Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.
The supermarket near my home used to have a separate queue at every till. Choosing one felt like making a prediction. I would inspect the baskets ahead of me, select what seemed to be the fastest line and then watch the others move while mine waited for a price check. Changing queues rarely helped. The line I joined would immediately slow down, as if it had noticed me.
Last month, the supermarket introduced one winding queue for four tills. At first, it looked much longer. However, it moved steadily, and the next available cashier simply called the person at the front. Nobody had to guess which queue would be quickest. More importantly, nobody could arrive later and leave first because they had made a lucky choice.
I would keep a separate basket-only queue at busy times because somebody buying one item should not always wait behind several full trolleys. For most customers, though, the shared queue is calmer and fairer. We take our places in the order we arrive and move towards whichever till becomes free. Shopping should not become a competition that rewards the person who predicts the fastest cashier.
Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.
The supermarket in our town recently tested one queue for every till. The notice promised simplicity, but the customers did not all need the same kind of service. Some wanted to pay with cash, while others preferred the card-only tills. A customer with a small basket waited behind several full trolleys even though a suitable till was free.
Separate, clearly labelled queues allow people to choose a route that matches what they need. They also make progress visible. When I join a short queue, I can see how many customers are ahead of me and decide whether I have time to wait. In the shared queue, I could see plenty of tills but had no idea when I would reach one that suited me.
Of course, separate queues must be organised properly. Signs should be easy to read, and a member of staff can direct customers when one line becomes much longer than the others. A shared overflow queue may also help during the busiest periods. However, fairness does not always mean requiring everybody to stand in the same line. Sometimes it means giving people clear choices and recognising that a customer with two items may need something different from a customer with a full trolley.
Compare how the writers present their ideas and perspectives about using one shared queue or separate queues in a supermarket. Support your comparisons with detailed references to both texts.
In your answer, you may wish to consider:
834 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 2.3 Content: non-fiction study and transactional text types, covering 2.3.9 Write an article, 2.3.10 Write a letter, 2.3.11 Write a review, 2.3.12 Write a text for a speech, and 2.3.13 Write a section for a guide, textbook, leaflet or booklet. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.