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Advice On How To Write Articles In The English Language Paper 2 Exam

Information and advice about writing a good article for the AQA English language Paper 2 exam

Date : 27/04/2021

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Uploaded by : Karen Uploaded on : 27/04/2021 Subject : English English language Paper 2: Section B(Writing)

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AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 writing tasks: speech and article

This popular, scaffolded lesson resource includes two practice exam questions for AQA GCSE English Language paper 2, Section B and helps students to explore the differences between two non-fiction forms — speeches and articles — in terms of the presentation of ideas and the use of language techniques.

It summarises a range of techniques that students might use in a speech and a newspaper article, including persuasive language (such as rhetorical questions and triplet/rule of three/triadic structure), anecdotes or examples and using a mixture of informal and formal language and direct address such as pronouns. The classroom worksheet also asks students to consider the most appropriate tone or register for purpose and audience, and whether using non-standard sentence structures (such as starting a sentence with a conjunction) could engage a reader’s attention.

It's perfect for exam practice and preparation for AQA GCSE English Language students. Suggested answers (a lesson ‘mark scheme’) are included to support young people with their exam preparation.

You might also our other AQA English Language Paper 2 resources, or see more speech and article lesson activities such as AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 Section B exam task .

Practice GCSE exam questions for AQA English Language Paper 2, Section B from the resource:  Students work through a set of 4 activities which show them how to write the text for a speech or an article, in response to this statement: ‘Music has no value when you’re studying. It can be distracting; it can be too loud. Students should work in silence.’

a) Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement.

b) Write the text for a speech in which you explain your point of view on this statement.

Task 1 This task prompts students to look for language features which are relevant to the text types of article writing and speech writing. Students are asked: Can you work out which were written for a speech and which were written for an article? What are the differences? What clues did you use? Task 2 Students look at example sentences for both non-fiction writing tasks and identify the persuasive features, demonstrating how to write an article and text for a speech. Task 3 Students practise the two forms of writing with their own sentences. Task 4 Students reflect on the activities: In summary, what have you learned from these activities about:

the language techniques you could use in an article and the text for a speech

the ideas you could cover in an article and the text for a speech

the differences between writing an article and the text for a speech?

They then respond to their chosen essay question and start their own piece of writing as exam practice for the GCSE English language exam, choosing a specific audience to make their use of language more appropriate, such as broadsheet newspaper readers of The Guardian , or a speech to young people their own age.

As an extension or stretch and challenge task, ask students to identify a range of other techniques they could use. Some students will be familiar with the mnemonic DAFOREST (Direct address, Alliteration, Facts, Opinions, Rhetorical questions, Similes and metaphors, Emotive language, Triplets) but they might also want to consider emotive language, hyperbole and their use of connectives. Alternatively, ask students to plan their first paragraph in the lesson, before finishing their piece of writing at home.

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AQA Language Paper 2 Q5: A* / L9 + Example Answer

Just in time for Halloween, here’s a spooky letter that argues persuasively in defence of keeping the festival going! I wrote this answer with the mark scheme in mind, so it ticks all the boxes that you would expect for a top-level grade – a clear, thorough argument with counter paragraphs, an evaluative conclusion, lots of rhetorical devices, a logical structure and more! The answer wasn’t written in timed conditions, but it is roughly the right length for the AQA GCSE Paper 2 Writing question – which you have around 45-55 minutes to answer.

If you have time, have a go at planning and maybe even writing your own piece first, before you look at the example. If you’re feeling unconfident, take a look at the planning notes for some ideas and inspiration!

Wilfred Owen’s Last Letter – Practise for GCSE and A-level English Literature

Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more help with your English Language, you can access our full online English courses below:

AQA GCSE Language Paper 2

AQA GCSE Language Paper 1

Basic Descriptive Writing

Basic Essay Writing

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THE QUESTION

A local priest in your community stated:

“Halloween is Satanic and encourages children to celebrate evil. It should be banned.”

Write a letter to your local newspaper, arguing against or in support of this viewpoint.

• Figure out the type of writing: LETTER 
• Audience: LOCAL NEWSPAPER, readers who live in your area 
• Opinion: (when you have more than one part to the argument, you can choose which parts to agree and disagree with) 

1. Halloween is Satanic and encourages children to celebrate evil. 

2. It should be banned. 

AGAINST: Halloween should not be banned  

• Depends on a personal choice – not everyone is religious, so some people see it as a dress up opportunity, others see it as evil 
• Children have fun trick or treating
• They pick their own outfit and dress up as whoever they want which builds their creativity.
• It is a good time to spend with family. 
• Horror and fear are natural, so we should be in tune with those 
• Most festivals have a reason behind them 
• Relgiously, Halloween is a Christian festival – the day after is called ‘All Saints Day’ – it symbolises the purification of evil 

FOR: Halloween should be banned  

• Films that are sinister and scare the children
• Brings up questions about ghosts being real or not and can traumatise people. 
• Seems to encourage evil – villains, the devil, idealising evil things 
• Encourages lack of control / chaos / disorder 
• C an be mentally scarring – frightening young children 
• Can be traumatising to people who have had genuine frightening experiences in their lives – ghosts / spirits, flashbacks of trauma or  d ifficulty 
• Religiously ‘evil’ should not be encouraged 

My opinion: Halloween should not be banned. 

Dear Local Newspaper, 

I am writing regarding the recent opinion you posted that ‘Halloween should be banned’. Personally, I feel that this is such a strange idea – especially coming from a Priest! Who are we to say what other people should, or should not, celebrate? Imagine if we banned Christmas, just because it offended some people. Imagine if birthday parties or weddings or funerals were suddenly no longer allowed. All of these ideas should sound absurd to you, and hopefully, by the end of this letter, you’ll realise that the notion of cancelling Halloween is equally bizarre and inappropriate. 

