Writer's Methods

From a short story: 'You can't keep it,' said Mum. 'Absolutely not. We live on the fourth floor.' The puppy, who did not know what a fourth floor was, licked her shoe. Kemi said nothing. She had learned long ago that the best arguments were the ones you let other people lose on their own. She simply sat on the kitchen floor, and the puppy climbed into her lap, and the three of them waited to see how long 'absolutely not' would last.

Why does the writer begin the extract with Mum's dialogue?

• ATo open mid-argument and quickly show what is at stake✓
• BTo describe the flat in close detail before any of the action begins
• CTo show that Mum is the narrator and tells the story in the first person
• DTo reveal that the puppy belongs to Mum rather than to Kemi

Answer: Starting with 'You can't keep it' drops the reader straight into the conflict over the puppy, so we know at once what the story is about. The story is told in the third person ('Kemi said nothing'), and the setting is barely described.

A story opens with an old woman in a care home. The next section begins: 'In 1962, Rosa was seventeen and had never seen the sea.' Which technique is the writer using?

• AForeshadowing
• BFlashback✓
• CCyclical structure
• DCliffhanger

Answer: The narrative moves back to an earlier time in the character's life, which is a flashback. Foreshadowing hints at the future rather than returning to the past.

Early in a story, a character notices that the brakes on her bicycle squeal and decides to fix them 'next week'. What is this detail most likely doing?

• AForeshadowing later danger✓
• BShowing that she is a skilled mechanic
• CDescribing the setting of the opening
• DCreating humour about her lazy habits

Answer: A small, unresolved problem mentioned early, with repairs put off, prepares readers for it to matter later, which is foreshadowing. Putting off a repair shows the opposite of mechanical care.

From a short story: 'You can't keep it,' said Mum. 'Absolutely not. We live on the fourth floor.' The puppy, who did not know what a fourth floor was, licked her shoe. Kemi said nothing. She had learned long ago that the best arguments were the ones you let other people lose on their own. She simply sat on the kitchen floor, and the puppy climbed into her lap, and the three of them waited to see how long 'absolutely not' would last.

What does the writer suggest with the phrase 'how long ‘absolutely not’ would last'?

• AMum is about to take the puppy back to the shop where she bought it
• BKemi is worried that Mum will stay angry with her for several weeks
• CThe puppy will only be allowed to stay in the flat for one more night
• DMum will probably give in and let Kemi keep the puppy✓

Answer: Putting Mum's words in inverted commas and wondering how long they will 'last' treats the refusal as temporary, and Kemi's tactic of letting others 'lose on their own' suggests she expects to win. Nothing suggests Mum bought the puppy or that Kemi is anxious.

From an account of a balloon flight, written in 1859 by an invented passenger, Edward Fane. At first I did not believe that we had risen at all. There was no sensation of motion; it was rather as if the earth had been quietly drawn away from beneath us, like a cloth from a table. The crowd shrank to a dark stain upon the field. A church, a mill, a river glinting like a dropped knife, each passed below in perfect silence. I confess I gripped the basket until my knuckles ached, and I confess also that I have never been so happy.

Why does the writer describe the earth as 'drawn away from beneath us, like a cloth from a table'?

• ATo show that the balloon took off suddenly, with a violent jolt and lurch
• BTo suggest that the passengers were about to eat a meal high in the air
• CTo show that the field below had been covered with cloth for the launch
• DTo convey the odd sense that the ground moved, not the balloon✓

Answer: He says 'There was no sensation of motion', so the simile captures the odd impression that the earth slid smoothly away while he stayed still. 'Quietly' rules out a violent take-off, and the cloth is a comparison, not a real tablecloth.

From an account of a balloon flight, written in 1859 by an invented passenger, Edward Fane. At first I did not believe that we had risen at all. There was no sensation of motion; it was rather as if the earth had been quietly drawn away from beneath us, like a cloth from a table. The crowd shrank to a dark stain upon the field. A church, a mill, a river glinting like a dropped knife, each passed below in perfect silence. I confess I gripped the basket until my knuckles ached, and I confess also that I have never been so happy.

What is the effect of the writer repeating 'I confess' in the final sentence?

• AIt shows he is apologising to the reader for alarming the crowd below
• BIt reveals that he was the pilot and was responsible for the flight
• CIt suggests he regrets the flight and has no wish to fly again
• DIt honestly admits his fear and his joy, revealing mixed emotions✓

Answer: The first 'I confess' admits fear (gripping the basket 'until my knuckles ached'); the second admits that 'I have never been so happy'. The repetition pairs two contrasting feelings. His happiness rules out regret.

