1. Language Unit 1
Reading Non-Fiction

2. In this unit, you need to be able to
AO3,i
Read and understand texts, selecting material
appropriate to purpose, collating from different sources
and making comparisons and cross-references as
appropriate.
AO3,iii
Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic,
grammatical, structural and presentational features to
achieve effects and engage and influence the reader,
supporting their comments with detailed textual
references.
Assessment Objectives

3. Text Type?
Audience?
Purpose?
First Steps - TAP

4. What? Why?
Who? How?
First Steps - WWWH

5. Questions:
Q 1. What do you learn..?
Content
Writer's viewpoint and attitudes
Q 2. Explain the effectiveness of presentation..?
Headline and picture
Link to the text/TAP
Q 3. Explain the thoughts and feelings of..?
Explain which parts of... you find tense and
exciting?
Inference
Finding best quotations
Q 4. Compare the different ways language is
used...
Item 3 and Item 1/2 (you choose)
Similarities and differences
Effects of word choice
Question Types - Higher Specific

6. What do you know?
Felix
Baumgartner
What associations do you have?

7. Image Prompts (Hyperlink to online Video of fall)

8. Source 1:
=?
=?
Source 1

9. Source 1:
Felix Baumgartner's skydive
pales in comparison with the
moon landings
The Austrian's jump used the images of space
exploration but this pseudo astronaut achieved
only a daredevil publicity stunt by Jonathon
Jones.
When I was four and five and six years old we
watched the moon landings on TV then waited
nervously for the splashdown and the
astronauts' release from their seared capsule
with its orange flotation bags bobbing on a
white and blue sea. In the same way millions of
people watched Felix Baumgartner's
astonishing fall through the empty sky on
YouTube. In his protective suit the Austrian
daredevil looked for all the world like some
Apollo astronaut of the 1960s. But did this
daring deed truly recreate the images of the
space age, or only an empty pastiche of them?
History always repeats itself, said Hegel. He
forgot to add, said Marx – the first time as
tragedy, the second as farce. Not that
Baumgartner's dive was farce. It was heroic, if
not foolhardy. In terms of sheer mad bravery it
was stupendous. But surely those seductive,
glorious, beautiful images with their evocation
of the great moments of space exploration are
so appealing because they fill a void in our
collective heart, a void of aspiration and the
belief in progress that a daredevil's leap,
however gallant, cannot ever really match.
In the end, Baumgartner's achievement is just
a great stunt, with a commercial sponsor. It is
in essence the same as tumbling over Niagara
Falls in a barrel. People have always done
brave things, and in the early 20th century
going over Niagara Falls in a barrel became
the leap of choice for publicity-conscious stunt
people (first over the top was a woman, in
1901). Yet amazing as such jumps were, did
they add to human knowledge and capacity?
No – the first powered flight by the Wright
brothers, which was much less spectacular,
just off the ground in fact, changed the world in
a way stunts do not. The images of this leap
look like exploration but actually are mere
entertainment.
The visual similarity between Baumgartner's
record-breaking publicity stunt and the feats of
engineering audacity that took human beings
on to the surface of the moon and then, even in
the cash-strapped 1970s, built a landable and
reusable spacecraft is cruelly deceptive and
fully intended by the sponsor. Baumgartner's
freefall is not the same as the public-funded,
state-sponsored efforts of an entire scientific
generation that not so long ago sent Neil
Armstrong on to the silver dust of the lunar
surface. Look closer and the visual image of
this 21st century hero is not so 20th century,
after all. His helmet has the words Red Bull on
it, not a stars and stripes. Indeed, Red Bull
logos and inscriptions are all over his space
suit.
Seeing the earth from Baumgartner's helmet is
spectacular and sad: wondrous to see this orb
Source 1

