Structure and Organisation

From the opening of a short story: The city spread out beneath the hill, ten thousand roofs grey with rain. Among them, on a narrow street behind the station, stood a row of terraced houses. In the fourth house, in the back bedroom, a boy sat on the edge of his bed with a suitcase at his feet. He had been sitting there for an hour. He was waiting for someone to tell him he could stay.

How does the writer structure the opening of this extract?

• AThe focus widens from one boy to a view of the whole city
• BThe focus narrows from the whole city to one boy in a room✓
• CIt begins with dialogue and then describes the city at night
• DIt moves back in time to describe the boy's early childhood

Answer: Each sentence zooms closer: the city, a street, a row of houses, the fourth house, the back bedroom, the boy. There is no dialogue and no shift back in time.

A biography begins with its subject's birth in 1920 and ends with her death in 1998, describing events in the order they happened. What structure is this?

• ACyclical
• BNon-linear
• CFrame narrative
• DChronological✓

Answer: Events told in time order from first to last form a chronological structure. A non-linear structure would jump between times.

From the opening of a short story: The city spread out beneath the hill, ten thousand roofs grey with rain. Among them, on a narrow street behind the station, stood a row of terraced houses. In the fourth house, in the back bedroom, a boy sat on the edge of his bed with a suitcase at his feet. He had been sitting there for an hour. He was waiting for someone to tell him he could stay.

Why might the writer end the extract with 'He was waiting for someone to tell him he could stay.'?

• ATo reveal the boy's situation and make readers want more✓
• BTo resolve the story by showing that the boy has been allowed to stay
• CTo return to the wide view of the city that began the extract
• DTo introduce a new character who will narrate the next section

Answer: After zooming in, the final sentence explains the suitcase and hints at uncertainty about where the boy will live, raising questions the reader wants answered. He is still 'waiting', so nothing is resolved.

From a newspaper article written in 1865 by an invented journalist, describing London's crossing-sweepers. On the corner of Regent Street, in sleet that would keep a dog indoors, stands a girl of perhaps ten with a broom taller than herself. She sweeps a path through the mud for every gentleman who passes, and is lucky to earn a halfpenny in an hour. She is one of some hundreds. The crossing-sweepers of London are an army without wages, and they are, almost to a child, the children of the poor.

How does the writer structure these two paragraphs?

• AThe first gives statistics; the second tells one girl's personal story
• BThe first describes the weather; the second describes Regent Street
• CThe first criticises the gentlemen; the second praises the sweepers' wages
• DThe first focuses on one girl; the second widens out to many children like her✓

Answer: Paragraph one shows a single girl in close detail; paragraph two begins 'She is one of some hundreds' and moves to the whole group. The sweepers are 'an army without wages', so their wages are not praised.

An article opens by describing rubbish dumped in a country lane, then explains three ways readers could help stop fly-tipping. What structure is used?

• AChronological
• BCyclical
• CProblem and solution✓
• DCompare and contrast

Answer: The article first presents a problem (fly-tipping) and then offers ways to solve it, which is a problem–solution structure.

From a newspaper article written in 1865 by an invented journalist, describing London's crossing-sweepers. On the corner of Regent Street, in sleet that would keep a dog indoors, stands a girl of perhaps ten with a broom taller than herself. She sweeps a path through the mud for every gentleman who passes, and is lucky to earn a halfpenny in an hour. She is one of some hundreds. The crossing-sweepers of London are an army without wages, and they are, almost to a child, the children of the poor.

Why might the writer begin with the single girl rather than the general facts?

• AA vivid individual case moves readers before the scale of the problem is revealed✓
• BA single example proves that the problem affects very few children
• CA single example lets the writer avoid discussing the causes of poverty
• DA single example shows the writer had no other facts to report

Answer: Readers feel for one cold child with a broom 'taller than herself' before learning she is 'one of some hundreds', so the general fact carries emotional weight. The second paragraph widens the problem and names poverty directly.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article: When did you last write a letter by hand? For most of us, the answer is years ago, perhaps a thank-you note forced out of us as children. Yet one stationery shop owner told me her sales of fountain pens have doubled in three years, mostly to customers under thirty. So find a pen. Find some paper. And next time you want to tell someone you're thinking of them, don't text. Write.

Why does the writer open the article with a direct question?

