GCSE English Language Week 2 Exam Preparation Tips

Approaching non-fiction analysis

Hi guys! Welcome back to the second week of my GCSE English Language blog. I hope that today’s entry will help you get started with your preparation for paper two, which the exam board calls ‘Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives’. This paper differs from paper one and is generally considered to be the harder of the two, because it involves two unseen passages, and they are both non-fiction. *Insert police sirens and screams here* I’ll be talking about how to go about comparing extracts in next week’s post, but let’s take some time this week to think about how to go about analysing non-fiction.

How is non-fiction analysis different from fiction analysis?

Non-fiction analysis has a lot of similarities to fiction analysis, and in reality paper 2 assesses most of the same things as paper 1. However, students (myself included) can often be daunted by the idea of analysing a non-fiction text given that all the practice we get in English Literature is centred around fiction, and we mostly study stories in KS3 and even primary school. For a lot of students, English Language paper 2 is the first time that they’ll be looking at non-fiction in this way. While the Assessment Objectives assessed in both papers are almost exactly the same, meaning that the skills we use in paper 1 are very much applicable to paper 2, I’m going to give you some tips for how to think about non-fiction.

The main difference between fiction and non-fiction is that non-fiction is, obviously, not made up. This means that the subject and content of the extract, unlike in paper 1, has not been made up for effect. The people that feature in the text are probably real rather than fictional characters. This is why it can feel a bit odd to analyse it, because the writer hasn’t invented a story and characters in order to achieve a particular effect or teach us some kind of moral lesson. Instead, they are drawing on fact. However, it is important to note that these writers are still making deliberate decisions – for example about which details to omit, whether they should exaggerate, how to present the information etc. These things, as well as any language techniques, are being done for effect, so these are the things you want to be talking about in your essays.

Speaking of language techniques, these can be slightly different in non-fiction. A lot of the language techniques we see in fiction such as metaphors, similes and personification are also used in non-fiction, and will normally achieve a similar effect. However, there are other language techniques specific to non-fiction that might feel stilted or unnatural if we saw them in a novel or a poem. For example:

o The rule of three (when a writer lists things in threes)

o Rhetorical questions

o Anecdotes

o Facts or statistics

o Direct address

The above techniques are all more commonly associated with non-fiction than fiction, so are something to look out for when you’re trying to pick quotes to write about. The reason for this is that these are all rhetorical devices, which means that the writer is using them to try and persuade the reader. This leads on to another key difference between fiction and non-fiction, which is the writers’ intentions. Obviously, all writers have different intentions, so it is difficult to generalise, but normally non-fiction writers are more interested in persuading you either to see things from their point of view or to take action, whereas a writer of fiction tends to be aiming to evoke an emotional response or encourage introspection. Because writers’ intentions are such a big part of the essays we write in English, this is an important factor to consider.

How to improve your analysis of non-fiction texts

As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. That saying definitely applies in this context, so unfortunately in order to improve at analysing non-fiction, you simply need to keep giving it a go until you crack it. Luckily, there isn’t any content to revise for English Language, so nearly all of your revision time should be allocated to practice essays anyway. If you can ask a teacher to have a look at your responses and give you some pointers, that’s even better!

Another tip I would give is to read as much as you can. Reading a range of non-fiction texts and thinking about them critically will help you familiarise yourself with the kind of extract you’ll be given in the exam and mean you’re less likely to panic when you read through the source on the day. Since newspaper articles, letters and diary entries tend to be quite short, they shouldn’t take you too long to read (nowhere near as long as some of the novels you might be having to read for English Literature! And YES Dickins I am looking at you). I found that little and often is the best way to approach English language revision so as not to overwhelm yourself, so if you can take half an hour per week to read a non-fiction text and an hour a week to practice an essay response, that’s a brilliant way to make sure you’re prepared for your exams without a mad rush at the end of the year.

I hope this was helpful, have fun reading some non-fiction this week!

Have any questions about how to prepare for your GCSE exams? Having problems with any hard to understand content or tricky past exam questions? Then ask Addie. Addie will be hosting a series of Q&A webinars in the 2 weeks before final exams. Post your questions here, and Addie will answer them in these sessions.