Paper 1 Question 3: language and structure

What Question 3 rewards

Paper 1 Question 3 is worth 6 marks and assesses AO2: explaining and analysing how a writer’s language and structure create effects and influence readers, using relevant terminology. You examine a specified section of the unseen nineteenth-century fiction extract, rather than writing about the whole passage indiscriminately.

The question sets a focus. In the June 2023 example, you must explain how the writer presents Percy Fairbank and Mrs Fairbank’s experiences in the stable, supporting your ideas with references. The reprinted section begins with Mrs Fairbank exploring the yard, then moves towards the discovery inside the stable. That opening matters because it establishes the relaxed behaviour which the discovery changes.

Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 45 minutes. Pearson advises about an hour for Section A and 45 minutes for Section B, using the marks as a guide to time. One possible split for Section A is 10 minutes reading, 5 minutes on Questions 1–2, 15 minutes on Question 3 and 30 minutes on Question 4. Question 3 rewards precise analysis, not an exhaustive essay.

The longer passage: arrival and discovery

This passage is from Wilkie Collins’s nineteenth-century story The Dream Woman. Percy narrates the experience of arriving at an inn with his wife and trying to find someone to help them. Paper 1 uses a fiction extract of approximately 650 words. The longer passage below gives the arrival, discovery and nightmare episode. A ‘hostler’ is someone who looks after horses at an inn; ‘litter’ here means straw used as bedding.

Arriving at the town, we had no difficulty in finding the inn. The town is composed of one desolate street; and midway in that street stands the inn--an ancient stone building sadly out of repair. The painting on the sign-board is obliterated. The shutters over the long range of front windows are all closed. A cock and his hens are the only living creatures at the door. Plainly, this is one of the old inns of the stage-coach period, ruined by the railway. We pass through the open arched doorway, and find no one to welcome us. We advance into the stable yard behind; I assist my wife to dismount--and there we are in the position already disclosed to view at the opening of this narrative. No bell to ring. No human creature to answer when I call. I stand helpless, with the bridles of the horses in my hand. Mrs. Fairbank saunters gracefully down the length of the yard and does--what all women do, when they find themselves in a strange place. She opens every door as she passes it, and peeps in. On my side, I have just recovered my breath, I am on the point of shouting for the hostler for the third and last time, when I hear Mrs. Fairbank suddenly call to me:

"Percy! come here!"

Her voice is eager and agitated. She has opened a last door at the end of the yard, and has started back from some sight which has suddenly met her view. I hitch the horses' bridles on a rusty nail in the wall near me, and join my wife. She has turned pale, and catches me nervously by the arm.

"Good heavens!" she cries; "look at that!"

I look--and what do I see? I see a dingy little stable, containing two stalls. In one stall a horse is munching his corn. In the other a man is lying asleep on the litter.

A worn, withered, woebegone man in a hostler's dress. His hollow wrinkled cheeks, his scanty grizzled hair, his dry yellow skin, tell their own tale of past sorrow or suffering. There is an ominous frown on his eyebrows--there is a painful nervous contraction on the side of his mouth. I hear him breathing convulsively when I first look in; he shudders and sighs in his sleep. It is not a pleasant sight to see, and I turn round instinctively to the bright sunlight in the yard. My wife turns me back again in the direction of the stable door.

"Wait!" she says. "Wait! he may do it again."

"Do what again?"

"He was talking in his sleep, Percy, when I first looked in. He was dreaming some dreadful dream. Hush! he's beginning again."

I look and listen. The man stirs on his miserable bed. The man speaks in a quick, fierce whisper through his clinched teeth. "Wake up! Wake up, there! Murder!"

There is an interval of silence. He moves one lean arm slowly until it rests over his throat; he shudders, and turns on his straw; he raises his arm from his throat, and feebly stretches it out; his hand clutches at the straw on the side toward which he has turned; he seems to fancy that he is grasping at the edge of something. I see his lips begin to move again; I step softly into the stable; my wife follows me, with her hand fast clasped in mine. We both bend over him. He is talking once more in his sleep--strange talk, mad talk, this time.

