Free textbooks › Year 9 English textbook
KS3 English · Year 9Chapter 2 · Analysing language, structure and effect: judging the writer's choices
Year 9 · Chapter 2

Analysing language, structure and effect: judging the writer's choices

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

  • I can explain the connotations of a word and why the writer chose it.
  • I can explain how a frame structure and shifts in time shape meaning.
  • I can trace a motif across a whole text.
  • I can explain what a writer withholds, and why.
  • I can name rhetorical devices and explain their effect in a short persuasive text.
  • I can judge how far a writer's choice succeeds, and give a reason.

You should already know

  • Analysing word choice and effect in a short text (Year 8, Chapter 2 of this book)
  • Identifying imagery and simple structure (Year 8, Chapter 2 of this book)

Where this leads

  • Reading poetry: fixed forms, voice and comparison (Year 9, Chapter 3 of this book)
  • Comparing texts: ideas, methods and sustained comparison (Year 9, Chapter 6 of this book)

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 3 English, Year 9. Content: Analyse how language, structure and presentation shape meaning across a whole text (KS3 reading, R3), Analyse connotation, imagery and rhetorical devices, and explain their effect (KS3 reading, R3), Analyse a motif and a frame structure across a text (KS3 reading, R3), Evaluate how far a writer's choices succeed, with reasons (KS3 reading, R4).

Exercise P  Do you remember?

1
FWhat is a simile? Write one short phrase.
2
FWhat is a metaphor? Write one short phrase.
3
FWrite one word that means the same as dim.
4
FWrite the plural of the word motif.
5
FWhat is the name of the punctuation mark that shows a word is missing? Write the mark.
2.1

Connotation and word choice

Year 9
Analyse connotation and the effect of word choice in a whole text (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Connotation and word choiceComing soon
Story. The lamp keeper is climbing the stairs alone at dusk. Every word a writer chooses carries more than its dictionary meaning. Its connotations, the feelings and ideas it brings to mind, shape the reader's view of the scene.

Text 1: The lamp in the log (original story, seven paragraphs)

1The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years. Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket and her breath coming short, and she did not look down.

2Her father had taught her the order of things. Trim the wick. Check the glass for salt. Fill the oil to the line and not an inch above it. Write the time in the log in ink, never in pencil, because pencil could be rubbed out. The log was the only honest thing on the island, her father used to say, because it recorded what had happened and not what anyone wished had happened.

3The sea was grey and busy below. A line of white broke against the rocks at the far end of the bay, and a gull hung in the air above it, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.

4She remembered the winter her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor and did not come back for nine days. The wind had been so loud that year that Nell had stopped hearing it, the way you stop hearing a clock. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm. Every hour she climbed the stairs and turned the great lens, and every hour the beam swept the water as it always did.

5Now the boat came over on Thursdays, and the council had sent a letter. The light would be automated from the spring. A machine would turn the lens, and a panel in an office in Carlisle would show whether the bulb had failed. Nell read the letter twice, folded it into four and put it in the drawer with the spare wicks, where it sat among things nobody needed to look at.

6She wrote the time in the log, in ink. Dusk, 4.52 p.m. Lamp lit. Wind south-west, force four. Then she stopped, the pen above the page, and for a long time she wrote nothing at all.

7The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years, and it would be lit again tomorrow, and for every one of those tomorrows somebody would have to climb the stairs. Nell turned the wick to the line, struck the match and watched the flame catch. Then she wrote one more line in the log, in ink, so that it could not be rubbed out: Lamp lit. Someone is still here.

Key ideas

  • Connotation is the feeling or idea a word suggests, beyond its literal meaning.
  • Choose a word, say its literal meaning, then say what it suggests in this text.
  • Explain the effect on the reader, not only the word itself.
Worked example 2.1.1
Why might the writer choose "pinned" to describe the gull?

Method. Find the word, then say what it suggests beyond its literal meaning.

