The exam-style question
This is a writer's effects question, in the style of the First Language English papers. Read it as you would in the exam, then compare your plan with the model.
Re-read our passage below. Choose three words or phrases the writer uses to describe the pier and the sea, and explain how each one shapes the reader's impression. This is our own original practice extract.
The Old Pier
The old pier clawed out into the grey water, its timbers black and swollen with brine. Each wave slapped against the piles and withdrew, dragging a rattle of shingle after it like a held breath released. Gulls wheeled overhead, screaming into a wind that carried salt and the sour tang of rotting weed.
Where holidaymakers had once queued for candyfloss, the boards now sagged and groaned underfoot, and a single deckchair, bleached to the colour of bone, tilted against the railing. The paint had peeled from the kiosk in long curls, so that the faded lettering seemed to whisper the name of a season that would not come again. Far below, the sea worked patiently at the iron legs, furring them with rust, loosening rivet after rivet, in no hurry at all.
It had all the time in the world, and the pier had almost none.
Model response: Writer's effects
A strong answer names a precise word or phrase and explains its effect on the reader, rather than simply spotting features.
Reading a model answer helps. In a paid one-hour trial, a teacher helps your child write one like it on Writer's effects.
Common errors we see
- Feature-spotting: naming a technique without explaining its effect
- Calling word choices 'good' or 'interesting' instead of analysing meaning
- Choosing whole sentences rather than a precise word or phrase
- Explaining what the passage means, not how the language works
- Ignoring connotations and how a word makes the reader feel
How this maps to the mark scheme
Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.
For writer's effects, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) on our qualification page.
- Analyse and evaluate how writers use language, structure and form to create effects.
- Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures suited to context.
The reading marks reward explaining what a chosen word or image does to the reader. The language marks reward precise vocabulary in your own explanation.
Other boards word their objectives differently, but the same skills earn the marks. Your board's official syllabus gives the exact weighting.
Where to go next
Learn the method in our guide to writer's effects, then try the writer's effects practice tasks. You can browse every annotated model response or see how we teach this in our First Language English tuition.
When you have written your own answer, take it to a paid one-hour trial lesson and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.