ENGLISH PAPER 2 - SECTION A :
POEMS FROM OTHER CULTURES AND TRADITIONS
EXAMPLE OF GCSE QUESTION: CLUSTER 2
Compare the ways that culture and
identity are presented in
‘Search For My Tongue’ and one other poem.
Below is a plan for answering this type of question (for this purpose the second poem will be ‘Half Caste’) Alongside the plan are notes by examiners about the best way of responding to each point.
Remember the assessment objectives when writing your answer. For a Grade C or
above the examiners will be expecting you to include detail about language,
techniques and attitudes & values.
PLAN
| Link the poems at the start, showing what they have in common. e.g. ‘Both of these poems show the effects of belonging to two different cultures’ | Writing about both together takes less time than writing about each one separately - and shows ability to make cross-references. |
| Continue to cross-reference by showing something different about the poems, e.g. ‘Although Search For My Tongue is a poem which shows how one part of a person’s culture can die or flourish, ‘Half -Caste’ is a poem which mocks the views of those who think it is a disadvantage to have a mixed cultural background. | Showing difference and similarity allows focus on different things such as themes, verse, language, gender, sound effects, etc. |
| Focus on detail to develop the similarity and difference you have mentioned: e.g. the ways in which Search For My Tongue includes the language of both cultures and Half-Caste uses absurd examples. | Interpreting details is more effective than interpreting the poem as a whole. |
| Comment on vocabulary, expression, grammar: e.g. standard/non-standard English. | Noticing what words and expression imply as well as what they say shows subtle reading. |
| Comment on ideas and feelings: e.g. loyalty, defiance, humour, affection. | Better candidates see more than one attitude or feeling in each poem. |
| Comment on purpose and effects intended on the reader: e.g. in Search For My Tongue to celebrate; in Half-Caste to mock, amuse, challenge. | Better candidates know that behind the poem is a poet, who has made language choices and has a wish to make the reader think or feel differently. |
| Comment on form, structure and appearance on the page: e.g. authentic Gujerati and phonetic version in Search For My Tongue and phonetic spelling in Half-Caste, or development of thought in each verse. | Better candidates look for ways that match the poem’s shape to the development of thought or feeling. |
| Conclusion linking culture, identity and language. | The conclusion should be more than the introduction repeated: something should be saved for the end! |