Question 4: This question is the most demanding on the paper. It tests your critical thinking skills by asking you to say how far you agree with a statement. You must also outline the methods the writer uses that have led you to that opinion.
It is almost always safe to agree with the statement. You may be able to produce a more impressive answer by mostly agreeing but identifying one area where you think something different to the view in the statement.
There are 20 marks for this question so you should spend around 20 minutes on it and aim to write four paragraphs.
It's really important to make sure you're looking at the right part of the extract - in this case, everything you talk about needs to come from line 16 to the end.
In this example, the statement is: 'This part of the story, set during breakfast time, shows that Alex is struggling to cope with his mother’s illness.’
The best way to tackle this question is to give your opinion and a quick summary of why you think this in the first paragraph. This will mean that you are guaranteed at least some marks. You begin with one of the following:
I completely agree with the student that Alex is struggling to cope with his mother's illness...
I mostly agree that...
The student is right to say that Alex is struggling to cope in this part of the extract because we see how he takes out his fears on the rest of the family.
But you will need to evaluate how the writer shows this - which means looking at language and structure.
There are some structural methods here: the use of dialogue at the breakfast table enables the author to show how Alex finds it difficult to deal with any discussion of his mother's illness.
There's also the shift back and forth between the past when the mother was well and the situation now - where we can see the father is struggling to keep home life going. The end of the extract is clearly Alex's viewpoint, so the narrative focuses on all the things he misses about his mother.
The language also brings out his feelings - from saying 'Shut up!' to his sister, to the list of things Alex is angry with - 'his father, his sisters, life in general - even wqith his mother for getting sick'. He runs away from the conversation - 'ready to leave without breakfast'. Lists feature several times - the unsuitable food in the fridge shows the family isn't coping with shopping for nutritious food.
The adjective 'painful' to describe the mother's absence
Rule of three things Alex misses - 'her easy laughter and her affection, even her discipline.'
Another list - he missed her music, her flowers, the once-familiar fragrance of fresh-basked cookies, and the smell of paint - notice how the author here focuses on a range of senses that suggest the mother before and the absence now.
Metaphor - the mother is 'a silent ghost' and the dried tubes of paint a metaphor for her illness.
Pick three methods you can say the most about - remember the explanations are what get you the marks, rather than just identifying a technique.

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