LITERATURE CIRCLES FOR NOUGHTS AND CROSSES

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NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
By Malorie Blackman

English 101
2009
LITERATURE CIRCLES FOR NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
HOME GROUPS

CROSSES
Annie Crawford (Plot Police)
Stephanie McManus (Technique Trigger)
Ashleigh Horton (Character Catcher)
Olivia Cleaver (Setting Sleuth)

NOUGHTS
Caitlin McEvoy (Technique Trigger)
Angela Smith (Setting Sleuth)
Victoria Safole (Plot Police)
Paige Orr (Character Catcher)

LIBERATION MILITIA
Brittany Jackson (Character Catcher)
Holly Lewis (Technique Trigger)
Becky Wilson (Setting Sleuth)
Stascha Kennard (Plot Police)

BLANKERS
PJ Gordon (Setting Sleuth)
Fern McAulay (Technique Trigger)
Catherine Chainey (Character Catcher: Crosses)
Charlotte McGill-Brown (Plot Police)
Jamal Sinclair (Character Catcher: Noughts)

DAGGERS
Kate Hall (Technique Trigger)
Maddy Grant (Character Catcher: Crosses)
Rebecca Fairweather (Character Catcher: Noughts)
Melinda Reece (Plot Police)
Katie Dawson (Setting Sleuth)
SPECIALIST GROUPS

CHARACTER CATCHER
Brittany Jackson
Ashleigh Horton
Paige Orr

CHARACTER CATCHER: CROSSES
Catherine Chainey
Maddy Grant

CHARACTER CATCHER: NOUGHTS
Jamal Sinclair
Rebecca Fairweather

TECHNIQUE TRIGGER
Stephanie McManus
Kate Hall
Caitlin McEvoy
Holly Lewis
Fern McAulay

SETTING SLEUTH
Angela Smith
Olivia Cleaver
Katie Dawson
Becky Wilson
PJ Gordon

PLOT POLICE
Annie Crawford
Melinda Reece
Victoria Safole
Stascha Kennard
Charlotte McGill-Brown
OUTLINE OF LITERATURE CIRCLES
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION SESSION
o Learning Intentions
o Striving for personal excellence and what that means within a Literature Circle
o Concept of pulling weight within a group
o How our Literature Circles will function

PART TWO: BACKGROUND READING – MAKING CONNECTIONS
o Independent reading of background material from the Wiki completing 3 Focus Reading
Sheets (Homework)
o Report back to your Home Group to share your learning
o I suggest that in your Home Group you negotiate to ensure that each group member reads
different material so that as you report back your group members are exposed to all
possible material

PART THREE: THEME
o Home Group discussion to identify themes of Noughts and Crosses
o Locating some basic evidence to support your possible themes
o Linking possible themes to background reading material from the Wiki
o Sharing back to the class to compile
o Discussion of how theme should underpin the rest of our learning on Noughts and Crosses

PART FOUR: CREATING AND / OR DEVELOPING OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE
o Class notes session (s) on:
 Essay questions and the marking rubric
 Theme (literal, inferred and speculated ideas)
 Character (major / minor, round / flat, dynamic / static, conflict, relationships,
decisions and names)
 Setting (time, place and mood)
 Plot (orientation, complication, rising action, mini climaxes, climax, denouement
and key events)
 Techniques (Narration, Symbols, Imagery, Vocabulary and connotations of
Vocabulary used)

PART FIVE: INDIVIDUAL FOCUS WITH SPECIALIST GROUP SUPPORT
o Dividing the book into segments for rereading and close analysis
o Allocation of roles:
 Character Catcher
 Setting Sleuth
 Plot Police
 Technique Trigger
o Individual exploration tasks to be conducted within the support of a specialist group and
reported back to Home Group
HOME GROUP TASKS
EACH WEEK
You are your group name.
Write a reflection on how you felt, how you were affected by events, how you developed
throughout the chapters analysed this week.
This should be in diary form written as if you TRULY are a Dagger, Blanker, Nought, Cross or
Liberation Militant

