When the interviewer said nothing
Original opinion extract, written for practice.
I used to think a good interviewer arrived carrying the next question like a relay runner waiting for the baton. Any pause looked like dropped equipment. Listening back to my recordings has been an uncomfortable education. Several guests begin saying something less practised just as I hurry in with my beautifully prepared change of subject. I am not planning to abandon preparation or stare at people until they rescue me. A guest should not have to do all the work. But there is a difference between leaving someone stranded and allowing a thought to find its next sentence. I want to learn that difference. At present, the most useful thing in my notebook is a small reminder not to prove I have brought a notebook.
Use your own words to evaluate the writer’s attitude to silence during an interview. Give details from the extract to justify your answer.
40 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE English Language 5.2.2 Question 1(a) analysis and evaluation of the text(s). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.