An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
Clara had known the village church since she was small. She could find the porch step without looking and knew the worn place on the pew where her father rested his hand. This evening, she entered alone. The long aisle seemed to draw her towards the candle at the far end.
A sudden scrape sounded above her. She stopped. Dust slipped from the rafters, and the candle flame bent sharply, though the doors were closed. Clara gripped the edge of the pew. The old church, which had always seemed steady and welcoming, now held its silence around her. She tried to call out, but only a thin breath came. Then a loose shutter struck the wall, and she hurried back towards the porch, keeping her eyes on the light outside.
Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to present the change in Clara’s feelings as she enters the church and then becomes frightened. Support your analysis with references to the passage. In your answer, consider how the church is first presented, how details change the atmosphere, and how the ending shows Clara’s response.
456 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 1.3 Content: prose fiction study requirements, covering 1.3.1 Read challenging prose fiction for the unseen 19th-century extract. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.