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Home · KS3 · iLowerSecondary English · Question types · Tables & closed questions
The closed questions are the marks you should never drop. They test whether you can scan accurately and read precisely - not whether you can write at length. This masterclass covers four of them: the feature tick-table, the A/B/C/D multiple-choice item, the underline/circle-the-correct-word item, and the short “which text is more appealing” question that needs a reason and a quotation.
Each card below names the assessment objective it targets, the typical mark and format, and what the mark scheme rewards. The marks and formats are drawn from the canonical specification data.
Format: Closed - tick Text 1 / Text 2 / Both texts.
How to answer: Scan each text for the named features (e.g. question marks, apostrophes for possession, dashes, brackets). Partial credit is usually available for most rows correct.
Format: Closed - cross one box.
How to answer: Re-read the quoted phrase, then test each option against the meaning in context. If you change your mind, put a line through the box and mark the new answer with a cross.
Format: Closed - underline one option.
How to answer: Apply grammatical terminology precisely (e.g. imperative, modal, auxiliary, irregular). Any clear positive indication is accepted.
Format: Short open response.
How to answer: One mark for a reasonable explanation of preference and one mark for appropriate textual evidence that supports it.
The feature-table and appeal items target RAO3 (identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts.) and RAO5 (consider writers' purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader.); the multiple-choice and underline items also draw on RAO4 (explore writers' use of grammatical and literary language at word and sentence level.).
A feature tick-table gives you a list of language or punctuation features and asks whether each one appears in Text 1, Text 2, or both. The skill is disciplined scanning, not deep analysis. Work like this:
1.Name the feature before you scan
Say the feature to yourself in plain words first. A question mark ends a question. An apostrophe for possession shows belonging (the dog’s lead), not a missing letter. A dash interrupts or adds an afterthought. Brackets enclose an aside. Knowing exactly what the symbol does stops you ticking the wrong column.
2.Sweep one text for one feature at a time
Run your eye down Text 1 looking only for that single feature, then do the same for Text 2. Hunting for everything at once is how marks are lost. One feature, one text, one sweep.
3.Mark a tiny tick on the text as you find it
Put a faint pencil mark next to the first clear example you spot. One genuine example is enough to justify the column - you do not need to count them all.
4.Decide the column deliberately
Only after both sweeps choose Text 1, Text 2 or Both. “Both” means you found at least one clear example in each text, not that you ran out of time.
This is the single most important habit for the feature table. The item is marked on how many rows are correct, so a careful attempt at every row almost always beats leaving rows blank.
Each set below is an original pair of short extracts followed by a completed table. Read the two texts, decide each row yourself, then check your answers against the “why” column. The texts are deliberately short so you can practise the scan quickly.
Theme: the natural world
Text 1 - a leaflet for a coastal nature reserve
Welcome to Saltmarsh Point! Have you ever wondered what hides beneath a rock pool? Crouch down - quietly - and a whole tiny world appears. Crabs scuttle. Anemones bloom. The reserve’s wardens (all of them volunteers) ask one thing of every visitor: leave each pool exactly as you found it.
Text 2 - a diary entry by a young rock-pooler
Today was the best day of the whole holiday. I found a crab the size of my thumbnail and watched it sidestep across the sand. Dad said it was probably a shore crab. I wanted to keep it, but I knew I shouldn’t, so I tipped it gently back into the cold water and we walked home.
| Feature | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A question to draw the reader in | Text 1 | Text 1 asks “Have you ever wondered what hides beneath a rock pool?”. Text 2 contains no question mark, so the credited column is Text 1 only - proof that you must scan, not assume. |
| An exclamation mark | Text 1 | Text 1: “Welcome to Saltmarsh Point!” Text 2 ends every sentence with a full stop and has no exclamation mark, so a careful scan gives Text 1 only. |
| A dash used to interrupt | Text 1 | Text 1 uses “Crouch down - quietly -” to break the sentence and add a whispered instruction. Text 2 has no dash. |
| Brackets enclosing extra information | Text 1 | Text 1: “(all of them volunteers)” adds an aside. Text 2 uses no brackets. |
| First-person pronouns | Both texts | Text 1 addresses the reader and uses the reserve’s voice; Text 2 is a personal recount full of “I”, “my” and “we”. Both contain first-person reference, so the column is Both texts. |
Theme: facing danger
Text 1 - a news report on a coastal storm
A severe storm battered the harbour town overnight. Wind speeds reached ninety miles an hour. Three boats were torn from their moorings. The lifeboat crew, who launched twice before dawn, rescued all six fishermen. No injuries were reported.
