The short version: A second full grade-7 model — this time an opinion column: annotate → thesis → three evaluated, linked paragraphs → conclusion. Same method as the advert walkthrough, different text type.
Opinion columns are one of the most common Paper 1 texts — and they reward the same method you already know.
🗞️ A column argues a view and tries to bring the reader with it, using tone, rhetoric, structure and voice. We'll take one short original column and build the top-band response the exam way: read, annotate, thesis, evaluated paragraphs, conclusion. Watch the shape repeat.
The walkthrough moves
Find the argument
What view is the columnist pushing, and what's their tone towards it?
Annotate the rhetoric
Mark voice, humour, direct address, structure, the ‘turn’, the memorable line.
Thesis + cluster
One line on HOW the column persuades; group choices into ~3 evaluated paragraphs.
Link and conclude
Each paragraph links to the reader and thesis; conclude on the overall effect.
The key move: A grade-7 column analysis uses the same shape as any Paper 1: thesis-led, three evaluated linked paragraphs, a conclusion. The text type changes; the method doesn't.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it free for 7 days:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Why it matters in the exam: Opinion columns appear often in Paper 1, and they let you show off Criterion B by evaluating rhetorical choices (tone, voice, structure). A worked model shows how to argue one line about a persuasive text.
COLUMN (original): “We have invented a new way to be lonely, and we call it ‘staying in touch’. I have 900 friends and I have not been truly asked how I am since March. We swap reactions, not words; we ‘like’ each other the way you might wave at a passing car. I am not against the phone. I am against the quiet lie it tells us — that contact is the same as connection. It is not. One is a notification. The other is someone noticing you have gone quiet, and calling to find out why.” Guiding question: How does the writer persuade the reader to rethink online connection?
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: As with any walkthrough, learn the method, not the wording. And with columns especially, don't just agree or disagree with the writer's opinion — analyse HOW they argue it.