 Hello and welcome. Now a number of you guys who follow this channel are actually sitting the edXL English language and English literature exam syllabus as opposed to AQA or the other exam boards. So what I wanted to do was to offer you guys a complete walkthrough of how to answer section A of the language paper one exam and more specifically, I want to show you how you can answer the 2021 edXL language paper one exam. And as I mentioned, this is going to be a complete walkthrough for questions one to four. So remember, when it comes to section A in the edXL language paper one exam, you always get just one insert. Okay, you're given one text to look at and analyze and also talk about an answer for the first four questions before you move on to section B, which is the imaginative writing question where you've got a choice of two questions. Okay, one of them is just a statement that other is an image you pick one, don't do both. And then you answer the questions based on that. So what I wanted to do was to give you guys a complete walkthrough of how to answer the 2021 exam. And if you do want to also download a copy of this past paper, I've also included it in a link below. Okay, you can download it for free and you can also use it if you want to practice and apply some of this information. The model answers that have written to your own private practice. Okay, so let's get into how to answer these questions. Okay, I'm literally going to walk you through literally my thought process as I read the insert. And then of course, how you can write model responses and what the model sponsors look like for questions one, two, three and four. So let's tackle this language paper one past papers. So obviously remember that you always get just one fiction extract. And then you've got to answer four questions based on that. And then your fifth or sixth question, okay, so you get a choice with the imaginative writing, you then need to write a creative story or something based on the image. Okay, now let's look at this extract. Okay, the insert that you are given and I'll kind of walk you through my thought process before reading this insert. I'm not going to start with the questions because I've actually prepared these questions. Okay, so then I'm going to show you the actual model responses that are prepared for all four questions related to this insert. However, what I want to do is begin by reading through this insert and then diving into the responses for all five questions. Now, remember, of course, as I mentioned, you get one extract, it's made up, it's a fiction extract. And then you need to read that with, you know, the questions in mind at the back of your mind. But also as you're reading through it, you're thinking, okay, so what really stands out? Okay, when you're thinking about also language and structure, what stands out structurally, how we're supposed to feel as readers? Okay, so you're always given a blurb and a little bit of context at the opening of the extract. Okay, in this case, we're told in this extract, Sir Michael Audley, a rich baronet. Okay, there's a star here, meaning that this is a word that the examiners don't expect you to know what it means. So you are given the meaning here. So it's a title like a Lord indicating his rich and a man in high position in society. Okay, so here, going back to this, in this extract, Sir Michael Audley, a rich baronet has just asked Lucy, another character to marry him. He has fallen in love with her despite the fact that she comes from a poorer background, and is much younger than him. He wants her to marry him for love, not for his wealth, and his place in society. So this is interesting. So this is kind of, I guess, a story about class, about this man who is evidently quite rich, whilst he hopes that this woman that he's in love with, loves him back, not based on his money, but actually, she generally loves him. So this is the name of the book, Lady Audley's Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Okay, so this is the surname of the author. When you're writing about the author or the writer effect, you could either say the writer, the author, or you can refer to the surname, never the first name, but the surname. So let's have a look. She did not remove her gaze from the darkening countryside. But so for some moments, was quite silent. Interesting, pathetic fallacy from the opening. Okay, so pathetic fallacy here, it's darkening. Is it supposed to establish a negative mood? Then turning to him with a sudden passion in her manner that lighted up her face with a new and wonderful beauty, which the baronet perceived even in the glowing, growing twilight, she fell on her knees at his feet. Okay, so this is a very dramatic reaction. And again, pathetic fallacy is mentioned twice darkening countryside, but also this idea of twilight, this with time during the day, where it's kind of dark, but also not too dark. Okay, kind of like four or five PM in the evening. So here she's thinking this woman. Okay, so presumably Lucy, she's thinking and then she's reacting really, really