• ATo show that the writer does not know when people last wrote letters
• BTo introduce statistics about the cost of buying writing paper
• CTo involve readers at once in thinking about their habits✓
• DTo begin a dialogue between two characters in the article

Answer: The one-line question paragraph makes each reader answer it privately, and the next paragraph answers for 'most of us'. It is a hook, not a genuine request for information.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article: When did you last write a letter by hand? For most of us, the answer is years ago, perhaps a thank-you note forced out of us as children. Yet one stationery shop owner told me her sales of fountain pens have doubled in three years, mostly to customers under thirty. So find a pen. Find some paper. And next time you want to tell someone you're thinking of them, don't text. Write.

How does the ending link back to the opening?

• AIt returns to letter-writing with a direct call for the reader to write✓
• BIt answers the opening question with a statistic about texting
• CIt moves to a new topic about the history of the fountain pen
• DIt repeats the opening question word for word to close the piece

Answer: The article opens by asking when we last wrote by hand and ends with imperatives ('find a pen', 'Write.'), turning the question into action. The final word echoes the topic of the opening rather than repeating it.

From a short story: The ambulance doors slammed shut. Three hours earlier, Kofi had been arguing with his brother about whose turn it was to take the bins out. It had seemed important at the time. Now, as the siren rose and the streetlights streaked past the window, he would have taken the bins out every week for the rest of his life just to hear his brother complain again.

How is this extract structured in time?

• AIt moves forward in strict time order from the argument to the ambulance
• BIt opens with the argument and then jumps forward a year
• CIt is set entirely during the brothers' argument
• DIt opens in the present, goes back three hours, then returns✓

Answer: The first sentence is the ambulance; 'Three hours earlier' takes us back to the argument; 'Now' returns to the ambulance journey.

From a short story: The ambulance doors slammed shut. Three hours earlier, Kofi had been arguing with his brother about whose turn it was to take the bins out. It had seemed important at the time. Now, as the siren rose and the streetlights streaked past the window, he would have taken the bins out every week for the rest of his life just to hear his brother complain again.

What is the effect of placing the trivial argument straight after the dramatic opening?

• AThe contrast shows that the brothers' argument caused the accident
• BThe contrast shows how small the quarrel seems now his brother is in danger✓
• CThe contrast makes the ambulance seem less serious than the argument
• DThe contrast shows that Kofi is still angry with his brother

Answer: Setting a squabble about bins beside an emergency makes the argument seem petty, as Kofi realises ('It had seemed important at the time'); his wish 'just to hear his brother complain again' shows love, not anger. Nothing links the argument to the cause of the emergency.

From a twenty-first-century travel article. (The mill is invented.) The old mill was built in 1790, and for a century it was the loudest building in the valley, its looms clattering from six in the morning until dark. Today, the only sound is the river. Ferns grow from the window frames, and a heron stands in what was once the dye house. Yet if you put your hand on the stone wall, it is still warm, as if the building has not quite finished remembering.

How does the focus shift between the first and second paragraphs?

• AFrom the mill's quiet present to its busy, noisy past
• BFrom the outside of the mill to the workers' homes nearby
• CFrom the mill's busy past to its quiet present✓
• DFrom the heron in the dye house to the river outside

Answer: Paragraph one describes clattering looms 'for a century'; paragraph two begins 'Today' and shows silence, ferns and a heron. The movement is from past to present.

In an article, a new paragraph begins 'However, not everyone agrees.' What is 'However' doing here?

• AAsking the reader a rhetorical question
• BStarting a subordinate clause
• CActing as an imperative verb
• DActing as a discourse marker that signals a contrast✓

Answer: 'However' links the paragraph to the previous one and signals a change of direction, which is the job of a discourse marker. It is not a verb or a question.

From a twenty-first-century travel article. (The mill is invented.) The old mill was built in 1790, and for a century it was the loudest building in the valley, its looms clattering from six in the morning until dark. Today, the only sound is the river. Ferns grow from the window frames, and a heron stands in what was once the dye house. Yet if you put your hand on the stone wall, it is still warm, as if the building has not quite finished remembering.

What is the effect of the final paragraph?

• AIt introduces a new problem with the mill that needs to be solved
• BIt ends on a reflective note that links the ruin back to its past✓
• CIt gives facts about how the mill was eventually restored
• DIt contradicts the account of the mill's history in the first paragraph

Answer: 'Yet' turns from the ruin to a personal, imaginative touch: the warm wall 'as if the building has not quite finished remembering' connects the silent present with the busy past, giving a thoughtful ending. There is no restoration or new problem.