So firstly, let me address the idea that Halloween is evil. At first glance, I can see why some would view it this way: on Halloween, we dress in spooky clothes, watch spooky films and take part in spooky activities. It is a time where ghosts, demons, ghouls, monsters, witches, goblins, vampires, zombies and other nefarious entities seemingly walk the earth – pervading both our minds and our homes with fear and forcing us to confront things that usually we would avoid like the plague. Hate horror movies? There’s no escape from them on Halloween. Frightened by costumes and spooky decor? Too bad, they’re everywhere!  

However, just because we are exposed to evil things, doesn’t mean that we are ourselves, bad people! It’s a fact that throughout our lives we will all encounter evil or suffering in one form or another – perhaps we’ll get bullied at school, or cross paths with a manipulative and cruel work colleague. Perhaps a random event in our lives will lead us down a path of darkness and suffering. Halloween has an extremely important function, then, in our society: like horror films, it allows us to engage with the idea of ‘evil’ in a safe context, so that when we encounter it in our real lives we are more prepared. 

Sure, you could say that children need protection from danger. But most of them have protection for the other 364 days in the year, don’t they? We really must allow kids to experience a little horror every once in a while. It significantly contributes to their growth and maturity as human beings – giving them a more realistic and well-rounded perspective on the world. 

Besides, it’s so much fun to dress up and play games on Halloween! The very act of choosing the theme of your costume, planning or designing the outfit, and executing the finished piece – as well as the fun of seeing everybody’s else’s fancy dress concepts – is an excellent way of encouraging both strategic planning and creativity. 

It’s also a highly social occasion that fosters strong bonds with friends and family alike. When I was a teenager, I always used to take my little sister out trick-or-treating – these are some of my fondest memories of our time together, battling against the cold October nights with our witches’ hats and cauldrons brimming with sweets, we felt like we were in a film or a dream! These experiences are priceless. People who don’t celebrate Halloween are missing out. 

Finally – and this is probably the most compelling argument of all – Halloween actually is a Christian festival! To say that it’s un-Christian, evil or Satanic completely undermines the whole point of the event. Traditionally, Halloween was named ‘All Hallows Eve’, and it took place before the hallowed (a word meaning ‘holy’) day of All Saints Day on November 1st. It is clear that the festival comes from a Catholic, and therefore Christian, tradition: its original intention is to draw out all of the souls and evil spirits into the world on All Hallow’s Eve, in order to purify and purge them the following day. Therefore, even from a religious Christian perspective, it is inaccurate to view Halloween as Satanic. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and I hope you will pass on my regards to the Priest who denounced Halloween in your original article. I would very much like him to consider my thoughts, and perhaps even reply with his own responses if he feels that he has the time. Ultimately, whether a person is religious or not, I’m sure we can all unanimously agree that there are both recreational and spiritual benefits to celebrating Halloween and that if an individual doesn’t like to celebrate it then there’s nothing forcing them to do so. 

Yours sincerely, 

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Tutor My Kids

Gcse writing for a purpose: articles.

This is the first in a series of blogs to help you to ‘write for a purpose’ in preparation for English Language Paper 2.  In this post we talk about how to write an article which requires you to argue a point. 

This is a sample question from an AQA English Language paper, June 2017:

 ‘Parents today are over-protective. They should let their children take part in adventurous, even risky, activities to prepare them for later life.’ Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you argue for or against this statement.

Here’s how you could tackle it:

1. Gather your ideas

Decide whether you are for or against this statement.  Think of at least five strong points to support your argument and jot them down, perhaps as bullet points.  Each point will become a paragraph in your article.

2. Plan for skills

You need to demonstrate the following skills (which you can remember as ‘DAFOREST’):

• Direct address.  Address the reader as ‘you’ to make them feel the article is personally relevant to them.
• Alliteration .  Alliteration is a great technique for making statements memorable.
• Facts.  In an exam you will make up facts. For a newspaper article invent some quotes that will support your argument.
• Opinions.  Use your own opinions (this goes without saying here!).
• Rhetorical questions.  These are questions which don’t need an answer but help to strengthen your argument eg. ‘Do you think today’s children are smothered and cosseted?’
• Repetition .  Like alliteration, repeating words or sentences reinforces your message.  Some stories and poems, for example, start and finish with the same sentence.  Politicians use repetition in speeches to argue their points eg. Tony Blair’s famous quote, ‘Education, education, education…’
• Emotive language.  Again, this strengthens your argument.  Words like ‘smothered’, ‘stifled’ and ‘oppressed’ elicit a strong emotional reaction.  Instead of the word ‘bad’ you might use ‘torturous’ or ‘barbaric’.
• Statistics.  This is linked to facts.  Use made up statistics to support your argument.
• Three (rule of).  For example, ‘By overprotecting children parents are undermining their self-esteem and confidence and causing rebellious behaviour’.

Jot down how you are going to demonstrate each of these skills in your article (perhaps at the same time!), for example:

Direct address/rhetorical questions: ‘Do you tidy your child’s room or put away their clothes?’ ‘Do you interfere with their friendship choices?’

Alliteration/rule of three: ‘If you ease up on the reins your child will be more confident, contented and courageous enough to bounce back after failure’.

