GCSE English Language (8700)

Paper 2 Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives 1 hour 45 minutes

Question 1

Q1: Read lines 1 to 14 of Source A. Choose four statements below which are TRUE.

Children dragged carts of coal by belt and chain

Children only worked for a couple of hours

The practice was common in west Scotland

The children had to crawl on all fours

The children find the work exceedingly severe

The coal mine passageways were dry

The temperature in the coal mines was unbearable

Remember, you must shade 4

boxes for this

question!

Question 2

Summarise means that you need to identify the key points! You must also identify

similarities and differences between

what the sources show

Q2: Refer to Source A and Source B. Write a summary of the similarities and differences between the types of child labour

[8 marks] In Source A, Lord Shaftsbury gives a speech to MPs in the Houses of Parliament about what he sees as the horrendously barbaric act of child labour that was taking place across the United Kingdom at the time, in 1842. Lord Shaftsbury highlights how children as young as “six,” were used for intense labour that involved them to “drag carts of coal by means of a belt and a chain,” whilst on “all fours.” Shaftsbury shows how this type of labour dehumanises those participating in it, as they carry out acts that one might expect a horse to do. Shockingly, Source B describes child labour that exists in the modern era in India, showing that the situation has not improved since the 1800s in some parts of the world. The writer describes how the labour is “hidden,” from most yet exists “in people's homes across West Delhi” as victims are “cooking, cleaning and taking care of children.” This is a result of young people, particularly girls, being kidnapped and sold as domestic slaves.

Q2: Refer to Source A and Source B. Write a summary of the similarities and differences between the types of child labour

Continued …

The child labour that Shaftesbury describes is at the hands of legitimate employers who failed to see the importance of protecting children/childhood and providing safe, reasonable work conditions, comparing their situation to those sold as part of the “African slave-trade,” because of the ways that girls in particular were exposed with “large holes in their trousers.” However, the child labour described in Source B is even more sinister than the labour in Source A, as girls are taken against their will and are kept illegally, receiving no pay or freedom, therefore being like the slaves that Shaftsbury compares the Victorian children to. Like in Source A, it is also females who are described as being more affected by the labour in Source B. Females who are forced into this type of “labour,” describe how they are “sexually assaulted” by kidnappers and “hidden from public view within the four walls of a home.” Child labour is therefore described as being more brutal, hidden and violent in modern times than in the Victorian period, as Source B highlights the way in which a “home,” is now the new place where such abuses take place and people are unable to fully know what is going on behind closed doors, where children are supposed to be safe. Whereas Source A highlights the danger of “coal mines,” which were legal places of work.

Use discursive markers as you respond and try

to make links between the

sources

Question 3

Q3: Refer to this extract from Source B. How does the writer use language to show sympathy for the victims of child labour? As the police and counsellors question her, Lakshmi breaks down. She tells the police that she was sexually assaulted by the men who kidnapped her. She was threatened that if she told anyone about it, they would tell everyone back home in her village and her honour would be destroyed. And then, when she started working the agent who arranged her work withheld all her wages leaving her with nothing. Her uncle is just relieved to have found her. A tea garden worker from Assam, he says her parents died when she was young and her grandmother is worried sick about the young girl. He is also angry about the abduction. "What can we really do? We are poor people - I didn't have enough money to come to Delhi to look for my missing niece. Unscrupulous agents and middlemen just come into our homes when parents are away working at the tea gardens and lure young girls with new clothes and sweets. Before they know it, they are on a train to a big city at the mercy of these greedy men."

He is not alone. One child goes missing every eight minutes in India and nearly half of them are never found. Kidnapped children are often forced into the sex trade. But many here feel that children are increasingly pushed into domestic labour - hidden from public view within the four walls of a home. The government estimates half a million children are in this position.

[12 marks]

Emotive language – highlights the fear she was made to feel and the pressure to not inform anyone.

Metaphor – emphasises how the experience has damaged her, changed her forever, she’ll never be how she was. We feel sorry for her.

Metaphor implies that revealing what they went through would make people see them in a negative way. By telling someone, they were made to believe that they had done something wrong. Honour is implied to be irretrievable if they tell but they have nothing to be blamed for.

Adjective highlights the lack of morals the people responsible for the kidnappings have. They feel nothing towards the children, just see them as prey.

Repetition for effect ‘young’ emphasises the brutal actions against children and how their youth and innocence is being destroyed.

Irony – ‘home’ has connotations of safety, security, rest – emphasises how these awful things are taking place where you’d least expect them to and how for these children, they do not have a place of safety.

Verbs – emphasises how the children made to do things against their will. They are victims.

Rhetorical question asked by the uncle emphasises the confusion and sense of powerlessness he feels that he and other poor families feel.

Statistic emphasises the gravity of the situation – it is happening in lots of places, to lots of people in India.

Verb- emphasises how the children are drawn in with bait, dehumanised and seen as prey.

Question 4

Q4: Refer to Source A and Source B. Compare how the writers convey their attitudes to child labour.

