IGCSE First Language English - THE WRITER'S EFFECT *TOP BAND RESPONSE*
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the creator offers essential tips for students preparing for the IGCSE Paper 1, focusing on the writer's effect question. He walks viewers through a detailed example using a narrative text about a challenging journey through a hot countryside. Emphasizing the importance of understanding the text's imagery and language, the host provides advice on crafting topic sentences, analyzing key quotes, and structuring responses effectively. The video is aimed at 'crammers' looking for a concise, yet thorough, guide to mastering the writer’s effect question, ensuring success in a short time frame.
Takeaways
- 📚 The video is aimed at students preparing for IGCSE exams, especially crammers who need to fine-tune their skills quickly.
- 🌙 The video was made late at night because many viewers requested more content ahead of their exams.
- ✍️ This is the final video on the writer's effect for Paper 1, meant to be the only resource viewers need for their preparation.
- 📖 The video features a text analysis titled 'The Long Hot Walk,' where the writer describes a challenging journey through a hot countryside.
- 🌞 The writer vividly illustrates the oppressive and hostile heat, which affects both the landscape and the speaker in the passage.
- 🔍 The video emphasizes the importance of analyzing specific paragraphs (paragraphs 2 and 11) in the text for the writer’s effect question.
- 🖋️ Key advice is to create clear topic sentences focused on the effect of the heat on the landscape and the speaker, as well as how the cafe owner and her husband take care of the speaker.
- 📝 The video suggests using at least three quotations per paragraph in the exam response, with imagery and powerful words as the main focus.
- ⏳ Spend no more than 35 minutes on the writer’s effect question, and concentrate on analyzing imagery and stylistic choices effectively.
- 🎯 The video concludes by encouraging students to remain calm, take their time, and focus on quality analysis over quantity when writing their responses.
Q & A
What is the purpose of this video?
-The purpose of the video is to provide guidance and tips for students preparing for the IGCSE Paper 1, specifically focusing on the writer's effect question. The video aims to help crammers fine-tune their skills in a short amount of time.
Why does the speaker mention 'crammers' at the beginning of the video?
-The speaker mentions 'crammers' because they know many students are reaching out for last-minute help with their studies. The video is aimed at students who are trying to prepare quickly, just days before the exam.
What key advice does the speaker give about preparing for the writer's effect question?
-The speaker advises students to read carefully, not rush, and focus on understanding what the writer is trying to achieve. They stress the importance of collecting evidence, such as imagery, and writing two separate paragraphs with three quotations in each.
Why does the speaker suggest highlighting and annotating the text?
-The speaker suggests highlighting and annotating the text to help students quickly identify key parts of the passage that are relevant to the writer's effect question. This allows students to organize their thoughts and make their analysis clearer.
What does the speaker emphasize about time management during the exam?
-The speaker emphasizes that students should spend no more than 35 minutes on the writer's effect question and focus on the quality of their analysis rather than obsessing over word count.
How does the speaker suggest students analyze the text?
-The speaker suggests that students zoom in on powerful words and phrases, focusing on imagery. They recommend breaking down the writer's language and explaining both the explicit meaning and the deeper analysis, while keeping the overall effect in mind.
What is the example text in the video about?
-The example text in the video is about a person walking through the countryside in a foreign country, experiencing extreme heat, and eventually being rescued by a cafe owner and her husband after becoming dehydrated and exhausted.
What kind of imagery does the speaker highlight from the example text?
-The speaker highlights imagery such as 'the violence of the heat,' 'bruise the whole earth,' and 'the sun struck upwards and sideways and down.' These phrases create a sense of oppressive and hostile heat that affects both the landscape and the speaker.
What should students focus on when selecting quotations for their response?
-Students should select quotations that they are comfortable analyzing and that allow them to discuss at least two different aspects of the writer's language. The speaker emphasizes the need to understand the overall effect of the language in the chosen quotations.
What is the structure of the model paragraphs provided by the speaker?
-The model paragraphs start with an overall effect sentence, followed by specific analysis of chosen quotations. The analysis zooms in on individual words or phrases, explaining both their explicit and implicit meanings, and concludes by tying everything back to the overall effect.