METAPHOR TASK
What is a metaphor?
o Using the Noughts and Crosses Game metaphor answer the following questions:
• What is the subject of the metaphor?
• What is the subject being compared to?
• Why do you think the author thought this was a clever comparison?
• What image comes to mind when you read this metaphor?
• Is it a positive or negative image
• Why do you think the author chose to include this image within the story?
• How does the image add to the message?
o Identify any other possible metaphors and apply the questions above

WIKI TASK
You must collate your information into a summary document (ie. Powerpoint, Flipchart, Handout,
Website, Podcast) for presenting back to the class as a means of sharing your thinking with the
rest of the class (remembering that 20 heads are better than 1). Remember we can photograph
and photocopy your work, film and / or audio record discussions etc for you to include in your
presentation. You are also required to add a group summary to our Wiki (if you are clever, then
you will ensure that the product you choose for presenting back to the class is one that can be
directly saved onto the wiki to save your work load).

EXTENTION TASK
 Can you identify any other connections than the ones that are already on the wiki?
o Look at links to:
 the author
 history
 culture
 literature
 music
 Research the connections you identify and prepare documents that can
be added to our wiki
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS WITH SPECIALIST GROUP SUPPORT
Character Catcher
o Outline of each major and minor character
 For two-three major characters complete these questions:
 What do I think of myself?
 What do those I am with think of me?
 What are the three most important things that I choose to do? Are
these good choices, and what do they tell the reader about me?
 What are the three most important things that I say?
 What does the reader think of me?
 How does the author manipulate the reader?
 What do I value? Are these good values?
 What are my strengths and my weaknesses?
 What is the most interesting thing about me?
 Write a paragraph about me that sums up why I am important in
delivering the authors message.
 For one-two minor characters complete these questions:
 What do I think of myself?
 What do those I am with think of me?
 What are the three most important things that I choose to do? Are
these good choices, and what do they tell the reader about me?
 What are the three most important things that I say?
 What does the reader think of me?
 How does the author manipulate the reader?
 What do I value? Are these good values?
 What are my strengths and my weaknesses?
 What is the most interesting thing about me?
 Write a paragraph about me that sums up why I am important in
delivering the authors message.
o Relationships Map
o Significance of names
o Key quotations with page references, significance notes
o Links to theme
o Connections to background reading, author’s life, other texts etc
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS WITH SPECIALIST GROUP SUPPORT
Setting Sleuth
o Outline of each main setting
 What are the different components of setting?
 Where did the story occur? Was there more than one setting?
 If there was more than one setting how did the places differ in relation
to the language used to refer to them?
 How did the places dictate the behaviour of the characters?
 What were the clues to which country the story was set in?
 What were the social and economic situations for the characters? How
did this dictate the way they behaved and how they were treated?
 When did the story occur? Or when was it written?
 What do you know about this time period?
 How was this evident within the story?
 What differences could you identify between then and now?
 What issues were prevalent at the time?
 How does the story make a comment about the society?
o Key quotations
o Links to theme
o Connections to background reading, author’s life, other texts etc
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS WITH SPECIALIST GROUP SUPPORT
Plot Police
o Identification of key plot events
 Identify eight to ten important moments that you think provide information
about the writers’ purpose and/or the stories’ characters. For each moment
answer the below questions:
 Identify who is involved in the event
 What is the problem that the characters have to overcome?
 How do they over come the problem?
 What do we learn about the character from their reaction to the
problem?
 Do you think that the right decision was made? Why?
 How do you think the author feels about the choice? Why?
 Do you believe that the problem faced by the character is reflective of
society? In what way?
 What have we learnt about how society treats each other?
 What lesson can be derived from this event?
 Is there a pattern in relation to theme or is there more than one
theme?
o Relationship of key events to structure
o Key quotations
o Links to theme
o Connections to background reading, author’s life, other texts etc
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS WITH SPECIALIST GROUP SUPPORT
Technique Trigger
o Identification of symbols and their significance
 When a writer focuses in on a seemingly insignificant object that item is
usually a symbol.
 Which items or images does the writer focus in on?
 What are these items or images usually related to?
 Are the items glorified or denigrated?
 Are any of the items or images repeated?
 What is the idea of the text?
 How does incorporating this item or image help reinforce the main idea?
 Are there any characters from the text that might be especially
connected with the image?
 How would it affect the story if the item or image was not
incorporated?
o Discussion of the style of narration
NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW
Why does Malorie Blackman have two different points of view in her novel? Apart from the
opening chapter, half the story is told by Callum and the other half comes from Sephy. Both
narrators speak in the first person.

