 Hey guys, and welcome back to another GCSE revision lesson. Now within this lesson I want to go over one really powerful structural technique that most students often overlook. In fact, they even find it really difficult to even spot it within language paper one inserts. This is for question number three and they also find it really difficult if they do spot it knowing how to actually talk about it when they're answering the Structure question now this technique actually cropped up to me when I was preparing for my Sunday GCSE masterclass Okay, I'm going to be going over with my group students the 2023 November Reset exam and as I was reading the insert and kind of looking through some of the really interesting techniques that this insert used One of the technique that really stood out to me and I thought this technique has come up a few times in past papers But a lot of students just don't really pick up on it It goes over their heads and even when they do they find it really hard to know. Okay, if I even spotted it What can I say and this technique is the use of time as a structural feature? Okay, this technique especially is a really powerful technique to mention in question number three Which is the structure question remember the great thing about this question is it's always the same You're told that you know this insert is other from the beginning middle or end of a novel and you're always asked to Talk about how the writer has structured the text to interest you as a reader now Of course some really obvious techniques that love students and to go for is talking about beginning versus end You know what's going on in the middle, etc Right, however, this use of time this reference to time has actually come up Not only in the November reset paper that students did in 2023 the students that didn't pass their exams But also another really great example of how this time as a structural feature came up isn't the 2017 November a QA past paper exam. This is the one on a girl called Alice who's like digging She's on this excavation mission and it Progresses through time. Okay, and on top of that towards the end of this insert There's also an element of flashback now What I'm going to begin by doing is firstly talking to you guys about how time as a structural feature is a really powerful Technique to firstly look for in extracts, but when you find them this is what you can talk about, okay? So firstly when it comes to time, right? And when you're looking at, you know, any language paper one insert What do you look for to then know that yes, okay in this extra that they're actually using time The author is using time as a really powerful structural technique. This is what to look for. Okay, so for example in this class I'm going to be having The insert that came up. This is the November 2023 exam. There was an actual clock referenced. Okay, it was 10 Then it was 10 30 it was 11 then it was lunchtime Okay, so when it comes to time being used as a structural feature You're literally bells should be going off in your head when you see any reference to time Especially from the beginning of the extract and any repeated reference back to time or even talking about any You know what the what time it is on the actual clock. Okay, so in terms of an actual feature to look for if the extract Mention's 10 a.m. 11 a.m. 12 a.m. 12 midnight 12 in the afternoon whatever it is that is time being used by the author Another aspect that could stand out to you and this is a definite reference to time is if the author refers to the morning Afternoon then evening or in whichever order right? However, if there's any kind of temporal reference to it's the evening It's the afternoon. It's midday. It doesn't even actually have to be like an actual time stamp that is still time That's being used as a structural feature equally. So for example going back to the example that I've mentioned This is an aqa past paper. This is an November 2017 exam where Alice reflects on in the days and weeks and months to come. Okay Time is being used in this particular insert as a structural feature equally for example if the Protagonist within the extract or the main character whoever Considered as a previous night or the previous day or the previous evening or even you know time in the future Right, so for example if you're thinking about some other extracts which talk about things that happening in the future That is still time that's being used as a structural feature by the author Okay, so make sure as you're reading your language paper on extract if some of these techniques Jump out at you. What that means is time is being used as a structural feature by the author now in terms of How it could appear in the paper and in the extract and this is now when it becomes powerful if you point it out as a structural technique Figure out whether the way it's been mentioned in the extract. Is it coming through chronologically? Is it for example in the November reset 10 a.m.. Then 11 a.m.. Then 11 30 then midday or for example Is it being used when the writer or the main character? Refers to the characters flashback or the flash forward. Okay, so again the use of flashback and flash forward Literally it goes hand-in-hand with time being used as a structural feature Okay, then if you spot it, right? So, you know you spot something here and something then you're like great I found time what how can I quote it right because obviously especially if it's running through the insert, right? You can't literally quote reams and reams of words In fact, that's the worst way to quote when you're thinking about you know, how is time used in the beginning? How's time used in the middle and how is time used at the end? This is the easiest way to quote the author's use of time. Okay, so pick something out Which is really really short really brief at the start even for example something as simple as quoting 10 a.m. Okay, then so that will be your first quotation pick out three Okay, then pick something from towards the middle and then something towards the end, right? So again, I'm gonna go back to the November reset paper 10 a.m. Is mentioned at the beginning then towards the middle It's 11 30 then towards the end. It's lunchtime. Okay, so literally picking out the quotation 10 a.m. 11 a.m. Lunch. There's three quotations That's what you would use to argue how time is being used in the beginning middle and end and in this case Not only are you talking about time being used as a structural feature but also you are literally killing like a million birds of the same stone because you're talking about what you think about the bullet points In the question the beginning that's bullet point number one And also how the writer changes the focus. That's bullet point number two in question number three now Finally when you are considering and analyzing, okay, how does this interest us as readers? Why do authors use time as a structural feature? Here are some effects that you can use when you're analyzing and expressing Why this part of the passage or even the entire passage is used by the author in a way that Interests and intrigues us as readers. These are some of the effects of time being used number one It creates a really overwhelming sense of mystery again I'm going to go back to the November 2017 paper on Alice right time was being used then especially this flashbacks Right that she had when all rather flash forward when she thinks about the days and weeks and months to come Right what this does before we even discover what her this mystery item She spots is when she's on this archaeological dig This time the reference to time and the days and weeks and months to come ahead Creates mystery and intrigue for us as readers were then really curious as we read on we think oh my gosh What is this thing this momentous thing that she's about to discover? However, that's not the only effect of time being used as a structural feature another effect that you can talk about is Okay, time being used. Does it increase tension? Does it increase our sense of anticipation? Does it increase our feeling of suspense? Okay, again? You can justify why time is such an interesting aspect that captivates us as readers in question number three another thing you can talk about in terms of effects of time being used is It can time can be used to either speed up or slow down the pace of the text Okay, that's another really powerful effect and finally when we are reading something and then time is shifting through time Right, so for example, you know, it's 10 a.m. Then 11 then 12 then 1 2 3 4 sometimes what that does is we're reading through the passages readers is we feel powerless Right, we're kind of like on this train this steam train when we're reading it and we hurtle forward Right, we know maybe perhaps something terrible is going to happen, but we don't know how to stop it Okay, so also another really powerful effect is you can state and just And justify I'm getting too excited about this but you can say and justify how we feel powerless as the text Hurtles to the end. Okay, so guys as I said Literally, I think time being used as a structural feature is such a powerful technique to look out for and of course if you can even tie it to Flashback and flash forward. That's literally a double whammy for your examiners and your teachers when you're answering question number three of language paper one Okay, so really try your best especially in the coming months and of course if you're part of my group classes I'm going to be going over that this Sunday from 5 p.m But try now when you're reading different inserts and different extracts, right try and see if you can spot Instances of this happening in the text and then comment about it in this way when you're analyzing its effects So thanks guys for your attention and I hope you've learned something new Also, don't forget guys that from Sunday at 5 p.m. This week all the way until the final GCSE exams in May I'll be running weekly English language report on a paper to master classes to make sure you sign up