The frozen canal
From the bridge, the canal looked like a road nobody had finished building. Ice held the fallen leaves at different depths: one bright oak leaf lay just beneath the surface, while darker shapes blurred below it. Along the bank, reeds stood in brittle ranks. Esme dropped a pebble. It skipped once and sang, a thin note travelling farther than she expected. She kept her next pebble in her pocket. Beneath the clear edge, a small current pulled at a trapped stem. The canal was still moving, quietly, under its hard new skin.
Analyse how the writer uses language to present the frozen canal. Support your answer with evidence.
40 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE English Language 3.1 Critical reading and comprehension, covering 3.1.1 Identify and interpret themes, ideas and information, 3.1.2 Read in different ways for different purposes, 3.1.3 Draw inferences and justify with evidence, 3.1.4 Support a point of view using textual evidence, 3.1.5 Identify bias and misuse of evidence, 3.1.6 Reflect critically and evaluatively using context, 3.1.7 Recognise different responses to a text, 3.1.8 Identify the main theme or themes, 3.1.9 Summarise ideas and information from a single text, 3.1.10 Synthesise from more than one text, 3.1.11 Explain how vocabulary and grammar create impact, 3.1.12 Analyse and evaluate form and structure, and 3.1.13 Compare texts critically. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.