How to Answer Question 5
Paper 1, or Component 1, is the “fiction” paper. You will be given five reading questions to answer about an extract from a longer piece of literature or a short story in Section A. You should always begin by dividing up the reading passage into the sections specified by each question, and you should complete these questions in the order they are given.
The following guide to how to answer Question 5 includes:
Question 5 overview
How to answer Question 5
Exam tips
Question 5 overview
Question 5 shifts focus away from AO2 and onto AO4, with the focus on critical evaluation of the reading passage. It is very important that you manage your time effectively in this part of the exam to ensure you leave 15 minutes to answer this question, as it is also worth 10 marks. Every year, lots of students fail to answer Question 5 due to time management issues. This is important: scoring zero marks for this question will mean that you would be unable to access the highest grades.
For this question, you will be given a statement and asked to what extent or how far you agree. You may be directed specifically to lines at the end of the passage, but you will also always be asked to consider the passage as a whole. It is important to remember that you are being asked to give your opinion based on the evidence contained in what you have read. You should therefore establish a clear point of view, based on the text, and sustain this throughout your response. Answers that provide a clear, even if simple, perspective are usually the most convincing, so do not be tempted to disagree or argue against the statement for the sake of it.
How to answer Question 5
The following example of Question 5 is taken from the Eduqas GCSE summer 2022 exam:
Because Question 5 is a more detailed question, you should take care to read it carefully and highlight its focus. If you are directed to certain lines, then begin your analysis with these lines before extending it to the text as a whole.
The steps are:
Read the question and highlight the focus (what you are being asked about)
Scan the section of text (if given), and go back over the whole of the passage:
Highlight any information directly relevant to the focus of the question
Annotate in the margins what your selected evidence tells you that answers the question
For the above question, you are directed initially to lines 62–80, so this is where you would begin:
The first betrayal came two months after Peter started his own consultancy firm. Rachel went to work for him and had her own desk in the small office which was all he could afford. She acted as receptionist, secretary and main scientist.
Now there were no bottles of champagne, but she still dreamed. She understood that money was tight. It was enough that he would occasionally brush his lips over her hair and say, ‘You do know that I couldn’t manage without you, don’t you?’
Then she saw an article by him in a magazine. It described a new method for counting upland birds. It was the method she had devised but he took the credit for it. He claimed it as his own work.
The method quickly became the recommended system for upland surveys of birds. Peter was suddenly very much in demand and work flooded into the office. Rachel continued to work for him without making a fuss, but she could no longer bear for him to touch her. She often wondered why she didn’t confront him, but it was a matter of pride. Why indeed did she continue to work for him, supporting the business through its expansion into a smart new office? If she resigned she would have to admit to others and to herself that he had made a fool of her. She would have to accept that his only reason for paying attention to her was to steal her ideas.
The second betrayal came in the form of a large envelope which she found propped on her desk one morning. It contained an invitation to Peter’s wedding.
3. Decide on your stance, and then re-visit the rest of the passage to highlight some evidence from both the start and the middle of the passage that supports your point of view:
For example, in the above question, there is evidence to support the fact that Rachel is academically intelligent, as she has a degree from Cambridge
4. It is useful to make a brief, bulleted plan of your key arguments for this question, to ensure you are covering the whole of the text (see our Model Answer for an example)
5. Start your answer using the wording of the question and your argument (state clearly whether you agree or disagree):
For example: “I agree that the writer presents Rachel as an intelligent woman who behaves foolishly in her relationship with Peter Kemp because, despite her academic and emotional intelligence, she is manipulated and taken advantage of.”
6. Then, make your arguments as to why you think this:
For every argument you make, you must provide evidence from what you have read to back it up
Exam Tip
This question is often considered to be the most difficult on this paper. The key to a good mark is, as well as ensuring that you leave adequate time to complete it, the ability to shape and sustain a coherent stance throughout your answer. The examiner will reward any valid response as long as it is coherent and supported by the text. Do not be tempted just to write a general commentary on the passage or re-tell the story, losing focus on the question itself.
