Text 1: A picnic for the whole park, by Bethan Cole
An original contemporary online feature.
The idea for a community picnic began with a message on our street noticeboard. By Saturday morning, about thirty people had arrived at the park with blankets, folding tables and baskets of food. We put the tables near the gate and laid out cups, plates and napkins. A few people had brought sandwiches and fruit to share, while two neighbours set up a tea urn beside the path.
The children helped in their own way. They tied paper ribbons along the fence and carried bags of rubbish to the bins. One family had brought a ball and a skipping rope, so we cleared a patch of grass for games. When a shower passed over, everyone moved the food under the park shelter and waited together until the rain stopped.
At the end of the afternoon, people folded the blankets, packed away the tables and picked up the litter. We had planned to finish by four, but the last group stayed to sweep the shelter. By the time I walked home, the park looked as it had that morning.
Text 2: The harvest supper, from the diary of Elsie Price
An original diary written in a 1930s voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.
Text 2 is from the diary of a girl living in a Welsh village in the 1930s.
October 12th. The chapel supper is to be held on Friday, so Mother and I went to the hall after breakfast. The tables had to be carried from the storeroom and scrubbed before we covered them with cloths. Mrs Evans brought onions from her garden, and Mr Lewis arrived with a basket of potatoes from his farm. The women chopped vegetables and made pies in the chapel kitchen.
October 13th. Father and the other men arranged benches in the hall and fetched extra chairs from the school. My brother and I tied bunches of leaves to the door and wrote the names of the dishes on slips of card. The pies and cakes were set out along the tables before anyone came in.
October 14th. We served supper to the villagers. After they had gone, we washed the plates, put the chairs away and swept the floor. Mother said her feet ached, but she was glad everyone had helped.
Drawing on both texts, explain briefly how the community events were prepared. In your answer, consider the jobs carried out and who took part.
You should make it clear which text you are referring to.
123 exam-style questions on Eduqas GCSE English Language 2.3 Summary and synthesis, covering 2.3.3 Synthesising from more than one text. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.