Text 2 - the opening of an adventure story
The wave didn’t roar - it screamed. Mara’s hands locked round the wheel. Could the little boat hold? She didn’t know. She only knew that letting go meant the sea would take her, and she had not come this far to be taken.
| Feature | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A rhetorical or unanswered question | Text 2 | Text 2 asks “Could the little boat hold?” to build tension. Text 1 reports facts and asks nothing. |
| Precise statistics | Text 1 | Text 1 gives “ninety miles an hour”, “Three boats” and “all six fishermen”. Text 2 uses no figures. |
| A dash used for dramatic effect | Text 2 | Text 2 uses “The wave didn’t roar - it screamed.” to delay and punch the verb. Text 1 contains no dash. |
| A pair of commas marking off extra information | Text 1 | Text 1: “The lifeboat crew, who launched twice before dawn, rescued…” brackets a clause with a comma pair. Text 2 uses no such pair, so the column is Text 1 - train yourself to check, not guess. |
| Past-tense narrative verbs | Both texts | Both are written in the past tense (“battered”, “rescued” / “locked”, “knew”), so this feature appears in both texts. |
Theme: food and culture
Text 1 - a recipe instruction sheet
First, warm the oil gently. Add the onions and stir until they soften. Do not let them brown! Next, pour in the stock and simmer for twenty minutes. Finally, taste and season before serving.
Text 2 - a blog post about a family kitchen
My grandmother’s kitchen always smelled of cinnamon and patience. She never measured anything; her hands simply knew. “A little more,” she would murmur, tipping in spices as though she were telling the pot a secret.
| Feature | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Imperative (command) verbs | Text 1 | Text 1 instructs: “warm”, “Add”, “stir”, “pour”, “taste”. Text 2 describes and never commands the reader. |
| Time connectives ordering steps | Text 1 | Text 1 sequences with “First”, “Next”, “Finally”. Text 2 has no step order. |
| An apostrophe for possession | Text 2 | Text 2: “My grandmother’s kitchen” shows belonging. Text 1 uses no possessive apostrophe. |
| Direct speech in quotation marks | Text 2 | Text 2 quotes “A little more,”. Text 1 contains no speech. |
| A semicolon joining linked ideas | Text 2 | Text 2: “She never measured anything; her hands simply knew.” Text 1 uses only full stops and an exclamation mark. |
Theme: exploration
Text 1 - a magazine article about a space mission
Could humans ever live on Mars? Scientists believe the answer is “perhaps”. The planet is freezing, dry and bathed in radiation - yet its frozen poles hold water, and water means hope. The next robotic lander is due to touch down in 2031.
Text 2 - a science-fiction story extract
The hatch hissed open. Red dust swirled past Nadia’s boots and settled, slow as snow. She had trained for eleven years for this single, silent step. Behind her visor, she allowed herself one whispered word: “Finally.”
| Feature | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A direct question to the reader | Text 1 | Text 1 opens “Could humans ever live on Mars?”. Text 2 asks nothing. |
| A dash to add a contrasting idea | Text 1 | Text 1: “bathed in radiation - yet its frozen poles hold water” pivots with a dash. Text 2 has no dash. |
| A specific future date | Text 1 | Text 1 states “in 2031”. Text 2 measures time only as “eleven years”, with no date. |
| Quotation marks around a single word | Both texts | Text 1: “perhaps”. Text 2: “Finally.” Both texts isolate one word in quotation marks. |
| A possessive apostrophe | Text 2 | Text 2: “Nadia’s boots”. Text 1 uses no possessive form. |
Notice how often the right answer is decided by one clear example. You never have to find every instance - just one that genuinely shows the feature in that text.
A multiple-choice item quotes a phrase and asks you to cross one of four boxes. The wrong options are designed to look reasonable, so do not pick the first answer that sounds right. Eliminate instead:
1.Re-read the quoted words in the text
A multiple-choice item almost always quotes a phrase. Find it and read the sentence it sits in. The answer depends on meaning in context, not on the option that looks cleverest on its own.
2.Cross out what cannot be true
Test each option against the text. Strike through any that contradict it or that the text never supports. Wrong options are usually true-sounding but unsupported, or true elsewhere but not here.
3.Choose from what survives
If two options remain, pick the one that matches the exact words, not a loose paraphrase. The closest fit to the writer’s meaning is the answer.
4.Mark one box, clearly
Put one unambiguous cross in one box. If you change your mind, put a line through the old box and cross the new one. Two crosses earn nothing.
Each item below is original. Decide your answer before you read the rationale. The rationale always explains why the wrong options are wrong - that is the elimination skill you are training.
Item 1
“The old bridge groaned under the weight of the lorry.”
In this sentence, the word “groaned” suggests the bridge is:
Answer B - why: “Groaned” personifies the bridge, giving it a sound a person makes under effort or pain - so it is being strained. A contradicts “old”; C and D are never suggested.
