Lesson 2 Evaluation

• English
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Recap quiz!

What is evaluation?

1. the process of valuing a house
2. the process of spotting language features
3. the process of describing a text
4. the process of judging the quality, importance, or value of something

Which of these is an evaluative word?
(you can choose more than one)

1. powerful
2. intriguing
3. subtle
4. clear

Eleanor Oliphant has the same routine everyday, and she is always on her own. What adjective would you use to describe her?

Can you think of another word (synonym) for "unhappy"?

Can you think of a synonym for "boring"?

Let's practise zooming in!

"There are days when I feel so lightly connected to the earth that the threads that tether me to the planet are gossamer thin, spun sugar."

Which language technique is this?

1. simile
2. personification
3. metaphor
4. onomatopoeia

Eleanor feels "lightly connected to the Earth" - what does this suggest about her?

What does the phrase "gossamer thin spun sugar" suggest?

"I stumble off to bed"
What does the verb "stumble" imply?

Model Answer - "The writer makes it clear that Eleanor Oliphant is very unhappy and lonely. Her life seems to be monotonous."

To what extent do you agree?

I completely agree that the writer makes it clear Eleanor Oliphant is both unhappy and lonely, living a deeply monotonous life. The extensive detail given to her solitary, unchanging daily schedule immediately establishes this monotony. This is shown in her lunch ritual, where she buys a "Meal Deal," sits alone, reads the 'Daily Telegraph' "from cover to cover," and dutifully completes "both crosswords." Even her dinner choice is simple and purely functional—"pasta with pesto and salad—one pan and one plate" as she prefers "fodder that is cheap, quick and simple."

Eleanor's profound loneliness and underlying unhappiness are  powerfully confirmed through her lack of genuine human connection. Eleanor reveals her extreme social isolation, stating, "No one’s been in my flat this year apart from service professionals; I’ve not voluntarily invited another human being across the threshold, except to read the meter." Her contact with her colleagues is also tense, as she notes, "They hate me, but they don’t actually wish me dead. I don’t think so, anyway," which highlights the cold nature of her work relationships. The most powerful evidence of her unhappiness, however, is her feeling of being barely "connected to the earth," which she conveys using the image of "gossamer thin, spun sugar" threads that "tether me to the planet." This metaphor clearly shows that she feels insubstantial and fragile and that her connection to reality could break at any minute, which clearly conveys both her loneliness and her unhappiness.

Peer assessment

Success criteria (4 marks per category):

1. Used quotes from the text ✓
2. Zoomed in on language ✓
3. Written about effect of language ✓
4. Used an evaluative word to describe the writer's language ✓
5. Formed an opinion on the statement based on evidence ✓

Recap and reflect!
How would you explain how to answer Paper 1 Question 4 to a friend who needs help with English?