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1 markUnderstanding Literary Discourse

CSEC English A · January 2014 · Paper 2 · Question 2(a)

A narrative passage recounting a family's experience of homelessness and staying in shelters across various states (adapted from L. Ballard, 'God Bless the Child', Essence, 2006).

Explain the meaning of the expression 'funds dwindled to nothing' (line 3).

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Other parts of this question

  1. 2(b)(i)Name the literary device used in the expression 'homelessness was an epidemic' (line 15).[1 mark]
  2. 2(b)(ii)Explain why the writer uses the expression 'homelessness was an epidemic'.[2 marks]
  3. 2(c)Explain the effect achieved by the writer using the words 'another state, another shelter, another welfare line' (lines 12–13).[2 marks]
  4. 2(d)(i)According to paragraph 2, state what step the mother took which created hardship for the family.[1 mark]
  5. 2(d)(ii)List TWO ways in which the family was affected because of the mother's action.[2 marks]
  6. 2(e)Identify an example of sarcasm in paragraph 2.[1 mark]
  7. 2(f)Explain what the phrase 'always bought the story' (line 18) indicates about the narrator's mother.[2 marks]
  8. 2(g)Identify the narrator's attitude toward the situation described in the passage.[1 mark]
  9. 2(h)State the purpose of the last short sentence in the passage ('But one night, they did.').[2 marks]

More practice: the rest of this paper · more Understanding Literary Discourse questions · all CSEC English A past papers