  1. Find the word. The gull hangs in the air, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.
    as though someone had pinned it there
  2. Name the literal meaning. Pinned means fixed with a pin.
    fixed with a pin
  3. Explain the connotation. It suggests the gull is held still and unnatural, which makes the scene feel strange.
    held still and unnatural
  4. Write the answer.
    it suggests the gull is held still, as if fixed in place

Check. The connotation fits the image in the text. ✓

Worked example 2.1.2
The writer says Nell "folded it into four" when she reads the letter. Which connotation is most suggested? Choose one: careful and final, excited or playful.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. Folding a letter into small neat parts suggests a careful, final way of putting something away.
    careful and final fits
  3. Reject the other choices. Excited and playful would involve tearing it open or waving it, which Nell does not do.
    excited and playful do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    careful and final

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 2.1.3
What is the connotation of "steady rhythm" in paragraph 4?

Method. Think about what a steady rhythm sounds like, then apply it to the lamp.

  1. Find the phrase. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm.
    kept its steady rhythm
  2. Think about the sense. A steady rhythm is regular and does not change.
    regular and does not change
  3. Apply it to the text. The lamp is dependable in the middle of the storm, which is reassuring.
    calm, dependable and reassuring
  4. Write the answer.
    calm, dependable and reassuring

Check. The connotation fits the storm and the lamp. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a connotation is a suggestion, not a fact. Use words such as "suggests", "implies" or "creates the idea of".

Exam tip

Exam tip. Write the word, its connotation, and the effect on the reader, in that order.

Exercise 2A  Practice: connotation and word choice

1
FWhat does steady mean in the phrase "kept its steady rhythm"? Write the meaning in your own words.
2
FWhat does honest mean in the phrase "the only honest thing on the island"? Write the meaning in your own words.
3
FCopy the words that show how the log records events.
4
FWhich word in paragraph 3 suggests that the sea is active and alive? Choose one: busy, grey or white.
5
FWhich word is used in both paragraph 2 and paragraph 6 to describe the writing in the log? Write the word.
6
FInfer what the writer suggests about the winter storm by comparing it to a clock. Quote one phrase.
7
FWhat connotation does "pinned" give the gull? Choose one: still and held in place, hungry and fast or happy and free.
8
FExplain the connotation of "at dusk" in the first paragraph.
9
FIn which paragraph does the letter from the council first appear? Write the number.
10
FCopy the words that describe the wind as loud.
11
FWhat does folded mean in the phrase "folded it into four"? Write the meaning in your own words.
12
RExplain how one word in the first paragraph creates tension for the reader.
2.2

Structure: how a text is organised

Year 9
Analyse how structure shapes meaning across a whole text, including a frame structure (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Structure: how a text is organisedComing soon
Story. A writer can build a story in a loop, so that the ending returns to the beginning. This structure is called a frame. The repeated words are not an accident. They invite the reader to compare the first and last paragraphs.

Text 1: The lamp in the log (original story, seven paragraphs)

1The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years. Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket and her breath coming short, and she did not look down.

2Her father had taught her the order of things. Trim the wick. Check the glass for salt. Fill the oil to the line and not an inch above it. Write the time in the log in ink, never in pencil, because pencil could be rubbed out. The log was the only honest thing on the island, her father used to say, because it recorded what had happened and not what anyone wished had happened.

3The sea was grey and busy below. A line of white broke against the rocks at the far end of the bay, and a gull hung in the air above it, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.

4She remembered the winter her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor and did not come back for nine days. The wind had been so loud that year that Nell had stopped hearing it, the way you stop hearing a clock. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm. Every hour she climbed the stairs and turned the great lens, and every hour the beam swept the water as it always did.

5Now the boat came over on Thursdays, and the council had sent a letter. The light would be automated from the spring. A machine would turn the lens, and a panel in an office in Carlisle would show whether the bulb had failed. Nell read the letter twice, folded it into four and put it in the drawer with the spare wicks, where it sat among things nobody needed to look at.

6She wrote the time in the log, in ink. Dusk, 4.52 p.m. Lamp lit. Wind south-west, force four. Then she stopped, the pen above the page, and for a long time she wrote nothing at all.

7The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years, and it would be lit again tomorrow, and for every one of those tomorrows somebody would have to climb the stairs. Nell turned the wick to the line, struck the match and watched the flame catch. Then she wrote one more line in the log, in ink, so that it could not be rubbed out: Lamp lit. Someone is still here.

