SASS EL P2 Narrative Texts Guide

COMPREHENSION PACKAGE NARRATIVE TEXTS SEC 3 EXPRESS 2022 ST ANDREW’S SECONDARY SCHOOL

Page 1 NARRATIVE PASSAGE You are expected to demonstrate your understanding of the writer’s choice of words, style and his/her intended meaning. These include various literary devices such as simile, metaphor or personification and other uses of such aural and visual imagery. You also need to demonstrate your understanding of the following:  The meaning and connotations of words  How they are used in context  The writer’s purpose in choosing to use these words. These are some questions that are likely to appear in this section: a) Inferential questions which focus on:  The effect of certain words on the reader  The attitude of the narrator and the rationale for this particular attitude and/or response.  The overall tone/mood of the passage  The character’s/reader’s impression of another character  The writer’s/character’s attitude towards an event or situation  Anaylsing the author’s writing style b) Structure of the text – identification of main ideas or supporting details within the paragraphs. The table below provides some examples of the types of questions in this section and the skills you need to tackle them. Type of question Sample question What you must do Literal – Identifying specific information from the paragraph What were the two reasons behind Liverpool’s decision to participate in Super League? Identify two examples from the paragraph that indicate why Liverpool decided to participate in Super League. Language use – justification Explain how the language use in the paragraph conveys the atmosphere of panic. Identify key words or phrases in the paragraph. Think of the connotations of these words in the context of the passage. Explain how these words contribute to the atmosphere. Language use – vocabulary Identify the words and phrases which suggest that the main character Gabriel was losing his patience. Think of words, synonyms or phrases related to the idea of impatience. Locate the words and phrases which are related to the key words ‘losing his patience’. Lauguage use – Evaluating writer’s intent How is the phrase ‘only time will tell’ effective? Read the lines which come before and after the phrase used. Think about the message that the writer intends to convey with that phrase and the impact that he wishes to have on the reader.

Page 2 Language use – Testing your understanding of literary devices Identify one simile and one metaphor in paragraph 2 Locate the use of a simile and a metaphor in the paragraph, based on what you have understood about these two instances of literary devices. Analysis and justification of writer’s intent Why does the writer describe the event in this manner? What does he intend to achieve through it? Think about the feelings and/or reactions you have after reading the event. This question requires you