GCSE English Language revision · Evaluate and compare

Paper 1 Question 4: evaluation

The idea

Question 4 gives you a statement about part of the extract and asks how far you agree. It is worth 20 marks. Respond to the statement, judge how the writer creates the effect, and support every point with evidence.

Decide how far you agree with the statement.
For each point, quote, explain the writer's method and its effect.
Keep linking back to the statement's key words.

Watch out Writing only about language methods, without saying how far you agree, ignores what the question asks.

See it worked

Worked example

Statement: "In this part, the writer makes the forest seem threatening." Write one evaluative point.

Agree, with a judgement word: "convincingly".
Evidence: "branches knotted overhead like fists".
Method and effect: the simile turns the trees into clenched fists, so the forest seems ready to strike.

Answer I largely agree: the simile "branches knotted overhead like fists" makes the trees seem aggressive, as if ready to strike.

Your turn

Question 11 mark

Question 4 on Paper 1 is worth how many marks?

Question 21 mark

Which opening best answers an evaluation question?

Question 32 marks

Statement: "The ending makes the reader feel relieved." Write one sentence that partly disagrees, with a reason.

Write your answer, then see a model answer

Show a balanced judgement ("partly", "although").
Back it with a detail from the ending.

Answer I only partly agree: although the boy is found, the final line "but the door was still open" leaves the reader uneasy rather than fully relieved.

In past papers

7 official questions in 7 papers since 2020. The latest:

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