Key ideas

  • Structure is how a text is organised: the order of events, the repeated lines and the places where the focus changes.
  • A frame structure begins and ends with the same or similar words, so the ending can change their meaning.
  • Compare the beginning and the ending, and say what has changed.
Worked example 2.2.1
What is the effect of repeating the first sentence at the end of the story?

Method. Compare the first and last sentences, then say what the repetition does.

  1. Compare the sentences. The first sentence is repeated almost word for word in paragraph 7.
    The lamp was lit at dusk
  2. Find the change. The ending adds more about the tomorrows and about Nell's work.
    every one of those tomorrows
  3. Explain the effect. The repetition shows the lamp continues, and the change shows what Nell carries.
    the reader sees the change
  4. Write the answer.
    it shows how much has changed, so the reader feels the loss

Check. The repeated sentence is compared with a change. ✓

Worked example 2.2.2
Which term best describes the structure of Text 1? Choose one: a frame, a list or a letter.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. The story begins and ends with the same sentence, so the structure is a frame.
    a frame fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The text is not a list of instructions, and it is a story, not a letter.
    a list and a letter do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    a frame

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 2.2.3
What is the key difference between the first and last paragraphs?

Method. Read the last sentence, then say what is new in it.

  1. Read the last sentence. Nell writes one more line in the log.
    Then she wrote one more line
  2. Find the new words. The new line says Someone is still here.
    Someone is still here
  3. Explain the change. The new words give a hopeful meaning to the repeated lamp.
    the ending adds the words "Someone is still here"
  4. Write the answer.
    the ending adds the words "Someone is still here"

Check. The new words are quoted exactly. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: do not say that a frame is "good" or "bad" without explaining its effect on the reader.

Exam tip

Exam tip. When you write about structure, name the structure, then say what it makes the reader notice.

Exercise 2B  Practice: structure and the frame

1
FIn which paragraph does the story return to its opening sentence? Write the number.
2
FCopy the words that repeat the opening sentence of the story.
3
FHow many paragraphs are in Text 1? Write the number.
4
FWhat is the main effect of the last line, "Someone is still here."? Choose one: It suggests that the lamp still has a human presence, It shows the sea is calm or It proves that Nell is leaving.
5
FExplain how paragraph 5 changes the time frame of the story.
6
FInfer what the letter in the drawer shows about Nell's attitude. Quote one phrase.
7
FSummarise paragraph 5 in one sentence.
8
FWhich sentence describes the structure of paragraphs 2 to 4? Choose one: a flashback to the past, a list of instructions for the future or a letter to the editor.
9
RWhy might the writer place the memory of the winter in the middle of the story?
10
FIn which paragraph does Nell write in the log for the last time? Write the number.
11
FCopy the words that show Nell wrote nothing for a time.
12
RJudge whether the frame structure works. Give one reason with a quotation.
2.3

Motifs across a whole text

Year 9
Trace a motif across a whole text and explain its cumulative effect (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Motifs across a whole textComing soon
Story. A motif is an image, object or idea that repeats across a text. A single mention may not matter, but a repeated motif builds meaning. In the lamp story, the log, the ink and the light return again and again.

Text 1: The lamp in the log (original story, seven paragraphs)

1The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years. Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket and her breath coming short, and she did not look down.

2Her father had taught her the order of things. Trim the wick. Check the glass for salt. Fill the oil to the line and not an inch above it. Write the time in the log in ink, never in pencil, because pencil could be rubbed out. The log was the only honest thing on the island, her father used to say, because it recorded what had happened and not what anyone wished had happened.

3The sea was grey and busy below. A line of white broke against the rocks at the far end of the bay, and a gull hung in the air above it, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.

4She remembered the winter her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor and did not come back for nine days. The wind had been so loud that year that Nell had stopped hearing it, the way you stop hearing a clock. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm. Every hour she climbed the stairs and turned the great lens, and every hour the beam swept the water as it always did.

5Now the boat came over on Thursdays, and the council had sent a letter. The light would be automated from the spring. A machine would turn the lens, and a panel in an office in Carlisle would show whether the bulb had failed. Nell read the letter twice, folded it into four and put it in the drawer with the spare wicks, where it sat among things nobody needed to look at.

