Question 4: Evaluating the Extract Flashcards
All 65 cards in this deck
What does a qualified judgement show the examiner in Paper 1 Question 4?
That you have weighed the evidence rather than simply praising the writer. Phrases like 'This is highly successful at first, but…' or 'The ending is less convincing because…' signal critical judgement, which the top levels reward.
What does evaluative language do in Paper 1 Question 4 or Paper 2 Question 6?
Phrases such as 'convincingly', 'highly effective', 'less successful' show how successfully the writer achieves the aim, not just what they do. They only count as evaluation when the evidence and explanation around them back them up.
Why is it worth tracking how successfully the writer achieves the aim across the whole extract?
Question 4 is about the whole extract, and effects build and change: tension may rise slowly, peak and fall away. Following it from start to end lets you judge where the writer succeeds most and why, rather than basing your verdict on one moment.
What is an alternative interpretation, and why does it strengthen an evaluation?
A different but reasonable reading of the same evidence, e.g. 'This could show confidence, but it could also be a front.' Considering it shows critical thinking; then judge which reading the evidence supports better, and how that affects the writer's success.
What is the difference between evaluation and retelling in Paper 1 Question 4?
Retelling says what happens ('She walks into the room and sits down'). Evaluation judges how successfully the writer creates the effect in the question, and why ('Her deliberate calm is a highly effective way of showing the narrator's unease, because we sense it is an act').
How should a Paper 1 Question 4 answer end?
With a short overall judgement of how successfully the writer achieves the aim across the whole extract, e.g. 'The writer is highly successful in creating tension, because the slow build-up makes the final reveal genuinely shocking.' Your judgement should also run through every paragraph, not only appear at the end.
Is 'Joe opens the door and sees his brother standing in the rain' an evaluation or a retelling? How could you improve it?
A retelling: it only says what happens. Improved: 'The writer makes Joe pause before he opens the door, which is a highly effective way of building tension, because the reader is kept waiting to learn who is there.'
Turn 'The writer creates tension' into an evaluative sentence.
For example: 'The writer creates tension very successfully: slowing the moment down as Mia grips the banister makes the reader share her hesitation, so the noise on the landing feels genuinely threatening.'
What counts as a 'method' in Paper 1 Question 4?
Anything the writer does to shape the reader's impression: language choices, structure (placing, shifts, endings), narrative perspective, dialogue, setting, characterisation through action, and symbolism.
What is the basic pattern for evaluating a method in Paper 1 Question 4?
Method + short quotation + effect + judgement of how successfully it achieves the aim, e.g. 'By having her laugh while she looks away, the writer suggests her cheerfulness is forced, which very effectively shows the narrator's unease.'
How can dialogue be a method in Paper 1 Question 4, and what does it often reveal?
What characters say, and how, shows their relationships and hidden feelings. Short, clipped replies can suggest tension; polite words that clash with actions can show someone hiding the truth.
What is characterisation through action, and why is it useful evidence?
Showing what a character is like through what they do rather than telling us. Actions can contradict what a character says or claims to feel, which gives you strong evidence when you judge how convincingly a character or feeling is presented.
How can setting work as a method in Paper 1 Question 4?
A setting can reflect or contrast with a character's mood (pathetic fallacy, for instance). It shapes the reader's impression of how a character feels without the writer stating it.
How can a writer use contrast as a method to shape the reader's impression?
Setting two characters, moods or moments against each other sharpens both. A calm character beside a panicking one seems even calmer, so contrast is often a key reason an effect such as fear or tension succeeds.
What is symbolism, and how can it strengthen an evaluation point?
An object, colour or image that stands for a bigger idea, e.g. a locked gate for being shut out. Explaining it shows perceptive understanding of how the writer achieves the effect named in the question.
Why might narrative perspective matter when you evaluate how a character is presented?
If we see events through one character's eyes, our impression is shaped by their feelings and may be unreliable. Explaining how the writer uses that limited view, for instance to keep a danger hidden, is a strong evaluative point.
How can the ending of the extract be used in Paper 1 Question 4?
Writers often place a change or reveal at the end. Pointing out how the final lines confirm or overturn the earlier impression is a strong way to judge how successful the whole extract is.
Why is naming a technique not enough in Paper 1 Question 4?
Feature spotting ('The writer uses a simile') earns little: the mark scheme credits techniques only when they support your critical judgement. Marks come from explaining what the method makes the reader think or feel and how successfully that achieves the aim in the question.
How long should your quotations be in Paper 1 Question 4?
Short: a word or a brief phrase, embedded in your own sentence. Long quotations lead to retelling; short ones let you comment closely on how the writer creates an impression.
In 'He laughed at the joke, but he did not look at her.', what method is used and what impression does it create?
Characterisation through action that contradicts what he appears to feel. The laugh suggests ease, but avoiding her eyes suggests guilt or discomfort, so the reader senses he is hiding something.