Outlines
📝 Introduction to the Crammer’s Guide
The speaker welcomes viewers to a second video on mastering the writer’s effect for IGCSE Paper 1, aimed especially at 'crammers.' They share their own experience as a crammer in high school and emphasize this video as a definitive guide to fine-tuning skills for the upcoming exam. Viewers are encouraged to prepare with notebooks and the provided materials in the description, with a light-hearted note about muting the speaker's voice if needed.
🌞 Storytime: The Long Hot Walk
The speaker begins a 'storytime' session, reading from a narrative titled 'The Long Hot Walk,' where the protagonist experiences an arduous journey through an increasingly hostile, hot landscape. The heat intensifies as they walk toward a city, feeling suffocated by the extreme weather. As they interact with locals who show disbelief and pity, the description of the heat continues to grow more vivid, emphasizing its violence and oppressive nature. The speaker collapses from thirst, leading to an interaction at a roadside café.
🥵 Relief at the Café
The protagonist, desperately thirsty, is finally taken in by the café owner and given ice to suck on, though they are warned against drinking too much water too quickly. The locals express shock at the protagonist's decision to walk such a long distance in the heat without water. The café owner and her husband eventually agree to drive the protagonist to the city. The narrative conveys a sense of exhaustion, relief, and the protagonist’s gradual recovery from the punishing journey.
📚 The Lesson: Writer’s Effect and Key Techniques
Transitioning into the lesson, the speaker explains the importance of understanding the writer’s effect by focusing on imagery and the power of language. They guide viewers through analyzing the key effects of heat on the landscape and the protagonist in the text, using examples such as 'the violence of the heat' and how it 'bruises the whole earth.' They stress the importance of structuring answers around imagery and including three key quotations per paragraph when writing about the writer’s effect.
💡 Writing Techniques and Model Answers
The speaker provides detailed steps on how to craft a topic sentence, emphasizing that the overall effect of the language should be at the forefront. They demonstrate how to analyze imagery and sentence structure, using specific examples from the text. They also suggest viewers highlight important phrases in their exam papers and use simple annotations. Finally, they share a model paragraph with suggested phrasing, demonstrating how to effectively analyze and explain the writer’s use of imagery and language.
✨ Final Thoughts and Exam Strategy
In this concluding section, the speaker wraps up the lesson by discussing the importance of practice, focusing on both explicit and implicit meanings of the text. They emphasize quality over quantity in analysis, reminding viewers to carefully select and analyze quotations. The speaker also highlights how different paragraphs often have contrasting effects, such as one paragraph creating a sense of oppression, while another conveys relief. They sign off by wishing viewers luck in their upcoming exams, promising another video soon, before heading off to bed.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Writer's Effect
💡Imagery
💡Crammers
💡Oppressive Heat
💡Simile
💡Annotations
💡Onomatopoeia
💡Hostile Landscape
💡Topic Sentence
💡Zoom-in Technique
Highlights
The video is aimed at students who are 'cramming' for their IGCSE Paper 1, focusing on writer's effect analysis.
The speaker encourages viewers to grab their notebooks, pens, and highlighters to fully engage with the lesson.
The lesson focuses on a passage titled 'The Long Hot Walk,' where the narrator walks through a foreign countryside experiencing oppressive heat.
Key advice includes taking time to read and understand the passage rather than rushing through the analysis.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of analyzing paragraphs 2 and 11 for the writer’s effect, especially on heat and how it impacts the landscape and the narrator.
The first bullet point centers on the effect of heat on both the landscape and the speaker.
The second bullet point focuses on how the café owner and her husband take care of the speaker after his journey.
The speaker stresses the importance of using three quotations per paragraph and spending no more than 35 minutes on this question.
For the analysis, students are instructed to focus on imagery and stylistic choices such as verbs, adjectives, and metaphors.
The first example of analysis focuses on the phrase 'violence of the heat,' showing how it suggests that the heat is oppressive and punishing.
The second example emphasizes the description of the heat 'bruising the earth,' analyzing how it represents the heat’s relentless and harmful nature.
The speaker provides a model answer for the first paragraph, showing how to structure responses using topic sentences, analysis, and proper transition phrases.
The second example passage emphasizes the sense of relief the narrator feels after drinking water and being cared for by the café owner.
The writer’s effect is analyzed in terms of how the narrator's vulnerability is highlighted as he relies on others for comfort and survival.
The speaker reminds students that focusing on quality analysis is more important than word count, and encourages them to use the models provided for guidance.