6She wrote the time in the log, in ink. Dusk, 4.52 p.m. Lamp lit. Wind south-west, force four. Then she stopped, the pen above the page, and for a long time she wrote nothing at all.

7The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years, and it would be lit again tomorrow, and for every one of those tomorrows somebody would have to climb the stairs. Nell turned the wick to the line, struck the match and watched the flame catch. Then she wrote one more line in the log, in ink, so that it could not be rubbed out: Lamp lit. Someone is still here.

Key ideas

  • A motif is a repeated image, object or word that builds a meaning across the whole text.
  • Trace it: find each appearance, then say how the meaning changes.
  • Explain the cumulative effect, the meaning that builds up from the repetitions.
Worked example 2.3.1
What meaning does the motif of ink and pencil build across the text?

Method. Find each appearance of ink or pencil, then say what the motif builds.

  1. Find the first appearance. Paragraph 2 says write in ink, never in pencil.
    in ink, never in pencil
  2. Find the next appearances. Paragraph 6 says Nell writes in ink, and paragraph 7 says the line cannot be rubbed out.
    so that it could not be rubbed out
  3. Explain the cumulative effect. The repeated ink builds a meaning of honest, permanent recording.
    honesty that cannot be undone
  4. Write the answer.
    honesty that cannot be undone

Check. The motif is traced across three paragraphs. ✓

Worked example 2.3.2
Which motif is most clearly linked to honesty? Choose one: the log, the sea or the gull.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. The log records what happened, and her father calls it the only honest thing on the island.
    the log fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The sea and the gull are described, but the text does not link them to honesty.
    the sea and the gull do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    the log

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 2.3.3
How does the light motif change between the first and the last paragraph?

Method. Compare what the lamp means at the start with what it means at the end.

  1. Start of the story. The lamp is a job Nell does every dusk.
    The lamp was lit at dusk
  2. End of the story. The lamp is a sign that someone is still there.
    Someone is still here
  3. Explain the change. The motif moves from routine to hope.
    from a daily job into a sign of hope
  4. Write the answer.
    from a daily job into a sign of hope

Check. The change is traced across the text. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a motif needs at least two appearances. Do not call something a motif if it appears only once.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Name the motif, list two or three places where it appears, and say how its meaning builds.

Exercise 2C  Practice: motifs across a whole text

1
FCopy the words that say how the log must be written.
2
FCopy the words that say what pencil can do.
3
FInfer what ink means for Nell's log entries. Quote one phrase.
4
FWhich motif is linked to honesty in the text? Choose one: the log, the gull or the wind.
5
FWhich is the last paragraph in which Nell writes in the log? Write the number.
6
FExplain how the light motif links the first and the last paragraphs.
7
FWhat does rhythm mean in the phrase "kept its steady rhythm"? Write the meaning in your own words.
8
FIn one sentence, say what the log means to Nell.
9
FWhich phrase suggests that the lamp is a source of hope at the end? Choose one: Someone is still here, Trim the wick or nine days.
10
FCopy the words that show how the writing in the log is described.
11
FHow many times does the exact phrase "Lamp lit." appear in Text 1? Write the number.
12
RExplain how the lamp could represent Nell's own sense of duty.
2.4

Withholding information and shifts in time

Year 9
Explain what a writer withholds and how shifts in time and focus shape meaning (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Withholding information and shifts in timeComing soon
Story. A writer does not always explain everything at once. Withheld information makes the reader wonder and read more closely. Shifts in time, from memory to the present, also change what the reader understands about a character.

Text 1: The lamp in the log (original story, seven paragraphs)

1The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years. Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket and her breath coming short, and she did not look down.

2Her father had taught her the order of things. Trim the wick. Check the glass for salt. Fill the oil to the line and not an inch above it. Write the time in the log in ink, never in pencil, because pencil could be rubbed out. The log was the only honest thing on the island, her father used to say, because it recorded what had happened and not what anyone wished had happened.

3The sea was grey and busy below. A line of white broke against the rocks at the far end of the bay, and a gull hung in the air above it, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.