3. Plan the counterargument

You need to predict how your reader might argue against some of your points.  Jot down these ideas as bullet points and consider how you will defend your arguments.  For example, ‘You might think that tidying your child’s bedroom is kind, but it causes them misery in the long-term because when they leave home and live with another person they will become unpopular if they don’t help with household chores’.

4. Plan your headline and subheadings

Headlines are much easier to write when you know what your article is going to be about because the job of the headline is to tell the reader, in an instant, what to expect from the article. 

Write a headline that pique’s your reader’s curiosity and draws them in.  Use action verbs and remove any unnecessary articles .  You can use persuasive devices such as alliteration, rhetorical questions and the rule of three in your headline.

Subheadings are important too because they ‘hook’ your reader as they are scanning through the article. Subheadings outline the key idea in each paragraph – the shorter they are the better!  You don’t need to use a subheading for every paragraph; always consider where you think they’re most useful.

5. Plan connectives

What connectives will you use to join paragraphs and sentences?  Try to include a variety.

Adding information: and, also, as well as, furthermore, moreover, too

Building upon an idea: as long as, if

Cause and effect: because, consequently, so, therefore, thus

Comparing: as with, equally, in the same way, like, likewise, similarly.

Contrasting: alternatively, although, apart from, but, except, however, in contrast, instead of, on the other hand, otherwise, unless, unlike, whereas, yet

Emphasising a point: above all, especially, indeed, in particular, notably, significantly.

Giving examples: as revealed by, for example, for instance, in the case of, such as.

Sequencing ideas: firstly, secondly, afterwards, eventually, finally, meanwhile, next, since, whilst. 

6. Write your answer

Planning your answer as above should not take more than 10 minutes.  The only way to speed up the process is to practise exam questions.  Sample questions from the English Language GCSE Paper 2 can be found online.  The more you do now the quicker you will be on the day. 

After 10 minutes planning you will have 35 minutes to write the rest of your answer.  Don’t forget to leave some time at the end to read through and check your writing.

When writing your answer:

• Write an engaging opening.  Use emotive language or a rhetorical question to draw the reader in.
• Look at your plan and write your paragraphs in an orderly sequence.
• End with a clear and firm conclusion to your argument, perhaps using the ‘rule of three’.

7. Edit your answer

You’ve finished – hooray!  Take a few minutes to check for SPaG – spelling, punctuation and grammar.  Make any improvements you need to.

Would you like further support?

TutorMyKids offers one-to-one tuition for GCSE English Language and English Literature students.  Our tutors can collaborate with you and your teacher to address the areas you’re struggling with, strengthening your skills and giving you an extra boost of confidence on exam day!

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How I Teach… AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2

What should students focus on to maximise their marks on AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2? Andrew Atherton offers his strategies for high-performance on this tricky paper…

As we move towards GCSE examinations, there will be countless students (and teachers!) across the country looking at English Language Paper 2 and scratching their heads. ‘So, let me get this straight’, they might be saying, ‘Q2 asks me to write a summary, but what it really wants is inference?!’

At the best of times, English Language is a complex examination, and not necessarily because of the content it assesses. But, Paper 2 is especially difficult, and again not because of its content. In order, as much as is possible, to alleviate some of these difficulties this article offers a step-by-step overview of how to approach each question on AQA English Language Paper 2.

One quick caveat before we get started, though: this article is written from the assumption it will be most useful for those teaching Y11 as students make their final preparations for the upcoming examination. The below advice is very much targeted to the exam and strategies to help navigate its specific questions.

As such, it doesn’t address or dwell on general approaches for reading and enjoying non-fiction. Whilst this is crucial, and hopefully students would have been fed a rich diet of varied non-fiction already, this article assumes these foundations have already, as much as possible, been built.

Let’s begin then with Question 2: a question that expects our students to infer that it isn’t actually a summary they need to write, but instead inference. However, once we know this, the question doesn’t need to pose us, or our students, too many problems.

My top strategy for approaching this question is to use the below structure table:

The idea here is for students to quickly extract relevant information from the two sources and place it in the table: an overall point of difference and evidence from each source that would substantiate this difference. They now have everything they need to answer this question.

Here’s how to use the table: the top row simply becomes the opening sentence of the response. We then look at the column for Source A and work our way down, jumping from one piece of evidence to the next. As we do so, we build in points of inference using phrases such as ‘…, which might infer’ or ‘…from which we might conclude’.

It is also possible to bundle columns so that two points of evidence are effectively referenced simultaneously, with a point of inference relating to both. We then signpost similarity or difference (In direct contrast to Source A…) and work our way through the second column, again including inference as we move through each piece of evidence.

The benefit to this table is that it offers a structure not only to our writing, but our thinking too, restricting the amount of evidence we can use, prompting us to select carefully. Displaying all the information in one glanceable table also helps students to better make connections and to spot patterns of difference or similarity.

The 10 seconds it takes to draw the table and the extra couple of minutes to extract the relevant information is, to my mind, well worth it for the added concision and quality of inference this support helps to produce.

However, if students feel drawing and compiling the table will take too long in a question that is admittedly already tight on time, they can of course circle the relevant evidence directly onto the Source and write their response from that.

I still very much recommend rehearsing and modelling this table, though, because even if students decide not to actually draw it in the exam, I’ve still found it significantly helps with how to think about and better understand what this question is expecting from us.

With enough practice, whether or not they physically draw the table, its shape will remain imprinted on students as a way to structure their response as they write.

I’ve found that students tend to be on pretty firm ground for this question, given it is effectively the same as Paper 1, Question 2 and indeed similar in skill to more or less any language analysis they would do across their English GCSE.