dramatically to, you know, maybe what she's been told. No, Lucy, no, no, he cried vehemently, not hair, not hair. Again, vehemently is another new word. So you just quickly look at the glossary vehemently means speaking with passion and intensity. Not hair, not hair. Yes, hair hair, she said, the strange passion which aditated her making her voice sound shrill and piercing, not loud but distinct. Hair and nowhere else, how good you are, how noble, how generous. So here, she's basically speaking in a very assertive way. And she's also flattering this guy. Love you why the women 100 times my superiors and beauty and in goodness, who might love you dearly, but you asked too much of me. Interesting. So she's saying you're asking too much of me. Again, presumably maybe she's saying, Oh, you want me to marry you. That's asking too much. Remember what my life has been only remember that from my very babyhood. I've never seen anything but poverty. So she's telling him that she's always been poor. My father was a gentleman, clever, accomplished, handsome, but poor. And what a pitiful wretch poverty made of him. My mother, but don't do not let me speak of her poverty trials and vexations. Again, vexations is another word that we're not supposed to be familiar with. It means worries. So she's basically saying that her parents as well as her struggled with poverty since she was a baby. Poverty trials, vexations, humiliations, deprivations. You cannot tell you who are among those for whom life is so smooth and easy. You can never guess what is endured by such as we do not ask too much of me then. I cannot be disinterested. I cannot be blind to the advantages of such a marriage. I cannot. I cannot. So she's basically saying, Look, I understand that, you know, you're quite rich and someone like me who's really poor. I literally, you know, it would be a massive advantage to me to marry you. But what she's basically saying here, and this is what I'll be thinking as I'm reading through this is she's kind of reluctant to marry him because she feels like maybe he's too good for her. Beyond her agitation and a passion, passionate vehemence, there is an undefined something in her manner, which fills the baronet with a vague alarm. So the baronet is like, Oh, she's going to accept my proposal. She is still on the ground at his feet, crouching rather than kneeling her thin white dress crinkling about her, her pale hair streaming over her shoulders, her great blue eyes glittering in the dusk, more pathetic fallacy, and her hands clutching at the black ribbon around her throat, as if it had been strangling her to not ask too much of me. She kept repeating. So she's basically saying, Look, you're asking too much of me by asking me to marry you. I've been selfish from my babyhood. Lucy, Lucy, speak plainly. Do you dislike me? So here we can see that there's it's really interesting. So even if Lucy initially falls on her knees basically kind of begging him. And initially we think that okay, so there's a clear power difference between them. Okay, so Lucy is the one that's kind of begging him. Actually, she's the one that seems to be having way more power than this baronet, because he's now speaking. And he's like, Oh, my gosh, do you like me? Okay, so this is shown through this dialogue. Dislike you. No, no. But is there anyone else whom you love? She laughed aloud at this question. I did not love anyone else in this world, she answered. He was glad of her reply. And yet that and the strange laugh jarred upon his feelings. So here we can now see that the baronet, this guy, Sir, Michael Audley is desperate for her to just give him something more. Please tell me that you like me. Okay, so here there's an interesting power shift. That's very subtle. He was silent for some moments and then said with a kind of effort. Well, Lucy, I will not ask too much of you. I dare say I'm an old romantic fool. But if you do not dislike me, and if you do not love anyone else, I see no reason why we should not make a very happy couple. Is it a bargain, Lucy? So here he's begging her. He's basically saying, look, I'm old, you know, I understand that maybe I'm not as sprightly and as handsome as some of these other guys that you'll, you know, that might be after you. But I really want you to marry me. Again, we can see that he's kind of been reduced to position of begging, even if she's the one that's on her knees. Okay, so there's the author is kind of reversing some of our assumptions. Yes, the baronet lifted her in her arms and kissed her once upon the forehead, then quietly bidding her goodnight. He walked straight out of the house. So she gives him a very brief, monosyllabic response. She's not like, you know, she doesn't seem extremely excited about marrying this really rich guy, who's clearly going to change her social status and her position in society. He walked straight out of the house, this foolish old man, because there was some strong emotion at work in his breast, neither joy nor triumph, but something almost akin to disappointment, some stifled and