The arrival explains why Percy is searching for assistance. The later nightmare develops the mystery, but Question 3 narrows your attention to the earlier moment of discovery. Use the section reprinted with the question for your answer.

The focused section for Question 3

Here is the corresponding section in Collins’s original wording. The June 2023 exam uses ‘stableman’ for the person Collins calls a ‘hostler’.

Mrs. Fairbank saunters gracefully down the length of the yard and does--what all women do, when they find themselves in a strange place. She opens every door as she passes it, and peeps in. On my side, I have just recovered my breath, I am on the point of shouting for the hostler for the third and last time, when I hear Mrs. Fairbank suddenly call to me:

"Percy! come here!"

Her voice is eager and agitated. She has opened a last door at the end of the yard, and has started back from some sight which has suddenly met her view. I hitch the horses' bridles on a rusty nail in the wall near me, and join my wife. She has turned pale, and catches me nervously by the arm.

"Good heavens!" she cries; "look at that!"

I look--and what do I see? I see a dingy little stable, containing two stalls. In one stall a horse is munching his corn. In the other a man is lying asleep on the litter.

A worn, withered, woebegone man in a hostler's dress. His hollow wrinkled cheeks, his scanty grizzled hair, his dry yellow skin, tell their own tale of past sorrow or suffering.

‘Saunters’ means walks in a relaxed, unhurried way; ‘woebegone’ means looking deeply sad or miserable.

The six-mark task asks you to explain how language and structure describe Percy Fairbank and Mrs Fairbank’s experiences in the stable, supporting your views with references to this section.

Language: explain what the particular words suggest

Language concerns the writer’s choices of words and expressions. Start with what a choice reveals about the experience, then examine the wording closely.

At first, Mrs Fairbank ‘saunters’. This verb suggests an unhurried movement: she does not yet feel threatened. ‘peeps in’ adds a sense of playful curiosity. When she later catches Percy ‘nervously’, the adverb shows that the exploration has become frightening. These choices give you a precise contrast between her initial ease and later anxiety.

Notice how different words can contribute different meanings. Her voice is ‘eager and agitated’: ‘eager’ suggests a desire to investigate or share the discovery, while ‘agitated’ suggests distress. Together they present a mixture of curiosity and alarm, rather than a single simple emotion.

The stableman’s description also matters, but the question is about the Fairbanks’ experiences. The alliteration in ‘worn, withered, woebegone’ brings together details of physical deterioration and misery. Explain how this makes their discovery disturbing, rather than leaving the point as a separate description of the man.

A useful line of thinking is: What does this choice suggest? What in the wording creates that suggestion? How does it answer the question?

Structure: explain how the experience unfolds

Structure concerns how the writer organises the text. It includes the order of events and information, changes of focus, and the arrangement of sentences. The key question is not just what is present, but why it appears at that moment.

Track the focused section from beginning to end. It opens with relaxed exploration and Percy preparing to call again for help. Mrs Fairbank’s sudden command interrupts that ordinary activity. Her voice, movement and pale face reveal her reaction, but the cause remains unnamed as ‘some sight’. Only after Percy joins her does the reader discover the sleeping man. The ending then concentrates on his disturbing appearance.

That order creates suspense: reaction comes before explanation. Because Percy is the first-person narrator, we discover the sight with him, after seeing his wife’s alarm. ‘I look--and what do I see?’ briefly pauses the narrative before Percy answers his own question. The main delay is the sequence leading up to this moment: the reader has already seen Mrs Fairbank’s reaction without knowing its cause.

Sentence organisation can also provide a structural point. In the final sentence, the repeated ‘his’ introduces a list of the man’s cheeks, hair and skin before the main verb ‘tell’. The accumulating details make Percy’s inspection feel prolonged and leave the reader with evidence of suffering. This is more precise than saying that a long sentence simply ‘makes the reader read on’.

