Placement — English Language Paper 1 Section A

Source A — from a short story. Nell, sixteen, has walked out along a causeway to a lighthouse cottage.

(lines 1–8) The lighthouse cottage stood at the end of the causeway, and by the time Nell reached it the sea had already begun to take the path behind her. The door was green once. Now it was the colour of an old coin, and it hung on one hinge so that the wind could play with it, banging it open and shut like a slow, angry hand. Inside, the single room smelled of salt and paraffin. A kettle sat on a cold stove. Three chairs faced a table that had been laid for one, the plate still holding a crust of bread gone hard as slate, and on the sill a row of shells had been arranged in order of size, smallest first, as if by a child.

(lines 9–16) Outside, the storm gathered itself. It did not arrive all at once; it circled, testing the walls, pushing at the windows with a flat grey palm, withdrawing, returning. The rain came sideways. It hissed against the glass and ran in ropes down the panes, and beyond it the sea rose and fell and rose, a black animal turning in its sleep. Each wave struck the rocks below with a sound Nell felt in her teeth. The lamp room above her groaned. Somewhere a loose slate went spinning off into the dark, and then another, and the whole cottage seemed to lean into the wind and hold its breath.

(lines 17–19) She lit the stove with the last of the matches. The flame was small and blue and did nothing against the cold, but she crouched over it anyway, because it was hers.

(line 20) It was then that she noticed the footprints.

(lines 21–23) They came in from the door — wet, fresh, the size of a man's boot — and crossed the floor to the foot of the ladder that led up to the lamp room. They did not come back.

(lines 24–29) Nell stood very still. The wind screamed. Above her, faint beneath the noise of the storm, something moved: a board creaking, a weight shifting, the slow, careful step of someone who did not want to be heard. She looked at the ladder. She looked at the door, banging, banging. The causeway was under water now; she had seen it go. There was no leaving.

(line 30) 'Hello?' she said. Her voice was thin as paper.

(line 31) The step above her stopped.

(lines 32–33) For a long moment there was nothing but the storm. Then, from the top of the ladder, quite gently, a voice she almost knew said her name.

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Question 1

Read again the first part of the source, lines 1 to 8.

List four things from this part of the source about the cottage.

[4 marks]

Source A — from a short story. Nell, sixteen, has walked out along a causeway to a lighthouse cottage.

(lines 1–8) The lighthouse cottage stood at the end of the causeway, and by the time Nell reached it the sea had already begun to take the path behind her. The door was green once. Now it was the colour of an old coin, and it hung on one hinge so that the wind could play with it, banging it open and shut like a slow, angry hand. Inside, the single room smelled of salt and paraffin. A kettle sat on a cold stove. Three chairs faced a table that had been laid for one, the plate still holding a crust of bread gone hard as slate, and on the sill a row of shells had been arranged in order of size, smallest first, as if by a child.

(lines 9–16) Outside, the storm gathered itself. It did not arrive all at once; it circled, testing the walls, pushing at the windows with a flat grey palm, withdrawing, returning. The rain came sideways. It hissed against the glass and ran in ropes down the panes, and beyond it the sea rose and fell and rose, a black animal turning in its sleep. Each wave struck the rocks below with a sound Nell felt in her teeth. The lamp room above her groaned. Somewhere a loose slate went spinning off into the dark, and then another, and the whole cottage seemed to lean into the wind and hold its breath.

(lines 17–19) She lit the stove with the last of the matches. The flame was small and blue and did nothing against the cold, but she crouched over it anyway, because it was hers.

(line 20) It was then that she noticed the footprints.

(lines 21–23) They came in from the door — wet, fresh, the size of a man's boot — and crossed the floor to the foot of the ladder that led up to the lamp room. They did not come back.

(lines 24–29) Nell stood very still. The wind screamed. Above her, faint beneath the noise of the storm, something moved: a board creaking, a weight shifting, the slow, careful step of someone who did not want to be heard. She looked at the ladder. She looked at the door, banging, banging. The causeway was under water now; she had seen it go. There was no leaving.

(line 30) 'Hello?' she said. Her voice was thin as paper.

(line 31) The step above her stopped.

(lines 32–33) For a long moment there was nothing but the storm. Then, from the top of the ladder, quite gently, a voice she almost knew said her name.

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Question 2

Look in detail at lines 9 to 16 of the source.

How does the writer use language here to describe the storm?

You could include the writer's choice of:

• words and phrases
• language features and techniques
• sentence forms.

[8 marks]

Source A — from a short story. Nell, sixteen, has walked out along a causeway to a lighthouse cottage.