unsatisfied longing, which lay heavy and dull in his heart, as if he had carried a corpse in his bosom. So this is an interesting simile. He, even if she says yes, he kind of still doesn't feel convinced and he feels like almost these feelings of happiness are dead in his heart. He carried the corpse alliteration of that hope which had died at the sound of Lucy's words. There's a lot of death imagery here. And it's the death of his hope. He's basically like, oh, I don't know if she likes me. All the doubts and fears and timid aspirations were ended now. He must be contented, like other men of his age, to be married for his fortune and his position. So he's basically realising maybe she doesn't really like me genuinely. And even if she's saying yes, I don't know whether she actually genuinely likes me for who I am. Lucy Graham went slowly up the stairs to her little room at the top of the house. She placed her dim candle on the chest of drawers and seated herself on the edge of the white bed, still and white as the draperies hanging around her. So now we're left focusing in and zooming in on Lucy. No more dependence, no more drudgery, no more humiliation. So she's now thinking about actually, now I'm going to marry this guy. I don't have to endure all of these terrible things that I tend to have to put up with because I'm poor. Every trace of the old life melted away. Every clue to identity buried and forgotten except these except these. She had never taken a left hand from the black ribbon at her throat. She drew it from a bosom and as she spoke looked at the object attached to it. Okay, interesting. There's an object attached to this black ribbon around her throat. It was neither a locket, a miniature, nor a cross. It was a ring wrapped in an oblong piece of paper. The paper partly written, partly printed yellow with age and crumpled with much folding. So this final bit here is interesting in the sense that she looks at this ring and we wonder, okay, it seems like maybe was she reluctant because this ring is perhaps attached to somebody else who she really wanted to marry or is this ring related to, you know, maybe someone who should made a promise and she kind of feels terrible about breaking this promise. We don't know, but this ending is interesting. And of course, this extract, what I'd be thinking of is, we can see here at first, we think that it's Lucy that has all of the, or rather it's Sir Michael Audley, the rich guy. He has all of the power, but actually and it's even emphasised by the fact that Lucy, you know, is begging him on her knees. And also it's emphasised by the fact that she emphasises she talks about how poor she is. However, as the passage progresses, we actually see that he really, really wants to marry her. Okay, there's this shift in power. Actually, it seems like it's Lucy who's like, okay, yes, she speaks in very monosyllabic way. And he still leaves in a very uncertain sense. Okay, so there's also maybe miscommunication between the two of them. Okay, so we can also see that maybe they're not quite good at communicating quite clearly. So obviously we can see towards the end, she definitely is happy to marry him. However, she's also contemplating this ring. So we were kind of left on a bit of a cliffhanger wondering, oh, actually is this ring belonging to somebody else? Has she made a promise to somebody else? We don't know. Okay. So as I mentioned, this is the insert that goes with this paper and let's have a look at the answers. The model responses are prepared for this particular exam paper. Okay, so let's start with question number one, which is nice and brief, worth one mark. We'll also look at lines one to four and identify a word or phrase that shows that the extract takes place as the sun is setting. As I mentioned, there's lots of pathetic fallacy. And here we've got darkening countryside as well as top twilight. So I just decided to select darkening countryside. That's really it when it comes to answering this question number one. But let's have a look at question number two. So here you also look at lines 10 to 14. Okay, so basically around this part of the extract. And you're asked to discuss or to mention two things that the reader learns about Lucy's early life. So this is basically where she's talking about, you know, how difficult her early life was. She's talking about also her dad, her mom, and how just the lives were, you know, the lives are really, really difficult as a result of their poverty. So again, keeping question number two, fairly brief, as it's just worth two marks here, you're asked to either use your own words or quotations. So I've decided to use my own words. She was really poor and her father struggled with poverty. And that's really it for questions one and two. So let's move on to look at my response for question number three. So let's look at how to answer question number three. This is the language and structure question. Firstly, make sure you are extremely crystal clear on the difference between language and structure. Okay, if you're not clear on all the different