Eduqas Component 1: 20th Century Literature and Creative Prose

The extract is twentieth-century prose, and it is unseen. The questions move through the extract, generally from straightforward retrieval towards analysis and evaluation, which means the paper gets harder as it goes on rather than starting hard.

• Early questions are usually short and factual. Answer them in a phrase or a sentence and move on. Spending three minutes on a low-tariff question is the commonest way to run short of time later.
• Middle questions ask about language and structure. Quote briefly, say what the choice does to the reader, then take it one step further. Naming a technique earns nothing on its own.
• The long questions are worth 10 marks. Eduqas calls these its long tariff questions. They need developed paragraphs, not a list of points, and the mark is as much for how the answer is built as for what it contains.
• Evaluation questions ask what you think, with evidence. A statement is offered and you agree, disagree or qualify it - supported by close reference. An answer that describes the extract without judging it cannot reach the top band.
• Structure is half of the language-and-structure question, and it is the half most candidates ignore. Where does the focus shift? What is withheld, and until when? Why does the extract end where it does?

You produce one piece of creative prose from a choice. Since reading and writing are each worth 50% of the qualification, this section carries real weight - it is not an afterthought at the end of a reading paper.

• Choose the title you can finish, not the one that sounds most interesting. A controlled description of a single scene will outscore an ambitious three-part story that collapses in the second part.
• Narrow the scope hard. Most high-scoring creative writing at GCSE covers minutes rather than years, and one place rather than several.
• Decide the ending before you start. An ending that merely stops is the commonest way to lose marks in the top band, and it is entirely avoidable.
• Protect the technical accuracy marks. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are 20% of the whole qualification. Vary sentence length deliberately, check the punctuation of any dialogue, and leave five minutes at the end.
• Plan for about 45 minutes of writing including planning and checking, and keep to it. Running over here cannot be recovered, because the reading marks are already spent.