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6.2 Content

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Question 53

The coffee grinder

Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.

The hand grinder looked pleasingly simple on the kitchen shelf: a wooden box, a metal bowl and a handle curved like a question mark. In the shop, I had imagined a quiet morning ritual. At home, the first turn produced a crunch so abrupt that the cat left the room. The handle resisted, yielded and resisted again. My promised tranquillity required a surprising amount of effort from the wrist.

Then the smell began. It rose from the drawer in a warm, dark rush, reaching me before I had ground enough for a single cup. The beans disappeared slowly, each turn making a rough little announcement of progress. I stopped looking at the clock and watched the remaining handful diminish. The task was repetitive, but repetition had acquired a result I could smell. By the time I opened the drawer, the kitchen seemed to have changed ownership: the coffee had taken possession.

I have not become the sort of person who performs every domestic task slowly. On busy mornings I use the electric grinder. But when there is time, I enjoy the wooden box's stubbornness. It makes the cup begin before the water boils, with work, noise and anticipation rather than the press of a button.

Refer to the whole of Source A. Analyse how the writer uses language to present the experience of using the hand grinder. Explain the effects of specific words, phrases and language choices, using evidence from the passage.

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Markscheme

6.2 Content Questions

  1. GCSE
  2. /English Language
  3. /6.2 Content

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.

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