This place isn’t so bad,
is it?
(Sephy, page 23)

Depends on your point
of view. You’re on the
inside, Sephy. I’m not.
(Callum, page 23)

WHY DID MALORIE BLACKMAN DO THAT?
Below is her answer:

I wanted the society in my book to be viewed from two different points of view (Callum and Sephy’s) to show
how our perspectives colour our thinking. The adage, ‘you can’t really know someone until you have walked in
their shoes’, is like all clichés mostly true. That I think was the idea I had in mind when I sat down to write
Noughts and Crosses.

As you read, make a note of the differences between Callum’s and Sephy’s perspectives on things:

 What different views do they have about each other’s homes?
 How does each of them feel about the other’s family?
 How does each feel about Callum’s arrival at Heathcroft?
 Why is it hard for Sephy to understand Callum’s anger when she uses the word ‘blanker’ to
condemn her fellow students?
 What other aspects of the novel are important as we experience them through their
differing perspectives?

What do you think the novel gains from having both viewpoints?
BEGINNING QUOTATION
The book begins with this quotation:
‘That’s just the way it is.
Some things will never change.
That’s just the way it is.
But don’t you believe them.’
Bruce Hornsby and The Range

 What does this mean?
 Are things just the way they are? Do we just accept things or can we change them?
(Try to explain your answer, citing evidence if possible.)
 Should we try to change things or is it best to leave well alone?

BLACK AND WHITE: TWO SIMPLE WORDS?
How do we use those two simple words? Here are some prompts from the dictionary (taken from
the Oxford School Dictionary):

Black economy Employment where payments are concealed to avoid tax
Blackguard A wicked person (originally the servants who did all the dirty jobs)
Blackleg A person who works while fellow workers are on strike
Blacklist To put someone on a list of those who are disapproved of
Blackmail To demand money from someone by threatening to reveal a secret
Black market Illegal trading
Black sheep A disgraced member of a family
Blackspot A dangerous place

White lie A harmless lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings
White elephant A useless possession
Whitewash Concealing a mistake

There appear to be many more negative connotations for the word ‘black’

Tasks:
 Explore and find as many positive associations with the words that you can
 See if you can research any more negative associations with the two words
 Outline which word you feel has the most negative connotations and why
WHITE COMEDY
From “Propa Propaganda”
By Benjamin Zephaniah
I waz whitemailed
By a white witch,
Wid white magic
An white lies,
Branded by a white sheep
I slaved as a whitesmith
Near a white spot
Where I suffered whitewater fever.
Whitelisted as a whiteleg
I waz in de white book
As a master of white art,
It waz like white death.

People called me white jack
Some hailed me as a white wog,
So I joined de white watch
Trained as a white guard
Lived off the white economy.
Caught and beaten by de whiteshirts
I waz condemned to a white mass,
Don't worry,
I shall be writing to de Black House.

