AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 4 (2025 Exams Only)

Summary

In this video, Mr Bruff breaks down the AQA English Language Paper 2, specifically focusing on Question 4 for the 2025 exams. This is a 16-mark question that requires students to compare writers' ideas and perspectives across two texts. Mr Bruff emphasizes the need to understand the attitudes of the writers, not the characters in the texts, and he provides clarity on what methods can be discussed—from humor and tone to structural elements. With examples from past exams, he guides students on how to effectively analyze and write about these comparisons.

Highlights

• Compare writers' ideas and perspectives for 16 marks. 📊
• Identify methods like humor and tone to support your analysis. 🎭
• Ensure you're analyzing writers' attitudes, not just character views. 🔍
• Utilize non-fiction texts to practice picking out writers' viewpoints. 📖
• A real exam approach can help you prepare more effectively. 🎓

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the attitudes of writers is crucial, not the characters in the text. 📚
• Familiarize yourself with a variety of methods—like humor, tone, and structure—to discuss in your analysis. ✍️
• This question is worth 16 marks, so allocate about 20 minutes to answer it thoroughly. ⏰

Overview

Mastering Question 4 of the AQA English Language Paper 2 can be a game-changer in securing those 16 marks. It's all about drawing comparisons between writers' ideas and perspectives, and Mr Bruff makes this task easier by breaking down the question into manageable steps. The video focuses on understanding writers' attitudes and utilizing a wide range of methods to illustrate these points, from language features to structural techniques.

The challenge most students face is differentiating between the authors' attitudes and the viewpoints of characters within the text. Mr Bruff emphasizes the importance of zeroing in on the authors' perspectives and how these are conveyed, steering clear from misinterpreting fictional characters' views as the writers'. This distinction is critical for those aiming for top marks.

Analyzing the methods used by writers can often seem daunting. However, Mr Bruff provides a comprehensive list of techniques to consider, such as emotive language, structural devices, and narrative styles. By preparing with these tools in mind, students can confidently craft their responses to meet the examiners' criteria and excel in their exams.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview of Question 4 Chapter 'Introduction and Overview of Question 4' discusses the assessment of question 4 in a QA English-language paper. It is a 16 mark question focused on comparing writers' ideas and perspectives across two or more texts, specifically aligning with assessment objective AO3. This chapter emphasizes the requirement to analyze how the writers of sources A and B communicate their ideas and perspectives on a given topic. A sample question from Mr. Brusque's GCSE English language materials is mentioned for reference.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Sample Question Discussion The chapter titled 'Sample Question Discussion' revolves around preparing students for an exam question which focuses on comparing different attitudes towards education. The discussion is based on analyzing two sources, presumed letters from Edgar Thompson to Mr. Bullock, and involves examining the methods used by the authors to express their opinions on education. The chapter highlights the importance of using quotations to support ideas and emphasizes the necessity of understanding different perspectives within the given texts. The discussion is guided by a specific question format, suggesting that students should prepare for similar comparative analysis tasks in exams, which are valued at sixteen marks.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Understanding and Comparing Ideas and Methods This chapter focuses on a specific type of assessment question worth sixteen marks, where students are required to compare similar ideas and perspectives related to a topic. The task is segmented into two main components: first, students must demonstrate an understanding of the ideas and attitudes present in two texts and draw comparisons between them. Second, they must compare the methods used to convey these attitudes, which often poses difficulties for students. Notably, the assessment does not evaluate certain aspects including 'al2'. The chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding both these elements for successfully answering the question.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Confusion on Methods and Examples The chapter titled 'Confusion on Methods and Examples' addresses potential confusion regarding the various methods one can write about in exams. It reassures readers by listing a wide array of methods considered acceptable, based on past exam mark schemes. These include imperative verbs, emotive language, frivolous tone, juxtaposition, irony, structural viewpoint, repetition, alliteration, humorous imagery, metaphor, simile, symbolism, structural opening and ending, narrative perspectives, soup relatives, and hyperbole. This comprehensive list aims to prepare students for exam scenarios.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Analyzing Writers' Attitudes vs. Characters' Viewpoints This chapter focuses on the distinction between a writer's attitudes and the viewpoints of characters within a text. The guidance suggests that when analyzing a text, one should include methods that present the writer's ideas or perspectives but warns against confusing these with the characters' viewpoints. The example provided centers on Liam Murphy, indicating an analysis should focus on his attitude rather than the characters in source A.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Identifying Writers' Attitudes The chapter "Identifying Writers' Attitudes" discusses how to discern the writer's perspective from other viewpoints presented in nonfiction texts. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the author's attitude, especially in interview formats, where the interviewee's opinions might overshadow the writer's tone. The chapter suggests reading diverse nonfiction works to practice distinguishing the writer's perspective and understanding the techniques used to convey it. As an example, it contrasts the laid-back, informal approach to education of a character named Liam Murphy with the more formal, strict viewpoint of Edgar Thompson, illustrating different attitudes toward the educational topic.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Methods to Present Attitudes in Texts In this chapter, the focus is on analyzing the methods used by writers to present their attitudes in texts. A comparison is drawn between two authors: Murphy, who uses humor to convey an informal attitude towards education, exemplified by his joke about being a brain surgeon, and Thompson, who maintains a serious tone throughout his text. This contrast highlights different approaches to presenting ideas and perspectives.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Conclusion and Further Resources The chapter focuses on the holistic development of a child, indicating the importance of understanding not only the viewpoints of writers but also their methods of presenting these perspectives. It presents a three-step approach to analyzing attitudes and methods: first, identifying the attitudes; second, recognizing the methods used to present these attitudes; and third, analyzing why those methodologies are chosen. The chapter suggests looking at a sample paragraph to highlight how different writers can have varying attitudes toward education, exemplified through the contrast between writers like Murphy. The emphasis is on both understanding and critically evaluating the means of communication in educational contexts.

AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 4 (2025 Exams Only) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 a QA english-language paper - question 4 is a 16 mark question assessing a o3 compare writer's ideas and perspectives as well as how these are conveyed across two or more texts as the assessment objective suggests this question is a comparison question requiring you to compare how the writers of sources a and B convey their ideas and perspectives on a certain topic let's look at a sample question taken from mr. brusque I to GCSE English language available in
• 00:30 - 01:00 paperback on Amazon or ebook at Mr brough com refer to source a and source B the letter from Edgar Thompson to mr. Bullock compare how the writers convey their difference attitudes to education in your answer you should compare the different attitudes compare the methods used to show these attitudes support your ideas with quotations from the text sixteen marks now let me just point out that although my example here is a comparison of different ideas and perspectives the exam paper could ask
• 01:00 - 01:30 you to compare similar ideas and perspectives towards a topic - this is a sixteen mark question so you should spend around twenty minutes on it there are really two distinct parts to this question number one students have to demonstrate an understanding of ideas and attitudes in both texts and compare those ideas and attitudes and number two students have to compare the methods used to show these attitudes and it's this second bullet point and what is meant by the term methods that many students struggle with given that this question is not assessing al2 the use of
• 01:30 - 02:00 language and structure the possible confusion is well which methods can I actually write about well the good news is I've looked through the past exam mark schemes and you can write about pretty much anything imperative verbs emotive language frivolous tone juxtaposition irony structural viewpoint repetition alliteration humorous imagery metaphor simile symbolism structural opening structural ending narrative perspectives soup relatives hyperbole and that's just the things that have come up in the papers we've had so far
• 02:00 - 02:30 so essentially what this question is saying is this if that method is used to present the idea or perspective you're writing about then you can include it in your analysis and in your answer let me point out one simple mistake to avoid this question is explicitly about the attitudes of the writers and you need to be very careful to make sure you're analyzing the attitudes of the writers and not the viewpoints of characters presented in the text for example in source a our writer is Liam Murphy so you're looking at his attitude to
• 02:30 - 03:00 education even though the article is an interview with Andrew brough you've got to pick up the writers attitude not that of someone who appears in the text you can prepare for this by reading nonfiction texts which include more than one point of view and trying to pick out the point of view of the writer and the methods used to present it so what are the writers attitudes to education in the sources well I think we could definitely pick out the following the relaxed informal attitude to education of Liam Murphy compared to the formal strict approach of Edgar Thompson now
• 03:00 - 03:30 identifying those ideas and perspectives across both texts and seeing a contrast between the two writers is really addressing that first bullet point in the question to address the second bullet point we need to look at the methods used to present those attitudes and I think it's quite clear that the use of humor from Murphy with his joke about being a brain surgeon highlights his informal attitude to education for Thompson we have a very serious tone seen throughout the text in numerous examples such as the line of course we
• 03:30 - 04:00 fully believe in creating a rounded child so as you can see not only am I looking for evidence of the writers viewpoints or perspectives I'm looking to identify the methods they use to present those viewpoints one simple way to look at this question is like this step one what are the attitudes step two what methods you use to present those attitudes and step three can you analyze why those methods are used let's look at a sample paragraph both writers have different attitudes to education Murphy
• 04:00 - 04:30 writes in an informal tone that matches his more modern and relaxed attitude to education he states I'm inclined to agree with the bloke which seems almost out of place particularly considering that the form of the text is a public article the use of language is deliberately informal and this enforces the ideas presented in the article that we should be less restrictive with children and let them manage their own learning however Thompson's attitude is completely different the normal tone seen in such lines as of course we fully believe in creating a
• 04:30 - 05:00 rounded child shows that he sees education as purely a formal experience we sense that there is no personal or informal element to his letter because he does not believe that personal feelings are appropriate in an educational sphere I hope you found this video useful if you'd like to see a longer video on this question then you can see one just here click on the screen and you'll be taken to that video please do subscribe to the channel