Guide to extract questions

1. Guide to extract questions
Extract question (20 minutes)
Usually asks about mood and atmosphere or what we learn about a character or the
relationship between characters.
Read the extract carefully and spend five minutes reading and annotating the extract.
Highlight key quotations from both the speech and stage directions and identify the literary
and linguistic features the writer is using.
Beginby contextualising theextract - where is it from in theplay?What happensbefore
and after? How doesit link to otherevents?
Then analyse language – pick quotationsand analyse in detail –embed short quotations
and link your analysis to thequestion. Consider thewriters purpose.
Use quotations from throughout theextract – track changes in moodand atmosphereor
character. Aim to include at least five different points.
End by commenting on theend of theextract and suggest how your final quotationlinks to
(or foreshadows) laterevents.
Points to consider:
 The moodof thesentences being used: imperative,interrogative, exclamatoryor
declarative.
 The typesof words being used in thespeech: adjectivesfor description; imperative
verbs for commands; pronouns or vocatives to address othercharacters.
 The typesof words used in stage directions: Theadjectives to describe the
characters appearance, prepositionsto describe theirpositionin relation to other
characters. Verbs and adverbs to describetheir movements.
This question tests AO1 and AO2 – your abilityto analyse texts in detailfocusing on
language, structure form and stylisticfeatures. You shouldanalyse detailin the same way
as youdidin theShakespearecontrolled assessment.