 What point is the poet making?
 How does it relate to the novel, Noughts and Crosses?

black comedy n (an amusing play, story, etc. based on) BLACK HUMOUR

blackmail n the practice of obtaining money or advantage by threatening to make known
unpleasant facts about a person or group

black magic n magic believed to be done with the help of evil spirits and used for evil purposes

white magic n magic used for good purposes

white lie n a harmless lie, e.g. one told so as not to hurt someone else
black sheep n black sheep someone who is thought by other members of their group to be a
failure or to have brought shame on the group: the black sheep of the family

blacksmith - n a metalworker who makes and repairs things made of iron, esp. horseshoes

black spot n esp. BrE 1 a part of a road where many accidents have happened
2 any place or area of serious trouble or difficulties: The city is one of Britain's worst
unemployment black spots.

blackwater fever a very severe form of the disease MALARIA, esp. in W Africa

blacklist n a list of people, groups, countries, etc., who are disapproved of for some reason and
are to be avoided or punished in some way

blackleg n BrE derog someone who continues to work when their fellow workers are on strike

black art also black arts pl.- n [the] BLACK MAGIC

Black Death n [the] the illness (probably BUBONIC PLAGUE) that killed large numbers of people
in Europe and Asia in the 14th century. In Britain the Black Death is connected with the men who
went round the streets to collect the dead bodies calling out “Bring out your dead!”

blackjack /n a card game, usu. played for money

Black Watch [the] the common name for the Royal Highland Regiment, a REGIMENT (=large
division of men) in the British army

blackguard / n old use or humor a man of completely dishonourable character

black economy n [the] business activity that is carried on unofficially, esp. in order to avoid
taxation

Blackshirt /n a member of a FASCIST organization having a black shirt as part of its uniform
(from the Italian Fascist Party before the Second World War, whose members wore black shirts)

Black Mass n a ceremony in which worshippers of the devil use forms like those of Christian
worship

wog n BrE taboo derog a foreigner, esp. of a dark-skinned race (considered extremely offensive)
STEPHEN LAWRENCE
Stephen Lawrence (13 September 1974 – 22 April 1993) was a black British teenager from South-
East London who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus on the evening of 22 April 1993.

After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested but never convicted. However, it has
been suggested that the murder had a racist motive and that Lawrence was killed because he was
black.

In 1999, an inquiry headed by Sir William MacPherson examined the original Metropolitan police
investigation and famously concluded that the force was "institutionally racist" and has been
called 'one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain'.

Life
Stephen Lawrence was born on 13 September 1974 to Neville Lawrence, a carpenter, and his wife
Doreen, a special needs teacher. He was brought up in Plumstead, South-East London.

At the time of his death he was studying English, design and technology, craft and physics at the
Blackheath Bluecoat School and was hoping to become an architect.

Murder, trials, aftermath
The attack occurred at around 10:30pm on 22 April 1993, as Lawrence waited with a friend,
Duwayne Brooks, at a bus stop in South-East London.

As Brooks called out to ask whether Lawrence saw the bus coming he claimed that he heard one
of Lawrence's assailants saying: "What, What, Nigger?" as they all quickly crossed the road and
'engulfed' Lawrence, who was then stabbed to a depth of about five inches on both sides of the
front of his body, in the chest and arm. Both stab wounds severed auxiliary arteries. Although he
tried to escape, he collapsed and bled to death after running 119 metres.

“It is surprising that he managed to get 130 yards with all the injuries he had, but also the fact
that the deep penetrating wound of the right side caused the upper lobe to partially collapse his
lung. It is therefore a testimony to Stephen's physical fitness that he was able to run the
distance he did before collapsing.” - Pathologist, Dr Shepherd.

Witnesses
All three witnesses at the bus stop at the time of the attack said in statements that the attack
was sudden and short; none was later able to identify any of the suspects.

In February 1999, officers who were investigating the handling of the initial inquiry revealed that
a woman had telephoned detectives three times within the first few days after the killing.