'I never meant to keep the money. I just didn't know how to give it back.' Which narrative perspective is used?

• AFirst person✓
• BSecond person
• CThird-person limited
• DThird-person omniscient

Answer: The narrator refers to themselves as 'I', so this is first-person narration. Third-person narration would use 'he', 'she' or 'they'.

From a twenty-first-century newspaper opinion article: My son's school blazer costs £48. It is available from one shop, twelve miles away, which opens three days a week. It has the school crest stitched on the pocket, which is why it costs £48 rather than £15, and why, by February, it will be too small. Multiply that by three children and add the branded PE kit, the branded tie and the branded bag that is 'strongly recommended', and you begin to see why some parents dread September.

Why does the writer include precise details such as '£48', 'twelve miles away' and 'three days a week'?

• ATo show how costly and awkward the uniform is✓
• BTo advertise the shop and encourage parents to buy their uniform there
• CTo show that the school uniform is good value for most local families
• DTo prove that the writer's son has already grown out of his blazer

Answer: Each exact figure adds to a case about expense and inconvenience: a high price, a distant shop, limited opening. The writer contrasts £48 with £15 to show poor value, and says the blazer 'will be' too small by February, not that it already is.

Which extract is written in third-person omniscient narration?

• A'I watched them leave and said nothing, though I wanted to shout at them.'
• B'You step into the room and the door clicks shut behind you in the dark.'
• C'Sara wondered what Tom was thinking as he stared out of the window.'
• D'Sara feared the worst, while Tom, unknown to her, was already planning to leave.'✓

Answer: An omniscient narrator knows the thoughts of more than one character: here both Sara's fear and Tom's secret plan. The 'wondered' extract stays inside Sara's head only, which is third-person limited.

A narrator insists, 'I'm the calmest person I know,' moments after throwing a plate at the wall. What does this suggest about the narrator?

• AThe narrator is omniscient
• BThe narrator is in the second person
• CThe narrator is unreliable✓
• DThe narrator is describing a flashback

Answer: The narrator's claim is contradicted by their own actions, so readers cannot fully trust their account, which makes them unreliable. An omniscient narrator would know everything, including the truth about themselves.

From a twenty-first-century newspaper opinion article: My son's school blazer costs £48. It is available from one shop, twelve miles away, which opens three days a week. It has the school crest stitched on the pocket, which is why it costs £48 rather than £15, and why, by February, it will be too small. Multiply that by three children and add the branded PE kit, the branded tie and the branded bag that is 'strongly recommended', and you begin to see why some parents dread September.

What is the effect of the list 'the branded PE kit, the branded tie and the branded bag'?

• AIt shows the writer is proud of the school's smart, modern image
• BIt suggests the PE kit is the most expensive item on the list
• CIt creates a calm tone that reassures worried parents about cost
• DRepeating 'branded' stresses how the extra costs keep piling up✓

Answer: The repetition of 'branded' hammers home that every item carries a premium, and the list adds them up after 'Multiply that by three children'. The tone is critical ('dread September'), not proud or reassuring.

From a short story narrated by a young child: Dad says we are going on an adventure. We packed the car in the dark, very quietly, so as not to wake Mr Hollis downstairs, who Dad says is a nosy old so-and-so. We left the television and the big sofa behind because there wasn't room. Mum cried a bit in the front seat, but Dad said she was just tired. I had the back seat all to myself and three packets of crisps. It was the best night ever.

Why might the writer have chosen a young child as the narrator?

• AThe child's innocence lets readers grasp the troubling truth the child misses✓
• BThe child understands more than the adults do and explains their secrets
• CA child narrator makes the story suitable for an audience of very young readers
• DThe child narrator is used to describe the setting in precise technical detail

Answer: The child calls it 'the best night ever', but readers notice the secrecy, the furniture left behind and Mum crying. The gap between what the narrator reports and what readers understand (dramatic irony) creates unease. The child misses these clues rather than explaining them.

From a short story narrated by a young child: Dad says we are going on an adventure. We packed the car in the dark, very quietly, so as not to wake Mr Hollis downstairs, who Dad says is a nosy old so-and-so. We left the television and the big sofa behind because there wasn't room. Mum cried a bit in the front seat, but Dad said she was just tired. I had the back seat all to myself and three packets of crisps. It was the best night ever.

What does the reader understand from the details that the child does not?