From a short story: Every morning at seven, Mr Lisowski fed the pigeons from the bench by the war memorial. In February he did not come. The pigeons waited on the railings, puffed and grumbling, and the girl from the flats opposite noticed the empty bench on her way to school. On the fourth day she knocked on his door. In April, every morning at seven, two people fed the pigeons from the bench by the war memorial.

What structural feature links the first and last paragraphs?

• AA flashback that returns to Mr Lisowski's early childhood
• BA cyclical structure that echoes the opening but with a change✓
• CA cliffhanger that leaves the main event unresolved
• DA shift to a first-person account told by the pigeons

Answer: The last paragraph repeats the first almost word for word ('every morning at seven... from the bench by the war memorial'), bringing the story full circle, but with 'two people' instead of one.

A novel tells events out of order, jumping between a crime, the victim's childhood and the trial. What is the main effect of this non-linear structure?

• AIt creates intrigue as readers piece it together✓
• BIt makes the events simpler to follow in time order
• CIt removes all suspense about what happens next
• DIt keeps the focus on a single moment in time

Answer: Moving between times makes readers work out how events connect, which builds curiosity and suspense. A time-ordered structure would be simpler to follow.

From a short story: Every morning at seven, Mr Lisowski fed the pigeons from the bench by the war memorial. In February he did not come. The pigeons waited on the railings, puffed and grumbling, and the girl from the flats opposite noticed the empty bench on her way to school. On the fourth day she knocked on his door. In April, every morning at seven, two people fed the pigeons from the bench by the war memorial.

What is the effect of changing 'Mr Lisowski' to 'two people' in the final paragraph?

• AIt suggests the girl now feeds the pigeons on her own instead of him
• BIt reveals that Mr Lisowski has moved into the flats opposite
• CIt shows that the pigeons have left the bench for a different park
• DIt quietly suggests the girl has become his companion, so he is no longer alone✓

Answer: Because the girl knocked on his door when he was missing, 'two people' implies she now joins him, and the small change in the repeated sentence shows the friendship without stating it. 'Two people' rules out her feeding them alone.

Which pair of sentences shows cohesion created by a pronoun referring back?

• A'The fox crept into the yard. The bus was late again.'
• B'Lunch was cold today. The film started at seven.'
• C'Exams start next week. My phone screen cracked.'
• D'The fox crept in. It sniffed at the bins.'✓

Answer: 'It' refers back to 'the fox', linking the two sentences, which creates cohesion. The other pairs are unconnected sentences.

Read the plan of a student's speech for a debate on fireworks. The speech is organised in four sections: 1. A story about the speaker's dog shaking under the kitchen table on Bonfire Night. 2. Facts about firework injuries and the distress fireworks cause to pets and farm animals. 3. An acknowledgement that many families love firework displays. 4. A proposal: keep organised public displays but end the sale of fireworks to the public.

Why might the speaker place the story about the dog first?

• ATo win the audience's sympathy before presenting the evidence✓
• BTo prove with statistics that most dogs are afraid of fireworks
• CTo show the speaker wants every firework display to be banned
• DTo end the speech on a light-hearted and comic note

Answer: An emotional anecdote at the start makes listeners care about the issue, so the facts in section 2 land more strongly. The proposal keeps public displays, so the speaker does not want a total ban, and the story comes first, not last.

Read the plan of a student's speech for a debate on fireworks. The speech is organised in four sections: 1. A story about the speaker's dog shaking under the kitchen table on Bonfire Night. 2. Facts about firework injuries and the distress fireworks cause to pets and farm animals. 3. An acknowledgement that many families love firework displays. 4. A proposal: keep organised public displays but end the sale of fireworks to the public.

What is the purpose of section 3 in the structure of the speech?

• ATo recognise the opposing view, making the final proposal seem fair✓
• BTo change the speaker's mind so that the speech argues against any ban
• CTo give more evidence about the injuries fireworks cause each year
• DTo tell a second personal story about the speaker's own pets

Answer: Acknowledging that families love displays shows the speaker has considered the other side, which prepares for a compromise in section 4 that keeps public displays. The injury evidence is in section 2.

From a short story. (The places are invented.) For thirty years, the signalman at Brack Halt had written the same words in his ledger each night: 'All trains passed. Nothing to report.' He wrote them in snow. He wrote them in fog. He wrote them on the night of the derailment at Coldhill, and on the night his wife caught the last train and did not come back. Tonight he opened the ledger, dipped his pen and, for the first time in thirty years, wrote nothing at all.