(lines 1–8) The lighthouse cottage stood at the end of the causeway, and by the time Nell reached it the sea had already begun to take the path behind her. The door was green once. Now it was the colour of an old coin, and it hung on one hinge so that the wind could play with it, banging it open and shut like a slow, angry hand. Inside, the single room smelled of salt and paraffin. A kettle sat on a cold stove. Three chairs faced a table that had been laid for one, the plate still holding a crust of bread gone hard as slate, and on the sill a row of shells had been arranged in order of size, smallest first, as if by a child.

(lines 9–16) Outside, the storm gathered itself. It did not arrive all at once; it circled, testing the walls, pushing at the windows with a flat grey palm, withdrawing, returning. The rain came sideways. It hissed against the glass and ran in ropes down the panes, and beyond it the sea rose and fell and rose, a black animal turning in its sleep. Each wave struck the rocks below with a sound Nell felt in her teeth. The lamp room above her groaned. Somewhere a loose slate went spinning off into the dark, and then another, and the whole cottage seemed to lean into the wind and hold its breath.

(lines 17–19) She lit the stove with the last of the matches. The flame was small and blue and did nothing against the cold, but she crouched over it anyway, because it was hers.

(line 20) It was then that she noticed the footprints.

(lines 21–23) They came in from the door — wet, fresh, the size of a man's boot — and crossed the floor to the foot of the ladder that led up to the lamp room. They did not come back.

(lines 24–29) Nell stood very still. The wind screamed. Above her, faint beneath the noise of the storm, something moved: a board creaking, a weight shifting, the slow, careful step of someone who did not want to be heard. She looked at the ladder. She looked at the door, banging, banging. The causeway was under water now; she had seen it go. There was no leaving.

(line 30) 'Hello?' she said. Her voice was thin as paper.

(line 31) The step above her stopped.

(lines 32–33) For a long moment there was nothing but the storm. Then, from the top of the ladder, quite gently, a voice she almost knew said her name.

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Question 3

You now need to think about the whole of the source.

This text is from the opening of a short story.

How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader?

You could write about:

• what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning
• how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops
• any other structural features that interest you.

[8 marks]

Source A — from a short story. Nell, sixteen, has walked out along a causeway to a lighthouse cottage.

(lines 1–8) The lighthouse cottage stood at the end of the causeway, and by the time Nell reached it the sea had already begun to take the path behind her. The door was green once. Now it was the colour of an old coin, and it hung on one hinge so that the wind could play with it, banging it open and shut like a slow, angry hand. Inside, the single room smelled of salt and paraffin. A kettle sat on a cold stove. Three chairs faced a table that had been laid for one, the plate still holding a crust of bread gone hard as slate, and on the sill a row of shells had been arranged in order of size, smallest first, as if by a child.

(lines 9–16) Outside, the storm gathered itself. It did not arrive all at once; it circled, testing the walls, pushing at the windows with a flat grey palm, withdrawing, returning. The rain came sideways. It hissed against the glass and ran in ropes down the panes, and beyond it the sea rose and fell and rose, a black animal turning in its sleep. Each wave struck the rocks below with a sound Nell felt in her teeth. The lamp room above her groaned. Somewhere a loose slate went spinning off into the dark, and then another, and the whole cottage seemed to lean into the wind and hold its breath.

(lines 17–19) She lit the stove with the last of the matches. The flame was small and blue and did nothing against the cold, but she crouched over it anyway, because it was hers.

(line 20) It was then that she noticed the footprints.

(lines 21–23) They came in from the door — wet, fresh, the size of a man's boot — and crossed the floor to the foot of the ladder that led up to the lamp room. They did not come back.

(lines 24–29) Nell stood very still. The wind screamed. Above her, faint beneath the noise of the storm, something moved: a board creaking, a weight shifting, the slow, careful step of someone who did not want to be heard. She looked at the ladder. She looked at the door, banging, banging. The causeway was under water now; she had seen it go. There was no leaving.

(line 30) 'Hello?' she said. Her voice was thin as paper.

(line 31) The step above her stopped.

(lines 32–33) For a long moment there was nothing but the storm. Then, from the top of the ladder, quite gently, a voice she almost knew said her name.

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Question 4

Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source, from line 17 to the end.

A student said, 'In this part of the story, the writer makes Nell's fear feel completely real. The reader shares it.'

To what extent do you agree?

In your response, you could:

• consider your own impressions of Nell's fear
• evaluate how the writer creates a sense of threat
• support your response with references to the text.

[20 marks]