• AThe family are setting off early on a holiday they planned long ago
• BMr Hollis has told the family to move out of the flat downstairs
• CThe family seem to be leaving their home in secret and in a hurry✓
• DMum is upset only because she wanted to take the television along

Answer: Packing 'in the dark, very quietly' to avoid a neighbour, leaving large furniture behind and Mum's tears all point to a hurried, secret departure. A planned holiday would not need secrecy or leave the sofa behind, and Mum's tears are explained away by Dad, not linked to the television.

From a speech by a mountain rescue volunteer to a group of walkers: Last winter, our team was called out forty-three times. Forty-three times, volunteers left their families, their dinners and their warm beds to climb into the dark. Some of those calls were genuine accidents; mountains are dangerous places. But many were walkers in trainers, with no map, no torch and a phone on two per cent battery. I am not here to scold you. I am here to ask you: before you set off, spend ten minutes preparing, so that we never have to spend ten hours looking for you.

Why does the speaker repeat the number 'forty-three'?

• ATo show that the team was called out less often than in earlier years
• BTo suggest that most of the call-outs were caused by genuine accidents
• CTo emphasise the scale of the volunteers' commitment and sacrifice✓
• DTo show how many walkers were rescued without suffering any injury

Answer: The repetition is followed by what volunteers gave up each time ('their families, their dinners and their warm beds'), so it stresses the personal cost. The speaker says only 'some' calls were genuine accidents and 'many' were poorly prepared walkers.

From a speech by a mountain rescue volunteer to a group of walkers: Last winter, our team was called out forty-three times. Forty-three times, volunteers left their families, their dinners and their warm beds to climb into the dark. Some of those calls were genuine accidents; mountains are dangerous places. But many were walkers in trainers, with no map, no torch and a phone on two per cent battery. I am not here to scold you. I am here to ask you: before you set off, spend ten minutes preparing, so that we never have to spend ten hours looking for you.

How does the speaker's final sentence try to persuade the audience?

• AIt threatens walkers with a fine if they ever need to be rescued
• BIt contrasts ten minutes' preparing with ten hours of searching✓
• CIt uses statistics to show that most walkers are well prepared
• DIt tells a personal story about the speaker getting lost at night

Answer: The balanced 'ten minutes preparing' and 'ten hours looking for you' shows how a small effort prevents a huge one, making the request seem reasonable. The speaker explicitly says 'I am not here to scold you', so there is no threat.

From a short story set in a village: The house at the end of Mill Lane had been for sale for so long that the sign had faded to a pale ghost of itself. Ivy had swallowed the porch. One upstairs curtain was always drawn, though nobody had lived there for years, and the children of the village had a rule, never written down but never broken, that you crossed the road before you reached its gate. Nell had lived in the village for exactly six days. Nobody had told her the rule.

What is the effect of the final two sentences on the reader?

• AThey create suspense by hinting that Nell is about to go near the house✓
• BThey reassure the reader that Nell is safe because she is new to the area
• CThey reveal that Nell is the person who has been drawing the curtain
• DThey explain exactly why the house has been for sale for so many years

Answer: Having set up the children's rule, the writer reveals that Nell, a newcomer, does not know it, so readers expect her to break it and fear the consequences. Being new makes her more vulnerable, not safer, and the curtain mystery is left unexplained.

From a short story set in a village: The house at the end of Mill Lane had been for sale for so long that the sign had faded to a pale ghost of itself. Ivy had swallowed the porch. One upstairs curtain was always drawn, though nobody had lived there for years, and the children of the village had a rule, never written down but never broken, that you crossed the road before you reached its gate. Nell had lived in the village for exactly six days. Nobody had told her the rule.

How does the writer make the house seem sinister?

• AThrough a detailed account of a crime that once happened in the house
• BThrough details of neglect and a curtain kept drawn in an empty house✓
• CThrough the dialogue of villagers who warn Nell to stay away from it
• DThrough a description of strange noises Nell hears there late at night

Answer: The faded sign ('a pale ghost'), the ivy that has 'swallowed' the porch and a curtain 'always drawn, though nobody had lived there for years' create an eerie, unexplained presence. There is no dialogue, no crime and no noise in the extract.

From a twenty-first-century memoir: The training manual for my first job was two hundred pages long and contained the word 'empowerment' sixty-one times. I counted. I was nineteen, and I had a headset that pinched my ear and a screen that told me, in a cheerful green font, how many seconds each customer had been waiting. Nobody had ever told me that time could be measured so precisely, or that it could feel so heavy. By lunchtime I had been shouted at by a man in Swindon about a parcel I had never seen.

