Reading museum labels
Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.
At an exhibition of domestic objects, I read a label explaining who had made a plain wooden chair, how it had been repaired and why its design mattered. Before reading, I had nearly walked past. Afterwards I noticed the replaced rung and the worn edge of the seat. The words had not distracted me from the object; they had taught me where to look.
Other labels were less helpful. Several assumed I already knew technical terms that seemed to require another exhibition to explain them. I do not want every museum text reduced to a slogan, but difficulty should come from an interesting idea, not an unnecessary barrier in the wording. A good label opens a conversation between the visitor and the object. It does not stand in front of the case, congratulating itself on how much it knows while the visitor quietly moves on.
Source B: an original letter in a nineteenth-century voice. This is a period-voice simulation, not an archival document.
Sir, the new descriptions in the gallery contain much useful information, but their length sometimes prevents the very looking they are intended to assist. Yesterday I watched visitors gather before a case, read steadily and depart with scarcely a glance at the objects. The account had become the principal exhibit, while the thing accounted for waited behind the glass.
I do not favour leaving visitors unaided. Names, dates and a few well-chosen observations can reveal what an untrained eye misses. Yet explanation should know when to yield the floor. Let fuller accounts be available to those who seek them, and let the label beside the object provide a clear beginning rather than an entire lecture. A guide who never pauses may be learned and still be a poor companion. The gallery ought to offer knowledge in a form that leaves time and attention for seeing.
Refer to the whole of both sources. Compare the writers’ perspectives on how museum labels should support visitors and how they convey those perspectives. Support your comparison with evidence from both sources.
160 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE English Language 6.2 Content, covering 6.2.1 Reading sources: non-fiction and literary non-fiction, 6.2.2 Time periods of the sources, 6.2.3 Choice of genre, and 6.2.4 Section B writing task. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.