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Eduqas GCSE English Language · C700
Eduqas C700 Check the specification (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
An impression is an understanding of what someone is like. A writer might present a character as confident, thoughtful, selfish or vulnerable. Your job is to identify those impressions and explain how details and language create them.
In Eduqas Component 1, Question 2 is worth 5 marks and focuses on a short, specified section of the fiction passage. In the summer 2025 paper, it asked students about the impressions created of Clive in lines 7–13, with supporting reference to language and relevant terminology where appropriate. It assesses AO2: explaining how a writer's choices achieve effects and influence readers. Here, that means connecting the language to the reader's understanding of the character, rather than simply listing facts about him.
The paper advises about 10 minutes reading and 50 minutes answering Section A. Aim for roughly five to six minutes on Question 2. You need a range of supported observations, not a long introduction or an extended essay about one word.
Start with what the character says, does or thinks, or what the narrator says about them. Then ask: what does this suggest about the character, and which wording makes me think that?
For example, saying that someone speaks to a visitor is a factual observation. Explaining that their assured speech makes them seem confident is an impression. Looking closely at a word that conveys their composure explains how the writer creates that impression.
Useful terminology includes adjective, verb, adverb and dialogue, but terminology should serve the explanation. You can also discuss the associations of a word or the contrast between what a character says and thinks. The effect should be specific: making someone appear socially anxious, for instance, rather than merely making the reader 'want to read on'.
Our worked example uses Saki's short story The Open Window, published in Beasts and Super-Beasts in 1914. Framton Nuttel visits Mrs. Sappleton while seeking rest for his nerves. Her niece speaks to him while he waits.
Read the complete story below. The practice question afterwards focuses only on a short section near the beginning.
“My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; “in the meantime you must try and put up with me.”
Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.
“I know how it will be,” his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; “you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice.”
Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division.
“Do you know many of the people round here?” asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.
“Hardly a soul,” said Framton. “My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.”
He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.
“Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?” pursued the self-possessed young lady.
“Only her name and address,” admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
“Her great tragedy happened just three years ago,” said the child; “that would be since your sister’s time.”
“Her tragedy?” asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place.
“You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon,” said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.
“It is quite warm for the time of the year,” said Framton; “but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy?”
“Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.” Here the child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. “Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing ‘Bertie, why do you bound?’ as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window—”
Practice task, using the Question 2 format: Read from “Framton Nuttel endeavoured” to “a tone of distinct regret”. What impressions does Saki create of Framton in this section? Support your answer with reference to language, using relevant terminology where appropriate. [5 marks]
The boundaries are the six paragraphs beginning with Framton's attempt to speak politely and ending with his regret about the introductions. Although you have read the whole story, the answer must draw its evidence from that section.
First, notice his effort to speak appropriately. The verb “endeavoured” means tried: conversation requires effort for him. His concern to say “the correct something” suggests that he is anxious about social expectations, while his wish to flatter the niece without diminishing the aunt makes him seem carefully polite.
Next, compare his outward behaviour with his private thoughts. “Privately he doubted” shows that he does not openly express his misgivings. The phrase “total strangers” stresses his unfamiliarity with the people he must visit, helping us understand why he is uncomfortable and sceptical about the visits helping him.
Then, consider his sister's view of him. Her prediction, “you will bury yourself down there”, suggests withdrawal and isolation. This is her expectation, not proof that he has already isolated himself at the retreat. The metaphor makes that expectation forceful: she imagines him shutting himself away from others.
Finally, look at his own speech and its tone. “Hardly a soul” confirms that he knows almost nobody locally. His “distinct regret” suggests reluctance about the arrangements his sister has made; the adjective makes the regret clear rather than barely noticeable.
These observations cover the section and connect evidence to impressions. Notice how several details develop an overall picture of someone who tries to be polite but is uneasy about meeting people.
Eduqas gives a separate descriptor for each mark from 0 to 5 on this question. The examiner judges which description best fits the quality of the whole response; this is not one mark for each impression. Aim for accuracy, range and useful explanation.
| Mark | What the answer achieves |
|---|---|
| 0 | Nothing in the answer meaningfully addresses the task. |
| 1 | The answer barely begins to say what the character is like. |
| 2 | The answer recognises some obvious traits, but does little to develop them. It may include subject terms. |
| 3 | The answer draws on several clues to explain its view of the character, linking supporting details and their wording to the impressions. It may name useful language features. |
| 4 | The answer gives a reliable picture of the character, drawing widely from the section and showing how the wording supports its judgements. Appropriate terms may help the explanation. |
| 5 | The answer captures subtleties as well as getting the character right. It selects telling details from different parts of the section and explains precisely how their wording shapes the impressions, integrating subject terms when they clarify the analysis. |
A perceptive comment sees something precise or nuanced. Here, Framton is not simply 'unfriendly': he makes an effort to please others despite privately doubting the visits. That distinction gives a more convincing understanding of him.
