Language Paper 2 Question 1
Louis Provis
Teacher
Contents
Approach
This question tests two very basic skills from AO1: retrieval and low-level inference. Retrieval involves nothing more than finding something factual from the text. Low-level inference may require a bit of basic figuring of language. You are being asked to mark FOUR true statements about the text from a list of eight.
Retrieval for this question may look like this:
Text: Lisa is no stranger to fame, having been on television since she was eight years old.
Statement: Lisa has been on television since she was eight.
Retrieval: Shade the box next to this statement, as it is true.
Low-level inference for this question may look like this:
Text: Lisa, the youngest of Mr and Mrs James’ seven children, is a star.
Statement: Lisa has seven siblings.
Low level inference: Leave this box unshaded as it is not true. If she is the youngest of seven, then there are in fact six siblings.
Top Tips
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Spend no more than 5 minutes deciding on which boxes to shade.
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Remember that the statements usually relate to the text chronologically.
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Put a small tick or cross next to each statement as you go through reading the text with your initial feeling.
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Start with marking the answers you’re sure of: shade the boxes of the definitely true statements and draw a line through the definitely false statements. This will narrow things down.
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Make sure, before you move on, that you have shaded FOUR boxes, even if the last one is a guess – you have a better chance of gaining marks from guessing than from leaving gaps.
No answer provided.
Worked Example
Here is the text that we will be using for our worked example.
With her signature smirk and impossibly perfect cheekbones, Lisa James has been lighting up red carpets from Cannes to Covent Garden. Her latest film, The Other Side of Summer, has already been tipped for awards season success, and critics are calling it her “most emotionally nuanced performance to date.” Not bad for someone who, not so long ago, was more likely to be spotted in supermarket tabloids than serious film journals.
Lisa is no stranger to fame, having been on television since she was eight years old. Her breakout role in the 1990s children's drama Harbour Lights made her a household name, and she’s rarely been out of the spotlight since. But while the path from child star to screen siren is notoriously littered with pitfalls, Lisa appears to have navigated it with a kind of defiant grace.
Raised in a crowded terraced house in Manchester, Lisa, the youngest of Mr and Mrs James’ seven children, is a star. She often credits her “chaotic, loving, and ever-so-slightly bonkers” family with keeping her grounded. “There’s nothing quite like being mocked by your brothers during a BAFTA acceptance speech,” she laughs.
Now thirty-two, with three Golden Globes and a fiercely loyal fan base behind her, Lisa James is not just surviving Hollywood—she’s redefining it. Whether she’s playing a tormented painter or voicing a sardonic hedgehog in an animated blockbuster, one thing’s for certain: Lisa knows how to command a scene.
These are the statements that we have addressed, click the statement to check the answer.
A. Lisa has never worked in children’s television.
False: Harbour Lights (1990) was a “children’s drama”.
B. She plays a variety of roles, including voice acting in animated films.
True: variety (from painter to hedgehog) and animation (“animated blockbuster”).
C. Lisa’s latest film is her first ever major role.
False - many other major roles mentioned.
D. Lisa grew up in a large family in Manchester.
True - a “crowded terraced house in Manchester” with many siblings.
E. Her family discouraged her from pursuing acting.
False - this is not stated in the text; it is implied that they were a good influence, keeping her “grounded”.
F. Lisa has been on television since she was eight.
True - stated unequivocally in the text.
G. Lisa has won multiple Golden Globe awards.
True - she has three.
H. Lisa has seven siblings.
False - As the youngest of seven children, she has six siblings.
Easy-peasy!
No answer provided.
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