How does the writer use repetition to structure the extract?

• ARepeated questions build suspense about what caused the derailment
• BRepeated dialogue reveals the signalman's conversations with his wife
• CRepeated 'He wrote them…' sentences build a pattern that the ending breaks✓
• DRepeated descriptions of trains show that the halt is very busy

Answer: Three sentences begin 'He wrote them', each adding a harder night, which establishes an unbreakable routine; the last sentence breaks it. There are no questions or dialogue.

From a short story. (The places are invented.) For thirty years, the signalman at Brack Halt had written the same words in his ledger each night: 'All trains passed. Nothing to report.' He wrote them in snow. He wrote them in fog. He wrote them on the night of the derailment at Coldhill, and on the night his wife caught the last train and did not come back. Tonight he opened the ledger, dipped his pen and, for the first time in thirty years, wrote nothing at all.

What is the effect of the final sentence?

• AIt shows that the signalman's pen has finally run out of ink
• BBreaking a thirty-year habit signals that something important has changed✓
• CIt shows that nothing at all happened at the halt that night
• DIt goes back to the derailment to explain how it happened

Answer: He wrote the words even after a derailment and his wife leaving, so writing 'nothing at all' marks a turning point, perhaps grief or giving up, and leaves the reader wondering why. He has just 'dipped his pen', so the ink has not run out.

From a twenty-first-century opinion article: Some people argue that video games make young people lazy and antisocial. It is easy to see why: a teenager hunched over a screen at midnight is not a reassuring sight. But look closer. That teenager may be leading a team of players from four countries, solving problems under pressure and communicating in real time. Far from isolating them, games have become, for many young people, the place where their friendships live.

How does the writer structure this paragraph?

• AA personal story is told first and then summarised at the end
• BAn opposing view is partly accepted, then challenged✓
• CTwo opposing views are given equal weight with no conclusion
• DStatistics are listed in order from the smallest to the largest

Answer: The writer presents the critics' view and concedes 'It is easy to see why', then turns with 'But look closer' to argue the opposite. The paragraph ends with a clear conclusion.

From a twenty-first-century opinion article: Some people argue that video games make young people lazy and antisocial. It is easy to see why: a teenager hunched over a screen at midnight is not a reassuring sight. But look closer. That teenager may be leading a team of players from four countries, solving problems under pressure and communicating in real time. Far from isolating them, games have become, for many young people, the place where their friendships live.

What is the function of the short sentence 'But look closer.' at this point?

• AIt marks the turn from the opposing view to the writer's own argument✓
• BIt introduces a second reason why games make young people lazy
• CIt tells parents to stop children playing games late at night
• DIt concludes the paragraph by summarising the main points made

Answer: Coming after the concession, 'But' signals a change of direction, and what follows argues that games build teamwork and friendship. It sits in the middle of the paragraph, so it is not the conclusion.

From a story written in a nineteenth-century style. (Invented for this question.) Snow had fallen all night upon the village of Elmsford, smoothing the lanes, hushing the mill-race and laying a white cloth over every grave in the churchyard. Through this silence, a little after dawn, came a single set of footprints, small and uneven, leading from the church gate to the door of the rectory. They did not lead away again.

How does the focus change from the first paragraph to the second?

• AFrom a wide view of the snowy village to one detail: the footprints✓
• BFrom the footprints to a wide view of the whole snowy village
• CFrom the inside of the rectory to the churchyard outside
• DFrom the present day to a memory of a summer long ago

Answer: Paragraph one describes the whole village under snow; paragraph two narrows to 'a single set of footprints' leading to one door. The scene stays outdoors on the same morning.

From a story written in a nineteenth-century style. (Invented for this question.) Snow had fallen all night upon the village of Elmsford, smoothing the lanes, hushing the mill-race and laying a white cloth over every grave in the churchyard. Through this silence, a little after dawn, came a single set of footprints, small and uneven, leading from the church gate to the door of the rectory. They did not lead away again.

What is the effect of ending with the one-sentence paragraph 'They did not lead away again.'?

• AIt explains clearly who made the footprints and for what reason
• BIt shows that the snow has melted and the danger has now passed
• CIt slows the pace in order to describe the rectory in detail
• DIts brevity creates a chilling mystery about who came and why✓

Answer: Isolating one short sentence makes the reader pause on the unsettling fact that whoever arrived never left, and the 'small and uneven' prints add unease. Nothing is explained, so the mystery remains.