4She remembered the winter her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor and did not come back for nine days. The wind had been so loud that year that Nell had stopped hearing it, the way you stop hearing a clock. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm. Every hour she climbed the stairs and turned the great lens, and every hour the beam swept the water as it always did.

5Now the boat came over on Thursdays, and the council had sent a letter. The light would be automated from the spring. A machine would turn the lens, and a panel in an office in Carlisle would show whether the bulb had failed. Nell read the letter twice, folded it into four and put it in the drawer with the spare wicks, where it sat among things nobody needed to look at.

6She wrote the time in the log, in ink. Dusk, 4.52 p.m. Lamp lit. Wind south-west, force four. Then she stopped, the pen above the page, and for a long time she wrote nothing at all.

7The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years, and it would be lit again tomorrow, and for every one of those tomorrows somebody would have to climb the stairs. Nell turned the wick to the line, struck the match and watched the flame catch. Then she wrote one more line in the log, in ink, so that it could not be rubbed out: Lamp lit. Someone is still here.

Key ideas

  • Withholding is leaving out information so that the reader wonders about it.
  • A shift in time moves the story between the past, the present and the future.
  • Explain what the reader does not know at a given point, and why that matters.
Worked example 2.4.1
What does the text withhold about the mother's journey?

Method. Find the detail, then say what the reader is not told.

  1. Find the detail. Her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor.
    went across to the mainland for the doctor
  2. Check what is said. The text says she was away for nine days, but not why the doctor was needed.
    did not come back for nine days
  3. Name the gap. The reader does not learn what was wrong, so the reason is withheld.
    the reason she went across to the mainland
  4. Write the answer.
    the reason she went across to the mainland

Check. The gap is found and supported by the text. ✓

Worked example 2.4.2
Why might the writer withhold the reason for the mother's journey? Choose one: to build suspense and let the reader wonder, because the writer forgot the reason or to show the mother is unimportant.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. Withholding the reason keeps the reader curious and makes them read the memory more closely.
    to build suspense and let the reader wonder fits
  3. Reject the other choices. Forgetting is not a writer's choice in a finished story, and the memory is important to Nell.
    because the writer forgot the reason and to show the mother is unimportant do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    to build suspense and let the reader wonder

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 2.4.3
Which phrase signals a shift in time from the past to the present?

Method. Look for a word that marks the present.

  1. Find the signal. The word Now begins paragraph 5.
    Now the boat came over on Thursdays
  2. Check the time. The boat comes on Thursdays, which is a present habit.
    Thursdays
  3. Explain the shift. The shift moves the story from the memory to the present.
    Now the boat came over on Thursdays
  4. Write the answer.
    Now the boat came over on Thursdays

Check. The signal word is quoted exactly. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: withholding is not the same as a mistake. Say what the writer chooses not to say, and what effect the gap has.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Write what the reader knows at one point, then what they do not know yet, and what that makes them do.

Exercise 2D  Practice: withholding and shifts in time

1
FCopy the words that signal a move to the present.
2
FInfer why Nell does not want to read the letter again. Quote one phrase.
3
FWhich paragraph includes Nell's memory of her mother? Write the number.
4
FWhat is withheld in paragraph 4? Choose one: the reason the mother went to the mainland, that the wind was loud or that the lamp was lit at dusk.
5
RExplain why the writer might withhold Nell's exact feelings about the automation.
6
FWhat does automated mean in the phrase "The light would be automated from the spring"? Write the meaning in your own words.
7
FIn which paragraph does Nell stop writing and pause? Write the number.
8
FWhat does the writer withhold at the end of paragraph 6?
9
FWhich sentence shifts the focus from the lamp to Nell? Choose one: The sea was grey and busy below., Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket. or The wind had been so loud that year..
10
FInfer what Nell feels about her mother's absence. Quote one phrase.
11
FSummarise paragraph 4 in one sentence.
12
RExplain how the shifts in time help the reader understand Nell.
2.5

Rhetoric and effect in a short persuasive text

Year 9
Identify and explain rhetorical devices and their effect in a short persuasive text (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Rhetoric and effect in a short persuasive textComing soon
Story. A reader of a letter to the paper is being persuaded. The writer is trying to change their mind. The writer uses short sentences, questions, lists and imagery. Each device is a choice that aims at a particular effect.