In 'By the time she left the hospital, the rain had stopped and the pavements were shining.', what method is used and how could it shape the reader's impression?
Setting used to reflect mood. The end of the rain and the shining pavements suggest relief or hope after something difficult, so the reader expects good news even before it is stated.
In 'She washed the cups, dried the cups, put the cups away, and took them out again.', what method is used and what does it suggest about the character?
A list of repeated actions. The pointless routine (putting the cups away and taking them out again) suggests she is anxious or distracted, keeping busy to avoid thinking about something.
How can you make sense of a very long 19th-century sentence?
Find the main clause (who did what), then treat each part separated by semicolons or dashes as its own idea. Read it in chunks rather than all at once.
Why do 19th-century writers use so many semicolons and dashes?
They build up long chains of related ideas, observations or lists in one sentence. Often the effect is of piling up detail, or of a thought unfolding as the writer goes.
What should you do with an unfamiliar older word in a 19th-century extract?
Check the glossary first. Otherwise use the context and the word's parts: male- means bad, so a "maledictory" exit involves cursing. You don't need every word to understand the passage.
Why should you watch out for words that have changed meaning since the 19th century?
Some familiar words meant something else then: gay meant lively or fashionable, pathetic meant moving or pitiful (not useless), and awful could mean awe-inspiring. Reading them in their modern sense can lead to a misreading.
Why shouldn't you always say a 19th-century writer uses a formal register "to sound authoritative"?
Formal language was normal then, so it isn't always a deliberate choice. Look instead at where the writer shifts register, or uses formal words ironically, which is a choice.
How should you use 19th-century context in Paper 1 Questions 3 and 4?
Only to explain the writer's choices, e.g. why a character's behaviour would shock a Victorian reader. Don't drift into history lessons: the marks are for analysis and evaluation, not for context.
Why do many 19th-century writers use biblical references, and what is their effect?
The Bible was the shared text most readers knew well. A biblical phrase brings enormous weight, e.g. comparing a volcano to the "bottomless pit" calls up the reader's deepest fears of hell.
What is a good way to read the 19th-century extract in the exam?
Read the italic introduction and the glossed words first. Read once quickly for the gist (who, where, what happens), then reread the lines for each question slowly, chunking the long sentences.
In "I was not a little alarmed", what does the writer mean, and what is the effect?
They were very alarmed. This is litotes: denying the opposite ("not a little") to mean "very". The understatement is a polite, controlled way of admitting fear, typical of the period, and it can sound wry.
In "Our watering-place was once a gay place", what does gay mean?
Lively, cheerful and fashionable. It is a word whose meaning has shifted, so the writer is saying the seaside resort used to be full of fun and visitors.
How can you comment on views in a 19th-century source that now seem old-fashioned or prejudiced?
Recognise them as the writer's perspective, shaped by their time, and comment on how the language reveals it. Don't ignore them or simply condemn the writer.
What should you know about social class in the 19th century?
Society was sharply divided: a wealthy upper class, a growing middle class, and a working class that was often poor, especially in the cities. Many writers are middle-class observers describing the poor, so watch for sympathy, curiosity or condescension in how they describe people "below" them.
What was the position of women in the 19th century?
Women couldn't vote in national elections, had few routes into university or the professions, and until the Married Women's Property Acts (1870 and 1882) a wife's property largely passed to her husband. Middle-class women were expected to stay at home. So a heroine who travels alone, earns her own living or defies her family is doing something her first readers would notice.
What were education and child labour like in the 19th century?
School wasn't compulsory for all young children in England until 1880, and many poor children worked in factories, in mines or on the streets. Wealthy families often employed a governess: an educated woman teaching their children at home, awkwardly placed between servant and family.
How did railways and steamships change 19th-century life?
From the 1840s railways spread fast, and steamships made sea crossings quicker and more regular. Seaside holidays, day trips and travel writing boomed. Writers are often thrilled, unsettled or sarcastic about the speed, noise and crowds.
Why do 19th-century writers often write about religion and science?
Christianity shaped daily life and morality, but new science, such as geology and Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), challenged traditional beliefs. Writers often describe nature or danger in religious terms (Providence, the Creator), which can show awe, duty or certainty.
How can the British Empire shape a 19th-century source?
Britain ruled large parts of the world, and many characters and narrators judge other places and people by British standards. Spotting that assumption helps you explain a narrator's perspective. Comment on it; don't repeat it.
Which detail suggests a writer's class in "We breakfasted at nine, and the maid brought up the letters with the tea"?
The servant and the unhurried breakfast show a comfortable middle- or upper-class household. Noticing this helps you explain the writer's perspective, for example why they find a poor street "shocking" or "picturesque".
What does Paper 1 Question 4 ask, and how many marks is it worth?
15 marks, AO4. It states the writer's aim ('In this extract, there is an attempt to create tension') and asks you to evaluate how successfully this is achieved, with detailed reference to the text.
