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Paper 1 Section A: Reading Question 1 Identifying explicit information and ideas This question assesses your ability to identify and retrieve specific information and ideas that have been presented straightforwardly in a specific section of the source text. Generally, Question 1 does not present most higher-level students with a great deal of challenge. However you need to be aware of the following possible pitfalls: • This is the first question, so you might be nervous. • You may think of this question as easy and be tempted to rush it. • You may ignore the explicit information or ideas the question is asking you to identify as you think this looks too obvious. • You may not identify the precise focus of the question and select information or ideas related to something else instead. As you are aiming for a higher grade, you should be able to gain full marks (4) for this question. Activity 1 Read lines 1–14 of the source text on the facing page and list four things that we learn about Mr Black’s office. A. B. C. D. uncorrected sample pages 12
Question 1 AJ Flynn left school with only one GCSE. His mother has arranged for him to be interviewed for a job. The Door That Led to Where by Sally Gardner ‘Mr Morton Black will be with you shortly,’ said a young man in a shiny suit showing AJ into a large, book-lined room that smelled of hoovered carpets. 5 10 15 20 It possessed an imposing desk with no one behind it or in front of it. AJ was left wondering if it was the desk that was interviewing him instead of Mr Black. It looked more than capable of judging him and finding brothel creepers and a teddy-boy shirt wanting. The desk was a dinosaur of a thing bearing not even a computer to make a nod at the modern world, just an inkstand with clawed feet. On the wall behind the desk was an oil painting of a gentleman in a full-bottomed wig that hung in two forlorn curtains, framing a pink, blotchy face. He could almost hear him say in a voice of brass and wind, ‘You will never amount to anything, AJ Flynn. Not with one GCSE.’ What in all the dog’s-dinner days had given his mum the crazy idea of writing to this law firm? He tried and failed to think what she might have said that would make even the cleaner agree to give him a job interview. He wondered if he was meant to sit on one of the chairs in front of the desk. He could imagine it tipping him off the minute he tried, saying, ‘I only seat clients. Clients with well-padded bottoms and welllined pockets.’ Progress check Look back at your answer to Activity 1. Use the following checklist to assess your progress. Can you find evidence in the source text to prove the truth of each of the points you have made, e.g. identify quotations where this information is explicitly stated? Do all the points you have made relate only to Mr Black’s office and not any other ideas such as how AJ Flynn is feeling? Yes No Glossary brothel creepers – a kind of shoe with thick crepe soles popular with 1950s Teddy boys or fans of rock and roll. Exam tip When answering Question 1, it is important to make sure that the information you select relates to the specific focus you have been given in the question. Practise this by picking a novel at random from a shelf in the library, open it at any page and make a list of any explicit information you can find linked to a specific character, setting or situation. uncorrected sample pages Key terms Did you either include a quotation or paraphrase for each point you made? paraphrase: where you express information or an idea from the source text using your own words 13
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