10. Can you summarise
the content?
Summary

11. Source 2:
=?
=?
Source 2

12. Source 2:
Faster than a speeding bullet:
Austrian skydiver leaps into the
history books
Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner took to the
skies on Sunday afternoon in a historic bid that saw
him become the first human being to travel faster
than the speed of sound in freefall.
More than 8 million people watched the 43-year-old
Austrian – known as Fearless Felix – jump from a
balloon 24 miles above the New Mexico desert and
freefall from the edge of space.
After a two hour journey up, it took Mr Baumgartner just
under ten minutes to land back on Earth, reaching
speeds of up to 725mph, breaking the sound barrier at
Mach 1.24 and smashing three world records in the
process. The records he achieved were:
The fastest freefall after reaching a top speed of
834mph (1,342km/h); becoming the first human being to
break the sound barrier in freefall; in reaching 128,100ft
above Earth, he exceeded the altitude for the highest
ever manned balloon flight – the previous record was
held by Victor Prather and Malcolm Ross, who made it
to 113,720ft in 1961. When he landed in Roswell –
famed for its UFO sightings – Mr Baumgartner dropped
to his knees and raised his arms in victory.
There were tense moments in the control room early in
the dive as Mr Baumgartner began to spin laterally out
of control, free-falling head-over-heels. Speaking
afterwards at a press conference, Mr Baumgartner said:
“In that situation, when you spin around, it's like hell and
you don't know if you can get out of that spin or not.” To
the relief of everyone watching, including his mother,
Ava, Mr Baumgartner was able to use his considerable
skydiving experience and regain control before releasing
his parachute.
Mr Baumgartner wore a specially designed survival suit,
similar to those worn by astronauts, to keep his body
intact against the varying atmospheric pressures, with
three cameras attached to record his descent. The risks
in making such a jump included the possibility of his
blood boiling and his organs exploding.
Although the jump was thought by many to be a
daredevil stunt, Mr Baumgartner’s team were keen to
stress its high scientific relevance. Its success will help
to inform the development of new ideas for emergency
evacuation from airborne vehicles, such as spacecraft,
passing through the stratosphere.
Baumgartner’s mentor, Joe Kittinger, now in his eighties,
was the previous world record holder of the highest
freefall jump. He provided the younger man with advice
and encouragement during the seven-year build-up to
his daring adventure. Mr Kittinger’s was the only voice
Baumgartner heard in the control room.
“Felix did a great job and it was a great honour to work
with this brave guy,” Mr Kittinger said. Mr Baumgartner
said in the end all his thoughts were about getting back
alive: “When I was standing there on top of the world,
you become so humble, you don't think about breaking
records. Sometimes you have to go up really high to see
how small you are.”
Source 2

13. Source 3:
=?
=?
Source 3

14. Source 3:
USAIN BOLT – THE FASTEST MAN in the
world. Never, ever do I get tired of hearing that.
If you lined up a hundred people and asked
them who the best basketball player in the
world is, the best footballer, or the best
cricketer, it is unlikely they would provide the
same answer. But ask any of them, ‘Who is the
best sprinter in the world?’ and there is only
one answer – Usain Bolt. Why? Because that
is what it says on the clock. There can be no
dispute or argument. The record book say that
over 100 metres flat race, the true measure of
human speed, I’m the fastest person that ever
lived, completing the distance, as I did at the
World Championships in Berlin, in 9.58
seconds.
It is said that the population of the earth is 6.8
billion and that approximately 107 billion have
lived on this planet since man came into being.
It doesn’t get any cooler than knowing you are
the fastest of them all.
I chose to be a sprinter, not only because I was
the fastest kid in school, but also because I
knew that politics couldn’t interfere. In team
sports it can be down to opinion whether you
are the best. One coach might think you’re
good enough for his team, another might not,
or the side could be picked on friendship or
family ties. But in athletics you are either the
fastest or you aren’t – opinion doesn’t come
into it.
We had a grass track at the front of Waldensia
Primary School, which is still there, exactly as it
was, with a two-foot dip at the end of the
straight, and when I first raced on it a guy
called Ricardo Geddes would beat me. One
day the sports coach, Devere Nugent, bet me a
lunch that I could beat Ricardo. I like my food,
so it was a big incentive. I won, enjoyed a nice
meal, and never lost to Ricardo again. Winning
that race was my first experience of the thrill of
beating your closest rival, and from that day my
motto has always been ‘Once I’ve beaten you,
you won’t beat me again.’
Source 3

