Revising Language

The language question is worth 8 marks to you. You should spend about 10 minutes on it. Remember: you will be awarded more for the depth of your analysis rather than simply listing all the points you see.

To do well, you should try to include:

• At least 3 separate points explored in detail

• At least 3 separate quotations

• To ‘zoom in’ on some elements of the text (offer layers of interpretation). Pick on individual words. Even pick on punctuation if you think there is something to say.

• Subject terminology

Here is the good example answer we looked at in the lesson:

It says Tom’s skin had ‘begun to shine,’ suggesting the courtroom is a hot place, but later we learn that ‘his discomfort was not from the humidity.” There are two things here that would give a sense of atmosphere, first of all, the acknowledgment that the room humid makes the reader feel discomfort of the room physically. However, Tom, it is implied, is sweating from nerves. The nervousness of Tom helps create an atmosphere because as a reader, we feel what it would be like for Tom, a black man, to be telling the story that he is in court.

His nervousness is also shown through the pauses and repetitions in his speech, “…she says – she was laughin’, sort of – she says…” The hyphens serve to break up Tom's speech and reflect his reluctance to tell the story and therefore helps to build an atmosphere.

Atticus’s demeanour is juxtaposed with Tom’s as he asks his questions with brevity and calmness, “I understand you, Tom. Go on…” This makes Tom’s account feel more pressured and therefore adds to the sense of atmosphere.

The fact that Atticus has to repeat his questions: “What did he say?...What did he say, Tom?” builds a sense of tension because we get the sense that what he is about to say is terrible. Before he says the line, Tom is described as “shut[ting] his eyes tight” showing his reluctance again, for what he needs to say.