COMPONENT 3 - USING THE STIMULUS

So, within each question, there will be a stimulus text which will inform your writing to some degree.


What will the stimulus texts be?


Well, so far, the SAMS have given us a short extract from a novel, and a string of trip advisor reviews for a caravan site. So, its safe to say that it will be hard to predict what comes up. However, this should not panic you at all. The stimulus text is there to help you, not constrain you. Just be prepared for all kinds of fiction and non-fiction texts, and make sure you choose the question (1 or 2) which suits your ability the best.


To what extent do we need to use or incorporate the stimulus in our work?


I have read the exam board guidance very closely in order to give you the best possible answer to this. Essentially, it depends largely on the wording of each individual task. For example, in the example exam, you are given an extract from a novel where a character called Mrs Reed sits in a room, reflecting on here life.


Task A asks you to write "an extract from a story where a room is the backdrop to an event in the life of the main character".


Task B asks you to "Write a dramatic monologue where Mrs Reed reflects on her life".


By using common sense, you can see here that task B requires far more focus on the stimulus than task A.


Task B is asking you to write about the life of Mrs Reed - so you will need to take inspiration from the stimulus in order to know anything about her. You may wish to drop in events in your monologue which are mentioned in the stimulus, or you may wish to use key terms to characterise her in a particular way. Either way, you will be using the stimulus material to a reasonable degree.


The mark scheme for this says, "Candidates should select some details from the stimulus material, but may select others if they wish."


Task A, on the other hand, merely asks you to write about 'a room'. At no point does the question suggest that this room or character has to have anything to do with the room or character in the stimulus. So you have far more freedom here.


The mark scheme for this says, "Candidates are likely to make little use of the content of the stimulus material."


So, as you can see, you need to read and understand the question carefully to know how much inspiration you should take from the stimulus.


That said, there is no SPECIFIC objective on the mark scheme for how well you use the stimulus. It will just form a more general part of how effectively your text is constructed for purpose.