The kite that came back

Text: an original contemporary personal-account-style practice extract.

The red kite was already in the tree when I realised the string had gone slack. Its tail hung over a branch like a strip of warning tape. A moment earlier, I had been watching it climb above the park, pleased that it was the only kite in the sky. Now the wind had delivered it to a place I could not reach.

“It’s a dragon,” a small boy said, pointing up. His grandmother laughed, then held the end of my string while I tried to reach the lowest branch. The branch sprang back. The kite shivered, snagged again, and stayed exactly where it was. People who had been watching from their blankets began to offer suggestions. One brought a long, fallen twig; another called out when the tail shifted. For a few minutes, the park seemed to have one shared subject.

The twig finally nudged the kite free. It dropped, turned once in the air and landed in the boy’s open arms. He held it up by its frame, and the red tail streamed between us. I had brought the kite to have the sky to myself. Instead, I left with a scuffed wing and the boy’s solemn promise to tell everyone that he had caught a dragon.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.