Text 2: A letter to the local paper (original, one paragraph)

1Imagine a coast at night with nobody to watch over it. The sea does not sleep, and neither should the light that guards the rocks. Yet the council now tells us the lamp will be run by a machine, and that a panel in an office will do the work of a keeper. We are told this is progress. It is not progress to replace a person who knows the tides with a screen that knows only numbers. Keep the keeper, keep the light, and keep the island's memory with them.

Key ideas

  • A rhetorical device is a deliberate choice that makes a writing persuasive, such as a list, repetition or direct address.
  • Name the device, quote it, then say what effect it has on the reader.
  • A device works only if it supports the writer's purpose.
Worked example 2.5.1
What is the effect of "Imagine a coast at night with nobody to watch over it"?

Method. Identify the device, then explain what it asks the reader to do.

  1. Name the device. The sentence begins with an imperative: Imagine.
    Imagine a coast at night
  2. Explain what it does. It asks the reader to picture the coast, so the emptiness feels real.
    nobody to watch over it
  3. Explain the effect. The reader is drawn into the picture before the argument starts.
    it invites the reader to picture the scene and its emptiness
  4. Write the answer.
    it invites the reader to picture the scene and its emptiness

Check. The device and its effect are both explained. ✓

Worked example 2.5.2
Why does the writer say "We are told this is progress."?

Method. Look at who is making the claim, then say what the writer does with it.

  1. Read the sentence. The writer reports what others say.
    We are told this is progress
  2. Look for the challenge. The next sentence says it is not progress.
    It is not progress
  3. Explain the effect. The writer distances herself from the claim, so the reader doubts it.
    to suggest that the claim is not the writer's own view and to challenge it
  4. Write the answer.
    to suggest that the claim is not the writer's own view and to challenge it

Check. The device is explained using the next sentence. ✓

Worked example 2.5.3
What effect does "a screen that knows only numbers" create? Choose one: it contrasts people with machines, and suggests a machine lacks understanding, it describes a bright, modern room or it lists the costs of the lamp.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. The contrast between a person who knows the tides and a screen that knows only numbers shows the difference in understanding.
    it contrasts people with machines, and suggests a machine lacks understanding fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The text does not describe a room or list costs, so those choices are not supported.
    it describes a bright, modern room and it lists the costs of the lamp do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    it contrasts people with machines, and suggests a machine lacks understanding

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: do not just name a device. Say what it does to the reader.

Exam tip

Exam tip. For each device, write: the device, the quotation, and the effect on the reader.

Exercise 2E  Practice: rhetoric and effect

1
FCopy the words that make a direct request to the reader.
2
FWhat does tides mean in the phrase "a person who knows the tides"? Write the meaning in your own words.
3
FWhich technique is repeated in "Keep the keeper, keep the light, and keep the island's memory"? Write the word.
4
FWhat is the effect of "The sea does not sleep"? Choose one: it gives the sea human qualities and suggests constant watchfulness, it describes the sea as calm and quiet or it says the sea is dangerous.
5
FIdentify one emotive word in Text 2 and explain its effect.
6
FInfer the writer's attitude to the council's plan. Quote one phrase.
7
FWhich of these is a fact rather than an opinion in Text 2? Choose one: the council now tells us the lamp will be run by a machine, It is not progress or Keep the keeper.
8
FHow many sentences are in Text 2? Write the number.
9
FExplain the effect of the list "Keep the keeper, keep the light, and keep the island's memory".
10
FSummarise Text 2 in one sentence.
11
FWhich phrase best shows the writer's disapproval of the machine? Choose one: a screen that knows only numbers, the lamp will be run by a machine or a panel in an office.
12
RExplain why the writer begins with the word "Imagine".
2.6

Judging how far a writer's choices succeed

Year 9
Evaluate how far a writer's choices succeed in creating effect, with reasons (KS3 reading, R4)
Video lesson: Judging how far a writer's choices succeedComing soon
Story. An analysis is not finished when you name a device. A good reader asks how far the choice works, for whom, and at which point. Give a judgement, such as "works fully", "works partly" or "does not work", and support it with evidence.