In 2004, the police stated: "The witness who appeared on the right of the scene and walked into
Rochester Way with Stephen and Duwayne behind is very important to us. We know who this
witness is, she knows who she is, we know what she knows. She has never made a statement. This
witness may have been the catalyst for the attack".
A case was brought against two of the suspects, Neil Acourt, then 17, and Luke Knight, who was
16, who were initially charged with murder but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case
on 29 July 1993, citing insufficient evidence.

Private prosecution
In April 1996, Stephen Lawrence's family initiated a private prosecution against the initial two
suspects and three others. The charges against the original two suspects were dropped before
the trial due to lack of evidence, and the three remaining suspects were acquitted at trial when
the judge ruled that the identification evidence given by Duwayne Brooks was inadmissible.

Newspaper headlines
On 14 February 1997, the Daily Mail newspaper labelled all five suspects "murderers", challenging
them to sue the newspaper for libel if they were wrong. The headline read "Murderers: The Mail
accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us." Underneath this headline
appeared pictures of Gary Dobson, Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris. To
date, the men have not sued, but they have used appearances in the media to protest their
innocence. The Attorney General later cleared the Daily Mail of contempt of court.

In 2002, two men accused in the Lawrence case, David Norris and Neil Acourt, were convicted
and jailed for a racist attack on a plainclothes black police officer.

The Lawrence case spurred changes in English law that would allow future cases to be returned to
court and retried, even after an acquittal. In the Criminal Justice Act 2003, introduced by Home
Secretary David Blunkett, Parliament abolished a previously strict prohibition against double
jeopardy. Retrials are now allowed if there is 'new and compelling evidence'.

No one has been convicted of Stephen Lawrence's murder. The suspected killers, all but one now
possessing additional police records, are at large and detailed on the Mail website.

New evidence
In November 2007, police confirmed that they were investigating new forensic evidence.

Legacy
An annual architectural award, the Stephen Lawrence Prize, was established by the Royal
Institute of British Architects in Lawrence's memory.

His mother, Doreen Lawrence, said, "I would like Stephen to be remembered as a young man who
had a future. He was well loved, and had he been given the chance to survive maybe he would have
been the one to bridge the gap between black and white because he didn't distinguish between
black or white. He saw people as people."

In 1999, Nicholas Kent designed and staged a documentary play based on the trial and called The
Colour of Justice at the Tricycle Theatre. It was later filmed by the BBC.
On 7 February 2008, the Stephen Lawrence Centre opened in Deptford, South-East London. A
week later, it was vandalised in an attack that was initially believed to be racially motivated.
However, doubt was cast on that assumption when CCTV evidence appeared to show one of the
suspects to be mixed-race.

Public inquiries into the police investigation
In 1997, Lawrence's surviving family registered a formal complaint with the Police Complaints
Authority, which in 1999 exonerated the officers who had worked on the case of allegations of
racism. Only one officer, Senior Detective Inspector Ben Bullock, was ordered to face
disciplinary charges for neglect of duty. Bullock, who was second in command of the investigation,
was later found guilty of failure to properly brief officers and failure to fully investigate an
anonymous letter sent to police, but he was acquitted of 11 other charges. Four other officers
who would have been charged as a result of the inquiry retired before it concluded.

Bullock retired the day after his punishment was announced, so that it amounted to a mere
caution. Neville Lawrence, Stephen's father, criticized the punishment, saying that Bullock was
"guilty on all counts." However, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Federation stated
that Bullock had been "largely vindicated" in the proceedings.

That same year, while the PCA inquiry was ongoing, Home Secretary Jack Straw ordered a public
inquiry. During the inquiry, Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden said that mistakes had been
made during the murder investigation. Weeden, who was head of the murder squad for 14 months,
admitted that until recently he had not understood the legal grounds on which police could make
arrests. Results of the inquiry became known as the Macpherson Report, or the Stephen
Lawrence Report.