| Weaker response | Stronger response |
|---|---|
| Framton seems nervous and lonely. He tries to say “the correct something” and knows “Hardly a soul”. He also regrets visiting people. | Framton seems socially anxious: the verb “endeavoured” suggests that finding “the correct something” to say takes effort. He is nevertheless considerate, trying to flatter the niece without “discounting the aunt”. His private doubts about visits to “total strangers” make him seem uncomfortable and sceptical about their benefit. His sister predicts, “you will bury yourself down there”, a metaphor suggesting a tendency to withdraw. “Hardly a soul” confirms his lack of local acquaintances, while the adjective “distinct” makes his regret about the introductions unmistakable. |
The weaker answer would receive 2/5. Its overall quality best fits the 2-mark descriptor: it identifies straightforward impressions and gives some evidence, but largely leaves the reader to work out the connection between quotation and impression. Its final observation has no precise supporting reference.
The stronger model answer would receive 5/5. Its overall quality best fits the 5-mark descriptor: it is accurate, covers a well-chosen range of evidence and explains how wording shapes our view of Framton. It recognises the difference between his considerate behaviour and private discomfort, and treats his sister's prediction as a prediction. Terminology supports the explanation rather than replacing it.
Explain how its quotations create the impressions and add evidence from another part of the section. For example:
Framton seems nervous in company because “the correct something” suggests he worries about saying the right thing. He is doubtful about the visits because “Privately he doubted” shows he questions whether they will help his nerves. He knows “Hardly a soul”, suggesting that he is unfamiliar with the area. His “distinct regret” shows that he is reluctant about the introductions his sister arranged.
This answer would receive 3/5 by best fit. It offers several relevant impressions supported by a range of quotations and brief comments on wording. Its explanations are straightforward rather than perceptive, and it does not explore the contrast between his politeness and private unease as effectively as the 5-mark answer. The improvement comes from making the evidence meaningful, not simply adding more adjectives about Framton.
You can begin directly with an impression and weave the evidence into your sentence. These starters can help:
Use them flexibly rather than repeating the same pattern for every point. A short paragraph or two can contain several linked observations.
Before finishing, check four things: the correct section; the named character or characters; a range of short supporting quotations; and an explanation of what the language suggests.
5 marks · AO2 · short specified section
Explain the impressions the writer creates of the named character or characters, supporting them with evidence and brief comments on language. Aim for about five to six minutes.
Impression → evidence → what the language suggests.
Keep every point within the specified section and focused on the character or characters named in the question.
Choose short quotations and explain what their wording suggests about the character; quotation alone is not analysis.
Cover a range of evidence across the section rather than repeatedly supporting the same impression.
Use terminology accurately where it helps. Explaining a significant word is more useful than naming a technique without explaining its effect.
Aim for about five to six minutes on this five-mark question, leaving enough time for the ten-mark questions.
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Impression
An understanding of what a character or place is like, created by details in a text.
Inference
A conclusion drawn from clues in a text rather than from something stated directly.
Connotation
The associations or suggested meanings of a word beyond its literal meaning.
Narrator
The voice that tells a story, which is distinct from the writer and may also be distinct from the characters.
Embedded quotation
A short quotation incorporated into your own sentence so that the sentence reads naturally.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for English Language
Impression
An understanding of what a character or place is like, created by details in a text.
Inference
A conclusion drawn from clues in a text rather than from something stated directly.
Connotation
The associations or suggested meanings of a word beyond its literal meaning.
Narrator
The voice that tells a story, which is distinct from the writer and may also be distinct from the characters.
Embedded quotation
A short quotation incorporated into your own sentence so that the sentence reads naturally.
She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance.
“I hope Vera has been amusing you?” she said.
“She has been very interesting,” said Framton.
“I hope you don’t mind the open window,” said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; “my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes to-day, so they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you men-folk, isn’t it?”
She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.
“The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,” announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one’s ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. “On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement,” he continued.
“No?” said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention—but not to what Framton was saying.
“Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea, and don’t they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!”
Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.
In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: “I said, Bertie, why do you bound?”
Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly-noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid an imminent collision.
“Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window; “fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?”
“A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,” said Mrs. Sappleton; “could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost.”
“I expect it was the spaniel,” said the niece calmly; “he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.”
Romance at short notice was her speciality.
There is a separate descriptor for each mark. The mark is a best-fit judgement of the whole response, not one mark per point.
A fact tells you what happens; analysis explains what it reveals about the character. Precise comments on words matter more than technique labels. Distinguish the narrator's description, a character's speech and another character's opinion.