Photographing a celebration
Source A: an original personal account.
At my sister’s graduation, I watched her cross the stage through a phone screen. When she waved, I zoomed in rather than waving back. The video is steady and sharply focused. What I remember most clearly is the little red recording symbol. At her birthday meal, I took one photograph before putting the phone away. I wanted to belong to the evening rather than document every second of it.
Source B: an original personal account.
My father could not travel to the graduation. In the recording, he can hear the pause before my sister’s name and the enormous cheer from our cousins. He has watched it six times, stopping to point out people he recognises. A camera can distract the person holding it, certainly. It can also carry a moment to someone who would otherwise receive only our report that it went well.
Compare how the writers use personal experiences to present their views about recording family occasions.
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.