[16 marks]

In your answer, you should:

• compare their attitudes • compare the methods they use to convey their attitudes

• support your ideas with quotations from both texts

WARNING: Will make your writing irresistibly delectable!

Delectable Discursive Markers

Use discursive markers as you respond and try to

make links between the sources

Q4: Refer to Source A and Source B. Compare how the writers convey their attitudes to child labour.

[16 marks]

In your answer, you should:

• compare their attitudes • compare the methods they use to convey their attitudes

• support your ideas with quotations from both texts

Source A Source B

Shaftesbury is disgusted at what he witnesses and hears from children who work in the coal mines. His speech is deliberately emotive to arouse sympathy in the MPs who are listening so that they will agree to make changes to the existing laws on child labour. He emphasises the brutality of the labour “hours, hours Shaftesbury believes child labour is barbaric, inhumane and dehumanising. He feels as though he and the MPs can make a difference and uses his language to shock and persuade them.

The article is less emotive an more factual as it’s purpose is to inform readers of the issues. It presents the issues to readers yet still presents the child labour in a negative way. The writer reports on the story and we hear from the victims who seem to speak in a matter of fact way, almost as if they have come to terms with the harsh reality of what happens and that they are powerless to stop in – (Rhetorical question). This contrasts with Shaftsbury’s attitude as he feels that he and those he is speaking to in the Houses of Parliament have the power to make change possible. There is less of a sense of hope in Source B.

In Source A Lord Shaftsbury is clearly disgusted at what he witnesses and hears from children who work in the coal mines. His speech is deliberately emotive to arouse sympathy in the MPs who are listening so that they will agree to make changes to the existing laws on child labour. He emphasises the brutality of the labour which lasts “hours, hours.” The use of repetition for effect highlights the ongoing work/labour that the children are forced to endure and how it feels relentless. In contrast, the article in Source B, has a different purpose. It is less emotive an more factual as it’s purpose is to inform readers of the issues rather than to persuade them to take action. However, Source B also presents child labour as something that is physically draining and ongoing, giving the victims no “rest.” One of the victims is quoted in Source B to inform the readers of the brutality she experienced. She revealed that if she did “something wrong” or it “was not what they wanted,” they “hit,” her. The victim uses the verb “hit,” to illustrate the abuse she suffered but does not go into graphic details here. This could perhaps be a sign of her desensitisation of the abuse as it revealed that she suffered this for “four,” years.

Q4: Refer to Source A and Source B. Compare how the writers convey their attitudes to child labour. [16 marks] In your answer, you should:

• compare their attitudes • compare the methods they use to convey their attitudes

• support your ideas with quotations from both texts

The writer reports on the story and we hear from the victim’s family, who also seem to speak in a matter of fact way, almost as if they have come to terms with the harsh reality of what happens and that they are powerless to stop in. Her uncle asks, "What can we really do? We are poor people …” the use of rhetorical question here emphasises the sense of hopelessness that is felt about the child labour in Source B. Similarly, Shaftsbury also quotes victims of child labour in his speech to the MPs. However, the words quoted by Robert North are far more graphic and detailed. Robert reveals how he “went into the pit at 7 years of age,” and how his “skin was broken and the blood ran down.” Here, the use of alliteration emphasises the way his body was injured and the pain that he was forced to endure. In addition, he adds that is he “said anything, they would beat” him and that he “must do it or be beat.” The repetition for effect emphasises the repeated threats that children like Robert suffered, as well as the physical abuse. However, there is less of a sense of hopelessness in Source A. Shaftsbury appeals to the MPs to make “a vigorous and immediate change to the law.” He explains that it is “demanded by public reason, by public virtue, by the public honour, by the public character,” and “by the public sympathy.” He uses repetition for effect by repeating “public,” to emphasise the number of people in society against child labour and perhaps to emphasise the importance of social responsibility. Shaftesbury feels that he and the MPs can change the law and protect children whereas Lakshimi’s uncle feels hopeless. The difference in class between Shaftsbury and Lakshimi’s uncle is perhaps a contributing factor behind their attitudes to what can be done about child labour. It is therefore implied that those who are poor feel less of a sense of control or hope, than those in the middle/upper classes like Shaftsbury.

Question 5

Q5 “Childhood is important and should be protected.” Write a speech arguing your views on this statement.

(24 marks for content and organisation 16 marks for technical accuracy)

[40 marks]

• Firstly,

• Secondly,

• Another reason ...

• I strongly believe that ...

• It is my firm belief that ...

• Therefore ...

• Furthermore, ...

• Although ...

• Some people believe that ... however...

• On the other hand ...

• Finally, ...

• To conclude, ...

- Introduce yourself and what you are going to talk about

- Use rhetorical questions - Use emotive language - Use the Rule of 3 - Use metaphor and simile - Use a range of punctuation ; ! ? ’, : - Use a range of sentence structures - Use paragraphs and sentences that

start differently - End your speech by thanking your

audience for listening and giving them a final thought!