her big sister‘s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade

bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony‘s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model

farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing

one way—towards their owner—as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard

hens were neatly corralled. In fact, Briony‘s was the only tidy upstairs room in the

house. Her straight-backed dolls in their many-roomed mansion appeared to be under

strict instructions not to touch the walls; the various thumbsized figures to be found

standing about her dressing table—cowboys, deep-sea divers humanoid mice—suggested

by their even ranks and spacing a citizen army awaiting orders.‖

(a) By referring to word choice, explain how this contrast is developed.

You should refer to both characters in both parts of your answer.

(2/1/0)

Miss Footenotes

10

―Above these dark hills, in horizontal bars, were the offending clouds.‖

11. Comment on the writer‘s use of word choice in her

description of the clouds in the final sentence of Paragraph 14.

(a) Word choice: (2/1/0)

17. What does the use of the word ―apparently‖ tell you about the writer‘s

attitude to the idea that some people find the experience in the tomb

―overwhelming‖? (2/0)

―The play—for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch. When the preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished draft and wait for the appearance of her cousins from the distant north. There would be time for only one day of rehearsal before her brother, Leon, arrived.‖

In Paragraph 1, the writer shows how committed Briony has been to this task.

Explain how word choice indicates Briony‘s high level of commitment.

(a) Word choice: (2/1/0)

Look at Paragraph 10 below:

―This made perfectly good sense. I knew from experience how the little streets

off Nanking Road could become so clogged with people that a carriage or motor

car would often not move for five, even ten minutes at a time. I thus allowed

him to help me down from the carriage with no argument. But it was then, I

recall, that I had my first presentiment that something was wrong. Perhaps it

was something in Uncle Philip‘s manner. But then he smiled and made some

remark I did not catch in the noise around us. He pointed towards a nearby alley

and I stayed close behind him as we pushed our way through the good-humoured

throng. We moved from bright sun to shade, and then he stopped and turned to

me, right there in the midst of the jostling crowd. (PTO)

Miss Footenotes

11

14. Quote three examples of effective word choice used by the writer to

describe the

busy streets ―off Nanking Road‖.

(i)

(ii)

(iii) (2/1/0)

Look at Paragraph 19 below:

―For the next few moments I remained standing there in the crowd, trying not

to pursue the logic of what had just occurred. Then suddenly I began to move,

back in the direction we had just come, to the street in which we had left the

carriage. Abandoning all sense of decorum, I forced my way through the crowds,

sometimes pushing violently, sometimes squeezing myself through gaps, so that

people laughed or called angrily after me. I reached the street to discover of

course that the carriage had long since gone on its way. For a few confused

seconds I stood in the middle of the street, trying to form in my head a map of

my route back home. I then began to run as fast as I could.‖

18. “Then suddenly I began to move . . .”

Comment on the writer‟s use of word choice in this paragraph to describe

Christopher‟s journey back.

(a) Word choice: (2/1/0)

The stooks of corn glimmered in the moonlight and boys‘ voices could be heard

as they played hide and seek among them. How calm the night was, how stubbly

the field! Iain crouched behind one of the stooks listening, watching for

deepening shadows, his face and hands sweaty, his knees trembling with

excitement. Then quite suddenly he heard the voices fading away from him, as if

the boys had tired of their game and gone home, leaving him undetected. Their

voices were like bells in the distance, each answering the other and then falling

silent. He was alone.

2. In Paragraph 1, the writer suggests Iain‟s feeling of excitement. By

referring to one example from Paragraph 1, explain how word choice is used

to achieve this. 2010 (2/1/0)

Miss Footenotes

12

The silence lasted so long that he was afraid to move. He formed his lips as if to

speak but he didn‘t have the courage. It was as if the night didn‘t want him to

speak, were forbidding him to do so, as if it were saying to him, This is my

kingdom, you are not to do anything I don‘t wish you to do. He could no longer

hear the noise of the sea, as if it too had been commanded to be quiet. It was

like a yellow shield in the distance, flat and made of hammered gold.

