Text 1: The first note, by Hannah Pritchard
An original contemporary online column.
The first thing I noticed about the choir room was the chairs. They were arranged in a wide circle, so there was nowhere to hide. I had nearly turned round at the door, but the woman with the clipboard smiled and said there was room for one more.
I had not sung in front of anyone since school. When the warm-up began, I moved my lips without making a sound. Then the choir leader asked us to hum one note together. My voice came out too loudly and wobbled at the end. A few people glanced over. I felt my face warm, but nobody laughed; they simply carried on, and their voices folded mine into the sound.
We worked through the same short section several times. The leader stopped us, tapped the rhythm on her music stand and asked us to begin again. I found it strangely reassuring. Each time, the notes fitted together a little better.
By the end, I was singing properly. I still missed one entrance, but this time I laughed with the others instead of wishing the floor would open. On the way home, I caught myself humming. I had arrived expecting to be judged. I left thinking about next week.
Text 2: A room of voices, by Edwin Marsh
An original diary entry in a period style; a fictional text, not an archival document.
Tuesday evening. The rain drove several members late to rehearsal, and for a few minutes the hall seemed more like a waiting room than a choir. I had laid out the music and set the chairs in rows, but faces remained turned towards the door.
We began with a hymn familiar to most of them. The first verse was hesitant, each section keeping to itself. I stopped the singing and asked the altos to listen for the basses before joining in. We tried it again. This time the lower voices held the tune steady, and the higher parts rose above them without drowning them out.
It is tempting to think that a choir improves simply by singing more loudly. Tonight proved otherwise. They had to attend to one another: to wait, to breathe, and to come in at the right moment. I watched one of the youngest members, who had scarcely raised her eyes at the start, begin to sing with confidence.
At the close, the hall was no longer a collection of separate voices. The final chord lingered after the music had stopped. I gathered the sheets in silence, pleased that we had made something together, though there is much still to practise.
Compare the writers’ thoughts and feelings about singing with other people and how they present these thoughts and feelings. In your answer, you may find it helpful to compare each writer’s first reaction, how their feelings develop, and the methods they use to convey their views. Use evidence from both texts and make clear which text you are referring to.
110 exam-style questions on Eduqas GCSE English Language 2.4 Comparing texts, covering 2.4.1 Critical comparison of two or more texts. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.