Source A: The last platform
An original contemporary non-fiction-style practice text, written for this question.
At 10.47, the station seemed to be holding its breath.
Sam's train had been due twelve minutes earlier. I stood beneath the departure board, watching the words beside the 10.35 service change from EXPECTED 10.52 to EXPECTED 11.06. Then the time vanished altogether. In its place appeared one word: DELAYED.
I checked my phone again. Sam's last message, sent at 10.21, still said, ‘Nearly there.’ Beneath it, the red battery symbol had shrunk to a thread. I had promised Mum that I would meet him. He was fifteen and perfectly capable of walking home, but the road from the station was dark and the rain had been falling since afternoon.
I had thought silence would be quiet. It was not. The lights buzzed above me. Rain tapped impatient fingers against the glass roof. Somewhere behind the ticket office, a machine gave a sudden mechanical cough and began humming. Every sound seemed to announce something, but none of them announced Sam.
The other passengers disappeared in ones and twos. A man folded his newspaper and left. Two students called for a lift. The station worker swept around my shoes before pulling a metal shutter across the café. Its crash travelled along the empty platform.
‘The delayed service will arrive shortly,’ said the recorded voice.
Shortly. The word floated above the tracks, meaning nothing.
At 11.09, a white light appeared beyond the bridge. It grew quickly, polishing the wet rails ahead of it. I stepped towards the platform edge. The rails began to sing. Wind pushed at my coat as the train rushed closer — and passed without stopping. For several seconds, its bright windows flickered in front of me. Then there was only darkness again.
I called Sam. The phone rang once and went silent. My screen turned black.
Three minutes later, another light appeared. This one moved more slowly. The station worker looked up from his broom and nodded. I watched the train approach as if staring could pull it towards me. Its brakes screamed. The first carriage slid past, then the second, then the third.
The doors opened.
A woman stepped down. Then a tired-looking man. Then nobody.
No Sam.
A whistle rose to the guard's lips. At the final door, a hand struck the window. Sam's face appeared behind the glass, his hair flattened by the rain and his mouth stretched into an apologetic grin.
The doors opened once more. Only when he stepped onto the platform did the station seem to breathe out.
How does the writer use language and structure to make the reader increasingly anxious during the wait for Sam?
In your response, you should write about:
Support your response with detailed references to the text, including short quotations.
143 exam-style questions on Edexcel A IGCSE English Language 1.1.2 Analysing linguistic and structural devices. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.