GCSE English Language – Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints & Perspectives

🏆 Mastering the Art of Persuasion & Comparison

Alright, so Paper 2 shifts the focus from fiction to non-fiction. This is all about:
✅ Understanding perspectives – How do different writers present their views?
✅ Analysing methods – What language & structure techniques make their arguments compelling?
✅ Comparing texts – Spotting juxtapositions, contrasts, and tonal shifts like a pro.
✅ Writing persuasively – Constructing powerful speeches, articles, and letters that demand attention.

Think of this paper as your chance to debate like a top-tier lawyer while writing with the flair of a journalist. 

Let’s get into it. 🚀

📍 Section A: Reading & Comparison

💡 What You Need to Do:

• Read two non-fiction texts (one modern, one 19th century).
• Answer four questions testing your ability to analyse & compare viewpoints.

📚 Extract 1: 21st-Century Newspaper Article on Climate Change

This extract is taken from an article discussing the impact of climate change on future generations.

“Our children will inherit a world of extremes—a landscape ravaged by scorching summers, unforgiving winters, and erratic storms that turn homes into ruins overnight. And yet, the indifference of those in power remains a staggering testament to human negligence. The cries of scientists, the protests of youth, the irrefutable data—what more must be sacrificed before action is taken?”

📚 Extract 2: 19th-Century Speech on Industrial Pollution

This extract is from a public speech delivered in 1853 by an activist protesting the environmental impact of factory smoke.

“Do we not choke on the very air that surrounds us? The factories spew their thick black venom into the heavens, suffocating our lungs and darkening our skies. And what of the riverbanks, once pristine, now stagnant and foul? We are not merely witnesses to this decay; we are its architects. If we do not rebel against this desecration, who will?”

📝 Question 1 – Simple Retrieval

💡 List four facts about the impact of environmental damage from both texts.

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer

1. In Extract 1, the author describes a future of climatic extremes, from scorching summers to devastating storms.
2. Extract 1 highlights the inaction of politicians, despite overwhelming scientific evidence.
3. In Extract 2, the speaker condemns factory smoke for suffocating cities, making it hard to breathe.
4. Extract 2 describes river pollution, with previously clean water now “stagnant and foul”.

📝 Question 2 –  Language Analysis

💡 How does the writer of Extract 1 use language to make their argument compelling?

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer 

The writer employs a barrage of emotive imagery to cultivate a sense of urgency and impending catastrophe. The phrase “a world of extremes” is deliberately hyperbolic, creating an image of a planet spiralling into uncontrollable chaos.

Furthermore, the juxtaposition between the apocalyptic natural disasters (“scorching summers, unforgiving winters”) and the apathetic response of politicians underscores the irony of human inaction.

Additionally, the rhetorical triad – “the cries of scientists, the protests of youth, the irrefutable data” – constructs a crescendo of evidence, reinforcing the argument’s credibility. The phrase “what more must be sacrificed?” concludes the passage with an impassioned rhetorical question, imploring the reader to engage emotionally with the issue.

📝 Question 3 – Comparing Methods

💡 Compare how the two writers present their views on environmental destruction.

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer

Both writers denounce environmental destruction, yet their approaches differ in tone and technique.

Extract 1 constructs a futuristic dystopia, using ominous, prophetic language (“a world of extremes”) to cultivate a foreboding mood. The modern writer’s use of rhetorical triads and data-driven persuasion contrasts with the visceral, almost biblical tone of Extract 2, where the 19th-century speaker describes industrial pollution as “venom spewing into the heavens.”

Furthermore, Extract 2 employs apostrophe (“Do we not choke?”), directly addressing the audience to incite collective responsibility, whereas Extract 1 leans on scientific authority, alluding to the voices of experts and activists. The contrast in approaches, one appealing to reason the other to raw emotion, highlights a disparity in rhetorical style across time periods.

📍 Section B: Persuasive Writing

💡 What You Need to Do:

• Write a speech, article, letter, or essay.
• Use rhetorical devices, emotive language, and strong arguments.
• Structure your response for maximum impact.

📝 Task: Speech Writing

💡 Write a speech for a school assembly on the importance of mental health awareness.

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer

“Why Mental Health Deserves More Than Just a Conversation”

Ladies and gentlemen, teachers, friends – let me ask you something: Would you tell someone with a broken leg to ‘just walk it off’? No? Then why do we still tell people with depression to ‘just cheer up’?

Mental health is not a fleeting mood, not an excuse, not an afterthought. It is the foundation upon which our futures are built. And yet, how often is it trivialised, ignored, swept under the rug?

Let’s talk facts. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in the UK. Anxiety and depression are at an all-time high. But what do we do? We whisper, we stigmatise, we turn away.

This. Must. Change.

Schools preach about success but ignore the very thing that enables it: wellbeing. We are expected to memorise equations and analyse poetry, but when do we learn to navigate stress, anxiety, or self-doubt? If our education system refuses to prioritise mental health, then we must.

So here’s my challenge to you: talk. Not just in whispers, not just when it’s too late, but every single day. Ask your friends how they’re feeling. Check in. Be the reason someone knows they’re not alone.

Because mental health is not just a ‘conversation’, it is a revolution waiting to happen. And we? We are the generation that will lead it.

Thank you.

🎯 Top Tips for a Grade 9 Response

✅ Use Rhetoric – repetition (This. Must. Change.), rhetorical questions, rule of three.
✅ Vary Sentence Length – build tension, create rhythm, maintain impact.
✅ Be Direct & Engaging – command attention, use direct address.
✅ End Powerfully – leave the reader with a call to action.

🔥 Final Thoughts

And that’s Paper 2, revamped for Grade 9 success. Notice how we:
🔹 Dived deeper into writer’s choices, spotting symbolism & subtext.
🔹 Used high-impact vocabulary (apostrophe, juxtaposition, crescendo of evidence).
🔹 Wrote with conviction, crafting engaging, persuasive arguments.