Text 1: The lamp in the log (original story, seven paragraphs)

1The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years. Nell climbed the iron stairs with the matches in her pocket and her breath coming short, and she did not look down.

2Her father had taught her the order of things. Trim the wick. Check the glass for salt. Fill the oil to the line and not an inch above it. Write the time in the log in ink, never in pencil, because pencil could be rubbed out. The log was the only honest thing on the island, her father used to say, because it recorded what had happened and not what anyone wished had happened.

3The sea was grey and busy below. A line of white broke against the rocks at the far end of the bay, and a gull hung in the air above it, not moving, as though someone had pinned it there.

4She remembered the winter her mother went across to the mainland for the doctor and did not come back for nine days. The wind had been so loud that year that Nell had stopped hearing it, the way you stop hearing a clock. Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm. Every hour she climbed the stairs and turned the great lens, and every hour the beam swept the water as it always did.

5Now the boat came over on Thursdays, and the council had sent a letter. The light would be automated from the spring. A machine would turn the lens, and a panel in an office in Carlisle would show whether the bulb had failed. Nell read the letter twice, folded it into four and put it in the drawer with the spare wicks, where it sat among things nobody needed to look at.

6She wrote the time in the log, in ink. Dusk, 4.52 p.m. Lamp lit. Wind south-west, force four. Then she stopped, the pen above the page, and for a long time she wrote nothing at all.

7The lamp was lit at dusk, as it had been for a hundred and twelve years, and it would be lit again tomorrow, and for every one of those tomorrows somebody would have to climb the stairs. Nell turned the wick to the line, struck the match and watched the flame catch. Then she wrote one more line in the log, in ink, so that it could not be rubbed out: Lamp lit. Someone is still here.

Key ideas

  • "How far" asks for a judgement: fully, partly, or not at all.
  • Support the judgement with one exact detail from the text.
  • Consider the effect on the reader, and any part of the text that works less well.
Worked example 2.6.1
How far does the image "a screen that knows only numbers" succeed? Give one reason.

Method. Make a judgement, then give a reason from the image.

  1. Make the judgement. The image succeeds well.
    succeeds well
  2. Give the reason. It contrasts a person who knows the tides with a screen that knows only numbers.
    a person who knows the tides
  3. Explain the effect. The contrast makes the machine seem narrow and cold, which supports the writer.
    cold data
  4. Write the answer.
    it succeeds well, because it contrasts human knowledge with cold data

Check. The judgement is supported by the contrast. ✓

Worked example 2.6.2
Which judgement of the frame structure in Text 1 is best supported? Choose one: The frame works fully., The frame works partly, because the last line adds meaning, but the middle paragraphs slow the pace. or The frame does not matter..

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. It gives a balanced judgement, and the last line really does change the meaning of the repeated opening.
    The frame works partly, because the last line adds meaning, but the middle paragraphs slow the pace. fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The frame works fully ignores any weakness, and the frame does not matter does not match the effect of the repeated line.
    The frame works fully. and The frame does not matter. do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    The frame works partly, because the last line adds meaning, but the middle paragraphs slow the pace.

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 2.6.3
Does the last line "Someone is still here" succeed in ending the story? Give one reason.

Method. Make a judgement, then support it with the effect of the line.

  1. Make the judgement. It succeeds.
    succeeds
  2. Give the reason. The line changes the meaning of the lamp, so the reader ends with hope.
    changes the meaning of the lamp
  3. Explain the effect. The reader is left with a sense that someone still cares.
    turns loss into hope
  4. Write the answer.
    yes, because it turns loss into hope

Check. The judgement is supported by the effect of the line. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a judgement is not a summary. Say how far the choice works, and why.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Use "how far" language: "works well because", "works partly because", "is less effective because".

