Samples of Level 2 Exam Writing

Here are a couple of our own exemplars from last year - they give parents an idea of the standard of writing expected In Level 2 English AND the length of essay that the students write in an hour -

SHORT TEXT – War Photographer and Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy

For EACH of the texts, analyse how language techniques helped you understand
ONE or MORE main character(s) or individual(s).

In the poem Stealing written by Carol Ann Duffy the language techniques used helped me to understand the thief in the poem. The writer used colloquial language throughout the poem, enjambment, rhetorical questions and short sentences to help create a better understanding towards the thief. Another poem that used language techniques to understand the main character better was War Photographer also written by Carol Ann Duffy. This poem uses descriptive techniques such as similes and metaphors to help describe the photographer and understand him/ her better.

Carol Ann Duffy used colloquial language throughout the poem Stealing help us understand the thief and almost make it seem as though the thief is talking to someone in a normal conversation, telling them about what hes stolen. “I stole a guitar once, thought I might learn to play.” Another way the writer made the character understandable is the way she used rhetorical questions at the beginning and the ending of the poem. “The strangest thing we ever stolen, you don’t understand anything I’m saying do you?” This suggests that the thief is under some sort of interrogation and his telling his / her story about why he / she steals. “Boredom. Mostly I’m so bored I could eat myself.” This makes us understand that the thief has no real reason and steals just to do something that will make his/ her day pass quicker.

Another poem written by Carol Ann Duffy War Photographer is completely opposite to Stealing. She uses descriptive techniques to show how the photographer is feeling and what he /she does for a living. “A hundred agonies in black and white all lined up in a row, waiting for the editor to come and pick out the five or six that will be used for Sundays Supplement.” This explains to us that the photographer takes photos from war and the best photos will be chosen to be put in Sundays newspaper. The photographer hates his job but when hes there taking the photos, its his job he has to focus on not the “spools of suffering.” But when he gets back home he re-lives the memories and his emotions start flooding in. “Solutions slop in treys where his hands seem to tremble though did not back then.” The detailed descriptions of the photographer helps us to understand that he / she is a good, kind and caring man / woman and he / she hates his / her job, seeing all those people suffer, but it is a job and someone needs to do it.

Both the poems Stealing and War Photographer are written by Carol Ann Duffy yet they are both completely different. Stealing shows that the individual is a bad guy who steals things to make himself feel good and to take up time, while the main character in War Photographer is shown as a kind guy who cares about the world and is only disguised as the bad guy while taking the photos. However he / she is simply doing his /her job and nothing else. I think that the character in War Photographer was easier to understand as the persona explained the individual with more detail rather than in Stealing where the persona used a first person narrative and had the thief talking in a conversation, explaining his actions.

Achieved – 553 words
A straight forward response - a number of errors BUT they do not interfere with the meaning - Mrs C

For each of the texts, analyse how the writer(s) presented a
positive OR negative view of humanity and / or society.

In the poem War Photographer and Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy, the author presents a negative view of humanity and society in such a way that the readers emotions are drawn to these poems. Both War Photographer and Stealing focus on the inner turmoil faced by two different yet unique characters who have a different outlook on social issues such as war and social morality. Carol Ann Duffy effectively uses language techniques including metaphors, personification, clichés and emotive language to portray the characters negative views on society and humanity.

Stealing focuses on anti-social criminal theoretically male due to the lack of feminism throughout the poem. The thief is recounting his crimes to an audience, and begins by repeating a rhetorical question, as though thinking through his answer. “The most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.” The word “stole” immediately introduces the reader to the idea of anti–social criminal behaviour, leading us to immediately dislike this negative character. However as the poem develop, we find ourselves understanding and sympathising more with the thief, as the author encourages us to think deeper about the social reasons behind the thief to steal. The use of a rhetorical question to open the poem is effective as it introduces us to a negative aspect of society (crimes) which we would sometimes prefer to ignore.

Could society possibly be to blame for the thiefs negative persona and outlook on life? The thief in Stealing is a selfish uncompassionate character who steals to satisfy a lack of creativity and constructiveness in his own life. His comment “the best part of knowing children would cry in the morning. Life’s tough” shows the thief has no compassion for the feelings of others, only caring for his own wants. The cliché “Life’s tough” hints at a reason for the thiefs negative persona however readers find themselves wondering whether the thief possibly had a bad upbringing, leading to his criminal actions in later life. This cliché is effectively used by the writer to portray a negative aspect of humanity, in that our treatment of other people may impact upon the way their personality and sense of right and wrong develops.

Likewise to Stealing, War Photographer also focuses on a negative view of society and humanity. The writer uses many metaphors in War Photographer to vividly paint a picture in readers minds of the suffering occurring in these war torn countries. “Spools of suffering” and “All flesh is grass” evoke a strong emotional reaction in the reader, as we can see in our minds a war torn area where bodies litter the ground. These graphic metaphors are used to emphasise this darker aspect of humanity. We find ourselves thinking of the reasons that we could justify humans bringing pain like war to one another. The author dramatically uses metaphors to present a negative view of humanity to readers.

A negative view of society which is presented in War Photographer is that society seems not to care about suffering of other countries so long as it does not affect them. The writer has successfully structured the poem from an omnipotent narrator so we are able to see the characters thoughts and notions relating to the photographer and experiencing the pain he feels. The photographer comments that “they do not care” as he stares impassively at his home country safe from the horrors of war. These comments combined with the emotive line “the readers eyes prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” tell readers of peoples momentary concern for the suffering of third-world countries. The writers use of emotive comments and an omnipotent narration effectively portrays this negative, uncaring view of society.

Both War Photographer and Stealing paint negative pictures of society, highlighting aspects such as war and crime which we would rather not think about. Carol Ann Duffy has effectively used metaphors, unusual narration and emotive language to draw on readers emotions. Both poems encourage us to examine our own conscience, to see if we too play apart in these negative aspects on society and humanity.

Merit - 677 words
This student clearly focussed on the question - something that many students forget to do - well done, Mrs C.

We'll try to post a few Level 1 essays in the next few days.