Language and structure can work together in the same point. Contrasting ‘saunters’ with ‘nervously’ examines vocabulary; explaining why the calm behaviour comes first examines the organisation of the experience.

Turning observations into a developed answer

Here is the thinking behind an answer to the June 2023 task:

1. Identify the overall experience: an ordinary search becomes an alarming discovery.
2. Select evidence of the change: ‘saunters’ at the opening contrasts with ‘nervously’ later.
3. Explain the language: the first word conveys ease; the second reveals anxiety.
4. Examine the order: Mrs Fairbank reacts before Percy and the reader see what has frightened her.
5. Select a sentence detail: the final list concentrates attention on the man’s suffering, accumulating bodily details before reaching its main verb.
6. Connect each effect to the focus: these choices present the Fairbanks’ growing shock and intrigue.

You can organise your answer by following the passage’s development, or write separate paragraphs about language and structure. Both approaches work. The two aspects need not receive exactly equal space, but both need meaningful explanation.

What separates the levels

Examiners judge the answer’s overall quality using best fit: they decide which level most closely describes it, then choose the mark within that level.

The difference is not a prescribed number of quotations or named techniques. It is the depth and precision of the explanation.

A weaker and a stronger response

These responses answer the same task:

The weaker response would receive Level 1, 2/6. Its comments are valid, but its treatment of language is brief and it does not consider structure.

The stronger response would receive Level 2, 4/6. Its overall quality fits supported explanation: it explains both vocabulary and the delayed revelation, with relevant references. To move into Level 3, it could examine more closely how the narrative or sentence choices control the discovery and develop its explanation of the unsettling ending.

A model answer: Level 3, 6/6

Collins presents the Fairbanks’ experience as a change from ordinary exploration to an unsettling discovery. Initially, Mrs Fairbank ‘saunters’, a verb suggesting an unhurried walk, while ‘peeps in’ makes her curiosity seem almost playful. This contrasts with the later adverb ‘nervously’ as she catches Percy’s arm: the place she was comfortably exploring has now made her anxious enough to seek physical reassurance.

Structurally, Collins reveals her alarm before showing its cause. The vague phrase ‘some sight’ withholds what she has discovered, so Percy and the reader must wait for an explanation. Her imperative ‘come here!’ abruptly interrupts his search for the stableman and draws him into her experience. By showing her reaction first and revealing the man only when Percy looks, Collins makes the reader share his uncertainty and anticipation.

The ending then concentrates on the man’s disturbing appearance. The alliterative list ‘worn, withered, woebegone’ accumulates signs of deterioration and misery, suggesting why the discovery has shocked them. In the final sentence, the repeated ‘his’ draws attention to one bodily detail after another before reaching ‘tell their own tale’. This prolonged inspection leaves Percy and the reader confronting evidence of suffering, rather than the ordinary assistance he had expected.

An examiner would award Level 3, 6/6. The response’s sustained, precise analysis makes it a secure best fit for the top level. It examines vocabulary, narrative order and sentence organisation, with carefully selected references explaining the Fairbanks’ changing experience. Its mark comes from that overall quality, not from counting techniques.

Sentence starters and a final check

Sentence starters can help you make the relationship between choice and effect clear:

• ‘The verb “…” suggests … because …’
• ‘Initially …, whereas later …; this contrast presents …’
• ‘The writer delays revealing … until …, which …’
• ‘The sentence lists … before …, drawing attention to …’

Before finishing, check: Have I answered the focus? Explained both language and structure? Supported my points? Shown how the choices create specific effects?

Question 3 essentials

• 6 marks; AO2. Allow about 15 minutes as a suggested share of Section A’s hour.
• Analyse the specified section and the focus named in the question.
• Explain both language and structure. Only one aspect means a maximum of 2 marks.
• Equal space for each is not required.

Build each point

Choice → short reference → precise explanation → link to the focus.

For language, examine particular words and their associations. For , explain order, changes, delayed information or sentence organisation—and why they matter.