Exercise 2F  Practice: judging how far a choice succeeds

1
PSJudge how far the frame structure works in Text 1. Give one reason with a quotation.
2
PSJudge how far the writer's use of rhetoric is effective in Text 2. Give one reason.
3
FWhich phrase in Text 1 creates the most sense of loneliness? Choose one: did not come back for nine days, Only the lamp kept its steady rhythm or in ink, never in pencil.
4
PSHow far does the description of the sea succeed in setting the mood at the start of Text 1?
5
FName the figure of speech in "as though someone had pinned it there". Write the name.
6
FCopy the phrase that says when the automation starts.
7
REvaluate whether the repeated phrase "Lamp lit." is effective. Give one reason.
8
FWhich judgement of the change between the first and last paragraphs is most fair? Choose one: It is effective, because the last line changes the meaning of the repeated opening., It is pointless, because the lamp is the same at both ends. or It is confusing, because the paragraphs are not in order..
9
RCompare how far the lamp motif succeeds in Text 1 with how far the machine image succeeds in Text 2.

Chapter summary

SkillMethod
ConnotationName the word, its literal meaning, then the feeling or idea it suggests
StructureName the structure (frame, flashback, list), then say what the reader notices
MotifFind at least two appearances, then say how the meaning builds
WithholdingSay what the reader does not know yet, and what the gap makes them do
RhetoricName the device, quote it, then say its effect on the reader
EvaluationMake a judgement with "how far", then support it with one detail

Can you…?

  • I can explain the connotation of a word in context
  • I can name a structure and say what it does
  • I can trace a motif across two or more paragraphs
  • I can say what a writer withholds and why it matters
  • I can name a rhetorical device and explain its effect
  • I can judge how far a choice succeeds, with a reason

Key terms

connotation
an idea or feeling that a word suggests, beyond its literal meaning
structure
the way a text is organised, including its order and repeated parts
frame structure
a text that begins and ends with the same or similar words
motif
a repeated image, object or idea that builds a meaning across a text
withholding
leaving out information so that the reader wonders about it
rhetorical device
a deliberate choice that makes writing persuasive
imperative
a command or direct request, such as Imagine
evaluation
a judgement of how far a choice succeeds, with reasons

Exercise 2Z  Check-up

1
Which connotation does "folded it into four" most suggest? Choose one: careful and final, excited or playful.
2
Copy the words that say the log is the only honest thing on the island.
3
What does steady mean in the phrase "kept its steady rhythm"? Write the meaning in your own words.
4
In which paragraph does the story begin the shift to the present? Write the number.
5
What is the structure of Text 1? Choose one: a frame, a letter or a list.
6
Infer what the letter in the drawer tells us about Nell. Quote one phrase.
7
Which word in paragraph 2 names the writing that cannot be rubbed out? Write the word.
8
Which phrase in Text 2 is a direct request to the reader? Choose one: Keep the keeper, keep the light, The sea does not sleep or Yet the council.
9
Identify one rhetorical device in Text 2 and explain its effect.
10
Summarise paragraph 3 in one sentence.
11
Judge how far the writer persuades the reader. Give one reason with a quotation.

Total 20 marks. Allow about 20 minutes.

Exercise 2X  Practice test questions

1
FCopy the phrase that repeats the opening sentence of Text 1, in the last paragraph.[1 mark]
2
FWrite the connotation of "the pen above the page" as a pause or hesitation. Use your own words.[1 mark]
3
RName the motif that links paragraphs 2, 6 and 7, and say what it builds across the text.[3 marks]
4
RExplain one effect of the shift in time from the memory in paragraph 4 to the present in paragraph 5.[3 marks]
5
PSIdentify one simile in Text 1, and explain its effect. Use the words of the simile in your answer.[2 marks]
6
RExplain how the imperative "Imagine" in Text 2 affects the reader. Write one sentence.[2 marks]
7
RExplain the connotation of "a machine would turn the lens" in Text 1. Use your own words.[2 marks]
8
RJudge how far Text 1 ends effectively. Give one reason with a quotation.[3 marks]
9
PSSummarise Text 2 in one sentence, keeping the writer's main argument.[2 marks]
10
FWrite what the phrase "knows only numbers" suggests about the machine. Write one sentence.[1 mark]
← Chapter 1: Reading fiction: evaluating inference, perspective and evidenceChapter 3: Reading poetry: fixed forms, voice and comparison →

Want a tutor to go through this chapter with your child?

Same tutor, same time, every week, live online. The first session is a free introduction.

💬 Book a Free Intro on WhatsApp
Chat on WhatsApp