eMo & aQa GcSe LaNgUagE pApEr 2

Language Paper 2 is TOUGH – in large part because it revolves around extracts written in that more challenging Victorian style. For now, then, let’s concentrate less on that obstacle and focus instead on the skills needed to answer the actual questions. Once you feel more confident about accessing the tasks, then you’ll worry less when you go back to dealing with that less familiar Victorian expression x

Start by downloading and reading ‘Article 1‘ and ‘Article 2‘.

Question 1

Read again the first two paragraphs of article 1: ‘EMO cult warning for parents.’

Choose 4 statements which – according to the article – are true:

A: The models are dead.
B: ‘Emo’ is short for emotional.
C: Goths under the age of 30 are referred to as ‘Baby Bats’.
D: Goths can wear any colour they like.
E: Girls’ secondary schools are particularly worried about emo music and fashion.
F: The Goth look is retro.
G: Listening to emo music is as serious a problem as binge drinking.
H: Goths can only wear black.

The correct answers to question 1 are highlighted in purple further down this page. (4 marks)

Question 2

You need to refer to Article A and Article B for this question.
Both writers explore the feelings of older people/older music fans towards younger people/younger music fans.
Use details from both sources to write a summary of what you understand about the different attitudes of the older people/music fans. (8 marks)

Question 3

Read again the section below from Article 2.

How does the writer use language to describe people’s attitudes towards, and feeling about, The Daily Mail and other tabloid newspapers? (12 marks)

‘On May 31, two weeks after the publication of the Mail’s story, more than 300 fans of My Chemical Romance congregated to march on the newspaper’s London offices.

“I was furious with the Daily Mail for falsely reporting that My Chemical Romance promoted suicide and their fans were a cult,” says Caz Hill, one of the organisers of the march, whose own teenage daughters were also fans of the band. “It cashed in on parents’ fears of the emo culture. The Daily Mail took a young girl’s tragic death and outrageously claimed she took her own life after listening to My Chemical Romance, which made her want to ‘join the Black Parade’. How sick and irresponsible can a publication be?”

“The public and media have, at times unhelpfully, demonised alternative subcultures and music as a cause of problems including self-harm,” wrote Dr Peter Taylor, a clinical psychologist at Manchester University, in an article last year headlined, “Risks to victimised youth in alternative cultures exposed.” While the study’s findings “indicated that individuals who associated with subcultures were at a greater risk of self-harm and suicide”, it concluded that “more research is required to understand the association between self-harm, suicide and alternative subculture affiliation, and the factors underlying it.”’

Question 4

For this question, you need to refer to the whole of Article A, together with the whole of Article B.
Compare how the writers convey their different perspectives and feelings about goth and emo music.
In your answer, you could:
• compare their different perspectives and feelings
• compare the methods the writers use to convey their different perspectives and feelings
• support your response with references to both texts. [16 marks]

Question 5

‘Schools have become too obsessed with their students passing English, Maths and Science exams. Music, painting and other artforms are just as important to a young person.’
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which you argue your point of view in response to this statement. (40 marks)

Answer to Question 1

Q1: Choose 4 statements which – according to the article – are true:

A: The models are dead.
B: ‘Emo’ is short for emotional.
C: Goths under the age of 30 are referred to ‘Baby Bats’.
D: Goths can wear any colour they like.
E: Girls’ secondary schools are particularly worried about emo music and fashion.
F: The Goth look is retro.
G: Listening to emo music is as serious a problem as binge drinking.
H: Goths can only wear black.

Ask JC to send you model answers and/or advice related to questions 2, 3, 4 and 5. And absolutely do send send your work in! We want to publish the most exciting writing and offer you advice if you have any specific questions.

Now enjoy a Taylor Swift class and write your own poem!