14. Explain how word choice is used to indicate the power of the night.

(2/1/0)

Q) Explain fully what is unusual about the expression, ―But it‘s a myth that really

existed‖. (SQA 2003)

―Congealed blood, and the bright stains of fresh‖. (SQA 2004)

Q) What does this description tell you about the wounds to the man‘s feet? (2/1/0)

Q) What does the writer‘s use of the words ―ragbag collection‖ to describe the

protestors suggest about his attitude towards them? (SQA 2006)

―It is a Wednesday night in Glasgow. The high walls, rails and steps of Rottenrow

Gardens look like some form of municipal amphitheatre under the reddening sky.

Several athletic youths in T-shirts and jogging bottoms are moving quickly. They bound

over rocks, surefooted, before leaping like cats into the air, their trainers crunching

into the gravel on landing. To move off again, they roll on to their shoulders on the hard

ground, springing up and pushing off in one fluid, unbroken movement. You can still see

dust in the air as they pass on through the shadows, up and over a wall or vaulting a

railing.

Witnessing this for the first time, you might think you‘ve come across an

unorthodox piece of urban theatre, and in a sense you have. This is parkour, an

underground activity that started in the suburbs of Paris in the 1980s and is now

sweeping Europe, fuelled by the Internet, especially DIY productions on video sharing

websites.

2. Comment on the writer‘s use of word choice to show the agility of the

―athletic youths‖. (2/1/0)

Miss Footenotes

13

Sentence Structure These type of questions are actually more straightforward than you might

imagine to answer correctly. Read this extract from a story called 'Tunes for Bears to Dance To', then answer the

question which follows. Mr Hairston, who runs a shop, is talking to his young assistant

Henry. At this point in the story, he is making comments about his customers.

'"The customer's always right," he proclaimed one day, as if he could read Henry's

mind. "But only in the store. When buying. Otherwise, they're only people. Stupid, most

of them. Don't even know a bargain when they see one. So, why give them a bargain?"'

The question on sentence structure based on this paragraph asks:

Question 3

(a) What is unusual about the writer's sentence construction in this paragraph? 2 – 0

(b) What does the writer's use of this construction suggest about Mr. Hairston's character? 2 - 0

Answer:

(a) the 'sentences' are grammatically incomplete/they are short (either of these two answers =

2 marks)

(b) to understand why these ideas are correct, it is important to realise that the

sentences referred to are grammatically incomplete because they are not as completely

constructed as they should be: for example, 'When buying' and 'Stupid, most of them'

would, normally, say 'When they (the customers) are buying things' and 'They are

stupid, most of them' or 'Most of them are stupid'

what is missing from both of these 'sentences' from the passage is a combination of

both subjects and verbs (check over the 'How sentences are structured' link !)

(b) Mr. Hairston is arrogant/short-tempered/self-assured/abrupt/blunt

any one of these ideas = 2 marks

the point here is that even the way a sentence is structured can show what a character

in a story is like as a person!

Miss Footenotes

14

Sentence Structure

These type of questions will ask you to closely examine the way that a writer

has put a sentence together, to create a particular effect. These are usually

the most difficult questions to answer BUT help is at hand to make sure that

you get easy marks, just remember:

Repetition?

Inversion?

Parenthesis?

Punctuation?

Lists?

Ellipses?

Sentence type (long/short?)

Task: Peer assess the example below and decide who you think would have

achieved top marks?

Question 7

Look at Paragraph 2.

―it was the reek of rotting flesh … fear.‖

Explain fully how the writer emphasises the smell from the stranger

(i) through sentence structure. (2/1/0)

Candidate responses:

A (i) He uses commas to add more examples, this gives the feeling

of the smell lasting. It also keeps the reader intrigued.

B (i) Makes a list of all the ways he smells, emphasising that there

were many foul smells.

C (i) The writer gives a list of the causes of the wounds in order

they were spotted.

Miss Footenotes

15

Now apply this mnemonic to the past papers questions below and think about

why the writer has structured the sentence in this way and if required explain

(in relation to the passage) what effect this creates.

(Paragraph 5) Whereas her big sister‘s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony‘s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way—towards their owner—as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled.