As such, I approach this question much as I do with Paper 1: students select 3 or 4 images from the relevant extract that strike them as especially rich. These are images they should be able to say multiple things about, and, if rehearsed often enough, it tends to be reasonably easy to identify those images in the passage that are suitably fertile. Once they have highlighted or underlined three or four images, they can start to write the response itself.

I tend to suggest students begin with a ‘big picture’ idea that they express in the first one or two sentences of their response: ‘When considering how the writer uses language to describe the landscape it is immediately obvious it is hostile and dangerous’. This helps to co-ordinate the rest of the analysis, ensuring the students begin their response with an overall argument about how the writer is using language to achieve a specific effect.

Students can then select the first image to discuss, making sure it elucidates or substantiates the big picture idea they have started with, which it should since the opening idea comes out of the three or four images they have already chosen.

I always recommend students begin with whatever image they consider to be most analytically interesting, the image about which they could say the most. This is because English Language as an examination very much succumbs to the law of diminishing returns: most of the marks students receive will come from the opening of their response and as their response continues they will find it harder and harder to squeeze further marks out of their answer. So, we want the opening of their response to be as good as possible.

This also helps because, as above, the Paper is very tight on time and it might well be students need to stop writing mid-sentence if they reach their imposed question time limit, which might feel galling, but is really crucial for the Paper as a whole. As such, we want the opening to be as good as possible so if they do finish mid-answer they have still been able to accumulate a significant number of marks.

Once they have finished analysing this first image, trying to notice several things about it, and considering the overall impact of the image as well as why specific words may have been used and how they connect to the big picture, they can then move onto the next image. And so on, repeating this same pattern 3 or 4 times.

For this question, I basically use the same table structure as Q2, but we deploy it in a different way. So, here is the table:

The top row is the same as in Q2 and is designed to identify an overall difference or similarity, but the content will differ as in this question there is typically a focus on perspectives or feelings.

Again, we then have three or four rows divided between a column for each source, A and B. Same structure, but different use. We extract from the sources images we might like to explore or analyse.

Rather than phrases such as ‘…from which we might conclude’ we use more traditional methods of analysis, for instance considering the overall feeling expressed by the given image and why this word and not another one.

As we move down the table, we use Janus-faced transitions to knit the argument together (The writer’s feeling that Y is further suggested by X…) and again include a clear shift to the second source (This is in direct contrast to…).

However, for this question, a variation on how to use this table might be to interleave the analysis. After we select relevant images from Source A and we are ready to look to Source B, we might try to match the two so each row offers a link, like the below.

Rather than moving according to column (all of A followed by all of B, with links back) students could move according to row (all of the first row, all of the second row, and so on). I don’t find this as effective, but it might be useful for this question where a focus on both writers at the same time can be helpful.

Given this question is worth 16 marks, the temptation is perhaps to attempt the above process twice. However, after lots of experimentation, I feel this is a mistake, although it is something I’ve done before.

As is always the case, depth trumps breadth. As such, I think it is much better to explore one overarching point of comparison and then really dwell on the imagery and methods being used by the writer to express their perspective and how this compares to the other source.

As we now know this question will ask students to write an article, we can be a little more targeted in our preparation. For this question, I teach students an overall response shape I call Describe, Position, Relevance, Now (or DPRN for short) and whilst this can be used with any form of writing, knowing this question will be an article based on the Advanced Information in helps us to work on how to mold this shape specifically to what students will be asked.

But, what is DPRN and how can students use it, both to write and plan?

I’ve found this overall shape works brilliantly in helping to give student work an argumentative trajectory or impulse, given that it carries them from some kind of emotional outline to an overview of the issues to an explanation of its relevance and finally how we might address or solve the issue.

When planning, I encourage students to take a single side of A4 in their answer booklet and to divide it into quadrants. In each of the four spaces, students would generate ideas relevant to each element of DPRN. They might, for instance, consider what kind of scene or character to introduce in the descriptive hook and bullet point some ideas before then listing why they think what they think, and so on.

This means that when they come to write they can focus on constructing an authentic voice that is appropriate to the specific task rather than trying to generate ideas in the moment of writing itself. It also helps them to focus on constructing a cogent and linear argument that has a clear thread or perspective running through it, all crucial to success in this question.

And there we have it: an overview of top strategies to help maximise student success for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2.

Follow this link for tips on answering AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 .

Andy Atherton is a Teacher of English as well as Director of Research in a secondary school in Berkshire. He regularly publishes blogs about English and English teaching at ‘Codexterous’ and you can follow him on Twitter @__codexterous

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Mr Hanson's English

Discovering english and film, writing skills: english language paper 2 question 5.

You can skip the boring bits if you want and use the slides here: https://1drv.ms/p/s!AnpvBTL12aDNijdfIacMS01HHAfB

Here’s a series of slides that might be of some use if you’re teaching writing skills for Language paper 2. I delivered this remotely to a whole cohort of Year 11s. The question is based on experiences of lockdown and certainly elicited some enthusiastic, varied, and passionate responses from the children. The simple structure of ‘because – but -so’ is, of course, stolen completely from Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler’s book, The Writing Revolution.