language techniques and structure techniques, I suggest you watch the video where I go over this. Okay, but remember language relates to stuff like just the basic building blocks of language and English, okay, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, but also language techniques like similes, metaphor, alliteration, pathetic fallacy. Structure relates to, for example, how does it extract begin? How is it like in the middle? How does it end? Structure also relates to things like sentence types. It relates to things like repetition and listing. Okay, so let's have a look at this. And of course, in this instance, you're asked to look at just lines 28 to 42. And as I mentioned, I've actually pre-prepared this. So what I want to do is just walk you through this. Okay, so it's basically from here, within the extract, all the way to line 42. So this paragraph. Okay, so we're asked to talk about how the white users language and structure to show some Michael's thoughts and feelings about Lucy. And as I mentioned here, literally, I would suggest have two paragraphs, two pill paragraphs, one language and one structure as this is worth just six marks. So let's have a look. Firstly, so Michael appears to have conflicting thoughts and feelings about Lucy. Whilst he is elated, happy to discover that she has no other male suitors or no other men who want to marry her. He seems dejected, which means sad, that she does not match his emotional intensity. Okay, that's my opening point where you're writing an opening point, try to write more than one sentence. And of course, making it clear that you're relating it back to the keywords and the question, which as I mentioned, try to highlight here and then know what you're going for. Okay, this is my opening point. I'm basically saying that some Michael is sad he's dejected. Okay, here's my evidence. He is both glad of her reply and jarred. That's my evidence. I've embedded two little bits of evidence here. The contradictory adjectives, the opposite adjectives, language, glad and jarred indicate who feels confused by her. He feels strongly for Lucy, hence he may sense that her emotions do not match his. This is my explanation where I'm talking about language techniques, adjectives, and how we can see some Michael's thoughts and feelings about Lucy are being emphasised. So that's my language point. Now linking back to the question thus, it's clear that some Michael's thoughts and feelings about Lucy clash as he has mixed emotions. Okay, that's my opening peel paragraph. And I've talked about language. However, I need to also balance this discussion with structure. So this is now where I'm going to talk about it in my second peel paragraph. Additionally, he holds pessimistic thoughts and feelings about Lucy as he appears to doubt her commitment. He seems uncertain as he leaves her. Again, this is my opening point. As you can see, I've added two sentences. In fact, he carried the corpse of hope as he left her. This is my evidence of embedded the quotation. This complex sentence structure vividly conveys the death of Sir Michael's hopes as he seems uncertain as to whether Lucy will require his love, whether she's going to return his love. Braden's use of a metaphor. So I've also mixed in a little bit of language. Okay, you don't always have to just keep it strictly to language and structure. You can also mix it up as I've done here. But make sure you always mention language and structure in your paragraphs so that you can be answering both parts of the question. So Braden's use of metaphor, alluding to a corpse, indicates Sir Michael is resigned as he senses Lucy may reject him when he next sees her. That's my explanation. Consequently, or rather, I've actually repeated consequently. Okay, so consequently, it's evident that Sir Michael is despairing. He's sad. His thoughts and feelings about Lucy are cynical, as he may not know where he stands with her. So that's my link back to the question when basically saying how Sir Michael feels about Lucy. He feels like, you know, maybe she's rejecting him. He does. He feels like quite negative towards how she feels about him. He's kind of like left on tenterhooks a little bit. Okay, he's not sure. So that's really how to answer question number three, go for two people paragraphs. If it's easier, keep one strictly to language, one strictly to structure. You can mix both, but make sure you always mention language and structure. Otherwise, you're not answering the full question and you're not going to give yourself access or the opportunity to answer it in forward in a way where you're going to get the full marks. Okay, the four, six marks. Let's look at how to approach question number four. So in this question, which is worth 15 marks, you're asked to talk about or rather this is the evaluation question. Okay, you're asked to evaluate whatever statement you're given. Okay, so as we can see in this question, you're told in this extract there's an attempt to show the relationship between Lucy and Sir Michael. Okay, keywords is what's their