11. Explain the function of the dashes in the expression ―— towards their

owner—‖. (2/1/0)

She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so. Whereas her big sister‘s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony‘s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way—towards their owner—as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled. In fact, Briony‘s was the only tidy upstairs room in the house. Her straight-backed dolls in their many-roomed mansion appeared to be under strict instructions not to touch the walls; the various thumbsized figures to be found standing about her dressing table—cowboys, deep-sea divers, humanoid mice—suggested by their even ranks and spacing a citizen army awaiting orders.

By referring to sentence structure, explain how this contrast is developed.

You should refer to both characters in both parts of your answer.

(i) Sentence Structure (2/1/0)

―Above these dark hills, in horizontal bars, were the offending clouds.‖

11. Comment on the writer‘s use of word choice and sentence structure in her

description of the clouds in the final sentence of Paragraph 14.

Miss Footenotes

16

The play—for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets,

constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined

the collection box in red crêpe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest

of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch. When the

preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished

draft and wait for the appearance of her cousins from the distant north. There

would be time for only one day of rehearsal before her brother, Leon, arrived.

In Paragraph 1, the writer shows how committed Briony has been to this task.

Explain how sentence structure indicates Briony‘s high level of commitment.

(a) sentence structure: (2/1/0)

(Paragraph 4)

This brought me down the staircase at great speed. I jumped the last four

steps and circled round the adults, flapping my arms in impersonation of a bird

of prey. As I did so, to my delight, I heard my mother laughing; laughing in a way

I had not heard her laugh for a while. In fact it is possible it was this very

atmosphere—this feeling that things were perhaps starting to return to what

they had been—which played a significant part in causing me to ―lower my

guard‖.

6. Explain the function of the dashes in ―. . . this very atmosphere—this feeling

that things were perhaps starting to return to what they had been—which

played . . .‖ (SQA 2009) (2/1/0)

And then, as though indicating we were approaching a

populous place, there was a succession of cemeteries, great long

slopes of sun-baked graves, and the grave markers, small

rectangles set into the stony ground, with raised edges, like a

whole hillside of truckle beds where the dead people lay. Beyond

the next hill was Aswan.

(i) What effect does the writer create in the final sentence of

this passage?

(ii) How does the writer create this effect?

Miss Footenotes

17

Look at Paragraph 19.

For the next few moments I remained standing there in the crowd, trying not to

pursue the logic of what had just occurred. Then suddenly I began to move,

back in the direction we had just come, to the street in which we had left the

carriage. Abandoning all sense of decorum, I forced my way through the crowds,

sometimes pushing violently, sometimes squeezing myself through gaps, so that

people laughed or called angrily after me. I reached the street to discover of

course that the carriage had long since gone on its way. For a few confused

seconds I stood in the middle of the street, trying to form in my head a map of

my route back home. I then began to run as fast as I could.

18. ―Then suddenly I began to move . . .‖

Comment on the writer‘s use of sentence structure in this paragraph to

describe Christopher‘s journey back.

(b) Sentence structure: (2/1/0)

He moved quietly about the field, amazed at the silence. No whisper of wind, no

rustle of creature—rat or mouse—moving about. He was a scout on advance

patrol, he was a pirate among his strawy treasure chests. If he thrust his hand

into one, he might however find not gold but some small nocturnal animal. Very

faintly he heard the soft throaty call of an owl. He was on a battlefield among

the dead.

7. Explain the use of dashes in ―. . . —rat or mouse— . . .‖ (Paragraph 3)

He began to count the stooks and made them twelve in all. It was a struggle for

him for he was continually distracted by shadows and also not at all good at

arithmetic, being only seven years old and more imaginative than mathematical.

Twelve stooks set at a certain glimmering distance from each other. Twelve

treasure chests. Twelve men of straw. He counted them again, and again he got

twelve so he had been right the first time.

Iain‘s attention is focussed on the stooks in Paragraph 4.

Identify two features of sentence structure used to convey his intense focus in

Paragraph 4.

Miss Footenotes

18

Q) Then they came closer together, and the boys seemed suddenly very far

away. The stooks were pressed against each other, composing a thorny spiky

wall. He screamed suddenly and stopped, for at the sound the stooks had

resumed their original positions. They were like pieces on a board. He began to

count them again, his heart beating irregularly. Thirteen, where there had been

twelve before. Where had the thirteenth come from?

