This book is a superb all-in-one guide to success GCSE English Language and English Literature - GCSE English 2003

The Writer's Message
Section Two — Writing Literature Essays

This page is about learning how to spot the author's message and how to write about it.

Message Questions Can Be Hard To Spot

1) Questions about the message can be worded in all sorts of different ways:

When the Woodcutter kills the Wolf what is the writer trying to show?

Why do you think the Woodcutter is important?

What does The Three Little Pigs have to say about architecture?

2) They're all asking the same thing:

What does the writer think? Write about ail the bits ok the text that give it away.

3) Work out what the message of the text is, then write about all the bits which helped you work it out.

Work Out the Message of Your Set Texts Before the Exams

Obviously if you work out the message of your set texts before the exams you'll have a lot less to worry about on the day. If you haven't read the texts yet, this is a great way to get a quick overview:

This is what you could do for An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley.

The message — it’s one of the reasons why writers write

Bold claims need backing up, otherwise you're just ranting. I've said it before and I'll say it again — you need to get evidence from the text and quote it in your answer, so read the book properly.