relationship like Lucy and Sir Michael evaluate how successfully this is achieved. Remember, evaluation means you're firstly saying how successful is the author in showing this relationship between Lucy and Sir Michael. I would say it's not an argument to say the author does this effectively, but also when you're evaluating, you're talking about it in relation to language and structure. I keep on talking about language and structure. It's really important to know the distinction between the two because it also applies not only to question number three, but also question number four, this evaluation question. So let's have a look at how I've approached it. Okay. So as you can see here for this 15 marker, I actually start with an introduction in terms of how the relationship between Lucy and Sir Michael is shown to just sum it up. Okay. See intros and conclusions as not completely essential to your essay. However, it's almost like the icing on the cake. Okay. You're kind of tying a bow and really bringing this to your examiner and showing look, I have like a really strong handle of this extract. So let's look at the introduction. The extract depicts an intriguing relationship dynamic between Lucy and Sir Michael. At first, they appear to follow what we would expect as Lucy seems weaker and subservient to Sir Michael subservient means obedient given her lower status. Yet by the end, the power appears to shift to Lucy. As Sir Michael's hopes seem pinned on her decision. This goes back to what we're talking about with this extract where at first Lucy seems to be kind of on her knees. She is the one that's poorer. But actually as a passage progresses, it seems like he's the one who actually is really desperate for her attention. He's the one that's desperate for her approval. Okay. And that's literally what of summarized hair. Okay. That's already adding some analytical depth in my response. Let's look at the first peel paragraph. Remember, all my paragraphs always structure them as point evidence explanation link. So let's have a look at the opening of the extract. Lucy looks subservient again obedient as she nails before Sir Michael. Her physical kneeling clearly indicates her lower social status. And we assume Sir Michael controls this relationship. That's my opening point relating it back to the keywords and the question. Remember and note how much I use these keywords. It's not you're not over repeating yourself. When you repeat in some of these keywords, you're really clearly indicating the examiner. I understand what this assignment has asked me to do. In fact, she fell on her knees. Yet Sir Michael commanded no Lucy no. That's my evidence. And here actually in my evidence, I am juxtaposing two different bits. Okay. She fell on her knees. But also when he basically said no Lucy no, because when you're writing about two characters and talking about like the relationship, sometimes a powerful way to do this is to talk about what does one character say versus what does another character say, okay? That's what I've done. The verb feel reveals to us how meek and deferential Lucy is. As you can see, I'm using ambitious language, deferential, obedient, meek means like kind of calm, a little bit shy. Moreover, Sir Michael's empathic repetition of no repetition structure. So I've used language verb and now repetition structure shows he is used to commanding her from the outset of the extract from the start of the extract where as readers get the impression that Sir Michael controls and dominates their relationship. As you can see here in my explanation, I've talked about language verb, structure repetition, but also I've then emphasized and analyzed what does this show about Lucy and Sir Michael? What I'm saying here is that actually it seems that Lucy at first she's used to being obedient, she's used to being the servant. And Sir Michael also the way he speaks to her, he's used to basically instructing her telling her what to do. Now linking back to the question, hence going to the next page, Braddon. So I can say the author, the writer or the surname. So in this case, I've decided to use her surname. Braddon successfully depicts a vast power difference in Lucy and Sir Michael's relationship. At first we get the impression that Lucy is quite powerless. This is my link back to the question. Now here's my second peel paragraph. Nonetheless, as the extract progresses, there seems to be a shift in their relationship. We've gradually discovered that Sir Michael is desperate to marry Lucy. And he's very self deprecating self deprecating means like, you know, you're almost like making fun of yourself in order to make yourself more likable to someone else. Okay, you're kind of putting yourself down. So this is my second opening point. I'm working through the extract. Okay, so I started off here. I'm now working through the extract. He wonders, do you dislike me yet Lucy reassures him by affirming dislike you? No, no. Here's my evidence. Again, I'm juxtaposing what he says versus what Lucy says. Look at my explanation. However, Sir Michael is