GCSE English Language revision · Language and structure

Paper 1 Question 2: language analysis

The idea

Question 2 asks how the writer uses language to describe something in a short extract. It is worth 8 marks. Pick precise words or phrases, name the method where it helps, and explain the effect on the reader.

Choose two or three short quotations about the focus.
Name the method if useful (verb, simile, personification).
Explain what each word suggests and how it makes the reader feel.

Watch out Naming a technique without explaining its effect earns little.

See it worked

Worked example

"The wind clawed at the tent." Analyse the verb.

The method: "clawed" is a verb that personifies the wind.
It suggests an animal attacking with sharp claws.
Effect: the wind feels violent and deliberate, making the reader fear for the people inside.

Answer "Clawed" personifies the wind as an attacking animal, making it seem violent and threatening.

Your turn

Question 11 mark

"The sun was a coin dropped into the sea." Which method is this?

Question 21 mark

"The fire snarled as it ate through the barn." What effect do "snarled" and "ate" create?

Question 32 marks

"Silence settled over the classroom like dust." Explain the effect of the simile.

Write your answer, then see a model answer

Say what silence is compared to.
Explain what dust suggests: slow, covering, unmoving.
Link it to the mood.

Answer Comparing silence to settling dust suggests it spreads slowly and covers everything, making the room feel still, heavy and long untouched.

In past papers

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

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