Why does the writer include the two-word sentence 'I counted.'?

• ATo prove that the writer was a careful and very successful trainee
• BTo suggest that the writer admired the manual's positive message
• CTo show the writer's boredom and to mock the manual's jargon✓
• DTo show the trainer had asked the writer to count the words

Answer: Counting one word sixty-one times reveals how dull the manual was, and the deadpan sentence quietly ridicules its overused buzzword. Nothing in the extract suggests admiration or an instruction from a trainer.

In a novel, a ticking clock is mentioned in the first chapter, again at a funeral and again on the final page. What is this recurring image best described as?

• AAn oxymoron
• BA flashback
• CA cliffhanger
• DA motif✓

Answer: A motif is an image or idea that recurs through a text and builds meaning, here perhaps time running out. A cliffhanger is a single suspenseful ending, not a repeated image.

'I run. The footsteps behind me get closer. My lungs burn.' What is the main effect of the present tense here?

• AIt shows that the events finished long ago
• BIt creates immediacy, as if the action is happening now✓
• CIt suggests the narrator is recalling childhood
• DIt slows the action down to a gentle pace

Answer: The present tense places the reader inside the moment as it happens, which, with the short sentences, heightens tension. Past events would be told in the past tense.

From a twenty-first-century memoir: The training manual for my first job was two hundred pages long and contained the word 'empowerment' sixty-one times. I counted. I was nineteen, and I had a headset that pinched my ear and a screen that told me, in a cheerful green font, how many seconds each customer had been waiting. Nobody had ever told me that time could be measured so precisely, or that it could feel so heavy. By lunchtime I had been shouted at by a man in Swindon about a parcel I had never seen.

How does the writer present the job in this extract?

• AAs exciting and rewarding for a confident young new worker
• BAs relaxed and slow-paced with very few customers to deal with
• CAs pressured, impersonal and draining for a young new worker✓
• DAs well paid but dull because of the long training manual

Answer: The pinching headset, the screen counting 'how many seconds each customer had been waiting', time that feels 'so heavy' and being shouted at by lunchtime all present stress. Pay is never mentioned, and the timed queue rules out a slow pace.

From a magazine article written in 1895 by an invented cyclist, Florence Ward. It is said by certain gentlemen that the bicycle is unsuitable for ladies, that it strains the heart, coarsens the complexion and encourages a dangerous spirit of independence. To the first two charges I answer that I have ridden forty miles in a day and my physician has never seen me in better health. To the third I plead guilty, and I recommend the crime to every woman in England.

How does the writer organise her response to the 'certain gentlemen'?

• AShe agrees with their objections and urges women to stop cycling
• BShe ignores their objections and describes one long cycling trip
• CShe sets out their three objections, then answers each in turn✓
• DShe asks her physician to answer the objections on her behalf

Answer: The first sentence lists three charges; she then answers 'the first two' with her own health and 'the third' separately. She mentions her physician's opinion as evidence but answers the objections herself.

From a magazine article written in 1895 by an invented cyclist, Florence Ward. It is said by certain gentlemen that the bicycle is unsuitable for ladies, that it strains the heart, coarsens the complexion and encourages a dangerous spirit of independence. To the first two charges I answer that I have ridden forty miles in a day and my physician has never seen me in better health. To the third I plead guilty, and I recommend the crime to every woman in England.

What is the effect of 'To the third I plead guilty, and I recommend the crime to every woman in England'?

• AShe wittily turns the criticism into a proud call for women's liberty✓
• BShe admits that she has broken the law by cycling on public roads
• CShe warns women that cycling will get them into trouble with the police
• DShe apologises for her behaviour and asks the gentlemen to forgive her

Answer: Using legal language ('plead guilty', 'the crime') for 'a dangerous spirit of independence' mocks the objection, and recommending it to every woman makes independence something to celebrate. No real law has been broken; the legal words are ironic.

From a short story: The car skidded. That was all. One moment Jonah was singing along to the radio, badly, with the window down; the next, the hedge was where the road should have been, and the world turned over slowly, like a coin in the air. He noticed odd things. A sweet wrapper floating past his face. The radio, still playing. His own hand, reaching for the wheel as if it belonged to someone else.

Why does the writer describe the world turning over 'slowly, like a coin in the air'?

• ATo show that the car was travelling very slowly when it skidded
• BTo show time seeming to slow for Jonah in his shock✓
• CTo suggest that Jonah had been gambling just before the accident
• DTo show that Jonah is calm and still fully in control of the car

Answer: A flipped coin seems to hang and turn in the air; the simile captures how the crash feels stretched out to Jonah, which fits the odd small details he notices next. His hand 'as if it belonged to someone else' shows he is not in control.