still unsure and he calls himself romantic for in fact, actually I've added three separate bits of evidence. You've got he asked you dislike me, she then says dislike you no. And then this is a third bit of evidence of romantic for. So here's my evidence. Now let's look at my explanation. Braden's use of dialogue. Okay, so this is technique dialogue is effective in shifting the power balance. So Michael seems insecure and uncertain. And although Braden employs Hyperfora in Lucy's reply, remember Hyperfora is when you ask a question and immediately answer it. So although Braden employs Hyperfora in Lucy's reply to convey her interest, the adjective old shows us Sir Michael thinks he is not good enough for Lucy. Just be clear by the way, Hyperfora is Lucy she asked dislike you that's a question. Then she immediately answered it. No, no. Okay, that's a structural technique. The shift surprises us because Lucy has so much to gain from this marriage. That's my explanation. Talked about dialogue. Talked about Hyperfora. I've also mentioned adjectives. So this is really heavy in both language and structure analysis. This is my explanation. Now linking back to the question. Thus the author shows Lucy and Sir Michael's relationship changes. Lucy appears to wield to hold far more power as Sir Michael begs her to love and marry him. That's my second peel paragraph. Let's have a look at my third peel point. Furthermore, Lucy appears to accept his proposal yet her lackluster reply reveals Sir Michael loves her more than she loves him in their relationship. Black Luster means there's not that much enthusiasm. So Michael speaks continuously as he tries to justify how they would make a very happy couple. So that's my opening point. This is my evidence. Now this is my explanation. Oh, actually, this is even a bit more of evidence. Nonetheless, Lucy simply replies. Yes. Okay. So Sir Michael, he says evidence one, they can make a very happy couple. But Lucy replies. Yes. Braden depicts Sir Michael speaking in a complex sentence. This contrasts Lucy's monosyllabic reply. We as readers can see that Sir Michael is extremely committed to Lucy's desperately seeks her approval. Yet Lucy's dispassionate reply makes us wonder whether she is completely committed to him. Again, here I've mentioned complex sentence. I've mentioned monosyllabic language, okay, which is a language technique. And I mentioned how this shows them, okay, this illustrates again, the shift in their power. Sir Michael is the one that's like really, you know, keen. He really wants her to like him. Whilst Lucy just, you know, she's like, okay, yeah, fine, we'll get married. Now here's the link. As a result, Lucy within this part of the extract appears to dominate their relationship. So Michael seems besotted, obsessed in love. And she appears almost indifferent. That's my link back to the question. Finally, as the extract draws to a close, there seems to be an emotional disconnect in their relationship. So Michael feels confused and uncertain yet Lucy is overjoyed about his proposal. That's my point for this paragraph. Let's have a look at the evidence. Sir Michael does not feel joy. Only disappointments joy and evidence and disappointment are my bits of evidence. Nonetheless, Lucy is excited to experience no more dependence, no more drudgery, second bit of evidence or third bit of evidence. Now I'm using Lucy. Here's my explanation. The right uses oxymoron to show Sir Michael's conflicting feelings, yet the listing in Lucy's language conveys her contentment. Oxymoron is language listing a structure. We as readers realize Sir Michael and Lucy cannot read each other well. They seem to have misunderstood each other again. Now this explanation basically saying number one, here's my language and structure technique. But also when it comes to their relationship, they actually can't really tell what the other is thinking, right? Lucy's like, Oh, I'm really happy I'm marrying this guy. Sir Michael's leaving thinking does she even like me? That's the main point I'm making in this pill paragraph. Accordingly, Brad and Successfully portrays a huge emotional gap between Sir Michael and Lucy. They appear to have misunderstood each other's intent. That's my link back to the question. Now I finish off with a conclusion. Finish off quite strong. In conclusion, it's clear that Lucy and Sir Michael's relationship goes against what we would expect as readers, even if at first Sir Michael appears to dominate their relationship. By the end, it is Lucy who seems to be in the driving seat. Sir Michael seems eager for her to accept his marriage proposal. Although Lucy is happy to marry him, we can see she does not have the same level of passion as he does. That's my conclusion. Basically saying, okay, at first, the relationship looks like this, but actually as the passage progresses, we can see that contrary to what we thought, Lucy is the one that seems to have way more power even if she's poorer, while Sir Michael is the one who's kind of begging for her. Okay. So that's how to respond to this question.