Writing a strong response in Language, identity and culture (2024 syllabus)

Model answer. B is better because it names a specific technique (repetition of a mispronounced name) and makes a claim about what it shows (identity reshaped by others' language). A only states a topic and could describe almost any text.

Marking spine.

• 1 mark: chooses B.
• 2 marks: gives reasons (specific technique, clear claim, links to identity).

Model answer. The repetition of 'spoke' and the contrast between 'English' and 'me' make language feel like a costume that does not fit. The reported commands ('they said') show that identity is pressured from outside, and the closing clause shows that fluency does not equal belonging.

Marking spine.

• 1 mark: technique correctly named (repetition, contrast, reported speech).
• 2 marks: explanation of what it shows (imposed identity, mismatch between language and self).
• 1 mark: precise reference to the line.

Model answer. A composer can use setting to show the values and rhythms of a culture, for example a kitchen where several generations speak over each other, which shows a culture of closeness and noise. Specific details (objects, sounds, layout) can symbolise belonging or pressure. Avoid saying only 'the setting shows the culture'. Explain which details matter and what they suggest about the characters' identity.

Marking spine. 2 marks for how setting shows culture; 2 for an apt imaginary example with details; 2 for explaining what to avoid (vague claims) and why.

Model paragraph. The scene shows belonging as something that is spoken before it is felt. The director holds the girl in a steady medium close-up while the adults' voices overlap on the soundtrack, so the audience hears the conversation as a wall of sound rather than as meaning, sharing her position. Her silence is emphasised by the contrast between the crowded frame of the table and her small, still figure. When one relative turns and offers her a plate without speaking, the gesture suggests that belonging can be given without language, even as the scene shows how much language still separates her from the room.

Marking spine. 2 marks for a clear claim about belonging; 3 for film techniques (framing, sound, contrast, gesture) with effects; 2 for linking techniques to the idea; 1 for expression.

Planning. Two ideas compete in the statement: inheritance ('born with') and permission ('allowed to say'). Your text will probably show both. A strong thesis says which dominates and why.

Structure.

• Introduction: a thesis that gives a measured answer, for instance that the text shows identity as shaped by who gets to speak, but not entirely controlled by that permission. Preview your three features.
• Body 1: who is allowed to speak. Show how the text gives or withholds voice, names, languages or narration, and what that means for identity.
• Body 2: what is inherited. Show a moment where family, community or culture shapes identity regardless of what a person says.
• Body 3: how the text resolves or leaves open the tension. Examine the form and ending, and what the final impression suggests.
• Conclusion: a judgement that addresses 'to what extent'.

Model body paragraph (about 160 words, on an invented play, The Naming Day; use your own text). The play shows most clearly that identity depends on who is allowed to speak through its treatment of the grandfather's name. In the opening scene the officials who register the family repeat his name wrongly three times, and the staging keeps him seated and silent while others talk about him. The composer lets the audience hear the misnaming as an act of power, since the mistake is never corrected. Yet the play does not accept that permission is everything. In the last scene the grandfather writes his name himself, slowly, on a blank wall, and the lights isolate the act so that it reads as a reclaiming rather than a request. The contrast between the two scenes suggests that identity is partly given by others but can be restored by the person who refuses to leave the naming to them. The statement is therefore largely, but not wholly, supported.

Marking spine. 7 marks for a sustained, evaluative argument; 7 for precise evidence and analysis of language and form; 3 for structure and control of expression; 3 for understanding of identity and culture. Responses that agree without examining the limits of the statement generally stay in the middle bands.

Planning. Choose the most telling language feature in your text (a naming moment, a distinctive voice, a shift between languages, silence) and build the answer around three examples of it. Keep asking what each shows about the community, not just about one character.

Structure.

• Introduction: a thesis about how the text represents the community through language.
• Body paragraphs: three examples in order, each analysed for effect on how the audience understands the group.
• Conclusion: a judgement about whether the community is shown as unified, divided or changing.

Marking spine. About 7 marks for understanding of language, identity and culture; 7 for analysis of language and meaning; 3 for structure; 3 for expression. Avoid generalising about a culture beyond what the text shows.