19. Why does the writer use a question at the end of Paragraph 12?

Q) Pelagia was astounded. Psipsina was afraid of strangers and how did this

ghastly ruin know her name? Who could have told him? She wiped her hands on

her apron for the lack of any sense of what to think or do, and said, ―Mandras?‖

(SQA 2004)

How does the sentence structure in the rest of this paragraph develop Pelagia‘s

sense of astonishment?

Q) “a-l-o-p-e-o-i-d” (paragraph 3)

Why does the writer separate the letters in this word with dashes? (2/0)

Q) “A warder entered, bringing with him Charles Grant.” (2/0)

What does the writer suggest by his positioning of the words ―with him‖?

Q) The driver opened the back door of the taxi and my “aunt”, as we

referred to her – really my mother‟s aunt‟s daughter – divested herself of

the travelling rugs.

What is the function of dashes used in the sentence above?

Q) A cursory survey of the contestants‘ manes – Chen, Srinivasan, Biedermann,

Ofori, Milovic, Irwinsky, Menemdez, McMahon – points to one reason for the

nee‘s popularity. It is the personification of the American melting pot and gives

substance to the American dream. (SQA 2006)

―It is the personification of the American melting pot…‖

How does the writer illustrate this idea in the paragraph? (2/1/0

Miss Footenotes

19

Link Questions This question is designed to assess your understanding of how writers link

similar or opposing points together in a way that helps the flow of their

argument. The question might ask you to show how a sentence provides

an effective link between two paragraphs or ideas.

How to answer: 1. Identify and write down the link word and explain that it shows a

change in direction of the writer’s argument

2. Quote the part of the sentence which refers back to the earlier

topic

3. Explain, in your own words, what the earlier topic is

4. Quote the part of the link sentence which looks forward to the next

topic

5. Explain, in your own words, what that new topic is

Example:

How does the writer establish the link between Paragraph 4 and

Paragraph 5?

If you really needed to spend money, you could still get passport photos from the curtained booth, business cards from the autoprinter, donate to city hospitals by dropping money into a Howitzer shell, or Test Your Emotional Temperature on The Passion Chart, if you were prepared to squeeze a couple of handlebars. Nothing else to do but look at the clock, the Arrivals and Departures board – on which nothing was imminent – and the people. Apart from a bag lady who was curled round one of the ring seats like a seal, asleep – or trying to be – the only people using the seats were a young couple. Japanese perhaps…

1) The expression ‖Apart from― is a linking phrase that indicates a

change in direction for the author‟s argument.

2) ―The bag lady‖ refers back to the previous paragraph

Miss Footenotes

20

3) Which talks about how there is nothing to do at the train station

other than look at the boards and the people that are around about.

4) ―The only people using the seats‖ furthers the writer’s new topic

5) Which is to explain who the other people are that are round about

him and are interesting enough to comment upon.

―Back in Glasgow, it‘s only the grey tower blocks on the skyline and the cranes of the

Clyde shipyards that remind you this isn‘t a Paris backstreet or downtown New York.

Parkour, say its practitioners, transgresses physical, mental, cultural and geographical

boundaries. It is unique, operates off the radar and involves risk and a sense of danger.

Just as city kids of the late 1970s and early 1980s found creativity in skate parks and

hip-hop, it isn‘t difficult to see why, for some, parkour is now synonymous with freedom

and cool.

Therein lies the problem, though. The glamourisation of parkour has been a

catalyst for its growth but has also communicated mixed messages. The explosion in

popularity has caused a schism to develop within the parkour community over the

movement‘s philosophy. Is it, for example, about dangerous jumps across tenements,

and the sort of flips and tricks which have seen brand-name executives reaching for

their cheque books? Or is it, as many argue, about fine-tuning the mind and body to

overcome obstacles and fear?‖

9. “Therein lies the problem, though.” (Paragraph 8) (2/1/0)

Explain how this sentence acts as a link between Paragraphs 7 and 8.