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report
Conducted by Sir William Macpherson, the inquiry found that the original Metropolitan Police
Service investigation had been incompetent and charged that officers had committed
fundamental errors, including failing to give first aid when they reached the scene; failing to
follow obvious leads during their investigation; and failing to arrest suspects. The report found
that there had been a failure of leadership by senior MPS officers and that recommendations of
the 1981 Scarman Report, compiled following race-related riots in Brixton and Toxteth, had been
ignored.

The Report also found that the police were institutionally racist and made a total of 70
recommendations for reform. These proposals included abolishing the double jeopardy rule and
criminalising racist statements made in private. Macpherson also called for reform in the British
Civil Service, local governments, the National Health Service, schools, and the judicial system, in
order to address issues of institutional racism. The report has been heavily criticised. For
example, Michael Gove in The Times said that "The tendentious reasoning and illiberal
recommendations of that document have been brilliantly anatomised by the ethical socialists
Norman Dennis and George Erdos and the Kurdish academic Ahmed al-Shahi in the Civitas
pamphlet Racist Murder and Pressure Group Politics."
Compensation
On 10 March 2006, the Metropolitan Police Service announced that it would pay Duwayne Brooks
£100,000 as compensation for the manner in which police had handled his complaints about their
actions toward him after the murder.

Alleged police corruption
On 25 July 2006, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) announced it had asked
the Metropolitan Police to look into alleged claims of police corruption that may have helped hide
the killers of Stephen Lawrence.

A BBC investigation alleged that the murder inquiry's Det. Sgt. John Davidson had taken money
from known drug smuggler Clifford Norris, the father of David Norris, a chief suspect in the
investigation. Neil Putnam, a former corrupt police detective turned whistleblower, told a BBC
investigation that Clifford Norris was paying Mr Davidson to obstruct the case and to protect
the suspects. "Davidson told me that he was looking after Norris and that to me meant that he
was protecting him, protecting his family against arrest and any conviction," Putnam said.
Davidson denied any such corruption.

The Metropolitan Police Service announced it was to open up a special incident room to field calls
from the public, following the BBC documentary The Boys Who Killed Stephen Lawrence. The
Independent Police Complaints Commission later stated the claims made in the programme were
unfounded.

On 27 July 2006, the Daily Mail repeated its famous "Murderers" front page.

“The need to re-establish trust between minority ethnic communities and the police is
paramount... seeking to achieve trust and confidence through a demonstration of fairness will
not in itself be sufficient. It must be accompanied by a vigorous pursuit of openness and
accountability.”
What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us
from "Too Black, Too Strong"
By Benjamin Zephaniah
We know who the killers are,
We have watched them strut before us
As proud as sick Mussolinis',
We have watched them strut before us
Compassionless and arrogant,
They paraded before us,
Like angels of death
Protected by the law.

It is now an open secret
Black people do not have
Chips on their shoulders,
They just have injustice on their backs
And justice on their minds,
And now we know that the road to liberty
Is as long as the road from slavery.

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us to love each other
And never to take the tedious task
Of waiting for a bus for granted.
Watching his parents watching the cover-up
Begs the question
What are the trading standards here?
Why are we paying for a police force
That will not work for us?

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us
That we cannot let the illusion of freedom
Endow us with a false sense of security as we walk the streets,
The whole world can now watch
The academics and the super cops
Struggling to define institutionalised racism
As we continue to die in custody
As we continue emptying our pockets on the pavements,
And we continue to ask ourselves
Why is it so official
That black people are so often killed
Without killers?
We are not talking about war or revenge
We are not talking about hypothetics or possibilities,
We are talking about where we are now
We are talking about how we live now
In dis state
Under dis flag, (God Save the Queen),
And God save all those black children who want to grow up
And God save all the brothers and sisters
Who like raving,
Because the death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us that racism is easy when
You have friends in high places.
And friends in high places
Have no use whatsoever
When they are not your friends.

