General feedback
Students should:
- understand the effect of common production techniques used in recordings, such as music, sound effects and sampling from other sources
- listen for detail and ensure only relevant information is used to answer the question
- make detailed notes in the space provided to capture accurate quotes relevant to each question in the listening exam
- identify techniques when the question asks for them.
Question 1
In better responses, students were able to:
- effectively identify at least two ways the hosts have engaged the audience, naming the language techniques and/or use of voice (tone, pace, pitch)
- provide a clear analysis of how specific techniques engaged the audience. For example, students identified the hosts’ use of rhetorical questions and emotive language including, ‘What if their real stories are more interesting or more amazing and more surprising than you ever imagined?’ and the use of high modality in, ‘… it’s a must listen.’ Both techniques effectively demonstrate the hosts’ use of pathos to persuade listeners to tune in
- write in full sentences with relevant information quoted from the recording as evidence.
Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding general responses without explanation.
Question 2
In better responses, students were able to:
- describe in detail the influence of the other family members on Linda’s whole life
- use at least two relevant references from the recording to show the influence on Linda’s life during her childhood and throughout her whole life. For example, having many relatives including siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins meant Linda was always taken care of and was kept on, ‘the straight and narrow.’ They also modelled the importance of education which influenced Linda’s career path she has dedicated her life to follow in their footsteps, caring for and educating children.
Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding generalised statements about the influence of family on Linda’s life, including influences from Nan
- including quotations or detailed references to clearly show the influence of her family, explaining the impact.
Question 3
In better responses, students were able to:
- effectively identify the intimate and loving relationship between Linda and her Nan
- use at least two different pieces of textual evidence to illustrate how the relationship between the two was shown
- identify the techniques used in the textual evidence and analyse how these techniques communicate ideas about their relationship. For example, the employment of cumulative listing of, ‘baking, sewing and knitting’ to demonstrated the extensive time spent together in collaboration, and the emotive adjectives in the metaphor, ‘fill me with a warmth and comfort,’ to reflect Linda’s deep affection for Nan.
Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding general statements about the nature of the relationship
- providing detailed responses with textual references
- providing clear analysis of how the techniques convey the relationship, rather than describing or explaining what the quotations reveal about the relationship.
Question 4
In better responses, students were able to:
- give a judgement about how effectively the music and sound effects engaged the audience
- accurately identify particular sound effects and music that were used
- articulately explain how both music and sound effects engaged the audience
- write a cohesive response with effective conjunctions.
Areas for students to improve include:
- analysing the music or sound effects, such as ‘sad music enables the audience to understand that the speaker felt sad’ or ‘cow sounds let the listener imagine the setting’
- providing details about sound effects used at different stages and how the music changed throughout the recording.