―The year 1996, when they were unleashed upon the country, still

touched me with a faint, naïve regret. I remember Mao Zedong‘s

belief that the Chinese were a blank sheet of paper on which could

be written a poem of creative and unending revolution.

But men turned out to be different of course. Between 1966 and

1968, China sank into a terrified collective madness. Nobody was

safe.‖

Q) Show that the sentence ―But man turned out to be different, of course‖ acts

as an important link in the account of the Cultural Revolution given above.

Miss Footenotes

21

Imagery This short extract is from an account written by an author called Laurie Lee, in which he

describes arriving in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

'The people in the kitchen were a people stripped for war-the men smoking beech

leaves, the soup reduced to near water; around us hand-grenades hanging on the walls

like strings of onions, muskets and cartridge-belts piled in the corner, and open orange-

boxes packed with silver bullets like fish. War was still so local then, it was like

stepping into another room. And this was what I had come to re-visit. But I was now

awash with sleep, hearing the blurred murmuring of voices and feeling the rocks of

Spain under my feet. The men's eyes grew narrower, watching the unexpected

stranger, and his lumpy belongings drying by the fire.' Laurie Lee

The question to look at based on this paragraph is again based on having some

understanding of figurative language. It has two parts to it.

Question 2

(a) Why is the expression 'silver bullets like fish' a particularly suitable one for the writer

to use in this situation ? 2 - 1 - 0

(b) Write down another expression from the same paragraph which conveys a similar idea.

(2/1/0)

The writer is reminded of the shape of fish. (= 1 mark)

The writer is reminded of the colour of fish. (= 1 mark)

The writer thinks the pattern of the bullets lying in the box reminds him of a crate

of fish. (= 1 mark)

(b)'... hand-grenades ....like strings of onions..' (= 2 marks) because this expression

continues the idea of ammunition being associated with food, as in the original Simile

Examiner's Note: The answer here again looks for an understanding of figurative use of

language, but this time you were not asked to prove your understanding by way of explaining

something. All you would have to have done would be to quote a statement from the

paragraph which supports or echoes the earlier use of simile, because the question simply

asks you to 'Write down an expression from the .paragraph

Miss Footenotes

22

Imagery

In this type of question you will be required to comment on how effective the

writer‘s use of imagery is. It is often helpful to think about why this is so

effective in relation to what the passage is about overall.

You need to be able to identify the following techniques:

Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Alliteration

Onomatopoeia

Revise these techniques and why they are effective by looking at the notes

page at the back of the booklet if you are stuck!

Task: Peer assess the candidate response below and decide what mark you would

give it.

Question 10

Look at Paragraphs 3 and 4.

―like a troop of sorcerers‖(Paragraph 5).

Explain the effectiveness of this simile. (2/1/0) (SQA 2005)

Candidate responses:

A) It helps to describe how magical it looked for him, by using the word

„sorcerer‟, as sorcerers practice magic, but they were just going

home after prayers.

B) It makes them sound special and different others.

C)“troop” conveys that there is a lot of them and they are there for a

purpose, just like an army troop, and “sorcerers” make them seem

quite scary and majestic just like wizards.

Miss Footenotes

23

Now attempt the following questions from various past papers:

―The moonlight shimmered among the stooks so that they looked like men, or women, who had fallen asleep upright. The silence gathered around him, except that now and again he could hear the bark of a dog and the noise of the sea. He touched the stubble with his finger and felt it sharp and thorny as if it might draw blood. From where he was he could see the lights of the houses but there was no human shape to be seen anywhere. The moon made a white road across the distant sea.‖

6. ―The moon made a white road across the distant sea.‖ (Paragraph 2) 2010

(a) What technique is used in this expression? (2/0)

(b) Explain fully what this expression suggests about the moonlight. (2/1/0)

―A cat slanted along in front of him, a mouse in its jaws, its eyes cold and green. The mouse‘s tail was dangling from its mouth like a shoelace. He put out his hand, but the cat quickly ran away from him towards its busy house, carrying its prey. Its green eyes were solid and beautiful like jewels.‖ (2/1/0)

11. Iain watches a cat go past in Paragraph 5.

Show how the writer uses the cat to add to the beautiful yet menacing

qualities of the night.