Which part of the text is Paper 1 Question 4 about?
The whole extract, from beginning to end. Examiners say the best answers consider the extract as a whole, while weaker ones stay with one small section.
How long should you spend on Paper 1 Question 4?
About 30–35 minutes. It's worth more than Questions 1–3 put together, so protect the time for it.
What are the five levels for Paper 1 Question 4?
They climb from description (1–3) to comment (4–6), explanation (7–9), analysis (10–12) and evaluation (13–15). At the top, your critical overview is sustained through the whole answer and your references are apt and well chosen.
When do comments on techniques earn marks in Paper 1 Question 4?
Only when they support your judgement of how successful the writer is. Above Level 1, a technique is credited only if you use it to explain why the aim is, or isn't, achieved.
What is the most common complaint about Paper 1 Question 4 answers?
Retelling the story instead of evaluating it. Every paragraph should judge how well the writer achieves the aim, and why, not report what happens next.
Why isn't it enough to write 'this is very effective' at the start and end?
Examiners notice evaluative words bolted on to an answer that is really analysis. Your judgement needs to run through every point, backed up by evidence and explanation.
Should you reuse your Question 3 quotations in Question 4?
Avoid it. Question 3 covers only a short section, and Question 4 rewards the whole extract. Fresh evidence from across the text shows a wider view.
What is a sensible plan for Paper 1 Question 4?
Underline the aim in the question. Pick four or five moments from the beginning, middle and end that achieve it, plus anything that works across the whole extract (the title, a recurring image, the ending). Judge how well each works, then give an overall verdict.
What can you write about besides language in Paper 1 Question 4?
Anything that helps the writer achieve the aim: ideas, events, themes and settings, structure, characterisation, the title, recurring images, the ending, and how the whole extract builds.
Which is evaluation? (a) 'The narrator hears a knock and runs downstairs.' (b) 'The knock at the door is a highly effective turning point, because after so much silence it makes the reader jump with the narrator.'
(b). It judges how successfully a choice achieves the aim and explains why. (a) only retells what happens.
Does Paper 1 Question 4 want you to criticise the writer?
Only where the evidence supports it. You're judging how successfully the aim is achieved, so you might decide one part is less convincing than another. A balanced, detached judgement is what the top level describes, not praise or criticism for its own sake.
Why do some 19th-century narrators speak directly to the reader?
Lines like 'Reader, you may guess what followed' create intimacy and a storytelling voice, as if the narrator is confiding in us. They can build suspense by hinting at what's to come.
What is Gothic fiction, and what effects does it aim for?
Fiction that builds fear and suspense through dark settings, mysterious events, the supernatural and characters in danger. Look for isolation, darkness, strange sounds and a sense that something is hidden.
Why does the supernatural appear so often in 19th-century short stories?
Ghost stories were hugely popular, often published in magazines and around Christmas. The supernatural lets writers create terror, mystery and moral warnings, and many recent Edexcel Paper 1 extracts have had a supernatural or melodramatic turn.
What is melodrama, and how can you recognise it?
Writing with heightened emotion and dramatic events: exclamations, tears, sudden reversals, extreme feelings. Writers use it to make the reader feel strongly, though modern readers may find it exaggerated.
What is free indirect style?
Third-person narration that slips into a character's own thoughts and words, without 'she thought': 'He stopped. Was that a footstep? Surely not.' It brings the reader close to the character's mind while keeping the narrator's voice.
How should you read dialogue written in dialect in a 19th-century extract?
Read it aloud in your head and use the context; check any glossed words. Dialect can show a character's region, class or warmth, and contrast with a more educated narrator.
What is an intrusive narrator?
A narrator who comments on the characters or offers opinions and morals: 'Ah, how little she knew…' It guides the reader's feelings and can create dramatic irony.
How should you handle a long 19th-century sentence in a fiction extract?
Break it into its clauses and find the main action. Then think about its effect: long sentences can build tension, pile up detail or imitate a character's racing thoughts.
Why might a 19th-century story use the past tense and then switch into the present?
The historic present makes a remembered moment feel as if it is happening now, which heightens drama at a key point. It is a structural choice worth commenting on.
In 'Never shall I forget that night. The wind—but I run ahead of my story.', what kind of narrator is this and what is the effect?
A retrospective first-person narrator who addresses the reader and interrupts himself. The hint of an unforgettable night, then the delay, builds suspense.
What does a critical judgement in Paper 1 Question 4 look like?
A clear view of how successfully the aim is achieved, supported by evidence and reasons, and kept up through the whole answer: 'The writer is highly successful in creating tension, especially through…'
Do you have to decide the writer is completely successful?
No. You can judge that the aim is achieved strongly in some places and less in others. What matters is that every judgement is explained and backed by the text.
What is a 'critical overview' in Paper 1 Question 4?
A view of the whole extract: how its parts work together to achieve the aim, not just a series of separate comments. An opening judgement and a closing verdict help to show it.