Sample exam question and answer - EdexcelAnalysing non-fiction - Sample answer two

Question

Refer to both Text 1 and Text 2.

Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and perspectives on food.

Support your answer with detailed references to the texts.

Both writers present the idea that good school dinners are important to children.

Orwell begins with a focus on the food, using the adjectives ‘bad’ and ‘insufficient’. He describes the jam as spread ‘thinly’, suggesting that Orwell would have liked more. He tells an anecdote about how frightened he was when stealing food at night, the adjective ‘paralysed’ implies that the boys froze with fear every time they took a step. The reader might be surprised that ‘scraps of bacon rind’ were worth stealing.

Similarly, Jamie Oliver’s article also begins with a focus on the food. A rule of three is used to describe the food, ‘good, fresh, real’, these words connote healthy food. The alliteration of ‘health and happiness’ sounds positive. Unlike Orwell’s essay, the children are encouraged to enjoy being involved with food, verbs such as ‘chopping, grating, picking’ suggest lots of activity.

The articles finish with very different ideas and perspectives on school dinners. Orwell’s article ends leaving the reader with an image of the ‘miserable’ supper the boys received. Bread, cheese and water sounds plain and boring. Whereas Jamie Oliver’s article ends on a positive note, words such as ‘enthusiastic’, ‘fun’ and ‘success’ suggest that the school dinners project has been a great experience for all involved.

Feedback – improving

This answer:

• Has an introduction which gives an overview of the answer, and a conclusion, even if it is very short.
• Uses quotation and examples to back up points. Some of the points are developed with further discussion – like how word choices suggest the attitudes of both writers.
• Selects words and explores their connotations.
• Identifies methods, eg choice of adjectives and verbs.
• Comments on how the texts might affect the reader.
• Compares how the texts end.

However, it would have been better if:

• They had developed their introduction, summarising the key ideas and perspectives over the entire extracts.
• They had commented on the different forms used, as well as their purpose and intended audiences eg, Orwell’s essay aims to inform the readers about his early life, using the first person gives a sense of his character. It is also written in a way that is entertaining, with anecdotes and details to help readers imagine what life used to be like. The Jamie Oliver feature article aims to inform the reader about his ‘Food Revolution Day’, encouraging them to understand the benefits of improving school dinners.
• They had explored the meanings created by the word choices quoted, eg the word “real” implies that the food is natural rather than full of added chemicals.
• They had developed their point about Orwell’s final image, eg the word “miserable” conveys the unhappiness the boys felt. It could also imply how small the “miserable” supper was.
• They had linked points to further evidence, eg the alliteration of “health and happiness” sounds positive as it emphasises the key benefits of “cooking from scratch”.
• They had developed their conclusion, summarising the ideas and perspectives presented in both texts, eg Orwell’s perspective is that his school dinners were insufficient, poor quality and boring. On the other hand, the Jamie Oliver article presents the idea that school dinners can be fresh and exciting. However, both texts suggest that it is a good idea to improve school dinners.