- beautiful

- menacing

―The stooks weren‘t all at the same angle to the earth. As he listened in the quietness he seemed to hear them talking in strawy voices, speaking in a sort of sharp, strawy language. They were whispering to each other, deep and rough and sharp. Their language sounded very odd, not at all liquid and running, but like the voice of stones, thorns. The field was alive with their conversation. Perhaps they were discussing the scythe that had cut them down, the boys that played hide and seek among them. They were busy and hissing as if they had to speak as much as possible before the light strengthened around them.‖

―. . . he seemed to hear them talking . . .‖ (Paragraph 11)

By referring to the passage, identify and explain one technique the writer uses

to describe the stooks‘ language. (2/1/0)

Miss Footenotes

24

―He couldn‘t make out which was the alien one, and then counted them again and again. Then he saw it, the thirteenth. It was moving towards him, it had sharp teeth, it had thorny fingers. It was sighing inarticulately like an old woman, or an old man, its sigh was despairing and deep. Far beyond on the road he could sense that the boys were all gathered together, having got out of their boxes. They were sighing, everyone was sighing like the wind. Straw was peeling away from them as if on an invisible gale. And finally they were no longer there, but had returned to their boxes again and pulled the roofs over their heads.‖

20. Iain‘s experience becomes more dream-like in Paragraph 13.

(a) Show how the writer‘s description of the thirteenth stook adds to the

feeling of nightmare. 2010 (2/1/0)

(b) Show how the description of the other boys adds to the dream-like effect.

―Participants are known as traceurs (or traceuses for females) and the parks and city structures of Scotland are rapidly becoming their stage. ―I really like the ability to move the way you want, rather than being bound by the way the street designer wanted you to move,‖ says Glynn Forsythe, 24, one of the traceurs assessing the obstacles dotting the campus of Strathclyde University. The biology PhD student points to a walkway snaking into the distance. ―It might be faster to go across that railing than take the path. I like that,‖ he says. ―It makes things interesting.‖

5. ―. . . a walkway snaking into the distance.‖ (Paragraph 3)

Identify the technique used in this expression and explain why it is appropriate.

(2/1/0)

To reach Maes Howe I took the road that passes over a thin isthmus between two

lochs. On the west side is a huge brooding stone circle, the Ring of Brodgar. On the

east, like three elegant women conversing at a cocktail party, are the Standing Stones

of Stenness. The purpose of these may be mysterious, but a short seven miles away is

the Neolithic village called Skara Brae. There is preserved a huddle of roofless huts,

dug half underground into midden and sand dune. There, you can marvel at the domestic

normality, that late Stone Age people had beds and cupboards and neighbours and

beads. You can feel both their presence, their day-to-day lives, and their utter

absence. It‘s a good place to go. It re-calibrates your sense of time.

4. Identify the figure of speech used by the writer to describe the Standing

Stones of Stenness. What does it suggest about the stones? (SQA 2007)

Miss Footenotes

25

―In the 18 months since he founded Glasgow Parkour Coaching, assisted by fellow coaches Mick McKeen, Gavin Watson and David Lang, Grant says he has seen only one injury. ―It happened over there,‖ he says, pointing to a row of innocuous wooden posts. In front of him, traceurs and traceuses from tonight‘s class are poised like trapeze artists on railings completing a study in balance. ―The main problem for us is bureaucracy and the persistent idea that this is a dangerous activity,‖ says Grant. ―People think parkour is just about jumping off walls and they have trouble seeing the outcomes and rewards. We have liability insurance—we do risk assessments and we get people to sign disclaimers. We are serious about what we do. I don‘t sleep sometimes because, as a coach, I am responsible for other people.‖

18. ―. . . poised like trapeze artists . . .‖ (Paragraph 15)

Identify the technique used in this expression and explain why it is appropriate.

