Fact Finder

Section A: the extract 📖

In Section A you read one **unseen 19th-century fiction extract** and answer four questions. Here is a short passage (written for this module) to work with: *The old house stood at the end of Marsh Lane, half-swallowed by ivy and older than anyone living could remember. Its windows were dark, and a single crow perched upon the crooked chimney, watching the road with a patient, glittering eye. Mr Grey approached the gate slowly, his lantern trembling in the fog. He had been told the house was empty; yet a thin ribbon of smoke curled from the kitchen chimney, and somewhere within, a floorboard groaned like a living thing.* Read it once for **overall meaning** before analysing anything.

Question 1 (AO1)

An interactive activity.

Question 2 (AO1)

Q2 asks for further explicit information. Mr Grey "had been told the house was empty." Which detail suggests it might NOT be empty?

• A thin ribbon of smoke curled from the kitchen chimney
• The ivy half-swallowing the house
• The dark windows
• The fog around the gate

How to answer Q3 ✏️

Q3 (6 marks) asks how the writer uses **language**. Use the same shape every time: 1. Identify a **technique**. 2. **Quote** it. 3. **Name** it with the correct term (simile, metaphor, personification...). 4. Explain its **effect on the reader**. The marks are for the **effect**, so never stop at just spotting the technique.

Question 3 (AO2)

An interactive activity.

Match each technique to its effect

Question 4 (AO4)

Q4 (15 marks) asks you to EVALUATE how successfully the writer creates a sense of unease. Which answer is a genuine evaluative JUDGEMENT, not just description or technique-spotting?

• The writer builds unease very effectively: details like the watching crow and the groaning floorboard keep making the "empty" house feel alive and threatening
• There is a crow on the chimney and smoke coming from the kitchen
• The passage is set at an old house in the fog
• The extract contains a simile and some personification

Section A summary

Questions 1 and 2 test AO1: find information stated _____ in the text. Question 3 tests AO2: name a language technique and explain its _____ on the reader. Question 4 tests AO4: give a sustained _____ of how successful the writing is, backed by _____ from the text.