Structure and Evaluation.
Notes
Structure: what it means
Structure is how a writer organises a text to guide the reader's attention, emotion and understanding. Think of the extract as a camera that moves through the scene.
Structural features to look for
| Feature | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Opening | Does it start with a setting, a character, speech or action? Why? |
| Shifts in focus | Wide to narrow (zooming in), or one character to another? |
| Shifts in time or mood | Chaos to calm, past to present, hope to despair? |
| Pace | Fast sentences or slow, detailed description? |
| Sentence length | Short sentences for tension or finality; long for flow or confusion |
| Repetition and patterns | Does a word, image or idea return to build meaning? |
| Contrast | Do two ideas sit against each other? |
| Ending | Is it a cliffhanger, resolution, or a return to the opening? |
| Dialogue | Does speech change the pace or reveal character? |
Writing a structure paragraph
Use the pattern: "At the start... then... by the end..."
- State the structural choice (for example "the writer shifts from the noisy crowd to a quiet close-up").
- Quote briefly to prove it.
- Explain the effect on the reader (what attention, emotion or understanding it creates).
- Link to the writer's purpose.
Evaluation question: "To what extent do you agree?"
You are given a statement. A top-level response:
- Takes a position (agree, partly agree, or disagree).
- Examines at least two or three different parts of the text, including the middle and end.
- Analyses precise words and devices as evidence.
- Uses evaluative language: "convincingly", "effectively", "arguably", "to a large extent".
- Comments on the writer's methods and the reader's response.
Common mistakes
- Writing about language instead of structure.
- Only discussing the opening.
- Disagreeing in the introduction and then agreeing throughout.
- Making a statement of opinion with no quotations.
Exam tips
- Annotate the extract in thirds (beginning, middle, end) before writing.
- Use the phrase "The writer shifts our focus from... to..." to show structural awareness.
- Always finish with the effect on the reader, not just a description of what happens.
Worksheet
Total: 25 marks. Read the extract (original text written for this worksheet), then answer the questions.
The market was loud with noise: traders bellowing prices, a radio crackling somewhere, children chasing each other between the stalls. Tom wove through the crowd with his mother's list crumpled in his fist. Strawberries. Bread. Anything cheap. He stopped at the fruit stall, where a woman with flour-white hands was arranging peaches into a pyramid, and for a moment the noise seemed to fall away. Her hands moved slowly, carefully, as though each peach might bruise at a glance.
"Take one," she said, without looking up. "Go on."
It was the first kind thing anyone had said to him all week. He took it. The skin was warm and soft, and he held it for a long time before he bit.
- How has the writer structured the extract to interest the reader? Write about two or three structural features. (8)
- Pick one sentence from the extract and explain how its length and rhythm affect the reader. (4)
- A student said: "The writer makes the reader feel sympathy for Tom." To what extent do you agree? Support your answer with detail from across the whole extract. (10)
- Write one sentence that sums up the shift in the extract from the opening to the ending. Use the structure "The writer shifts the focus from... to...". (3)
Show mark scheme and answers (tutor copy)
Try the worksheet first, then check your work here.
Q1 (8 marks; band guide)
Strong answers identify features such as:
- Opening with sound and crowd (wide shot): "loud with noise", the list of noisy things.
- Narrowing focus: from the whole crowd, to Tom, to the stall, to the woman's hands, to the peach. This zoom mirrors Tom's attention being drawn to a single act of kindness.
- Shift in pace and mood: the busy, chaotic sentence structures slow down as "the noise seemed to fall away".
- Italicised fragments "Strawberries. Bread. Anything cheap." show the pressure Tom is under, in staccato rhythm.
- Short dialogue that breaks the narration and gives the woman's kindness a human voice.
- Ending on a slow, sensory sentence, with the delay "for a long time before he bit", which lingers and gives emotional weight.
7-8 marks: a perceptive overview of structure across the whole extract with a clear effect on the reader. 5-6: clear explanation of two or three features. 3-4: some structural comment with simple effect. 1-2: simple comment or narrative retelling.
Q2 (4 marks)
Example: "Strawberries. Bread. Anything cheap." The three clipped one-word and two-word fragments listed in a row create a quick, almost breathless rhythm, which mirrors Tom's rushed, anxious state. The final fragment "Anything cheap" hints at the family's money worries. (1 mark identification, 1 for describing length or rhythm accurately, 1 for effect on the reader, 1 for link to character or theme.)
Alternative: the final long, slow sentence "The skin was warm and soft, and he held it for a long time before he bit."
Q3 (10 marks; band guide)
Level 5 (9-10): convincing and critical evaluation; takes a clear stance ("I strongly agree..."); analyses language and structure precisely across the beginning, middle and end; considers more than one interpretation.
Level 4 (7-8): well-developed evaluation with some detailed word analysis.
Level 3 (5-6): clear opinion, some relevant evidence.
Level 2 (3-4): some opinion with simple evidence.
Level 1 (1-2): simple comments.
Key points for the answer:
- Yes (strong agreement): "his mother's list crumpled in his fist" suggests tension and anxiety, and money worries. "The first kind thing anyone had said to him all week" shows his isolation and our sympathy for his hardship.
- Language of vulnerability: "crumpled", "fist", "cheap".
- Structure of contrast: the noisy market sets up his loneliness; the slow, quiet moment emphasises how rare kindness is.
- Possible nuance: the writer also shows Tom's quiet dignity and hope in the final lingering image, so the reader's response is also admiration or warmth, not only pity.
Model opening: "I strongly agree that the writer makes the reader sympathise with Tom, particularly through the contrast between the chaotic market and the single act of kindness that touches him."
Q4 (3 marks)
Model: "The writer shifts the focus from the noisy, overwhelming market, which reflects Tom's rushed and pressured life, to a quiet moment of human kindness, creating a sense of relief and warmth." (1 mark for the start point, 1 for the end point, 1 for effect.)