Transcripts
hey what's up guys and welcome back to
igcse success i'm back with a second
video it's way past my bedtime but i
know lots of you are reaching out to me
to make as many videos as possible so
this video is for all of my lovely
crammers around the world and don't
worry i definitely was a crammer as well
when i was in high school and this will
be my last writer's effect video forget
all of the other writer's effect video
in my rather long playlist this is the
only video you are going to need to
prepare for paper one in a matter of
days so if you are watching this and
your writer's effect skills need a
little fine-tuning or finessing um be
sure to watch the video until the very
end grab your notebook your pen
highlighters be sure to download the
insert question paper and i will put
that in the description bar below and
with all that said and done let's get
straight to it so as mentioned guys i
will put the question paper and the
insert in the description box below but
let's do a little bit of a story time
and if you can't stand
the sound of my boring voice you are
welcome to mute me and read a story
yourself that's absolutely fine i will
not be offended however if you want to
listen to my voice grab your coffee and
let's go
so taxi is titled the long hot walk this
text is taken from a longer narrative at
this point the writer is touring a
foreign country he decides to walk
through countryside to a local city
so let's take a read
there have been a definite chill in the
early morning air and the idea of
walking to the city and enjoying my
surroundings had seemed a good one
however as i walked east along the road
and towards the morning sun which was
already huge and bloated i began to
realize that the temperature was
changing rapidly i see where this is
going
after a while it seemed that there was
little air to breathe i remember
stopping at a farm where unmoving and
silent labourers scooped up water from
wells and handed it to me warm and green
they stared at me with disbelief and
pity in their eyes as i moved away from
them
by mid-morning the violence of the heat
seemed to bruise the whole earth and
turned its crust into one huge scar you
could always guess the writer's effect
paragraphs
the sun struck upwards and sideways and
down while the heat while the heat while
the wheat went buckling across the
fields like a solid sheet of copper i
kept walking because there was no shade
to hide in and because it seemed to be
the only way to agitate the air around
me also in my optimism i really did hope
i would soon see the evidence of the
city i walked on conscious only of the
red hot dust grinding like pepper
between my toes and the vast empty
spaces on either side of me
by midday i was parched fantasies of
water rose up and wrapped me in a cool
wet leaves or pressed the thought of
cucumber peel across my stinging eyes
and fill my mouth with dripping moss
i imagine drinking whole monsoons and
winter mists and reclining on the sponge
of a deep cooling sea
then i saw the spire of a church rising
from the plain like a jet of a fountain
there was a shower of eucalyptus trees
brushing against a roadside cafe and i
was standing there calling out for a
cold drink
no
you mustn't drink too much you may pass
out the cafe owner threw up her hands at
the sight of me then turned alarmed to
shout at a couple of well-dressed
gentlemen eating at a table in the
corner
the old man bowed the lady is right you
are too hot for sudden drinking
everybody tutted at me and shook their
heads i could only stand there croaking
desperate with thirst someone give this
man a drink
the owner gave me some ice to suck
then she told me to rest indoors whilst
everybody asked me questions where had i
come from how had i got to here where
was i going at my replies the owner
threw up her hands again to the city on
foot and are you carrying no water it is
unthinkable the gentleman started rapid
fire expressions of disbelief spitting
their food at each other like furious
furious furious exclamations these
idiots who walk all over the place up
and down mountainsides round and round
the plains in this heat it is
straightforward and cheap to hire a car
this is the third one this month we've
had to look after exclaimed the owner i
heard their voices fading and booming
around me then the owner's husband was
leaning over me give the young man a
little drink if he doesn't pass out and
still wish to go to the city we can take
him in the car
i'm sure he's learned his lesson
the first mouthful of mineral water
burst in my throat and cascaded like
frosted stars
then i was given a plate of bread and
cheese
nice of them
a deep langer spread through my limbs
i remember no more of my benefactors or
what they said only the drowsy glories
of eating and drinking to my full
after that i was lifted to my feet and
let outside
then stretched out across the back of
the car i was driven to the city by the
cafe owner and her husband
remember guys that video i did not so
long ago about learning some
suitable adjectives to describe the
weather the landscape here is another
example cambridge love these texts these
stories where the landscape the heat
it's oppressive it's hostile it's
threatening
go check out that video
but in terms of difficulty
it's all right actually i quite enjoyed
that
um in terms of vocabulary not too
difficult so if you got this text i
think
you'd be all right so let's get straight
to the lesson the writer's effect
hashtag