Dear Mr Condon,
Pop out of Teletubby land,
And visit reality,
Come to an honest place
And get some advice from your neighbours,
Be enlightened by our community,
Neglect your well-paid ignorance
Because
We know who the killers are.
SIGNIFICANT NAMES
Name Key Word (s) Research Significance in Noughts and Crosses
Sephy Persephone
Mythology

Minerva Mythology

Jasmine

Kamal

Hadley

Callum

Jude Judas
Religion
Lynette Lynn

Meggie Meg, Margaret

Ryan

McGregor

Heathcroft Heath, Croft

Mr Jason Jason
Mythology

Mrs Paxton Pax
Latin
Mythology

Conclusions

Make sure you record where you found the information
SIX THINKING HATS

Creativity
Facts Possibilities Emotions
Neutral Alternatives Feelings
No Opinions New Ideas Hunches
Information Concepts Intuition
Figures Perceptions Emotions
Dates Lateral Unexplained
Objectives Hypotheses Open

Negatives Process
Critical Manage Positives
Caution Observe Brightness
Downsides Rules Optimism
Judgement Control Value
Logic Overview Benefits
Evaluation Step Outside Feasibility

Making Conclusions
READING FOCUS SHEET
For each of the three background readings you must complete the following tasks and questions
fully in your book:
1. Record the title of the background reading and where you sourced it from (especially
important if you have found your own background reading)
2. Write a summary of what you have read: In your own words what was the reading about?
Make sure you record key dates and facts so that they are at your fingertips at a later
date
3. Write a paragraph response to what you have read: How did the reading material make you
feel? What did it make you think about?
4. Link the reading material to Noughts and Crosses: How did this help you understand the
novel Noughts and Crosses better? Which character(s) did it most relate to? Why?
5. Bullet point how the information from this background reading could be used in an Essay to
make connections
6. How did this background reading link with any of the other background reading texts or
other literature / world events / life experiences you have knowledge of?

PRACTISE EXTENDED TEXT ESSAY QUESTIONS
2008 1. Describe a positive OR negative experience that happened to a character.
Explain how the writer used the experience to help you understand that character.
2. Describe an event that was a turning point in the text.
Explain why the turning point was important.
3. Describe at least ONE technique in the text that helped make the writer’s idea(s) clear.
Explain why the technique made the writer’s idea(s) clear to you.
Note: “Techniques” might be language, style, structure or narrative point-of-view.
4. Describe a character or individual in the text whom you found interesting.
Explain how the writer made the character or individual interesting to you.
5. Describe at least ONE way that time and / or place were used in the text.
Explain why the time and / or place were important.
6. Describe at least ONE idea that you thought was important in the text.
Explain how the writer made you think the idea was important.

2007 1. Describe an important change that happened to ONE character in the text.
Explain why this change was important.
2. Describe an important event at (or near) the end of the text.
Explain how this event helped you understand an idea (or ideas) in the text.
3. Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text that you found interesting.
Explain why you found this idea (or ideas) interesting.
4. Describe an important character or individual in the text.
Explain why he or she was important in the text.
5. Describe at least TWO techniques used to make a character in the text interesting.
Explain why these techniques made the character or individual interesting.
Note: “Techniques” could include language, structure and / or narrative point-of-view.
6. Describe an important aspect of setting in the text.
Explain how it helped you understand a key idea (or ideas) in the text.
Note: “Setting” may refer to time and / or place.

2006 1. Describe a choice made by a character or individual in the text.
Explain how this choice brought about a change in that character or individual.
2. Describe an important idea you learned about in the text.
Explain why this idea was worth learning about.
3. Describe an experience or event that was important to a character in the text.
Explain why this experience or event was important to that character or individual.
4. Describe an important time or place in the text.
Explain why this time or place is important in the text.
5. Describe a strong relationship between TWO characters or individuals in the text.
Explain how this relationship helped you understand these characters or individuals.
6. Describe an important scene or event at (or near) the beginning of the text.
Explain how this scene or event helped you understand an idea (or ideas) in the text.