15. 1. What do you learn from the article
about Felix Baumgartner's skydive?
(8 marks)
Examiner is looking for evidence that
you can cover AT LEAST 2 or 3 of
the descriptors in the band WELL.
What Question 1 - H

16. 1. What do you learn from the article
about Felix Baumgartner's skydive?
(8 marks)
One thing I learn about from the article is
that...
WHAT + WHY
Overall, ...
What Question 1 - H

17. 1. What do you learn from the article
about Felix Baumgartner's skydive?
(8 marks)
One thing I learn from the article is that...
This suggests/shows/reveals...
It makes me think...
Another thing I learn is...
I also find out that...
Overall, ...
For band 3 and 4 you need to
INTERPRET the information. Think
about SUMMARISING at the end.
What Question 1 - H (Frame)

18. Look at Source 2
2. Explain how the headline and picture
are effective and how they they link to
the text? (8 marks)
How Question on Presentation - H

19. What?
Why?
Focus - Headline

20. What?
Associations? Impact?
Use? Effect?
Why?
Focus - Headline

21. What?
Why?
Focus - Pictures

22. Look at Source 2
2. Explain how the headline and picture
are effective and how they they link to
the text? (8 marks)
Presentation is used in this article in order to...
The headline is effective as...
WHAT + WHY
How Question on Presentation - H

23. Look at Source 2
2. Explain how the headline and picture
are effective and how they they link to
the text? (8 marks)
Presentation is used in this text in order to...
The headline is effective as...
For example...
This suggests/reveals/makes the reader...
The word/s...
because...
It links to the text as...
Perhaps...
The picture is effective as...
For example...
This suggests/reveals/makes the reader...
because...
It links to the text as...
Perhaps...
In addition to this,
How Question on Presentation - H (Frame)

24. Read Source 3
3. Explain some of the thoughts and
feelings Usain Bolt has about his chosen
career? (8 marks)
Explain Question on Thoughts/Feelings - H

25. Source 3:
USAIN BOLT – THE FASTEST MAN in the
world. Never, ever do I get tired of hearing that.
If you lined up a hundred people and asked
them who the best basketball player in the
world is, the best footballer, or the best
cricketer, it is unlikely they would provide the
same answer. But ask any of them, ‘Who is the
best sprinter in the world?’ and there is only
one answer – Usain Bolt. Why? Because that
is what it says on the clock. There can be no
dispute or argument. The record book say that
over 100 metres flat race, the true measure of
human speed, I’m the fastest person that ever
lived, completing the distance, as I did at the
World Championships in Berlin, in 9.58
seconds.
It is said that the population of the earth is 6.8
billion and that approximately 107 billion have
lived on this planet since man came into being.
It doesn’t get any cooler than knowing you are
the fastest of them all.
I chose to be a sprinter, not only because I was
the fastest kid in school, but also because I
knew that politics couldn’t interfere. In team
sports it can be down to opinion whether you
are the best. One coach might think you’re
good enough for his team, another might not,
or the side could be picked on friendship or
family ties. But in athletics you are either the
fastest or you aren’t – opinion doesn’t come
into it.
We had a grass track at the front of Waldensia
Primary School, which is still there, exactly as it
was, with a two-foot dip at the end of the
straight, and when I first raced on it a guy
called Ricardo Geddes would beat me. One
day the sports coach, Devere Nugent, bet me a
lunch that I could beat Ricardo. I like my food,
so it was a big incentive. I won, enjoyed a nice
meal, and never lost to Ricardo again. Winning
that race was my first experience of the thrill of
beating your closest rival, and from that day my
motto has always been ‘Once I’ve beaten you,
you won’t beat me again.’
Source 3

