Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

When Sam was putting together a display for our class project, I told him not to worry and said it would come together. He looked at the half-empty board and asked where to begin. I realised that my reassurance had given him no way to start.

I took a spare sheet and showed him how I grouped the information under three headings before adding pictures. He tried the same approach on the display, moving one section when it looked crowded. By the end, he was making his own decisions about what to include. I still think encouragement matters, but I now try to show one useful first step as well.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

At lunchtime, Leila was trying to organise her notes for a class test. I said she would be fine and that she should keep going. She turned the pages over and said she had no idea how to make them easier to revise from.

I used one page to demonstrate turning a long paragraph into a few questions, with the answers written underneath. Leila made a set of her own and tested herself with them. She changed one question when it seemed too broad. I had meant to be supportive before, but a small demonstration gave her something she could actually try.

Both texts describe someone offering help.

What similarities are there in the way the help develops? Use evidence from both texts to support your answer.

You may write about:

• what each person says or does at first
• how each person makes the help more practical.