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S-Cool Revision Summary
Often in the English GCSE exam you are asked to compare two articles, evaluating which is the most effective for a particular purpose.
Usually you will be directed to examine:
Presentation
Language
Content
The following is a list of the sorts of things you should be looking for when commenting on a text. It is not an exhaustive list, but should cover the main areas.
Remember that the key to getting a good mark is not identifying these things; it is your analysis of their purpose and effectiveness.
| Presentation | Language | Content |
| Photographs; headlines and subheadings; Bullet points; illustrations; cartoons and diagrams; graphs and grids; Boxes; bold, italic, large or small type; upper case or fancy fonts, colour or black and white. Is it written in a genre/form such as a letter, or article? | The Purpose of the writing is crucial. This can be to: Instruct; Persuade; Describe Inform; Entertain; Discuss. The purpose will affect whether the writing is Complex, technical or simple Formal or informal (such as using slang and abbreviations) Literal or poetic / figurative Factual/objective, or opinion based or emotive. | Is the content fact-based or opinion-led? Is the piece detailed or short? Is the piece interesting or dull? |