Item 2
“She read the letter again, then folded it very, very slowly.”
The repetition of “very” mainly shows that the character is:
Answer C - why: Repeating “very” stretches the action out, implying she is delaying - reluctant or deep in thought. A is the opposite of slow; B and D are not supported by the careful re-reading.
Item 3
“The market was a riot of colour and noise.”
The word “riot” is used here to mean:
Answer B - why: In context “a riot of colour” is a positive image of abundance. A and D take the literal meaning, which the cheerful context rules out; C contradicts “noise”.
Item 4
“‘We’ll be fine,’ he said, glancing back at the rising water.”
The contrast between his words and his action suggests he is:
Answer B - why: Saying “We’ll be fine” while nervously checking the “rising water” shows he is masking worry to reassure someone. A ignores the glance; C and D are not supported.
Item 5
“The instructions were clear: do not, under any circumstances, open the valve.”
The phrase “under any circumstances” is included to:
Answer C - why: The phrase removes every exception, making the prohibition total. A is the opposite effect; B and D misread the function of the phrase.
Item 6
“Hours passed. Still no one came. The torch began to flicker.”
The writer uses three short sentences here mainly to:
Answer B - why: Clipped sentences and the failing torch create mounting dread and isolation. A misreads pace here as fast; C and D ignore the threatening detail.
Item 7
“The charity needs your help today - every coin counts.”
The main purpose of this sentence is to:
Answer C - why: “needs your help today” and “every coin counts” are direct appeals for donations - persuasion. The other options name purposes the sentence does not serve.
Item 8
“The garden, once her mother’s pride, was now a tangle of weeds.”
The sentence mainly suggests that:
Answer B - why: The contrast between “once her mother’s pride” and “now a tangle of weeds” shows decline through neglect. A and C contradict “tangle of weeds”; D is irrelevant.
Item 9
“He smiled, but his eyes did not.”
This sentence implies the character’s smile is:
Answer B - why: A smile the eyes do not share is the classic signal of insincerity. A is the opposite; C and D add feelings the text never states.
Item 10
“Recycling one tonne of paper saves about seventeen trees.”
The writer includes this figure mainly to:
Answer B - why: A precise statistic lends authority and makes the argument convincing. A and C misname the technique; D is never a writer’s aim in an informative text.
This item asks you to underline or circle one option - for example the imperative verb, the modal verb, or the word that is a synonym for a word in the text. Apply grammatical terminology precisely (e.g. imperative, modal, auxiliary, irregular). Any clear positive indication is accepted. Two rules matter most: apply the grammatical word precisely, and mark only one option.
Underline the imperative verb in this instruction:
“Before you leave the lab, always wash your hands.”
Answer: wash. An imperative gives a direct command. “leave” sits in a subordinate clause (“Before you leave”) and is not the command; “hands” is a noun. Only “wash” commands the reader.
Circle the modal verb in this sentence:
“Visitors must report to reception and sign the book.”
Answer: must. A modal verb expresses obligation, possibility or permission. “must” expresses obligation; “report” and “sign” are ordinary main verbs.
Underline the word closest in meaning to enormous:
tiny · vast · narrow · empty
Answer: vast. A synonym replaces the word without changing the meaning. “vast” means very large, like “enormous”. “tiny” is an antonym; “narrow” and “empty” describe different qualities entirely.
This short item is worth two marks, and the two marks do different jobs. One mark for a reasonable explanation of preference and one mark for appropriate textual evidence that supports it. In plain terms: one mark is for a sensible reason for your preference, and one mark is for a quotation that genuinely backs that reason. A preference with no quotation can only ever score half. State the text you prefer, give a clear reason, then quote a few words that prove it.
Comparing the Saltmarsh Point leaflet (Text 1) with the rock-pooler’s diary (Text 2)
Which text did you find more appealing, and why? Support your answer with evidence from the text. (See the spec card below for how the two marks are split.)
I found Text 2 more appealing because it tells a real, personal experience that makes me feel I was there with the writer. The detail “a crab the size of my thumbnail” is so exact that I can picture the tiny creature, and the moment the writer “tipped it gently back into the cold water” makes the kindness feel genuine rather than instructed.
How the two marks are earned
Comparing the Mars magazine article (Text 1) with the science-fiction extract (Text 2)
Which text did you find more appealing, and why? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
I preferred Text 1 because it answers a question I genuinely wonder about and makes the science feel hopeful. The line “water means hope” turns a dry fact into something I want to keep reading about, and the promise that a lander is “due to touch down in 2031” gives me a real event to look forward to, which the story version does not.
How the two marks are earned