Learning to swim
Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.
“I booked six adult swimming lessons at the pool beside the college. They took place on Tuesday evenings, after the children's classes had finished. Our instructor, Sal, began in the shallow end and asked what each of us wanted to achieve. I wanted to cross the pool without stopping. Another learner wanted to feel comfortable putting her face in the water. Nobody laughed at either ambition. We practised breathing beside the wall before attempting a length.
The water had always seemed to be waiting for my mistake. In the first lesson, even a ripple looked like an objection. Sal did not tell me that there was nothing to fear; she gave me one manageable thing to do. Breathe out. Hold the side. Try again. Those small instructions built a bridge across the enormous distance between knowing that other people could swim and believing that I might. By the final week, I crossed the pool slowly. I still disliked the deep end. Progress had not made me fearless; it had made fear a less powerful instructor.”
Source B: an original nineteenth-century-style letter or account, written for practice; this is not an archival document.
“My cousin undertook to teach me to swim during our visit to the coast. His instruction was delivered from a rock, while I stood in cold water and attempted to distinguish his advice from the noise of the waves. He assured me that the business was perfectly natural. This description failed to explain why my arms and legs appeared to have received contradictory orders.
I subsequently found a teacher at the bathing establishment who began with shorter exercises and remained near enough to be heard. Within a fortnight I could move a modest distance without assistance. I mention this not to advertise my achievement, but to protest against the belief that embarrassment is a useful teaching instrument. A beginner already knows that others can perform the task. What he requires is a practicable next step, not a louder account of his deficiency.”
Refer to both sources. Infer the differences in the teaching arrangements and methods. Write a summary supported by details 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.