crammer edition no that's not a typo
that's me trying to be um funny but
seriously guys
this really is the only video that you
need to finesse fine tune even if for
whatever reason you just think that you
are absolutely
rubbish terrible at this question this
video is going to help i cannot stress
enough get your notebook at your pen
have a go at this question now it goes
without saying it doesn't matter what
question you are doing i want you
not to rush i want you to stop i want
you to read and i want you to think we
know the question stems do not change
the summary the extended writing
response the writer's effect
it has that generic uh question stem
don't rush the last thing that you want
to do is
analyze the wrong paragraph and it does
happen
every single year unfortunately
now i just want to go through some key
bits of information
this is why you really need to stop
read and think okay so at the top
re-read paragraphs two and eleven make
sure you understand them
make sure or try to understand what the
writer is trying to achieve and you
might want to put a little asterisk by
these paragraphs in your insert you are
able to do that you're not able to
annotate
um your answer booklet however
now the most important information
is
the information after the ellipsis so i
have underlined that for you
try and include the key words in your
topic sentences for both paragraphs so
let's take a look at bullet point one
and is about the effect of the heat on
the landscape and the speaker bullet
point two
and is about how the eating place owner
and her husband look after the speaker
and drive him to the city
use that information to create your
topic sentence so for example the
overall effect of the language creates
an image of the heat having a
adjective effect on the landscape and
the speaker as simple as that all you
might want to use an abstract noun that
is absolutely fine as well
now you can focus on sentences you can
focus on other stylistic choices but
really the primary focus is imagery
those powerful words those powerful
phrases
it's important to note that you are
required to write two separate
paragraphs and you must have
three quotations in each no more is
needed don't obsess over the word count
just ensure you spend no more than 35
minutes on this question
and there are 15 marks for
reading
try not to stress too much about how you
structure or organize your response you
will always and have always been marked
on the quality of your analysis for this
question however at the end of this
presentation i will give you a suggested
and you are welcome to follow that
now from the question we have already
been given the focus so your job is to
collect evidence relating to the heat
and its effect on the landscape and the
speaker now just to speed things up i
have chosen my three images already
there will always be
more than three images choose the images
that you are comfortable with in terms
of saying
i would say at least two different
things so i've selected the violence of
the heat
um and the fact that it seemed to bruise
the whole earth
and the sun struck upwards sideways and
down i mean there's so many great images
in this paragraph i almost want to
analyze the whole thing
now once you have highlighted you need
to ask yourself a couple of things
what is the writer trying to achieve
what is the overall effect of the
language and you might want to write
your topic sentence close to the top on
your insert or somewhere close to the
paragraph
if i was answering this question and i
have at the end don't skip i would
probably start my paragraph along the
lines of the overall effect of the
language creates an image of the heat
being oppressive and having the
potential to cause significant harm to
the landscape and the speaker
that is what the writer is really trying
to achieve with this paragraph
you produce something like that as your
topic sentence is going to keep you nice
and focused
don't forget
start with the overall effect of the
language for both paragraphs and
remember you can highlight your insert
and i do recommend that you highlight
and you make some really quick
annotations they can be as simple as the
ones that you see on the screen so the
violence of the heat uh this creates a
sense of the heat being unbearable
ruthless it's out to punish the
landscape and the speaker bruise the
whole earth the sun is harming the
landscape it's suffocating any life it's
oppressive hostile the sun struck
upwards sideways and down the heat is
violent there's no escape nowhere to run
or hide
hopefully get the idea
and putting it all together hopefully
you should end up with something like
this
the overall effect of the language
creates an image of the heat being
oppressive and having the potential to
cause significant harm to the landscape
and the speaker
firstly the writer describes the
violence of the heat the right issues of
the imagery suggests the temperature is
both unbearable and threatening almost
as if it is seeking to punish both the
landscape and the speaker it is clear
that any attempt to try and evade the
punishing weather would be futile
secondly the writer describes how the
heat seemed to bruise the whole earth
love that image the writers of the verb
bruise refers to an injury where the
skin has been darkened so i'm looking at
that explicit meaning there more on that
later additionally this suggests the
heat is relentless and will stop at
nothing to inflict as much damage as
possible