(SQA 2011)

―The stooks1 of corn glimmered in the moonlight and boys‘ voices could be heard as they played hide and seek among them. How calm the night was, how stubbly the field! Iain crouched behind one of the stooks listening, watching for deepening shadows, his face and hands sweaty, his knees trembling with excitement. Then quite suddenly he heard the voices fading away from him, as if the boys had tired of their game and gone home, leaving him undetected. Their voices were like bells in the distance, each answering the other and then falling silent. He was alone.‖ 3. Iain hears the voices of the other boys. Quote a simile which describes

their voices. (SQA 2010)

What does it suggest about their voices?

―And the ice screams. It shrieks. Ant voices call to you out of it. And you look

into it and you see people. They beckon and wave, and they mock, and you shoot

into the ice but they don‘t shut up, and then the ice squeaks. It squeaks all

night, all night.‖ (SQA 2004)

12. Identify any TWO techniques used by the writer in Paragraph 7 which help

to convey the man‘s sense of panic and distress.

Miss Footenotes

26

Contrast In this type of question you must make sure that you always refer to the two

sides of the contrast and say what is being contrasted with what.

This was the latest he had ever been out. He imagined himself staying there all night

and the boys appearing to him in the morning, their faces red with the sun, shouting

and screaming, like warriors. The sun was on their faces like war paint. They came out

of their boxes pushing the lids up, and suddenly there they were among the stubble

with their red knees and their red hands.

The stooks weren‘t all at the same angle to the earth. As he listened in the quietness

he seemed to hear them talking in strawy voices, speaking in a sort of sharp, strawy

language. They were whispering to each other, deep and rough and sharp. Their

language sounded very odd, not at all liquid and running, but like the voice of stones,

thorns. The field was alive with their conversation. Perhaps they were discussing the

scythe that had cut them down, the boys that played hide and seek among them. They

were busy and hissing as if they had to speak as much as possible before the light

strengthened around them.

14. Iain thinks about the other boys appearing the next day.

Identify one contrast between the moment of the boys‘ appearance and the

night time. (2/0)

The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic

chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones

of the dead. In its long, long existence it has been more forgotten about

than known, but in our era it is open to the public, with tickets and guides

and explanatory booklets. It stands, a mere grassy hump in a field, in the

central plain of Mainland Orkney. There is a startling collection of other

Neolithic sites nearby. (SQA 2007)

2. Write down two examples of the writer‘s use of contrast from Paragraph 1.

(SQA2007)

Miss Footenotes

27

―She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so.

Whereas her big sister‘s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes,

unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony‘s was a shrine to her controlling demon:

the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual

animals, but all facing one way—towards their owner—as if about to break into

song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled. In fact, Briony‘s was

the only tidy upstairs room in the house. Her straight-backed dolls in their

many-roomed mansion appeared to be under strict instructions not to touch the

walls; the various thumbsized figures to be found standing about her dressing

table—cowboys, deep-sea divers, humanoid mice—suggested by their even ranks

and spacing a citizen army awaiting orders.‖ (SQA 2008)

By referring to sentence structure and word choice, explain how this

contrast is developed.

You should refer to both characters in both parts of your answer.

(i) sentence structure:

(ii) word choice:

Miss Footenotes

28

Context This is a bit like a guessing game, where you use the words around the word that you

don‘t know as clues to help you guess its meaning. In your answer YOU MUST GIVE THE MEANING OF THE WORD and the QUOTE the

other words which helped you to arrive at that meaning.

Use the example below to help you answer this type of questions:

―In the 18 months since he founded Glasgow Parkour Coaching, assisted by fellow coaches Mick McKeen, Gavin Watson and David Lang, Grant says he has seen only one injury. ―It happened over there,‖ he says, pointing to a row of innocuous wooden posts. In front of him, traceurs and traceuses from tonight‘s class are poised like trapeze artists on railings completing a study in balance. ―The main problem for us is bureaucracy and the persistent idea that this is a dangerous activity,‖ says Grant. ―People think parkour is just about jumping off walls and they have trouble seeing the outcomes and rewards. We have liability insurance—we do risk assessments and we get people to sign disclaimers. We are serious about what we do. I don‘t sleep sometimes because, as a coach, I am responsible for other people.‖

19. ―The main problem for us is bureaucracy.‖ (Paragraph 15)

Show how the context helps you understand the meaning of ―bureaucracy‖.