From a short story: The car skidded. That was all. One moment Jonah was singing along to the radio, badly, with the window down; the next, the hedge was where the road should have been, and the world turned over slowly, like a coin in the air. He noticed odd things. A sweet wrapper floating past his face. The radio, still playing. His own hand, reaching for the wheel as if it belonged to someone else.

What is the effect of the short sentences and fragments at the end ('He noticed odd things. A sweet wrapper…')?

• AThey speed up the action to show Jonah escaping quickly from the car
• BThey show Jonah calmly planning what to do now that the crash is over
• CThey show Jonah's dazed perception as separate snapshots✓
• DThey describe the scene of the crash from a police officer's viewpoint

Answer: Each fragment isolates one trivial detail, mimicking how shock breaks experience into disconnected images. The car is still turning over, so he has not escaped, and the viewpoint stays with Jonah.

A novel opens with a sailor telling a story to friends by a fire. Most of the book is that story, and it returns to the fireside at the end. What structure is this?

• AA linear chronological structure
• BAn opening in medias res
• CA story told entirely in letters
• DA frame narrative✓

Answer: A frame narrative places one story inside another; the fireside scenes form the frame. In medias res means starting in the middle of the action, not inside an outer story.

From a twenty-first-century film review. (The film is invented.) There is a moment, about forty minutes into 'Low Tide', when the camera simply stays on the face of the young fisherman as he listens to his father lie to him. No music. No dialogue. Just a face, slowly understanding. It lasts nearly a minute and it is the best thing in the film. Sadly, the director does not trust his audience to sit in silence again: the final hour is smothered in swelling strings, as if we might otherwise forget to feel anything.

Why does the reviewer use the fragments 'No music. No dialogue. Just a face, slowly understanding.'?

• ATo complain that the whole film is too quiet and lacks a proper script
• BTo show that the reviewer missed this part of the film and is guessing
• CTo list the faults that spoil the first forty minutes of the film
• DTo mirror the scene's stillness and focus attention on its simplicity✓

Answer: The bare fragments strip the description down just as the scene is stripped down, and the reviewer then calls it 'the best thing in the film'. They are praise, not a list of faults.

A writer wants to slow the pace at the moment a character opens a mysterious letter. Which method would do this most effectively?

• ALong sentences with close detail of each small action✓
• BA rapid series of very short lines of dialogue
• CSkipping forward in time to the following day
• DSummarising what the letter says in one line

Answer: Lingering detail and long sentences stretch a moment and build suspense. Quick dialogue and time-skips speed the narrative up.

From a twenty-first-century film review. (The film is invented.) There is a moment, about forty minutes into 'Low Tide', when the camera simply stays on the face of the young fisherman as he listens to his father lie to him. No music. No dialogue. Just a face, slowly understanding. It lasts nearly a minute and it is the best thing in the film. Sadly, the director does not trust his audience to sit in silence again: the final hour is smothered in swelling strings, as if we might otherwise forget to feel anything.

What is the reviewer's attitude to the music in the film's final hour?

• AAdmiring, because the strings make the ending moving and very powerful
• BNeutral, because the music is barely noticeable during the final hour
• CCritical, because the music is far too quiet to hear over the dialogue
• DCritical, because it tells the audience what to feel instead of trusting them✓

Answer: 'Smothered' and the sarcastic 'as if we might otherwise forget to feel anything' show the reviewer thinks the music forces emotion; 'does not trust his audience' states the complaint directly. 'Swelling strings' are loud, not too quiet.

From a twenty-first-century travel guide: You will hear the waterfall long before you see it. First a hush, like distant traffic; then a roar that you feel in your ribs. Keep to the path, even when it narrows and the rocks turn slick and green. And then, round the final bend, there it is: a white wall of water, forty metres high, throwing up a mist that soaks you to the skin in seconds and leaves rainbows hanging in the air.

Why does the writer address the reader directly as 'you' throughout?

• ATo give a scientific account of how waterfalls are formed by rivers
• BTo place readers on the walk so that they imagine experiencing it✓
• CTo show that the writer is describing a walk done entirely alone
• DTo warn readers that the path to the waterfall is closed to the public

Answer: Second-person address ('You will hear', 'soaks you to the skin') puts the reader inside the experience step by step, which suits a guide meant to tempt visitors. 'Keep to the path' gives advice for walking it, so the path is open.