1 a If question asks for phrase, give them a phrase (ie. a few words) – not half the sentence. Avoid the padding in a question which simply asks you to “pick out” something.
1 b “Show how” questions always require some evidence and comment (analysis). Remember to link your analysis/comment to your evidence. If your evidence is a word like “penance”, then you need to refer to the associations of the word and how that helps to develop the mood of “bleakness”. 3 marks for reference to more than one feature in this question.
2 Another gift of a question which doesn’t come up much – very little analysis required here. The verb in the question is “give” (not “show” or “comment” or “explain how). However, almost always you’ll need to provide comment in questions for Textual Analysis and Close Reading.
3 Trickier question. Four marks going for this. “Comment on ..” This question asks you to focus on two things in particular: tone and ideas. Some people find it helpful to use these as headings in their answers, e.g.
Ideas
We get the impression that Laidlaw’s childhood was very troubled. The references to the nightmares and monsters creates a sense of horror and a childhood that was full of anxiety.
Tone
The tone, however, is quite humorous. The references to “chorus lines” and “re-soled£ sheets” doesn’t seem appropriate to what he is describing and creates a kind of dark humour.
4. a This is a “link” question. When you are asked to “show how” a sentence acts as a “link” between paragraphs you need to do the following:
Identify the part of the sentence that refers back to previous paragraph and explain how it does – i.e. “the monster” refers back to the previous list of beats that were in Laidlaw’s nightmares.
Then, identify, the part of the sentence that gives a hint of what is to come, i.e.
“Now” suggests that there are still some dark elements in his life. But “less exotic” and “less avoidable” gives a hint that these dark elements are both more real but also everyday things like his bad marriage and thoughts of getting older.
You need to pick out the specific words and phrases of the link sentence which point backwards and forwards.
4 b Very high mark question – six marks. Directs you to refer to sentence structure and imagery and how each of these elements of McIlvanney’s writing helps to create Laidlaw’s feeling of frustration. It’s probably better to deal with these separately. Again, to help keep you on track you could use headings:
Sentence Structure
McIlvanney lists annoying and bleak elements of Laidlaw’s life in the long sentence “His marriage was a maze, … an infinity of habit” to heighten the sense of frustration in the character’s life. The use of “and” instead of a comma in “infinity of habit and hurt and betrayal ..” stresses these various aspects of Laidlaw’s frustrated life.
McIlvanney also creates a list of boring items (books on law, cases, reports) to suggest a sense of never-ending bureaucracy which gets him down and adds to the frustration in his life.
Imagery
“desert island of his feeling” is an effective metaphor which compares his feelings of frustration and isolation to a desert island. It’s as if his emotions, like someone on a desert island, is cut off or unable to connect with the rest of the world.