it's clear that the extreme temperature
is affecting the landscape in a negative
way almost as if it is suffocating
anything that is living
lastly the writer describes that the sun
struck upwards sideways and down the
writer's use of the verb struck refers
to being hit forcibly and aggressively
furthermore it suggests that there is no
escaping the wrath of the hostile heat
there is nowhere to run and nowhere to
hide it's almost as if the sun has a
sadistic side and is getting enjoyment
from torturing the landscape and the
speaker what a horrible sun
now you've got to strike the right
balance if you are
not
necessarily
oh fail with your word classes if you're
not super confident just say the
writer's imagery the writer's use of
imagery the righteous uses of imagery
that's absolutely fine at the end of the
day your analysis the quality of your
analysis is far more important
and within one or both paragraphs you
need to show an awareness of some of the
explicit ideas so if you have a look at
where i put the writer's use of the verb
brews i have explained what bruce means
on a more explicit level and then i've
gone on to the next layer which is which
of course is my analysis
now the red of course is my overall
effect that is my topic sentence the
firstly the writer describes the is kind
of like my transition phrase i guess the
writers used so everything in the purple
is the zoom in technique as i like to
call it and in the orange
appropriate discourse markers to
structure my analysis and indeed develop
it
feel free to comb through this model a
little bit further scrutinize it make
notes see if you can use it as a model
to write your own now the reason you are
directed to two different paragraphs is
because there will be contrast the
overall effect will be different
and it's particularly true
with this
story
now i've selected my quotations or my
images just to speed up the process
i've selected burst in my throat
cascaded like frosted stars
then stretched out across the back of
the car again you need to ask yourself
what is a writer trying to achieve what
is the overall effect of the language
my topic sentence or my overall effect
would be the overall effect of the
language creates an image of the speaker
feeling a huge sense of relief
they feel instantly revitalized because
of the water
nice and simple nice and straightforward
but showing an awareness of what the
writer is trying to achieve through
their language through their words
through their phrases through their
imagery and here are some example
annotations so burst in my throat you've
got that onomatopoeia sense of
excitement sudden rush it's got this
sort of transformative effect it's
revitalizing him it's giving the speaker
life
cascaded like frosted stars you've got
that similarly you've got that powerful
verb cascaded you've got that adjective
frosted gosh so much to explore with
this uh quotation and another thing to
note as well if you are exploring an
image and it has more than one powerful
word zoom into more than one word
zoom into that uh verb cascaded zoom
into that adjective uh frosted
when i think about this image it's
almost as if it's or the writer is
likening the water to a waterfall
they're very much focusing on the speed
of the water the power in which it is
gushing out the speaker of course feels
revitalized but it's also painful at the
same time due to the dryness of the
throat
then stretched out across the back of
the car we've got a sense of their
vulnerability they are almost helpless
almost childlike they are awaiting to be
transported to safety and there's this
palpable this huge sense of relief now
let's take a look at the second model
the overall effect of the language
creates an image of the speaker feeling
a huge sense of relief they feel
instantly revitalized because of the
water
firstly the writer describes the water
burst in his throat i mean this is
really important that you do it but
because we are writing about someone
else you might want to
uh change the pronoun so we're not
putting me otherwise it sounds kind of
odd
sorry uh my i meant you wouldn't lose
marks for that by the way the writers
used the verb burst refers to the water
gushing out very suddenly and powerfully
so i'm looking at the explicit meaning
there that i go on to the next layer
additionally it suggests the speaker's
desperation for liquid it's almost as if
it is a blessing from god secondly the
writer describes the water cascaded like
frosted stars the writer's use of a
simile likens the liquid to a waterfall
the powerful sensation is both welcoming
and painful due to the dryness of the
speaker's mouth
it's clear to see that the water is
slowly but surely quenching its dryness
of his mouth
lastly the writer describes a speaker
stretched out across the back of the car
the writer's use of imagery almost like
the speaker to a vulnerable child one
that needs to one that needs
minus the two care and comfort due to
their ordeal in the punishing heat it's
clear to see how the speaker has given
up any control and wants to get to the
city as soon as possible and there you
have it guys everything that you need to
succeed with the writer's effect
question question two d
again best of luck i know it's only a
matter of days
trust me i'm keeping everything crossed
for you
i will do my best to try and put out
another video tomorrow but until next
time bye bye and i'm off to bed
goodnight
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