The reason I adopted this framework is to move children towards a form of dialectical thinking . Often, as an examiner on this paper, I encounter responses which are dominated by one opinion (thus becoming a bit of a rant); on other occasions I find that responses offer a ‘pro-con’ approach which make an effective argument for both sides but also tend to obscure the writer’s position. Whilst there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this form of ‘discussion writing’ (see Extending Literacy, Wray and Lewis, 1997), the mark scheme and exemplar material for the writing question on paper 2 call for a nuanced approach which adopts a clear point of view (at least to get into level 3). Thus, the ‘ beca use-but-so ‘ structure encourages writers to think around the provocative statements that characterise this question. Now, like any framework, the ‘because-but-so’ structure is not a universal elixir which resolves the challenge of children’s writing, in fact you could argue that it is more of a cognitive stimulus that draws on classical models of dialectical thought (Socrates), filtered through Hegel before landing here for my reductive approach (sorry, all you classical thinkers). Indeed, I find the ‘but’ and the ‘so’ a bit constraining at times (you will see from the slides that I offer alternative conjunctions and connectives to the children). Anyway, here are the slides:

The above grid provides an ‘at a glance’ assessment model. The levels refer to AQA levels and, of course, level 3 is often perceived as the ‘holy grail’. I’ve adapted some of the mark scheme statements here. The important thing here is that a ‘mark-scheme clear’ is achieved through an essay that offers an identifiable point-of-view (hence the title of the lesson, ‘Taking a Stand’). It requires writers to take a step back from the provocative statement and consider their own opinions. This has been variously described as the ‘thesis statement’ or the ‘big idea’. The notion of a thesis is, of course, part of the dialectical process.

In the above slide, you can see how I’m adapting the ‘BBS’ model to provoke wider, more considered and more original responses from children. I was running this session with over 90 children at a time, so individual responses were at a premium, but the children who did engage in the ‘chat’ were able to express some strong opinions using these sentence stems (and, of course, how wonderful it will be when we can get them in a room together and use these stems to reinforce children’s oracy skills).

I used the above slide to signpost the rest of the lesson and to illustrate how the BBS structure will be used.

Taking one section at a time, I asked pupils to complete the sentence stems (see above) and modelled a response (see the slide below).

Here I demonstrated how the BBS connectives can be replaced by others that might be more appropriate to the tone or shift in ideas.

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11 thoughts on “ writing skills: english language paper 2 question 5 ”.

Hope it helps!

This looks great and I’d really like to use it. Are the slides available/shared anywhere as a PowerPoint file? Thanks

I’ll put a link to the PPT on the blog a little later on today!

Like Liked by 1 person

Dear Mr Hanson,

This is really useful. If you are happy for me to use your power point with my GCSE classes, please could you send the ppt as an attachment?

With thanks,

Alison Rawle English teacher and Professional Tutor ________________________________

Hi Alison I’ll put a link to the PPT on the blog a little later on today!

A couple of other points too. I notice that you do not include many AFOREST ingredients in your argument. Is this because what you have provided is just the “bare bones” of your argument, or have we moved away from rewarding these rhetorical devices for the variety they provide?

Secondly, I would normally discourage the use of “I” in my students’ writing, preferring a direct appeal to the reader “Have you…Could you…”. Is this unnecessary? Could you get a grade 9 while using I repeatedly?

Thanks for your enlightening resources and thoughts so far – I always enjoy and benefit from your insights.

Alison Rawle ________________________________

Hi Alison. I focused solely on the structure of ‘because-but-so’; I think I address some of those other points in other blogs. When I delivered the lessons, I talked with children about ‘levelling up’ our language, using rhetorical features, and adopting a style that is suitable to the argument, and I would expect English teachers would do the same. This is merely a structural framework, so please use, change, and adapt as you wish. Happy to help!

This website has not helped me in any way possible, it is too worded and does not give you a straight answer. I could not recommend anyone here in a million years.

Your feedback is welcome. Thank you.

Thank you very much – this is really clearly explained and I will be using it with my students. Thanks for making the slides available to all.

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AQA English Language Paper 2 Article Writing

Subject: English

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

17 March 2022

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AQA English Language Paper 2 lesson (although useful for any exam board) that focuses on analysing an opinion piece article on space exploration before supporting students to develop their own plans and create their own articles. Includes detailed notes on how the writer structures their ideas and gets across their opinions which then helps students to write their own pieces. Space exploration is a really engaging topic for KS4 and KS3 students and in particular you’ll find many will want to look at aliens and conspiracies around them! Fully differentiated throughout.

Check out our English Shop for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.

AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package AQA English Language Paper 1 package AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package AQA English Language and English Literature revision package

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AQA English Language Paper 2

AQA English Language Paper 2 bundle that has recently been revamped and updated. Every lesson took around 7-10 hours to make and include modelled answers, scaffolds, differentiated activities, sources, engaging activities to open up challenging Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 and Q5 (Non-fiction writing) tasks to all students.<br /> <br /> The bundle contains 20 resources that cover both Section A (Nonfiction reading) and Section B (Nonfiction writing) so you know you'll be looking at the whole exam.<br /> <br /> The lessons contained are:<br /> <br /> 1) Introduction lesson that looks at travel writing (Q1, Q2, Q4) - Armitage and Dickens<br /> 2) Lesson on Donald Trump article that covers Q1 and Q3<br /> 3) Lesson on travel writing (Rory Stewart, Dorothy Wordsworth) that covers Q1, Q2 and Q3.<br /> 4) Summary writing lesson that looks at Dickens and a Unicef speech<br /> 5) Crime and Punishment lesson on Q1 and Q2<br /> 6) Crime and Punishment lesson on Q2<br /> 7) Crime and Punishment lesson on Q3<br /> 8) Crime and Punishment lesson on Q4<br /> 9) Paper 2 walking, talking mock that uses the theme of crime and punishment<br /> 10) Section B opening and ending articles<br /> 11) Newspaper article writing / writing to explain<br /> 12) Magazine article writing / writing to argue<br /> 13) Speech writing (Winston Churchill)<br /> 14) Speech writing (Barack Obama)<br /> 15) Paper 2 exam preparation lesson<br /> 16) Paper 2 revision lesson<br /> 17) Escape room revision lesson<br /> 18) Paper 2 Section A knowledge organiser<br /> 19) Paper 2 Section A exam practice pack<br /> 20) Florence Nightingale themed Q1-Q4 lessons<br /> <br /> Bundle (20x 1hr PP, differentiated tasks throughout using new GCSE numbering system)<br /> <br /> All tasks differentiated according to new GCSE numbering system, this bundle is designed for the New Spec AQA Language Paper 2.<br /> <br /> Complete 1 hour, well differentiated lessons, with worksheets where applicable.<br /> Suitable for KS4 or adaptable for KS3<br /> Different level tasks for MA,LA or Core<br /> Designed to fit Ofsted criteria for' Good' or above.<br /> <br /> Many more inexpensive, high quality English resources are available at my shop:<br /> <a href="https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/Lead_Practitioner">Lead Practitioner's Shop</a>

AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5

A collection of TWENTY English Language Paper 2 Question 5 lessons (17 x1 hour and 3x 2 hour) that cover writing to argue, writing to advise, writing to persuade, letter writing and essay writing. A great collection of differentiated activities, modelled examples, scaffolded sentences and guided peer and self reflection that enables students to learn from others and improve their non-fiction writing in preparation for AQA English Language Paper 2 Section B or Question 5. The suggested order of lessons is as follows (although this is by no means obligatory): * AQA Paper 2 Section B Speech Writing * Speech Openers * Churchill Speech Writing * Lincoln Speech Writing * Speech Structure * Newspaper Writing * Magazine Article Writing * Writing to Persuade - Football * Greta Thunberg Speech Writing * Black History Month - Essay Writing * Writing to Advise * Letter Writing - Writing A Formal Letter * Writing to Persuade - Letters of Complaint * AQA English Language Exam Prep/Mock prep lesson Pack also contains: * Assessment planning for writing to argue - could be used as a separate writing to argue lesson * Assessment planning for letter writing - could be used as a separate letter writing lesson * Paper 2 Question 5 revision pack * Knowledge organiser for revision * June 2018 AQA exam review lesson if you use this paper as a mock/prep **Check out our [English Shop](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/Lead_Practitioner) for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.** [AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12063979) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11757237) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11747224) [AQA English Language Paper 1 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11561370) [AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11899610) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11483869) [AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11828984) [AQA English Language and English Literature revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11449199) [An Inspector Calls whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11711589) [An Inspector Calls revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/an-inspector-calls-gcse-9-1-exam-practice-11850503) [Macbeth whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11702645) [Macbeth revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11904820) [A Christmas Carol whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11718691) [A Christmas Carol revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12080244) [Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package ](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11607362) [Jekyll and Hyde revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11904852) [Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11903624) [Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11843215) [Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11563766) [Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11924178) [Unseen Poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11843275)

Newspaper Magazine Writing

Two incredibly detailed newspaper and magazine writing lessons, perfect for AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 but also useful for analysing these text types, purposes and audiences for Section A. **Check out our [English Shop](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/Lead_Practitioner) for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.** [AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12063979) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11757237) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11747224) [AQA English Language Paper 1 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11561370) [AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11899610) [AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11483869) [AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11828984) [AQA English Language and English Literature revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11449199) [An Inspector Calls whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11711589) [An Inspector Calls revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/an-inspector-calls-gcse-9-1-exam-practice-11850503) [Macbeth whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11702645) [Macbeth revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11904820) [A Christmas Carol whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11718691) [A Christmas Carol revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12080244) [Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package ](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11607362) [Jekyll and Hyde revision package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11904852) [Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11903624) [Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11843215) [Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11563766) [Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11924178) [Unseen Poetry whole scheme package](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11843275) Or check out some Citizenship GCSE, RE, PSHE + RSE resources at [EC Resources](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/EC_Resources)

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Sotomayor’s dissent: A president should not be a ‘king above the law’

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor attends a panel discussion, Feb. 23, 2024 in Washington. The Supreme Court allowed a president to become a “king above the law,” in the use of official power, Sotomayor said in a biting dissent Monday, July 1, that called the majority opinion on immunity for former President Donald Trump “utterly indefensible.” Joined by the court’s two other liberals, Sotomayor said the opinion would have disastrous consequences for the presidency and the nation’s democracy by creating a “law-free zone around the president.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - Members of the Supreme Court sit for a group portrait in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Bottom row, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The Supreme Court justices will take the bench Monday, July 1, 2024, to release their last few opinions of the term, including their most closely watched case: whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

People protest outside the Supreme Court Monday, July 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

FILE - The Supreme Court building is seen on June 27, 2024, in Washington. Supreme Court justices will take the bench Monday, July 1, to release their last few opinions of the term, including their most closely watched case: whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The Supreme Court opinion in former President Donald Trump’s immunity case is photographed Monday, July 1, 2024. In a historic ruling the justices said for the first time former presidents can be shielded from prosecution for at least some of what they do in the Oval Office. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unsparing dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Supreme Court allowed a president to become a “king above the law” in its ruling that limited the scope of criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the election.

She called the decision, which likely ended the prospect of a trial for Trump before the November election , “utterly indefensible.”

“The court effectively creates a law-free zone around the president, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the founding,” she wrote. She was joined by liberal justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who wrote another dissent referring to the ruling’s consequences as a “five alarm fire.”

