19th Century Essay Mini Extract 2

A short extract from an essay to familiarise students with the language and writing styles of the 19th century. Short activities accompany the extract, based on some of the skills required for Paper 2 Question 4.

In lieu of the recent announcement that the AQA English Language GCSE will feature as one of its Paper 2 sources an extract from a 19th century essay, this short extract with accompanying activities, aims to:

• expose students to the language and style of the 19th century essay
• provide opportunities to discern perspectives, viewpoints, feelings and ideas
• engage students in the process of analysing a writer’s methods

While the extract is shorter than the source that will be provided in an actual exam insert, it is designed to build confidence in students’ approaches to this more challenging element of the course, and develops the necessary skills for Q4 separate from the element of comparison.

Each of the 3 pages features differentiated activities, including:

• choosing statements on perspective that are best matched to the extract
• finding evidence in the text for a range of statements about perspective
• a glossary of vocabulary that may be uncommon to students
• an EMI (evidence, methods, inferences) planning table
• a P2Q4-style question based on a single source
• success criteria pulled from the P2Q4 mark scheme.

Look out for more extracts as I produce them for use with my students!

Happy learning! :)