ANSWER:

Meaning – ―bureaucracy‖ means the official procedures or paperwork

Context – words like ―disclaimers‖ or ―risk assessment‖ help me to arrive at this

meaning because these are written processes that underpin many outdoor

activities. (the part in italics is not essential)

―The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones of the dead. In its long, long existence it has been more forgotten about than known... (SQA 2007)

Look at the Paragraphs above:

1. Give the meaning of ―interred‖ and show how the context helped you to

arrive atthat meaning.

Meaning:

Context:

Miss Footenotes

29

―When the London dodo died, the animal was stuffed and sold to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Taxidermy not being what it is today, over the next few decades the dodo slowly rotted until it was thrown out in 1755. All, that is, except the moth-eaten head and one leg‖ (SQA 2003)

Explain how the context helps you to understand the meaning of ―taxidermy‖ in

Paragraph 10.

―They got on well. They never had any difficulty talking. There were never any silences. They tore their parents to bits and put the bits together again with the quick adhesive of filial tolerance. They were two earnest adolescents, able to vary their solemn dialogue with a private joke…‖

2. ―…the quick adhesive of filial tolerance.‖ (Paragraph 14)

How does the context help you to understand the meaning of this

expression?

―At first I was angry at him, frightened for him, but now suddenly I get this rush of joy, watching him race out there into the cold level space of the stilled river, free and warm and vivacious in that smoothed and frozen silence. I think he’s done it, I think he’s across the river and safe and there’s a buzzy glow of vicarious

accomplishment starting to well up within me, but then there’s a cracking noise and he

falls…”

Q) Explain how the context helps you to understand the meaning of “vicarious” in

paragraphs 1 and 2

Meanwhile, I‘m sure he has no idea he has legitimised the site for the legions

over 30. I can understand following him because from what I‘ve heard, his

updates are witty and clever. But with other less erudite celebs, the immediacy

of the information doesn‘t hold the same appeal.

Q) What is the meaning of the word ―erudite‖, and how does the rest of

paragraph 1 help you understand this?

Miss Footenotes

30

The use of figurative language (IMAGERY)

Think about this as if writers are painting a picture in your head using words instead

of paint.

Figurative language is language which uses figures of speech. This is when the writer

describes things through the use of unusual comparisons, for effect, interest, to make things

clearer. The result of using this technique is the creation of interesting images.

The main figures of speech are:

METAPHOR - an unusual comparison where one thing is described in terms of something else.

e.g. "His house was now his prison."

The idea here is that someone feels that their house is a place where they feel trapped,

imprisoned, locked in, a place where they lack freedom.

or "James launched himself at his opponent."

James threw himself at someone else, dived, moved at speed, moved with power, thrust himself

SIMILE - an unusual comparison where one thing is described as something else, using 'like' or

'as’.

e.g. "He looked as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a cake."

He looked obvious, noticeable, distinct, he stood out, he could not be missed, was clearly

identifiable, etc.

or "She was like a snowflake."

She was light, delicate, pure, insubstantial, fragile, would come and disappear quickly, etc.

PERSONIFICATION - an unusual comparison where something non-human (inanimate) is

described in human terms.

e.g. "Death stalked the battlefield."

Death seen as a figure or person walking about, looking, searching, hunting, seeking, probing for

something

or "The ice smirked as they slipped and fell."

Miss Footenotes

31

ALLITERATION - The ice takes pleasure from seeing humans falling on slippery ice, being

insecure, unsafe, in danger; it laughs at man's uncertainty, insecurity, etc.- where consecutive

words begin with the same letter and, more importantly, the same sound.

e.g. "the rifles rapid rattle"

The repetition of the 'r' sound echoes the sound of machine guns being fired

ONOMATOPOEIA - where a word makes the sound of the thing it describes.

e.g.

"sausages sizzling" "bees buzzing" "the ringmaster cracked his whip" (the whip making a sharp sound) "stuttering rifles rapid rattle" (in this example, 'stuttering' imitates the action/movement of

a machine-gun being fired).

GOOD LUCK!!!

Miss Footenotes

32