26. Regretful Frustrated Subdued Bitter Enthusiastic
Intimidated Taken-aback
Sympathetic Regretful
Grieved Ashamed
Defensive Humble
Unhappy
Satisfied
Rejected Attached
Regretful Gratified
Incompetent Passionate
Upset
Demoralized
Happy
Defeated
Worried
Annoyed
Distressed
Irritated
Overwhelmed
Exhilarated
Contented Fond Meek
Let down Ambivalent Resentful
Jovial
Appreciative Threatened Thoughtful
Skill: Vocabulary Focus/Sort

27. After using a quotation...
* What does the quotation suggest/show/reveal?
* Why?
* Do any words within the quotation seem significant?
* Why?
* What does it make the reader think/feel/understand?
* Why?
* Does the quotation suggest/show/reveal anything else?
* Why?
* Why?
* Why
Stages of Explanation

28. 3. Explain some of the thoughts and
feelings Usain Bolt has about his chosen
career? (8 marks)
To begin with, Usain Bolt ...
For example, ...
This shows/suggests/reveals...
because...
The word/phrase...
It makes me think that...
Perhaps...
In addition, he feels...
...
Towards the end,...
Overall, Usian Bolt gives the impression that...
Remember that you need to INFER and
INTERPRET for an EXPLAIN question
Explain Question on Thoughts/Feelings - H

29. Use Source 3 and
either Source 1 or Source 2
4. Compare the different ways in which
language is used for effect in the two
texts. Give some examples and analyse
the effects. (16 marks)
Compare Question on Language - H

30. The Examiner's Checklist
(from past mark schemes)
alliteration informative
anecdotal juxtaposition
antithesis metaphorical
comparison narrative
contrast noun phrases
description personal
direct address personification
direct speech pun
discursive markers quotations
emotive short/dramatic sentences
evocative language simile
exclamations technical
expert view tension
facts and figures/factual understatement
figurative varied sentence lengths
formality verb use
humour vivid language
imagery words to reflect emotion
Examiner's Glossary

31. Language Toolbox
Can you identify/comment on:
adjectives metaphors
adverbs modal verbs
alliteration onomatopoeia
anecdotes opinions
assonance personification
comparatives powerful verbs
concrete, proper, abstract nouns repetition
direct address rhetorical questions
discourse markers rhyme
emotive language rhythm
exaggeration semantic field
exclusive pronouns similes
facts standard English
humour statistics
imperatives superlatives
inclusive pronouns technical language
informal language tense
irony triples
lists understatement
Glossary: Language

32. FFAERT
Five Facts
Fat Figures
African Anecdotes
Elephants Emotive Language
Ran Rhetorical Questions
Riot Repetition
Today Triples
FFAERRT

33. I FAERRTED!
· Imperative - Giving an order/command
· Facts/Figures - Numbers
· Anecdote - Story to support
· Emotive Language - Create emotion
· Rhetorical Question - ?
· Repetition
· Triple - x3 · Know it!
· Exaggeration · Find it!
· Direct Address - You · Comment on it!
· ! Shock Tactics
I FAERRTED!

34. Gathering Ideas...
Text 1 Text 2 Text 3
Gathering Ideas: Feature Matrix

35. Gathering Ideas...
Venn Diagram

36. Same Different
· similarly · however
· likewise · on the other hand
· also · alternatively
· just as much as · is different from
· unlike
· is similar to
· yet
· in the same way · whereas
· are alike in that · by contrast
· a similarity between · a difference between
the texts is... the texts is ...
Comparison

37. Use Source 3 and
either Source 1 or Source 2
4. Compare the different ways in which
language is used for effect in the two
texts. Give some examples and analyse
the effects. (16 marks)
Source 3 and Source 1/2 make very similar/
different use of language in order to...
To begin with, Source 3 makes use of ...
For example, ...
This shows/suggests/reveals...
because...
The word/phrase...
It makes reader think/feel/understand...
Perhaps...
In comparison/Likewise, Source 1/2 uses...
Another technique used by...
In the same way/However,...
...
Overall, the language of...
No matter how GOOD your ANALYSIS
is, you CANNOT get a Band 3 if you do
not COMPARE!
Compare Question on Language - H