Sotomayor read her dissent aloud in the courtroom, with a weighty delivery that underscored her criticism of the majority. She strongly pronounced each word, pausing at certain moments and gritting her teeth at others.

“Ironic isn’t it? The man in charge of enforcing laws can now just break them,” Sotomayor said.

Chief Justice John Roberts accused the liberal justices of fearmongering in the 6-3 majority opinion. It found that presidents aren’t above the law but must be entitled to presumptive immunity to allow them to forcefully exercise the office’s far-reaching powers and avoid a vicious cycle of politically motivated prosecutions.

While the opinion allows for the possibility of prosecutions for private acts, Sotomayor said it “deprives these prosecutions of any teeth” by excluding any evidence that related to official acts where the president is immune.

“This majority’s project will have disastrous consequences for the presidency and for our democracy,” she said. She ended by saying, “With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

Trump, for his part, has denied doing anything wrong and has said this prosecution and three others are politically motivated to try to keep him from returning to the White House.

The other justices looked on in silence and largely remained still as Sotomayor spoke, with Justice Samuel Alito shuffling through papers and appearing to study them.

Sotomayor pointed to historical evidence, from the founding fathers to Watergate, that presidents could potentially face prosecution. She took a jab at the conservative majority that has made the nation’s history a guiding principle on issues like guns and abortion. “Interesting, history matters, right?”

Then she looked at the courtroom audience and concluded, “Except here.”

The majority feared that the threat of potential prosecution could constrain a president or create a “cycle of factional strife,” that the founders intended to avoid.

Sotomayor, on the other handed, pointed out that presidents have access to extensive legal advice about their actions and that criminal cases typically face high bars in court to proceed.

“It is a far greater danger if the president feels empowered to violate federal criminal law, buoyed by the knowledge of future immunity,” she said. “I am deeply troubled by the idea ... that our nation loses something valuable when the president is forced to operate within the confines of federal criminal law.”

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this story.

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power cut —

Researchers upend ai status quo by eliminating matrix multiplication in llms, running ai models without floating point matrix math could mean far less power consumption..

Benj Edwards - Jun 25, 2024 10:27 pm UTC

Researchers claim to have developed a new way to run AI language models more efficiently by eliminating matrix multiplication from the process. This fundamentally redesigns neural network operations that are currently accelerated by GPU chips. The findings, detailed in a recent preprint paper from researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz, UC Davis, LuxiTech, and Soochow University, could have deep implications for the environmental impact and operational costs of AI systems.

Further Reading

Matrix multiplication (often abbreviated to "MatMul") is at the center of most neural network computational tasks today, and GPUs are particularly good at executing the math quickly because they can perform large numbers of multiplication operations in parallel. That ability momentarily made Nvidia the most valuable company in the world last week; the company currently holds an estimated 98 percent market share for data center GPUs, which are commonly used to power AI systems like ChatGPT and Google Gemini .

In the new paper, titled "Scalable MatMul-free Language Modeling," the researchers describe creating a custom 2.7 billion parameter model without using MatMul that features similar performance to conventional large language models (LLMs). They also demonstrate running a 1.3 billion parameter model at 23.8 tokens per second on a GPU that was accelerated by a custom-programmed FPGA chip that uses about 13 watts of power (not counting the GPU's power draw). The implication is that a more efficient FPGA "paves the way for the development of more efficient and hardware-friendly architectures," they write.

The technique has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the researchers—Rui-Jie Zhu, Yu Zhang, Ethan Sifferman, Tyler Sheaves, Yiqiao Wang, Dustin Richmond, Peng Zhou, and Jason Eshraghian—claim that their work challenges the prevailing paradigm that matrix multiplication operations are indispensable for building high-performing language models. They argue that their approach could make large language models more accessible, efficient, and sustainable, particularly for deployment on resource-constrained hardware like smartphones.

Doing away with matrix math

In the paper, the researchers mention BitNet (the so-called "1-bit" transformer technique that made the rounds as a preprint in October) as an important precursor to their work. According to the authors, BitNet demonstrated the viability of using binary and ternary weights in language models, successfully scaling up to 3 billion parameters while maintaining competitive performance.

However, they note that BitNet still relied on matrix multiplications in its self-attention mechanism. Limitations of BitNet served as a motivation for the current study, pushing them to develop a completely "MatMul-free" architecture that could maintain performance while eliminating matrix multiplications even in the attention mechanism.

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How to Write a Check

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Checks are used to pay other people, pay employees, and pay for purchases and services. There are a number of circumstances that require a checkbook.

Writing a check isn't complicated, but it's an often-overlooked life skill. Use our step-by-step guide to learn how to write a check.

How to write a check in six steps

Here are the six steps involved when writing a check:

1. Fill out the date

The upper right-hand corner of the check is where you'll add the date. 

2. Add a payee

Checks include a line that says, "Pay to the order of." This is where you'll add the name of the person, company, or organization you are paying. 

3. Write the numerical check amount

Add the payment amount in the box to the right of the payee line. You'll end up writing the payment amount twice. In this instance, write the amount numerically ("$100," not "One Hundred Dollars").

It's good practice to write the amount as close to the left-hand border of the box as possible. This can help prevent someone from adding additional numbers to the amount. 

4. Write out the check amount in words

Under the payee line is a spot to write out the check amount using words. If the check amount is $152.86, you'll write it out as: "One-hundred fifty-two dollars and 86/100." Take time to make sure that both check amounts match up.

5. Add a note

Any details you want to add to your check go on the line marked "Memo." Some payees require you to list specific information on the memo line like a checking account number or Social Security number.

You can also make a personal note, like "Rent payment." If your checkbook keeps carbon copies of each check, having a note in the memo line can help you remember what the check was for.

6. Sign the check

No check is complete and valid without a signature. When you fill out a check, your signature goes on the line in the bottom right corner of the check.

Where is the routing number on a check?

The routing number is the first number printed on the bottom-left side of a check. Every bank has its own nine-digit routing number. Routing numbers are sometimes referred to as a routing transit number or an ABA routing number.

Where is the account number on a check?

Your bank account number is also featured on your checks. It's the second set of numbers on the bottom of a check following the routing number. Account numbers are typically 10 to 12 digits.

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A check is a financial document that allows the check holder to receive money from the check writer's bank account. A check must be signed by the check writer to be valid.

You write a check by filling out the date, the person or organization you are paying, and the check amount (numerically and written out in words). Your check is valid once you add your signature. You can also add reminder notes or account information in the check's memo section.

Always include cents when you write a check. Write the cents after the dollar amount and decimal point. When writing out the check amount, start with the dollar amount, followed by the word "and." Then write out the number of cents as a fraction. For example, 35 cents is written as 35/100. If you are writing a check for $100, you would write the cents as 00/100.

A check for one thousand dollars would be written numerically as $1,000.00. In words, it would be written as: "One thousand dollars and 00/100."

The routing number is the nine-digit number listed on the bottom-left side of a check. It's the first number listed on the bottom of a check and comes before the account number.

Your bank account number is the second set of numbers printed on the bottom of a check following the routing number. Most account numbers are 10 to 12 digits long.

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Thomas L. Friedman

Joe Biden Is a Good Man and a Good President. He Must Bow Out of the Race.

By Thomas L. Friedman

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Lisbon

I watched the Biden-Trump debate alone in a Lisbon hotel room, and it made me weep. I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime, precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election. And Donald Trump, a malicious man and a petty president, has learned nothing and forgotten nothing. He is the same fire hose of lies he always was, obsessed with his grievances — nowhere close to what it will take for America to lead in the 21st century.

The Biden family and political team must gather quickly and have the hardest of conversations with the president, a conversation of love and clarity and resolve. To give America the greatest shot possible of deterring the Trump threat in November, the president has to come forward and declare that he will not be running for re-election and is releasing all of his delegates for the Democratic National Convention.

The Republican Party, if its leaders had an ounce of integrity, would demand the same, but it won’t, because they don’t. That makes it all the more important that Democrats put the country’s interests first and announce that a public process will begin for different Democratic candidates to compete for the nomination — town halls, debates, meetings with donors, you name it. Yes, it could be chaotic and messy when the Democratic convention starts on Aug. 19 in Chicago, but I think the Trump threat is sufficiently grave that delegates could quickly rally around a consensus nominee.

If Vice President Kamala Harris wants to compete, she should. But voters deserve an open process in search of a Democratic presidential nominee who can unite not only the party but also the country, by offering something neither man on that Atlanta stage did on Thursday night: a compelling description of where the world is right now and a compelling vision for what America can and must do to keep leading it — morally, economically and diplomatically.

Because this is no ordinary hinge of history we are at. We are at the start of the biggest technological disruptions and the biggest climate disruption in human history. We are at the dawn of an artificial intelligence revolution that is going to change EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE — how we work, how we learn, how we teach, how we trade, how we invent, how we collaborate, how we fight wars, how we commit crimes and how we fight crimes. Maybe I missed it, but I did not hear the phrase “artificial intelligence” mentioned by either man at the debate.

If there was ever a time that the world needed an America at its best, led by its best, it is now — for great dangers and opportunities are now upon us. A younger Biden could have been that leader, but time has finally caught up with him. And that was painfully and inescapably obvious on Thursday.

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: neurocache: efficient vector retrieval for long-range language modeling.

Abstract: This paper introduces Neurocache, an approach to extend the effective context size of large language models (LLMs) using an external vector cache to store its past states. Like recent vector retrieval approaches, Neurocache uses an efficient k-nearest-neighbor (kNN) algorithm to retrieve relevant past states and incorporate them into the attention process. Neurocache improves upon previous methods by (1) storing compressed states, which reduces cache size; (2) performing a single retrieval operation per token which increases inference speed; and (3) extending the retrieval window to neighboring states, which improves both language modeling and downstream task accuracy. Our experiments show the effectiveness of Neurocache both for models trained from scratch and for pre-trained models such as Llama2-7B and Mistral-7B when enhanced with the cache mechanism. We also compare Neurocache with text retrieval methods and show improvements in single-document question-answering and few-shot learning tasks. We made the source code available under: this https URL

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Paper 2 Question 2: Model Answer ( AQA GCSE English Language )

Revision note.

Paper 2 Question 2: Model Answer

For Question 2, you will be set a question which assesses your ability to write a summary by synthesising and interpreting evidence from both sources, according to a given focus. You will be asked to comment on both source texts.

Below you will find detailed model answers to an example of Question 2, under the following sub-headings:

Choosing what to summarise in the summary question

Structuring your summary, developing your summary.

• Question 2: Level 4 model answer

Key points to remember for Question 2

• This is more beneficial than making a larger number of less precise inferences
• This is true regardless of whether the focus of the question is concrete or abstract
• Where the focus of the question is on similarities, comments on differences will also be rewarded if they are appropriate to the focus of the question

Whilst there will always be a number of textual details that you can use, in practice you should be selective about the ones that you can infer something about. 

You should always bear in mind that time is commensurate with the marks and weighting for this question, so you should not cite too many textual examples as this could lead you to treat each one superficially.

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Author: Nick

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.